To Those Of You Driving Newer Vehicles, How Do You Manage Driving An Mj?

[ComancheShaman]

Its a good quesstion. I've hard a hard time remembering at times that my Cobalt is not a column shift and also that every time I park the MJ to disengage the parking brake. So many times I've tried to put my Balt into gear with the washer stick on the column and thankfully only once or twice I've forgotten the parking on the MJ lol.

 

Like others that I'm kinda partial to the stripped down bits of it (Other than the dummy light dash though)

[RubberDuck]

the only other vehicles i've owned were a 89 cherokee that i did an engine and trans swap on, and a 97 ford contour. looking back, i wouldn't trade the mj for either of them, the cherokee had a rattle i could never quite pin down, and the ford.. was a ford.

[wurst]

I got the same way with MKII VWs.  I couldn't take the constant maintenance and the ride beat the hell out of me.  I bought a brand new VW with electrics out the wazoo and half of them have failed in 7 years. 

 

When I drive a truck, I want to drive a truck.  I want to drive a truck with no shirt no shoes and a cowboy hat on.  I don't want to spend all my weekends hunting electrical gremlins when the weather's nice.  I want to throw beer cans in the bed when it's in the driveway.  I want to beat the daylights out of it without "1st scratch remorse."

 

Plus they look bitchin'. 

[54bobby]

now see, this is what i'm talking about. oh boy, i can remember back in the day when we used to drive around (and please, i know it's wrong but us old heads all did it) with a beer between our legs throwing the cans in the bed. why we even used to drop m80's out the window so they would go off next to our buddy's car who was chasing us down. times where different then. law enforcement would take your beer and your keys and return an hour later and give you your keys back, tell you to get the hell out of here and we would.

 

the good old days.

I got the same way with MKII VWs.  I couldn't take the constant maintenance and the ride beat the hell out of me.  I bought a brand new VW with electrics out the wazoo and half of them have failed in 7 years. 

 

When I drive a truck, I want to drive a truck.  I want to drive a truck with no shirt no shoes and a cowboy hat on.  I don't want to spend all my weekends hunting electrical gremlins when the weather's nice.  I want to throw beer cans in the bed when it's in the driveway.  I want to beat the daylights out of it without "1st scratch remorse."

 

Plus they look bitchin'. 

[SW86]

Well I've never really had to DD my MJ but I wouldnt mind it. The only thing I must have is a radio with an input for my ipod/iphone. Thats it. Which my MJ has an upgraded radio, so Id be happy. However, I'm not giving up my Z71 anytime soon :D

[Geonovast]

Well I've never really had to DD my MJ but I wouldnt mind it. The only thing I must have is a radio with an input for my ipod/iphone. Thats it. Which my MJ has an upgraded radio, so Id be happy. However, I'm not giving up my Z71 anytime soon :D

 

Quick way around them is a nifty little FM transmitter with a headphone jack.  Picked up mine for $15 and it works pretty well.

[dasbulliwagen]

I too am one of those who sees the oldness and quaintness of my MJ to be a releif when I drive it. Though I have added P/S, AC, P/W, P/L to it, I still see it as an old slow truck (2.5) that very few people anymore would know how to drive... makes me feel special too having my arm stretched across the top of the bench seat. Its one of those special feeling you get, in the same vein as driving a convertable with the top down, or cruising on my motorcycle. In each case, I'm part of a small special group, and I like it like that. Though its also nice just to jump in and go in a newer car without having to think about anything, but that is not a special feeling, to me at least. It is nice though, as I grew up with nothing but junk having to worry every time I drove weather I was going to break down or not. The not thinking part is appreciated at times. Its just not special. 

[Dirteatr717]

My windows rattle, my seats are uneven, my driver side window goes down about 85% of the way before it falls into the door, my driver door sometimes doesn't open from the outside but I'd rather jump up into it any day then press a keyless entry button and have all the bells and whistles. Yes I added a couple things to the interior to make it how I want it but all that crap I mentioned above is what makes driving my truck every day, everywhere and using it for everything possible is worth doing because I love it. Plenty of my friends/ family have newer cars with fancy buttons and live plain lives, I can't even think of how boring that must be. Yeah it's probably easier sometimes but hey I like laughing at girls I take on dates trying to find the "window button" hahah

[SW86]

 

Well I've never really had to DD my MJ but I wouldnt mind it. The only thing I must have is a radio with an input for my ipod/iphone. Thats it. Which my MJ has an upgraded radio, so Id be happy. However, I'm not giving up my Z71 anytime soon :D

 

Quick way around them is a nifty little FM transmitter with a headphone jack.  Picked up mine for $15 and it works pretty well.

 

ive got an wireless itrip. id just rather plug a cable in then deal with that little box on my iphone. i always think I'm going to break it off or something.

