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best year

D

demiv

NAXJA Forum User
Location
keene nh
Im looking to get another jeep xj. Ive had 2 96s and a 90. What are some of the major differences from year to year and are there any years that are the most desirable. If it matters I want an auto tranny. It will be a double duty rig but im looking to buy something stock that hasnt been beat on too badly.
Thanks for the input.
 
2001 is one to stay away from if you have emissions or if you want to keep it legal. Reason being is that the 2001 went with a manifold that has 2 pre-cats (which means 4 o2 sensors as well) and if it goes bad it can get real expensive real quick. Plus you can't get a header for it if you decide to later due to the dual cats. I found this out when I got a check engine light and it first read as a bad pre-cat. Dealer wants $1500 just for the precats/manifold. this is just one mark against the 2001; other then that I am happy with the 01 but don't have any other years to compare first hand.
 
98, 99. 29 spline 8.25 w/o abs. hp d30. check it.
 
To look at the specs, a '99 would be the best, but I hate my '99 so I cant say i recommend one. I love my 95 though, cheap to buy, no OBD 2 problems, its been good to me.
 
good to know about the 01 - is it just the one year or 01 and up

98-99 sounds good

i like obd2 because i dont know a whole lot - if i know whats wrong i can fix it but thats about it. and i live in nh so we dont have real emissions, 96 and up they plug into the obd2 port to check "emissions" so that does make 95 a little more appealing.
 
Another note on the 99's is you'll get the bigger intake compared to earlier years, and still keep the distributor type ignition (2000+ went to coil packs).

I've done just about every kind of driving style in mine from extreme short distance driving for about a year, to now running the hell out of it on the highway week after week for the last 2 years and everything in between. No complaints here!
 
A lot of people seem to say 97-99 as some good years for the xj.
 
I love my 89 because I take it through the woods and it's easy to work on. If I could buy a DD I'd get a later built 96-98. I don't care to much for the new body and interior. Looks clean and all but I like the old styles.
 
99
Has the latest of the good stuff like the new manifold and HP D30 and none of the bad such as the crack prone head and LP D30 of the 00-01.
If I was buying one I would look for the newest possible desirable model.
 
i have an 87 and a 96. i love the 87 for the dana 44 but the 96(d30,8.25) has all the bolt ons if u need power dont go for the old renix unless u want to swap engines.
so really how i look at it is swap engine/ computer or swap front and read end.
theres not many options for the renix
my 96 is a 5spd too so i might be bias cant live without a stick =P

jp magazine did an article on the best year a while back i know i still have the magazine ill try to find it and list the flaws of the years
 
Last edited:
its both 2000 and 2001 that have the 2 pre-cats. I replaced mine by myself, with an OEM part. It was nowhere near $1500, so your stealership is ripping you off BlackCat. Look for some online dealership's parts pages and you can get it for under $500. And both Banks and JBA make headers for the 2000-01.

Yeah, the LP30 is a downside, but plenty have lifted with it and had zero problems (RCP Phx) - and I personally like the distributorless ignition. One less thing to worry about. Dont know how or why you would say that's a negative. If you lift it, a HP30 is easily swappable.
 
99 get's my vote for the best for daily driver. Only downside is you can only lift about 2.5" without vibes.

If I was building one for more trail duty, 94 is the last year with no airbags and as long as it wasn't a late 93 build, it will have R-134A A/C. Can probably get closer to 4.5" before vibes.
 
You'd want to do an SYE anyway...better strength, and if you get lucky, you can have interchangable F and R driveshafts...plus you dont lose ground clearance like you do when you do a TC drop (which also puts added stress on your motor mounts). 97-01s also have a high chance of having the 29 spline 8.25
 
JNickel101 said:
its both 2000 and 2001 that have the 2 pre-cats. I replaced mine by myself, with an OEM part. It was nowhere near $1500, so your stealership is ripping you off BlackCat. Look for some online dealership's parts pages and you can get it for under $500. And both Banks and JBA make headers for the 2000-01.

Yeah, the LP30 is a downside, but plenty have lifted with it and had zero problems (RCP Phx) - and I personally like the distributorless ignition. One less thing to worry about. Dont know how or why you would say that's a negative. If you lift it, a HP30 is easily swappable.
Click to expand...

Not replacing it; cleared that check engine and it hasn't been back. I thought the 2000 still had a single cat; thanks for the information on the 2000. Good to hear about the headers also; future add on.
 
:cheers: thought you might like that
 
99, that is all.
 
cwstnsko said:
99 get's my vote for the best for daily driver. Only downside is you can only lift about 2.5" without vibes.
Click to expand...
I drive a 99 with 6" of lift as my daily driver and there is no vibes untill I get to about 70
 
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