2 door xj differences?

What are the differences between the 2 door and 4 door xj? (other than the doors)
Are there differences in leg room or overall length? Pros or cons?

Thanks!

The 2 door has an extra helping of OEM sexy.

Same length.

Con: if you blow that rear window its more expensive.
Pro: There is only one window to blow back there.

In my 2 door, the rear seats are pretty hard to sit in, but leg room seams to be equal.

Jesse

2-door and 4-door XJs are the exactly the same except for the doors. 2-door XJs have the foward-folding front seats and are lighter (~50 lbs if I remember correctly) than 4-doors. Also, with a 2-door, you don't have to worry about running into a door when you trim the rear fenders.

Any issues with 2 doors ruining hinges? Most american car companies have made their doors so heavy that they wear the hinges out unusually fast.

Just for fun I looked up the curb weight of a new Honda Civic and it is within 20 pounds of my 1996 2 door, 2 wheel drive, 2.5 XJ. And you wouldn't worry about a Honda door falling off.

Huh?

To clarify my reply. The Jeep is a sturdy little truck without excess where it isn't needed. BIG American two door cars have huge and heavy doors under a lot of stress. I am sure my two door Jeep doors weigh much less than the FRONT doors on our old Chevy. They are smaller, half as thick and have much less inside.

OH, And thanks to all of you and the forums. You have saved me $$. Helped me pick new shocks. Told me how to change out the instrument cluster and much more. The check will be in the mail soon. Even if I never go "wheeling" is well worth joining.

PhotographerMike said:

Just for fun I looked up the curb weight of a new Honda Civic and it is within 20 pounds of my 1996 2 door, 2 wheel drive, 2.5 XJ. And you wouldn't worry about a Honda door falling off.

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I take my two doors off frequently. They're crank windows and manual locks, still really heavy. I'd say i'm a pretty strong guy, and they're still pretty hefty. Doors off a four door are really heavy also if they have the power options. I don't even want to imagine how heavy a door off a two door would be with the power options.

Two doors can be very hard on the hinges and the doors too. They tend to tear away from the frame and you'll see a lot of 2 door XJ's with either bad doors or repaired doors. 97-up models may be better, because they changed the hinge design. This can be repaired, and also can be avoided somewhat by making sure that the door check straps are in perfect condition and not flinging the door open. What happens is that the doors are just too heavy for the check straps to restrain, so when you open the door, either the strap pulls too far or the frame of the door itself bends outward over time, and the strap becomes effectively too long. When that happens, the door hits a second stop in the hinge itself, and then it pulls the rear edge of the hinge out of the body.

On my stepson's 93 2-door, I repaired the hinge, then shortened the check straps by welding the hole shut and redrilling about 3/16 inch further back. That saved the hinges from further damage, but now the door skin is coming loose from the door itself!

One advantage of 2-doors is that they give better side visibility if you're tall.

Here in the rust belt, it seems that the bottoms of the 2-door quarter panels are especially vulnerable.

uvaldetxj said:

I take my two doors off frequently. They're crank windows and manual locks, still really heavy. I'd say i'm a pretty strong guy, and they're still pretty hefty. Doors off a four door are really heavy also if they have the power options. I don't even want to imagine how heavy a door off a two door would be with the power options.

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I have power windows and locks in my 2-door and they are really heavy!! I find it's easier to get in and out of compared to a 4 door.

OBX Fisherman said:

I have power windows and locks in my 2-door and they are really heavy!! I find it's easier to get in and out of compared to a 4 door.

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That's why I ordered mine as a 2-door. The 4-door's front doors are too small to comfortably maneuver thru... and as a 250lb+ guy, the BACK doors were nothing more than a JOKE. I can get in the back of the 2-door if need be... easier than trying to squeeze my foot between the seat and the door jamb of the 4-door...

Den

The biggest advantage of the 2 door is that nobody will think it is a soccer mom wagon! Besides, they just look way better.

I have heard people say that 4 door models are stronger because they have 4 pillars instead of 3. That makes sense to me but time will tell...

FWIW I bought a 1990 2 door a week ago and parked it on my steep/off-camber driveway and when I tried to open the door it seemed it was stuck. I don't know if it was from worn out doors/latches or from the unibody twisting making it tough to open.

Chris

yeah....it's easy getting in a 2-door. It's a PITA when your seats don't fold forward though. I need to find some 2-door seats....

The two doors also have these recessed cup holders in the back. That might be a selling point to some.

The 2 doors are much sexier.
They wheel better (no groceries or soccer cleats flying around and getting under the pedals).
You can open up the rear wheelwells until small children from the neighborhood start getting sucked into the void.
Those rear cupholders ROCK when you have kids.
They're easier to get in and out of - both front and rear, in my humble opinion.

What Rd said:

They're easier to get in and out of - both front and rear, in my humble opinion.

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I agree with all your other points, but if lifted (IMO) that back seat is uncomfortable to get into.

Jesse

A two door is 50 LB lighter. Well, 62 by the Rockwell at the hardware store. That is until you remove all the doors then the four doors gets real light.
Do pull the hatch. It's much easyer to back. The view is great and you learn to like the fumes

I wish my links would work the first time.

WHAT IS STRUCTURALY STRONGER? THE 2 DOOR, OR 4 DOOR UNIBODY? MY FRIEND SAYS THE 2 DOOR IS. BUT I SAY THERE ARE MORE PILLARS IN THE 4 DOOR THAT KEEP IT FROM TWISTING AS MUCH. WITH HIS 2 DOOR HE WILL GET OUT ON THE TRAIL AND HAVE A HARD TIME SHUTTING HIS DOORS WHILE FLEXED OUT. WITH MINE I CAN OPEN AND CLOSE ALL 5 DOORS WHILE FLEXED OUT AND NOT HAVE ANY ISSUES. HMMMM.