I'm looking to buy a '97 Wrangler, (mainly because it should be less expensive than a '98, '99 or 2000). I was wondering what anyone thought about them. Known problems? Whether the 6 cyl. is really that much better than the 4. Is the gas mileage much better with the 4? I've heard a few people with '95 wranglers claim that they get around 30MPG in their 4cyl's. For some reason everyone with the '97's and up only get around 15-17. I figured that was typical but wondered if there was a certain engine that gets better gas mileage, and/or a certain engine that lasted longer. By the way, i'm strictly talking about manual transmission. Any info would be appreciated.

 

I have a 97 wrangler, and the only thing that I don't like about them is the old style mirrors. They seem to always fall dowm, but that is easily repairable. I drove all four possible combinations of engines and trannies, and the only one I was buying was the 4.0L with the manual. I hated driving the four cylinder no matter where i was either on highway or city. I don't know about the four cylinders MPG, but I get about 16 in my 4.0. As for the life of the engines, again I don't know much about the four cylinder, but the six will last you at least 250,000 if you take care of it.

 

Thanks for the info Noelly. I've heard people say that the 4.0L had alot more power than the 2.5L. I get about the same gas mileage in my '96 Dakota. Not really a problem if it's not my daily driver. I've heard good things about the 6 running forever, as you said. I have a six in my dakota (3.9L), and I just hit 170,000 miles and still going strong. I switched to synthetic oil, just after buying it, (100,000 miles). Not sure if that has anything to do with it. What do you think about synthetic oils, such as Syntec?

Any other opinions on the 4cyl. vs. 6cyl. question would definately be appreciated. Also any opinions on the best year to buy. (97-99, on account of my price range)... or should I go older?

 

Never get the 4cyl. You will be shooting yourself in the foot. The straight six is the way to go and the mileage is about the same depending on how heavy your foot is. Whoever is saying 30 mpg with the 4cyl is a liar, plain and simple. IMO, Jeeps are the best thing going but they do have drawbacks and aerodynamics is one of them. It takes a lot of work to get one of these things pushing through the air and the more power you can get to do it, the better.
God forbid you ever want to go to bigger tires with a 4 cul. Then you will need to do a gear change just so you can get your acceleration back.

 

Since your are from PA I would recommend going a little further south to make your purchase. I searched for a Jeep for a couple months in the same climate as you. Most of them had major rust issues. Watch the floor pan! Especially where it meets the side of the Jeep. Also check the frame, winshield frame and hinges. Almost everyone I looked at in this year range had to much rust for the age of the vehicle!

 

I am from gettysburg, PA and I bought mine in October of last year. It's my third jeep, and I really didn't have any trouble finding a wrangler, although if you get into the jeep YJ's, basically anything before 97 then you are probably going to find some rust. If you just take the time to shop then you will be able to find one. I don't know where in PA you are from, but if you are close to Dover, PA you might want to check out Mount Zion Offroad, they gave me a pretty good deal for mine. And again I couldn't agree more about the 4cyl, I would never buy one. I also don't know anything about the synthetic oil, I've always run a non-synthetic, but I think that you'll be safe either way.

 

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/
http://www.amsoil.com/

Running synthetic should cut down on the internal frictions in the drivetrain, and give you a slight increase in fuel economy. If used in the engine it only "creates" oil leaks because it does a better job of cleaning things and gets into slightly tighter spaces better than dino oils.

It is still really a personal preference thing though.

As for the engine size, if you ever plan on towing things the bigger the engine the better. MSN auto has the MPG ratings of the 4.0 and 2.5 as almost identical for the wrangler.