[JFAComanche6]

I just bought an 97 Ford Explorer with power everything, cruise, and an auto tranny. It is nice, but my MJ has proven to be just a good truck to drive around, just not as smooth as the Explorer's 2wd suspension with with 60k less miles on it than the Comanche's.

[jimoshel]

My DD is my '87 MJ. 2.5, 4spd, 2WD, No AC, No power windows, Bench seat was swapped for a set of buckets. Idiot light cluster swapped for full gauges, OEM radio swapped for AM-FM CD. Does 75 on the highway, Get's 22mpg and I'm happy and satisfied with it. . :MJ 1: .

[glundblad]

My mj is not my primary transportation. Since I bought back my mj, my primary transportation has been a 2002 tahoe z71.  It was a tank.  Then I dumped it 1 1/2 years ago for a 2011 tahoe z71 pos.  It was a turd. I dumped it and bought a '13 ford raptor.  I love the raptor and I was shocked the first time I drove one.  It has exceeded my expectations in every way.

 

I don't drive the mj in the winter and since spring has arrived, I can drive it now.  But the bed is serving as a spot to store furniture for a remodel I am in the middle of. So it is parked in. It is killing me that I can't drive it now.  We love that old truck.  Every time we clime in, it is a priviledge. I love the look, I love the way it drives.  It is tough.  The engine runs like new.  Some think the dated look of the interior is bad.  I look at what people do to these poor trucks (hack the fenders, bob the bed, "modernize" the interior) with a certain amount of disgust.  don't get me wrong, to each his own.  But when you take something that is old and modernize it, you are making it something it's not. But soon they will all be "modernized". I will take the classic look any day. I know that if I sold my mj, it would get the same modernization treatment (ie molestation) by the next owner. 

 

It's a classic so you will need to use a key to unlock it. Suspensions have advanced alot since it was built but it will take anything you give it.  Most of all, it is a jeep.  The jeep brand is not what it was.  The comanche is what jeep was.  When the mj came out, it was a big deal.  When the 4.0 came out in '87, it was a bigger deal.

 

My mj lacks cruise, power locks, automatic and the ac needs replaced and it is not very fast.  I hit 60mph in my raptor going through a corn field.  I wouldnt dream of that in the MJ.  But I know could beat the tar out of it and it would care less. I bet it would rock crawl better than the raptor (or at least as good). I wouldnt sell my mj for $20k.

[64 Cheyenne]

GF, well ex GF has a G6, she thinks I envied her for that car. She thinks I liked to drive it and wanted to all the time.

I hated that car, only drove it when I had to, hated having to pull myself up by the door frame to get out of the damn thing.

Yeah its a nice car, got a bunch of stuff on it, if it was my car, it would only be driven to go to town which is 100+ miles.

The MJ is great, just gets poor gas mileage, but I love driving it. DD is a dropped S-10 because it looks cool, gets 20+ mpg

and I only paid a hundred bucks for it. on top of it all, its still easier gettin in and out of than that stupid G6 (chick car IMHO).

If it wasn't for the cost of fuel, I'd drive the MJ any day, every day.

[BIGHEEP]

For me having a family is the biggest factor in driving a newish vehicle. My DD is a 08 KK. Yes, it does have power everything, A/C, etc. More important to me are the things you don't think about until you need them like dual airbags, crumple zones, side curtain airbags, "Latch" for car seats and traction control. I have a wife and two small childeren as well. I like the piece of mind that the vehicle that carts my family around has some of the latest saftey technology riding around with it. It is reliable, safe, comfortable and gets decent MPGs. Yeah some people might call it not a real Jeep, IDGAF really. I have my MJ for dump runs and trips to Home Depot. I wheel my YJ and drive it to work on sunny days or trips to the ice cream stand but when that 16 yo blows a light while texting I would much rather have me and my family safe in our glorified minivan.

[JeepcoMJ]

I can understand that.

 

For me, there are two things that I do NOT want;

 

ABS

Traction control

 

 

I've owned one vehicle with ABS...a 92 ford crown vic. the ABS would NOT let me lock the wheels at under 2mph when I NEEDED them to. twice. on patchy snow/ice conditions, coming up on an intersection that I was very careful to slow down way more than a mile ahead of time. Those two incidents alone are what cost me the transmission. I slammed it into park to avoide sliding across a busy highway and getting tboned by a semi truck one time, and a dump truck the next.

 

My mom's 01 saturn LW200 has ABS. driving it from the house to the shop to put a new power steering pump in this past winter, the abs wouldn't let me slow down coming on the end of the driveway to turn into the shop.

 

You're *supposed* to be able to steer with ABS. that is a load of crap. I couldn't steer for crap either time.

 

Also drove a zj with abs, it sucked for stopping and had all new brakes etc. Drove an 07 chevy POS with it, didn't like it, and a few more vehicles. I know how to drive. I want to be able to lock the brakes and come to a dead stop. The only vehicle that i've ever had ABS in and liked it was a 93 bmw sedan that stopped great. Guess that's what you get with quality vehicles, though. I am sure that a dodge viper stops great.

