Eric and Elizabeth

Can go go wrong with the Unlimited

I own one and love it

"Greg" <gregNOSPAM@pretzlaff.com> wrote in message
news:41A60730.20801@pretzlaff.com...
>I don't know which is the best one, but I can tell you about my
> experiences trying to trail ready an '87 Grand Wagoneer.
> First of all, parts are tougher to find, but not impossible. If you
> check out the IFSJA site, there are some good tech articles and some old
> parts links.
>
> You best bet for parts is BJ's Offroad out of Gig Harbour, Washington or
> somewhere is Georgia. I have ordered a 6" lift kit as well as front an
> rear bumpers. They are probably the most help for these kinds of parts.
>
> Regarding the machines themselves, there are a few inherent problems
> that seem to crop up...
> 1. The 360 V8's are prone to vacuum lakes, rough idle and running rich
> and there seems to be various solutions. The vehicle that I purchased
> experienced much of this and I found that removing a lot of the
> emissions equipment solved a lot of that. If you are in an area that
> requires the original emissions equipment, you can still solve the
> problem, but it seems to be more expensive.
> 2. The air conditioning systems seem to always leak so you are looking
> at converting the system from R-12 to R-134A. While I haven't done this
> yet, I was quoted a cost of around $180.00 CAN to complete it here in
> Alberta.
> 3. There is a commonly accepted view that the average owner of a jeep
> can expect to replace every inch of the wiring over the ownership time
> of the vehicle. While I haven't experienced much of this yet, I have
> some minor door/interior light issues that need to be addressed. In that
> light, the electric door locks on the vehicle are at least $85.00/door
> USD for replacement actuators. The IFSJA site had an article on a cheap
> fix using current 2-wire actuators from local alarm installers. I
> checked it out here and found them for $20.00 CAN per door and I
> installed 4 in about 3 hours.
> 4. The power rear windows are always a problem however there are fixes
> listed, as well as replacement motors available.
> 5. There is a cheap upgrade to the Ford Electronic Ignition system which
> I have done and works well.
> 6. The engagement of the transfer case into 4Lo is different than most
> other Jeeps but I have had no problems with it.
>
> The good points about the Grand Wagoneers is that the 86's or 98's on
> had Dana 44's both front and rear. They use a 6 on 5.5 bolt pattern
> similar to that of the 3/4 ton Chevy's. There is room galore under the
> vehicle and more room inside than a non Full-size Jeep, however, they
> turn on a dime.
>
> While they are a great vehicle, if you find one that is in good shape,
> they tended to be a "soccer mom" vehicle near the end so you have the
> leather seats, the power windows, door locks and mirrors and the full
> time 4WD, much of which can and do need to be looked at throughout the
> life of the vehicle. I had an old time Jeeper sit in my Grand Wagoner
> the other day and he commented that it was too nice to take in the bush.
> I know that when I get the 6" lift kit, the front and back bumpers, the
> 12000 lb. Warn Winch and the 35" MTR's, oh yeah and a couple of lockers,
> I'll be wheeling with the best of them through most of the trails.
>
> Greg
> 1987 Grand Wagoner
>
>
>
> William Oliveri wrote:
>> I have a CJ7 and was wondering about the best year/model for full sized
or
>> full cabin jeeps such as wagoneer or cher-a-kee, etc. I don't know
much
>> about them. Looking for the same simplicity that a CJ7 has or close to
it.
>>
>>
>> thanks,
>>
>>

