terrawombat

This is another reason why the 2.8L V6 is looked at as the red-headed step child. When there are options out there such as the 4.0L, AW4, AX-15, and D44, they make all of the other Jeep blunders (2.8L, BA-10/5, D35) look foolish. If Jeep had only offered the 2.8L with a BA-10/5 and a D35 we'd probably just come to terms with our crappy drivetrains. Although a 2.8L would make a BA-10/5 and a D35 look pretty stout ;)

I forgot to mention that literally three minutes after I made this rant, I got a reply back from someone on CL about an MJ. Coincidence? I think not!

Legal mumbo-jumbo aside, e-bay still has wording that can, at the very least, be used to form some sort of case - if you even feel like wasting the effort/expense. You can also give negative feedback (yea, I know, big whoop), but to some (I wish it were more) people, having a good, clean record is very important - it is to me, at least. If these same defunct CL sellers were to put their stuff on e-bay, they would have such a crappy reputation that no one would purchase from them. It's almost come to the point where if a seller doesn't give out his phone number on a CL ad, I'll just move on to the next. Too many people out there that just want to see if their junk is worth anything. When I've put up CL ads, I will ALWAYS respond to e-mails, even if the item is long gone. I've also responded with a blatant refusal to sell one of my 3000GT's to a kid because the e-mail he sent me made him look like an irresponsible moron and I didn't want to be partly responsible for his death when he ran my car into a tree. Hey, at least I responded...

People that post items on Craigslist with no phone number (just the randomly generated CL e-mail address that gets forwarded to your real e-mail) that DON'T reply to ANY e-mails. You know what's even better? When these SAME people post the SAME item back on CL a couple days later with NO phone number AGAIN! If you're trying to SELL something and you don't want to be bothered with a telephone call, answer your @#&*ing e-mails. If the item has been sold or is no longer for sale for whatever reason, have some common courtesy and respond to interested parties saying it's no longer available - or remove it from CL, entirely. I love CL in the sense I've gotten some pretty insane deals through it (my $400 '01 XJ, which is now my DD), but sometimes it's incredibly frustrating. One of the few things I like about e-bay is that if I bid on something and happen to get a good deal, it's a BINDING contract that the seller MUST sell me the item and if he/she does not, I can take it to court if I so please.

The trade is back on. FINALLY got the right key from the dealer after having to pull the entire ignition cylinder lock out and getting the key code off of it since the one attached to the VIN was apparently incorrect. Got a couple inquiries out for some MJs around me, but nothing is finalized yet. Pictures will be up once I get the ignition cylinder lock installed again and can get the YJ out of my shop.

The 2.8L has a bad rep because it has a much higher failure rate than the 2.5L & 4.0L - plain and simple. I've owned many different vehicle platforms and each one had their 'bad apple' engine, so to speak. There was always a fellow like yourself that would pipe up and come to the defense of said engine, but the stats don't lie. There was an inherent problem with how the oiling system was designed. I owned an '86 MJ with the 2.8L V6 and it spun 3 out of its six rod bearings due to an oil pump failure.

I looked up the cab cover on the site you ordered from. That thing looks pretty nice! With all these luscious amenities you'll be daily driving this thing in no time.

Cool! Thanks. Does this kid happen to be from Altoona, PA? If so, I may know which truck he's got ;) Also have to put this trade on pseudo-hold. Lost the key to the Wrangler a few weeks ago and went to a dealership today to get a couple new ones made. Figured I was as good as gold, but I got home and they didn't work...hoping the dealer just made an error otherwise I'm going to have to change all the friggin' locks. None of the locks look like they were changed in the life of this vehicle but who knows :dunno:

I acquired a '91 Wrangler a few months ago and while it's a lot of fun, I really need something with a bed to haul stuff. Both of my MJs are out of commission and I've been on the hunt for a third for the weekend chores that seem to keep piling up. So, here are some details: 1991 Jeep Wrangler YJ 4.0L HO Engine with ~118K miles AX-15 5-speed manual transmission NP231 Transfer case D30 (I think) front and D35 rear Besttop Supertop Sunrider (brand spanking new - less than 2 months old) Stock hardtop Besttop locking center console It's sitting on stock Jeep five-spokes with 31" BF Goodrich tires. The fronts will rub when you turn sharp so the Jeep needs to be lifted some. I'll also include the stock Gambler-style rims that came with it, but they're in poor condition and the tires are dry rotted and don't hold air. The Jeep isn't perfect. The clearcoat is peeling on the hood and front fenders. There is still a rust spot underneath the JEEP symbol on the passenger side. There was one on the drivers side, too, but I repaired it. It still needs bodywork and paint to look halfway decent. The speakers in the thing stink, but they DO work. It has an aftermarket CD player (Kenwood, maybe?). Everything is all there nothing is missing. The engine runs great and has plenty of power. I still need to take it through inspection, but now that NJ is only testing for emissions, it should pass no problem. The e-brake cable was never hooked up so that's why I didn't take it in the past. The transmission is in OKAY shape - it was pretty bad when I got it and would grind in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. I since added Pennzoil Synchromesh and now it will only grind if you powershift into 3rd and 4th. Sometimes 1st is hard to go into, sometimes it's not. All of the lights work with the exception of the passenger turn signal on the fender flare. The wires were cut and I spliced them back together but still no go. I think the bulb socket may be bad or there is another cut in the wiring somewhere further up. The alternator gauge works sometimes and not others, but all other gauges seem to work fine. I just did an oil/filter change on it so it's good to go for another 3,000 miles. I'm looking for an MJ from the HO years, preferably ('91 and '92) of equal or greater value to my YJ. Based on the YJ market right now, I would value mine right around 3K give or take a couple hundred. The MJ needs to have the 4.0L and must be 4x4 - I'd prefer a shortbed, but won't count out a longbed. I don't care about the transmission - auto or manual is fine. I would like a non-lifted MJ, but would consider a lifted one if it's tastefully done. Let me know what you got. This is kind of a shot in the dark, but I'll entertain all offers. Current pictures to follow when I get home from work.

It probably burns it and you just don't know about it. My bet is that a good portion of your oil is being sucked into the engine past some worn out valve stem seals. My Mitsubishi does the same thing and the oil smoke is only visible on startup after it has sat overnight. Although it's never burned so much oil that it went dry...

All of mine have been handed down to me after they were thought to be unusable on my parents farm for one reason or another. I like them for a few reasons - it's a JEEP, durable, and it's RARE. I have a knack for wanting rare commodities. I like being different from the norm. When I got my not-so-rare XJ, I sought out the rarest set of rims that came on them (five spokes from the '98ZJ 5.9 Limited, '98TJ Saraha, '00XJ Freedom Edition, and '01XJ 60th Anniversary)... The '88 SporTruck in my sig had an issue with gas getting in the crankcase oil. The fuel injectors were sticking open and leaking fuel after engine shut down. Fixed those, but the damage to the engine was already done. Still ran fine, but parked it in the back of my shop and it has been undergoing a '97+ conversion for the last year (I work slow). The '88 Pioneer in my sig had the waterpump let go while it was in the middle of a field. It sat there for a few months before I drug it back to my shop to fix the water pump and weld in new floorpans. Currently replacing some front end stuff on it and am going to eventually give it back to my parents as they need it more than I do. Currently on the market for another MJ...checking CL every day.

This is a friendly reminder to make sure everyone has at least one set of spare keys for each one of their vehicles! Don't be a dope like me and spend $25 to have two brand new keys made at the local Jeep dealership because you lost your only set! I was visiting a friend about an hour and a half north of me a few weekends ago and I took my keys with me when we went out to have some (many) drinks at a bar. I'm fairly confident I lost my keys in the cab ride back home because I remember fumbling in my pocket while we were at the bar and the keys were there. Of course, the cab company didn't find any keys in any cab, although I'm not convinced they even looked. I lost a key to my '01XJ, my '91YJ (the ONLY key I had), aftermarket center console to my YJ, my house, office, and girlfriend's apartment. I then had to inconvenience my friend and have her drive me back home and then take a train ride back with my spare keys to get my XJ. Luckily I live an hour and a half away so I'm fairly confident no one will know where I or my vehicles live :) Anyway, if you don't have a copy of any of your keys, get some made! It's real cheap insurance!

It has been hell for my father this year. My family is only a small operation (maybe about 100 out of 300 acres of crops that NEED to be watered, the rest are cover crops), but it has my Dad stretched pretty thin. In addition to all of the normal farm duties he has to do from 6am to 8pm, he also has to set up the irrigation rig twice during the night and refill the fuel tanks on the pumps. I think he goes to bed around midnight, wakes up at 3am to refill the tanks, and then is back to bed for a couple of hours only to wake again at 6am to start the day. We also just celebrated his 60th birthday this week...I'm amazed he is able to still keep going.

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Nice truck! That's the shortbed version of my '88 Pioneer Olympic Edition!

I've always respected you, Mr. Kastein. Anyone who posts over 11,000 messages in a year (that aren't just drivel and BS) on an internet forum (NAXJA for those of you who don't know) earns my respect. But to have THAT truck in THAT place...you, sir, have just one-upped yourself.

That thing is hilarious and it's even funnier to me that you actually own it. How much property do you live on? For some reason, I picture you living in a relatively populated area and this thing is parked out on the street towering over your neighbors car.

Seriously! Your phone has to have a camera...

The factory bumper brackets were nothing to write home about. All it takes is a little bump when you're backing up to something. I remember ours got messed up when my Dad was backing up to a loading dock and bumped the black hard rubber bump stop (that's when he knew when to stop) and it pushed it downward a bit.

Nice looking place, but... ...where's the garage?!!?

False. The Honda Rancher was introduced in 2000 with a 350cc engine. 2000 was also the last year of the Honda Fourtrax TRX300 (aka Honda 300). The Rancher has never seen anything but a 350cc or larger engine. They are two entirely different machines with very few similarities - the only two I can think off of the top of my head are the starter brushes and the oil filter.

I'm a mechanical engineer for a small firm (10 employees). We provide just about any engineering service for all of the wastewater treatment plants in NJ - also do some in MD, NY, CT, MA, NH, and WA (yea, opposite side of the country). We specialize in sewage sludge incineration - we're basically professional poo burners. We also specialize in designing furnaces for the activation of carbon. To be a bit more specific about my duties - I created a set of design drawings for a plant in Northern NJ to rehabilitate one of their incinerators (built in the 70's) to bring it up to todays standards with the latest technology while still keeping it within their air permit limits. It's a 3 million dollar job that I'm now managing and providing on-site supervision when necessary. I've also become the office "expert" on a computation fluid dynamics program (CFD) called Fluent so that I can model some of the designs we do in-house. It's a fairly complex program (and extremely expensive) and I've only scratched the surface of its capabilities yet I'm considered an "expert"...

I believe the Wolverine has the cylinder head from one of Yamaha's 350cc sport quads. I have a '97 Big Bear 350cc 2wd, two Honda Rancher 350cc ('01 and '02) 2wd and a '99 Honda TRX300 2wd. As far as longevity and reliability are concerned, the Honda's win by an enormous margin. The Big Bear, however, is better suited for trail use because of the low-range feature. I have heard some good things about the newer Yamaha 4wd systems too. Our ATVs are strictly for farm/work use and we would never consider anything else but a Honda for that purpose. For trail use, you're better off with a Yamaha or Polaris IMO.

BAM! You hit the nail on the head. Steady paycheck and medical insurance. This is fickle, you might sell something, you might not. Plus, you gotta always keep on top of it, run out of a pot of cash to play with, and you can't afford to do this kind of repair. You have to invest a fair amount of money to get anything back out. Then on top of it if you don't have medical insurance(and there's a good chance one of these days the car is gonna fall on you or something that requires it) your boned. And paying for insurance out of pocket eats up any money you make real quick. At the end of the day it may seem like easy money, but its a hard way to earn a living. Thankfully I am still covered through my mothers family insurance untill I'm 27. Which is interesting because we have two family bluecross plans, one through my fathers employer(NASA) and the other through my mothers(Aerospace corporation). The plans are almost identical, expect the family plan through my mothers work lets me stay on longer. We actually sat down and looked at it, and it was cheaper to get a whole second family plan through my mothers work than it was for me to get it on my own. My parents had some medical insurance policy through an agency that only insures farmers and it would have allowed me to stay on their policy until I was 35 as long as I was "working" on the farm. I weighed the options of continuing to fix up cars and flip them, but like you mentioned, my pot of cash was drying up quickly and I wasn't turning the cars around quick enough. I wound up taking the interview for the job on a whim (they actually contacted ME one day at random) and have been with the company for almost 2 years. Even after 2 years, I still have not been able to adjust to the 9-5 schedule. There is just never enough time to work on my projects after I get home, wind down, and finish my errands. Oh, life...

That has got to be one of the crazier stories I've heard about obtaining a vehicle. Nice work! That thing must look pretty funny parked in your driveway/on the road. What the heck are you planning on doing with it?