Is a MJ reliable enough for a daily driver

[typicaljeepname]

Hi, this is a very general question, but I've done research on this topic but am having trouble finding something close to a definitive answer. I'm looking into doing a Comanche resto for a first vehicle, as i really like the vehicle, but the reliability due to it being over 30 years old is the main reason holding me back rn. Time commitment isn't a problem for me especially during the summer, and I have a budget of 13-15k. Is it realistic to get one in reliable working condition, a solid body, and interior and exterior within those parameters, and if i do all the work i can myself or with a family member's help? The main use for this would be a DD for at least around 6 years, and some light yard work/pulling a small trailer. I've read the 4.0L is the most reliable engine, and this question is also based on myself finding a Comanche with one and no frame rust within under half my budget.

 

thanks for any help in advance

[89 MJ]

It would be plenty reliable, in my opinion. Just make sure you go through Cruiser’s tips. My MJ was my first vehicle and when I’m home, it shares daily duties with my AMC Eagle. My truck was a complete restoration too.

 

You should be able to find a truck in your budget. If I were you, I’d try to buy the nicest truck you can afford. Instead of buying a $3,000 truck that needs rust repair and paint, you may want to consider buying an $8,000-$10,000 truck from down south or out west that needs less work. 
 

I also think that the 2.5L is just as good of an engine as the 4.0 and there’s no reason to steer clear of one of those. 
 

You may want to check this thread out:

 

[Salvagedcircuit]

For your application, I'd say it'll work a treat. The 4.0L and 2.5 are good engines, just avoid any Peugeot transmission.

If you live in a non-dense area, It will suit your needs well. If you live in los angeles or NYC and want to use it as a DD, you sir are truly nuts.

If I were to do it again, I'd find an '89+ 4x4 MJ from a southern state with low rust

I think 89 was the year they moved away from duct-tape electrical crimps when the electrical harness was redesigned but I have not confirmed this.

Keep in mind southern trucks may not have used glycol coolent, and used straight water instead. so your radiator will likely need replacement on a southern truck and the engine a good flush.

[89 MJ]

15 minutes ago, Salvagedcircuit said:

I think 89 was the year they moved away from duct-tape electrical crimps when the electrical harness was redesigned but I have not confirmed this.

 

My 89 was built in January of 89 and there is no duct tape on the wiring. 

[Spinnakerblue89]

I hope this doesn't come off the wrong way to some folks on here, but I take a nuanced approach to this question. I say the Comanche is a reliable vehicle for a daily driver because it certain was for it's time and can be still. But it's reliability will only falter if it's maintenance isn't kept up, and it helps to know how an older vehicle like this works, because applying what we know about new and modern vehicles may not be the correct thinking for these, i.e. electronically controlled mechanisms vs. vacuum... That sort of thing. 

[derf]

Any older vehicle, especially one that is ove 30 years old, can possibly be reliable as a daily driver.

 

The caveat is that a vehicle that old will require no small amount of maintenance.  If that maintenance has been done (either over the years or in one big restoration effort), especially dealing with any rust, there's no reason it can't be reliable.

 

If any of the serious maintenence hasn't been done, I would focus on doing that before trying to use it as a daily.

[watchamakalit]

My suggestion as a long time MJ daily driver is to become intimate with at least the diagnosis methods that surround the particular vehicle you choose. Be aware it is a 30yr old truck, things can and will go wrong\fail. How you are prepared to deal with them makes all the difference.

[White_Comanche]

If you can find a nice survivor truck in good mechanical condition... and appearance - then you'll likely be sitting pretty for a while.

 

As a success story, I purchased my MJ with about the same level experience of working on vehicles as a girl :)

 

As with many others on here, you may actually fall in L-o-v-e with your truck.

 

Doing projects on mine has been a real joy. The collective knowledge base on CC is in your favor.

[eaglescout526]

My two cents, don’t settle unless you are coming up empty on your search. Granted it does take time. I say this because 86 has the 2.8L which sucks but if you have time and money, you can search and swap to a 3.4L from a GM car and get better power and reliability

86 early 87 had a Renault 2.1L turbo diesel. If you’re new to Jeeps and this history, steer clear of this engine as you’ll have a hard time finding parts. If not, pick one of these up if you can find it. 
 

Renix is really easy to work it for 86-90. All you really need is electrical knowledge and a multimeter to diagnose damn near everything on these Jeeps. 
91-92 HO is a different animal. It’s Chryslers OBD1 and provides better diagnostics but from what I have heard, sensors are becoming hard to find like some of the Renix specific ones. 
 

All in all, a damn good daily driver, a unique one too. If taken care of, it will take care of you and provide a long life of worry free and comfort. Reliable is an understatement for the engines and trans options. 

