Jethro4days

In my honest opinion. Don't get a 00 or 01. For piece of mind sake. Coming from someone who had a 00 and now has a 99. Unless you plan and swapping the head, no matter how perfect your coolant system is you always risk cracking the 0331 head. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy my 00 but the head cracking was ALWAYS on my mind.

DallasXJ

I only got it up to 30mph before it started shaking violently. It could have been the garbage old model MTR's. The guy was like I should have put on my AT's. Either way I think buying a stock non modified XJ is only option.

ThunderThighs

That's hilarious. I imagine it was just silent the rest of the way back to his place.

It's a tough search my friend. Took me months before I found mine, and I was searching almost every day. Good call on looking for a stock. These things have enough issues as it is without having to worry about somebody else's "mods" being ****ed up. .. Not to mention that brown one is uuuugly.

'90Cherokee

I love my dependable XJ but I'm feeling so bad for you and your endless search that I'll trade you straight across for that junky *** yellow Rubicon.

I was actually looking at a 2015 yellow soft top Hard Rock Rubi a couple weeks ago, fortunately it had 3.73 gears so I walked before being talked out of a bunch of money I don't have.

As for your question of ride quality; the JK will generally be more stable, but a good kit on an XJ will ride well too. A cheapo lift on an XJ can be sucky. You have a '15 Rubi and don't wheel it hard but want an XJ? Are you just afraid of damaging the expensive JK? Put some sliders on it and maybe a front axle truss and go! My brother had a '13 Rubi that he pounded with no issues other than bending the front axle, common issue and it took heavy abuse, but it kept going anyway. He accidentally dropped it in a river and the insurance paid him more than he paid for it so now he has a '15 Rubi and pounding the **** out of it.

The XJ won't come with hill decent, lockers, 4:1 low range, electronic sway bar, 285HP, 5 speed auto/6 speed manual, 17/21 MPG, and all the other millions of modern fancy stuff. It's much lighter which I think helps it a lot and a lot of the hardcore hardware can be put on it, but it'll never be the refined machine that a JKUR is. It also won't be a convertible and since you got the soft top I assume that's a factor for you. It's lack of refinement also comes with a lack of complexity that I love, most people don't care about complexity as long as it's goodies are working. If money weren't an issue I'd have a JKUR and my XJ, no idea how I'd decide which to drive when; might just have to tow the XJ behind the JK so I'd have both.

'90Cherokee

BTW, I totally lucked out on my XJ. Original owner, 180k miles, loaded Laredo, very good on maintenance with full records (tho I had to fix some stuff anyway), $800. Deals are out there, you just have to be diligent or pay a premium. I bought it thinking it would be fun for a minute and then I'd flip it, now it's part of the ever growing stable.

DallasXJ

Being able to afford the Rubicon is not the issue. It's mainly I've always loved the XJ and I wanted to see if I could get lucky and sell my Rubicon while finding a nice XJ. I have put a lot of time and money into the Rubicon and built it for fun as well as Expedition type travel. I could do the same thing in an XJ for so much cheaper, but you are right about the creature comforts. Those would be hard to give up. I doubt I will be able to make the XJ drive as well as the Rubicon. I was just trying to be practical and not have a $55K vehicle when a $5K one would do the same thing.

Orlo

Wheel the rubicon. The XJ will be a slow drain on the wallet anyways. At least your present vehicle has a warranty.

Turbo X_J

t.mcginley.jr

Paid $550 for my 00 XJ with 202k miles. Interior is mint, exterior is almost mint besides the driver door being a different color (what idiot puts a maroon door on a silver jeep?), with a knocking 4.0L. Bought a good running 96 Grand Cherokee 4.0L for $300. Swapped that motor for mine, plus some new parts like water pump, etc. All in about $1000-1200

'90Cherokee

Unless you're a DIY guy it might take closer to 10K to get an XJ and have it dependable, capable, and behave about as well as the JK. One big upside to the XJ that I think accounts for much of it's inherent ability is it's low weight, something that can't be done to a JK. You have a warrantee so you're good for now, but the XJ will be a simpler vehicle for the long term maintenance and less finicky in many ways. If money is no concern buy an XJ, start the build, and when it's ready to rock decide which one to keep. From what I've seen the Rubis hold their value extremely well so you shouldn't loose much if you hold onto it for a while longer.

DallasXJ

Money is not a concern yet, but owning two vehicles would be a concern at some point. With that said I doubt my Rubicon would sell quickly so I would have to continue to make payments for awhile. I came and drove a '99 with 132K and 3" RC lift and 31's. It looked pretty good and drove good as well. I need to look at it again tomorrow and drive it to see what I can do. And I have been watching a '00 with 109K but looks to be in mint condition. The '99 is $6750 and the '00 wants $8500.

I'm not too sure about a Rough Country lift. And it would need some trimming as the tires contact the flares I'm assuming when backing up and turning. I do know I don't want to do much modding right now. I spent so much on the Rubicon and would just want a small lift and maybe 31-32 max.

'90Cherokee

There are a few different RC lift kits, some will say to stay away from RC as a rule, but if it rides well then I see no reason not to do it. Every time I see what these things go for I'm tempted to sell mine, but I like it too much.

Orlo

Just curious..... Why did you spend the house on a tricked out Rubicon if you didn't intend to wheel it? Unless there are 4 foot boulders in the golf course parking lot, seems like a waste of cash.

DallasXJ

That was the goal and I still may keep my Rubicon if I can't find a suitable XJ. I started my Rubicon build with long travel trips in mind. Things haven't worked out as well as I planned. My Rubicon looks phenomenal, but when I have this much invested I cringe on the trails. It's pretty hard to dump a Rubicon for a 17 year old XJ with it being more reliable just based on age and still having a warranty. Still torn on what to do, but the Rubicon wins in terms of looks, function and comfort. The XJ wins in terms of money. I still love the look of the XJ.

Orlo

Ok. So you like the rubi. Keep it. Treat it like your wife or girlfriend. Keep it happy, but don't do anything destructive.

Now go buy yourself a nasty dirty little XJ that will do all the stuff youre afraid to ask of your regular "ride". She don't have to be a looker......just willing and able. Know what I mean, Tex? Lol!