I have heard numerous sides to this story. Some say the WJ is just junk and others say it's great. Some say the transmission behind the 4.0L is garbage and that the 4.0L in the WJ makes it an underpowered pig.

What year and model do I want for off road/on road and top notch reliability?

 

wife's parents' wj 4.0 just had $1500 worth of electrical issues solved recently, and that's not the only wj i've heard of with electrical problems. other than that it's a solid vehicle. personally, i have a '96 xj and love it to pieces - 140k on the ticker and no problems yet (knock on wood!!!) grand cherokees are definiately more comfortable, but that don't mean beans to me...

 

My wife drives a 04 wj and we have had no problems. Its a 4.0 auto and dose just fine. There are still too many on the road to have too many issues. I'm sure there are some out there that have cronic problems. That could be said for any make or model.
We plan on driving it till the wheels fall off it. I also have a 99 xj and love it as well.

 

the H/O in the XJ's make the world of differents, a wj with 32''s is a dog and cant get out of its own way

 

Are you saying the wjs 4.0 is not an ho motor? My xj with 33s is a dog but I cant remember the last time I raced anyone on a trail. Gear it and fix the slow issue.

 

We've had an '04 WJ since new, and it now has 88,000 miles on it. We love it, much as we also love the '97 ZJ which has 188,000 miles.
Since these are road vehicles, I can't say either body type would stand up to the abuse I've read about from XJ owners and their vehicles. Sure there are lots of stories on here about problems, but I can't verify either way as I've never owned an XJ.
Dan

 

We have an 04 4.7 WJ and its awesome. not a single problem with 89k on clock. 4.7 is just as good if not better (powerwise) for the GC then 4.0. You have plenty of power and plenty more in reserve. The only deal that you have to be cautious about is how easy the tranny stick (in an auto) will slip from drive to nuetral. But thats not a big deal here's our WJ

 

You want to stay away from the Quadradrive TC or I should say I kept away from it. I'm a control freak though. Not a fan of the AWD system the quadradrive has.

 

Thats what we have on our GC. Its nice for the street, but for off-road its not that great. I think it was select-trac that's the best??

 

Thats what ours has. Took me a while to find one low miles and in good shape here in the Det area. Its slowly progressing into a great trail/camping rig. Combo I was looking for was the 4.0, auto, select -trac with a tow package. For the heavy duty cooling and rear recovery. Doubt I'll ever tow anything with it.

 

Also be careful if you get a WJ about the alloy rear d44. if you get one of those you cant do much with it in terms for a locker if you get that far. there's only one locker made for it and its kinda pricey from what i've heard

 

i love my 2000. Only issues I have had at 90,000 are routine like water pump, radiator and a sensor. 4.0 is a bit underpowered because its such a heavy rig. its still the ho motor its not like they got a crappier motor in them then the xjs. Most comfortable rig I have ever owned.

 

Get a late model XJ. 97-01. It'll be cheaper, and better suited for what you want to do with it. Better aftermarket support too.

 

you make no sence and no the wj doesnt have a h/o motor, my xj has 33''s too, works fine for me, wish it was better on highway but it does the job and i can still spin the 33''s on dry ground, i dont own a WJ so i dont need to worry about re-gearing, i will be regearing my XJ though

 

I believe your wrong the WJ has a 4.0 ho in it. Same engine used in the tjs of that year. The same since the 2000 model year 4.0. I'm sure some of the programing is different, but the same old tried and true inline six.
I do make sense.