If you’re not careful, you might find yourself with an XJ or an SJ haha.

[Salvagedcircuit]

1 hour ago, eaglescout526 said:

If you’re not careful, you might find yourself with an XJ or an SJ haha.

Or another MJ

[GonzoTheGreat]

With that time frame and budget it’s definitely doable, but just know that if you want the truck to be bullet-proof, you’re probably going to spend a significant amount of your budget on parts, infinite time working on it, and you won’t make your money back when you sell it.

 

I spent about 2 months of full time labor and at least $4k in parts to get my ‘89 to a “mostly done” condition and it took me on a 9,000 mile road trip with almost no issues. Again, “mostly done,” and “almost no issues.”

 

You’ll probably never stop tinkering with it, but if you’re ok with that lifestyle, it’s a great platform to work with. There’s plenty of support here, and it’s a fun vehicle to drive. You’ll never get gas again without hearing “you don’t see a lot of those anymore.”

 

But also, once you start, you may never stop, and when you accidentally own 2 or 3 or more Comanches, don’t say we didn’t warn you. 

[typicaljeepname]

thanks for all the input, I think I'll be on the lookout and when I find one I'll be back here 

[JZLAJeep]

10 hours ago, eaglescout526 said:

If you’re not careful, you might find yourself with an XJ or an SJ haha.

Making arrangements to get another XJ tomorrow...  I'm a sucker for 4.0 with AX-15 and this is at a price I can't pass up...

 

As for the topic of the thread, with what you have budgeted you can end up with a fine Comanche that will be a reliable daily driver. We've gotten by with a lot less. 

[jpnjake]

I’ve been daily driving my Comanche (89 4.0 AW4 2wd) for going on 4.5 years now, she was my first car in high school, and I’ve had nothing but great experiences with it. Knock on wood she’s never left me stranded, I recently took it on a road trip from NH to Virginia with no problem or stops other than for fuel.

Basically my best advice for daily driving and working a 35 year old truck is preventative maintenance. I started with a nice radiator, and new water pump, go through the front suspension and at least replace the dry rotted bushings to keep death wobble away. And I’d definitely do a fan clutch. Serpentine Belt, and an advanced CPS help lock in the reliability and fuel economy.

 

I tow with my Comanche regularly, haul in the bed, and every morning drive it to work. So far 4.5 years later, 3 snowy winters and 35k miles later and she still puts in the work everyday 

 

Out in Virginia^ 

 

[Airborne Janitor]

Personally I'm gonna say no. I love my XJs, MJs, and 4.0s, but these vehicles have been out of production for nearly 25 years now. I'm currently DDing between my MJ and XJ and I hate it, I feel like I'm playing russian roulette with them at this point with all the mods and over 200k on both. This year has been a giant money pit for both my 98 XJ and 89 MJ: both have had cylinder head rebuilds, fan clutch replacements, new radiators. For the amount I've put into both this year I could've probably put down a fat down payment on a brand new car. Not to mention the horrible gas mileage, I won't even tell you how much I spend in gas each month with my commute. I love my Jeeps and would never get rid of them, 8 years with the MJ, 23 with the XJ, but they're not great DDs. They're great project vehicles that are easy to work on and parts are generally cheap and fun to drive, but I wouldnt recommend one as a DD in 2024...

 

Currently waiting on a 2025 Toyota Camry AWD Hybrid being delivered in Nov. You can get a new 2025 Toyota Corolla Hybrid that gets 50MPG for 26k right now. Just saying...

[pizzaman09]

Is it an ok idea, yes, but I recommend keeping it stock.  I purchased a very nice (almost rust free and most importantly stock) Comanche with 250k miles on it.  It had had a fair bit of differed maintenance so required a few thousand in the following year to really put into tip top shape.  It's 100% been able to get me where I needed.  Though the dumb internal throw out bearing was a frustration that required me to bleed the clutch frequently until I laid out the money to buy the Novak external slave cylinder conversion setup.

 

A sorted Comanche is definitely able to be a reliable daily, but a quick read of this forum will show heartbreak too.  Many trucks with no start problems that eventually get sorted but not always in a few days.  If you can have access to backup transportation that is good.  I have been in the situation of owning 4 cars with the only one running being my 62 Austin Healey Sprite.  

 

If you are willing to put the preventative maintenance into the 30 year old vehicle, then yes, MJs can be great.  Good luck finding the right one!  Occasionally a forum member here is selling one so check that out.

[Pete M]

yes and no.  lots of variable here.  a mix of 40 year old parts plus previous owner "fixes" plus the cheap replacement parts that are available plus the new owners skill level for repairs plus the actual commute itself (big difference between "5 miles in to town" and 1.5 hours across Atlanta).  there's no reason why any vehicle cannot be 99%+ reliable if you're proactive with maintenance, but problems will always arise, no matter the age or brand. 

[MiNi Beast]

Depends on your mech skills and means to get parts when needed. I dd mine and have to fix it routinely. I however enjoy the rush of not knowing what may break next or what not. But once you are to the point of touching everything on your rig at least once. Then its all upkeep and how muxh energy you care to spend. Good luck as these are good trucks. 

[JZLAJeep]

32 minutes ago, MiNi Beast said:

I however enjoy the rush of not knowing what may break next or what not. 

  OK that's funny!

[gogmorgo]

No vehicle is 100% reliable. The only thing buying a new vehicle off the lot with a warranty gets you is someone else is responsible when it breaks down.

Any vehicle can be reliable enough as a daily driver. If you look after it, keep up on maintenance, even a Yugo will last you a long time.

The people buying Toyotas for reliability are also going back into the dealers for oil changes and having the whole thing looked over and signing blank checks to have every little problem addressed. If you don’t do that even they go to crap. But if you do keep up on maintenance, the little things will stay little and won’t turn into major problems. Very few things fail catastrophically with zero warning signs. And pretty well nothing on an MJ is too complicated for a home gamer.

When you first acquire it you should expect a pile of deferred maintenance from the previous owner. That doesn’t really mean much. Doesn’t really matter how much you spend on it either. The expensive shiney ones are often just a quick flip with questionable mods and budget repairs hiding under the shiney paint that you’ll need to redo soon. I’d rather have one that’s solid but still mostly original, regardless of mechanical condition. Fixing things is usually easier when someone else hasn’t halfassed a repair first. Undoing someone else’s jenky work is always frustrating to me.

I also wouldn’t worry about making it look nice until you know you can drive it safely. And then keep driving it. Faded paint and dents don’t stop you from driving, but brake failure does. Spending a whole pile of time, effort, and money making it look nice and having to tow it home every other time you go out is how projects get sold before they’re finished.
 

I daily my longbed, at 558,000km. It’s not anywhere close to mint and I definitely don’t baby it. It’s been to both Minneapolis and Vancouver, BC this summer. Keep on top of regular maintenance and you’ll be fine. I won’t say it’s been perfect, but anything I’ve had happen is pretty minor, a half-hour fix in the parts store parking lot.
 

Tools to fix whateverYou don’t need all the fancy tools the YouTube celebrities have. Impact wrenches are nice, but anything on an MJ can be repaired with wrenches, a good socket set, and a breaker bar. And don’t be afraid of failure. The only way you’ll learn to do things the right way is by doing them, and making mistakes is part of learning.

 
Life is too short to drive boring cars for the sake of imaginary reliability.

[pizzaman09]

3 hours ago, gogmorgo said:

Life is too short to drive boring cars for the sake of imaginary reliability.

I like this quote, and live by this mantra.

I've daily driven an Austin Healey Sprite.  All but one of my cars are eligible for antique plates.  The car that is newer, a 2009 Honda Civic Si, has all sorts of electrical gremlins that make me not particularly trust it far from home.

[M.T.Hands]

3 hours ago, gogmorgo said:

I daily my longbed, at 558,000km. It’s not anywhere close to mint and I definitely don’t baby it. It’s been to both Minneapolis and Vancouver, BC this summer. Keep on top of regular maintenance and you’ll be fine. I won’t say it’s been perfect, but anything I’ve had happen is pretty minor, a half-hour fix in the parts store parking lot.
 

Tools to fix whateverYou don’t need all the fancy tools the YouTube celebrities have. Impact wrenches are nice, but anything on an MJ can be repaired with wrenches, a good socket set, and a breaker bar. And don’t be afraid of failure. The only way you’ll learn to do things the right way is by doing them, and making mistakes is part of learning.

 
Life is too short to drive boring cars for the sake of imaginary reliability.

the biggest "favor" you can do for yourself is the familiarization you have with whatever your driving, the later model vehicles I own are not that much more reliable than anything else, and when they die (and they do) fixing them is considerably more challenging with 40 million sensors and hundreds of susceptible grounding points  the big advantage of some of the older stuff is you can work on it, my 16 truck is electrical nightmare 

[89 MJ]

1 hour ago, M.T.Hands said:

the biggest "favor" you can do for yourself is the familiarization you have with whatever your driving, the later model vehicles I own are not that much more reliable than anything else, and when they die (and they do) fixing them is considerably more challenging with 40 million sensors and hundreds of susceptible grounding points  the big advantage of some of the older stuff is you can work on it, my 16 truck is electrical nightmare 

^this. Becoming familiar with your vehicle will allow you to plan for common problems and help identify issues when they inevitably arise. I also agree that newer cars are not that much better than old stuff.