Well the deer head wrapped one didn't pan out. Lots of gear whine coasting and accelerating, abs light, and check engine light. The search continues.

 

Be patient, you'll find the right one.

 

Yup. I got nothing but time.

 

There are a ton of ZJ's out there. The problem is finding one that hasn't been mauled already.

 

Yup. Mauled, neglected, mistreated, and just down right abused. Already working on a 77 Bronco that was treated that way. Don't need another one.

 

Friend of mine found a 98 zj limited 5.9 with 200k miles for a $1000. The catch? Needs a transmission. What does a rebuilt transmission cost for these things and is it even worth it?

 

The automatic transmission is the weakest link in ANY vehicle. As long as the engine runs good and the t/case and axles are fine, why not put a transmission in it.
It's worth it unless it's a rust belt DD then you have to decide if it will last long enough.

My '00 WJ has 172K on it, but it's spotless and I've taken care of it. They tell me it's only worth $1000 on a trade-in, so I'm keeping it until I can't repair it any more.

 

I don't know if I agree with them being the weakest link in any vehicle but having owned two dodge diesels I can attest to them being a weak link if abused.

It's located somewhere up in Dallas right now so no salt but don't know it's original origins.

What's a rebuilt transmission r&r cost on these? $3000-4000?

 

A 98 5.9 ZJ is a rare bird, only 14k of those were made and they are the Holy Grail of ZJs. A thousand bucks ain't bad if all it needs is a transmission. That is if the rest of it is clean. Who knows? It may only need a couple solenoid for the transmission to work.

 

I bought my 04 WJ 5 yrs ago with 201,000 mi. on it looked at it on craigslist for 2 months and still listed for $5700. I called the guy as he lived the next town over from me about 15 mi. and he drove it over to my house for me to look at.


When I did see it I thought it was a new one not a dent, scratch, blemish inside or out black pearl metal flake with black/gray leather with every option Jeep offered. He also had the dealer records of everything done to it starting with the first oil change. He told me I was only the 3rd person to call on it because of the mileage he thought and 1st to look it had the 4.7HO engine because of the "Overland" package ran excellent and quite fast for that much weight. I took him home that evening after writing him a check for $4200, I stole it.


To date everything still works perfect, engine fine and uses no oil between changes 6mo./6k mi. My XJ is great but my WJ is mostly my DD it or my Town Car.