 

Traction control, to me, is the same kind of deal. after driving many different vehicles in some very slippery conditions, I just don't drive with crap tires, and do drive with care. if you feel a spin starting, let up on the pedal a bit, you're fine.

[BIGHEEP]

I agree about the ABS, it sucks. I had a 1999 Eclipse GSX that did pretty good in the snow but when the fricken ABS kicked in you were just along for the ride. I have been winter driving for the last 20 years and when i start to slip I want to be in control. As for the traction control I use it as a warning system. The only time it kicks in when I am driving is when I acellerate from a stop and I don't realize how slick the roads are. For me it is more of a "Hey, Stupid the roads are slick!" warning system. The thing I dislike about it is I have to replace the rear pads every other year.

[92tanMJ]

I HATE ABS. I could not agree more with what you said BigHeep

[gogmorgo]

I'm a little mixed about the ABS thing. Growing up knowing about it, it's a whole different technique. I've never spent much time driving a vehicle with ABS (none of my parents' vehicles had it) but we had to learn to use it in driver's ed. It's very counter-intuitive, slamming the brakes full on to stop in low traction. Sometimes I wish my MJ had ABS, because the brakes really seem to enjoy locking up whenever there's a bit of ice on the road, much more so than anything else I've driven, despite the fact that they're not exactly all-stars on dry pavement...

[92tanMJ]

Sounds to me like you need to do a brake overhaul lol

[JFAComanche6]

I HATE ABS. I could not agree more with what you said BigHeep

:agree:

[gogmorgo]

Sounds to me like you need to do a brake overhaul lol

Yeah, probably. It got new pads and rotors last month, which was a huge improvement in dry pavement braking, but made the locking up worse. The rear shoes were replaced so it could pass a safety 7500 miles and a year and a half ago (at least according to the inspection doc I got from the PO), and the pedal's solid enough I don't think they need bled.

Probably not having the load-sensing valve connected to the axle but still in the system, with the bar just dangling isn't helping anything. I've been meaning to wire it up to see if it makes a difference but haven't got around to it yet. I may simply have no rear brakes because of that, and it always has kinda felt that way... Reason I haven't done it yet is because I don't have anywhere warm and more importantly dry to crawl under it.

[terrawombat]

The outdated MJ interior is what made me stop driving my MJ.  It's not even outdated in a cool way like a lot of older 60's muscle cars - the kind of outdated where you say, "this is a cool, vintage look."  The MJ interior makes me laugh every time I get in.  The heater/AC controls are one of the most idiotic designs I have ever seen.  The glovebox is a joke and the fact that only a handful of MJs came with factory door locks and windows is annoying.  I have been driving my '04 Dodge Ram diesel for the past couple of months and it's going to be very hard to get me back in the MJ after driving that fully optioned beast around.  I simply NEED power windows with my dogs...and a rear seat helps out with that, too.

 

However, with all that said, I still can't bring myself to get rid of my Comanche's.  I think it's partly due to the fact that it's getting really difficult to find one in good, rust-free shape.  I know if I get rid of the ones I have, I'll never be able to replace them with ones that are half as good.

[92tanMJ]

Save up some money and do a 98+ swap?

[glundblad]

The outdated MJ interior is what made me stop driving my MJ.  It's not even outdated in a cool way like a lot of older 60's muscle cars - the kind of outdated where you say, "this is a cool, vintage look."  The MJ interior makes me laugh every time I get in.  The heater/AC controls are one of the most idiotic designs I have ever seen.  The glovebox is a joke and the fact that only a handful of MJs came with factory door locks and windows is annoying.  I have been driving my '04 Dodge Ram diesel for the past couple of months and it's going to be very hard to get me back in the MJ after driving that fully optioned beast around.  I simply NEED power windows with my dogs...and a rear seat helps out with that, too.

 

However, with all that said, I still can't bring myself to get rid of my Comanche's.  I think it's partly due to the fact that it's getting really difficult to find one in good, rust-free shape.  I know if I get rid of the ones I have, I'll never be able to replace them with ones that are half as good.

No offense but I don't get any of these comments.  I think the interior looks great and they do look vintage. The worst thing you could do is rip it out and try to modernize it by installing a late model xj interior.  I replaced my bench with buckets but only because I was afraid I would get rear ended and my head would go through the back window.  These arent new 2013 trucks.

[HOrnbrod]

:agree:   If that's all you can find wrong with an MJ it's pretty lame. I like the MJ interior better than I do my 2012 JK, and it has everything, most of which I don't need. If you can't stand being w/o power windows/locks/mirrors/seats/antenna or cruise or whatever, simply install them yourself. It's an easy vehicle to work on and accessories like these are pretty simple to wire in. And I are not even an engineer.  :yes: