What older Jeep Wranglers to avoid

rk911 wrote:

trnfla wrote:
Hi, I am looking to pick up an older jeep wrangler to use as my toad. I understand as long as it is 4wd it can be towed 4 down both auto and manual.

Looking between late 80's to 2000 due to not wanting to spend more than $8K.

Should I only be looking at 6 cyl or are 4 cyl ok even with 150K miles?

What years should I avoid and what are common problems to look for.

Do I need to purchase a special tow bar or will a old fashion bar work?

correction...as long as the transfer case has a manually selectable neutral position it can be towed 4 down both auto and manual.

i'd be looking at a 6. my opinion is the 4's are vastly underpowered.

not sure what you mean by an "old fashioned" towbar. if by "old fashopned you mean an A-Frame towbar then yes, avoid those. they're very heavy. i'd be looking at a Blue Ox aluminum towbar.

I once had a 1979 Jeep CJ7 that I found to be NOT towable (I even checked a Jeep forum to be sure: NOT towable!) The transfer case would not lube properly when being towed. However, there WAS a description in the Jeep forum about how to modify the transfer case by welding "fins" on a slider in the case, that would splash the lube around and make it towable. So, yes, it IS true that SOME models of Jeeps are not towable, due to the transfer case configuration.
An A-frame towbar is "very heavy"?? If this 71+ year old out of shape pot bellied old man can put one on a lifted Jeep and remove it as needed, it can't be all THAT heavy! I even hook it to the motorhome by myself quite frequently! ("they" also say that is very difficult to do)