Eric and Elizabeth

Can go go wrong with the Unlimited

I own one and love it

"Greg" <gregNOSPAM@pretzlaff.com> wrote in message
news:41A60730.20801@pretzlaff.com...
>I don't know which is the best one, but I can tell you about my
> experiences trying to trail ready an '87 Grand Wagoneer.
> First of all, parts are tougher to find, but not impossible. If you
> check out the IFSJA site, there are some good tech articles and some old
> parts links.
>
> You best bet for parts is BJ's Offroad out of Gig Harbour, Washington or
> somewhere is Georgia. I have ordered a 6" lift kit as well as front an
> rear bumpers. They are probably the most help for these kinds of parts.
>
> Regarding the machines themselves, there are a few inherent problems
> that seem to crop up...
> 1. The 360 V8's are prone to vacuum lakes, rough idle and running rich
> and there seems to be various solutions. The vehicle that I purchased
> experienced much of this and I found that removing a lot of the
> emissions equipment solved a lot of that. If you are in an area that
> requires the original emissions equipment, you can still solve the
> problem, but it seems to be more expensive.
> 2. The air conditioning systems seem to always leak so you are looking
> at converting the system from R-12 to R-134A. While I haven't done this
> yet, I was quoted a cost of around $180.00 CAN to complete it here in
> Alberta.
> 3. There is a commonly accepted view that the average owner of a jeep
> can expect to replace every inch of the wiring over the ownership time
> of the vehicle. While I haven't experienced much of this yet, I have
> some minor door/interior light issues that need to be addressed. In that
> light, the electric door locks on the vehicle are at least $85.00/door
> USD for replacement actuators. The IFSJA site had an article on a cheap
> fix using current 2-wire actuators from local alarm installers. I
> checked it out here and found them for $20.00 CAN per door and I
> installed 4 in about 3 hours.
> 4. The power rear windows are always a problem however there are fixes
> listed, as well as replacement motors available.
> 5. There is a cheap upgrade to the Ford Electronic Ignition system which
> I have done and works well.
> 6. The engagement of the transfer case into 4Lo is different than most
> other Jeeps but I have had no problems with it.
>
> The good points about the Grand Wagoneers is that the 86's or 98's on
> had Dana 44's both front and rear. They use a 6 on 5.5 bolt pattern
> similar to that of the 3/4 ton Chevy's. There is room galore under the
> vehicle and more room inside than a non Full-size Jeep, however, they
> turn on a dime.
>
> While they are a great vehicle, if you find one that is in good shape,
> they tended to be a "soccer mom" vehicle near the end so you have the
> leather seats, the power windows, door locks and mirrors and the full
> time 4WD, much of which can and do need to be looked at throughout the
> life of the vehicle. I had an old time Jeeper sit in my Grand Wagoner
> the other day and he commented that it was too nice to take in the bush.
> I know that when I get the 6" lift kit, the front and back bumpers, the
> 12000 lb. Warn Winch and the 35" MTR's, oh yeah and a couple of lockers,
> I'll be wheeling with the best of them through most of the trails.
>
> Greg
> 1987 Grand Wagoner
>
>
>
> William Oliveri wrote:
>> I have a CJ7 and was wondering about the best year/model for full sized
or
>> full cabin jeeps such as wagoneer or cher-a-kee, etc. I don't know
much
>> about them. Looking for the same simplicity that a CJ7 has or close to
it.
>>
>>
>> thanks,
>>
>>

Eric and Elizabeth

Can go go wrong with the Unlimited

I own one and love it

"Greg" <gregNOSPAM@pretzlaff.com> wrote in message
news:41A60730.20801@pretzlaff.com...
>I don't know which is the best one, but I can tell you about my
> experiences trying to trail ready an '87 Grand Wagoneer.
> First of all, parts are tougher to find, but not impossible. If you
> check out the IFSJA site, there are some good tech articles and some old
> parts links.
>
> You best bet for parts is BJ's Offroad out of Gig Harbour, Washington or
> somewhere is Georgia. I have ordered a 6" lift kit as well as front an
> rear bumpers. They are probably the most help for these kinds of parts.
>
> Regarding the machines themselves, there are a few inherent problems
> that seem to crop up...
> 1. The 360 V8's are prone to vacuum lakes, rough idle and running rich
> and there seems to be various solutions. The vehicle that I purchased
> experienced much of this and I found that removing a lot of the
> emissions equipment solved a lot of that. If you are in an area that
> requires the original emissions equipment, you can still solve the
> problem, but it seems to be more expensive.
> 2. The air conditioning systems seem to always leak so you are looking
> at converting the system from R-12 to R-134A. While I haven't done this
> yet, I was quoted a cost of around $180.00 CAN to complete it here in
> Alberta.
> 3. There is a commonly accepted view that the average owner of a jeep
> can expect to replace every inch of the wiring over the ownership time
> of the vehicle. While I haven't experienced much of this yet, I have
> some minor door/interior light issues that need to be addressed. In that
> light, the electric door locks on the vehicle are at least $85.00/door
> USD for replacement actuators. The IFSJA site had an article on a cheap
> fix using current 2-wire actuators from local alarm installers. I
> checked it out here and found them for $20.00 CAN per door and I
> installed 4 in about 3 hours.
> 4. The power rear windows are always a problem however there are fixes
> listed, as well as replacement motors available.
> 5. There is a cheap upgrade to the Ford Electronic Ignition system which
> I have done and works well.
> 6. The engagement of the transfer case into 4Lo is different than most
> other Jeeps but I have had no problems with it.
>
> The good points about the Grand Wagoneers is that the 86's or 98's on
> had Dana 44's both front and rear. They use a 6 on 5.5 bolt pattern
> similar to that of the 3/4 ton Chevy's. There is room galore under the
> vehicle and more room inside than a non Full-size Jeep, however, they
> turn on a dime.
>
> While they are a great vehicle, if you find one that is in good shape,
> they tended to be a "soccer mom" vehicle near the end so you have the
> leather seats, the power windows, door locks and mirrors and the full
> time 4WD, much of which can and do need to be looked at throughout the
> life of the vehicle. I had an old time Jeeper sit in my Grand Wagoner
> the other day and he commented that it was too nice to take in the bush.
> I know that when I get the 6" lift kit, the front and back bumpers, the
> 12000 lb. Warn Winch and the 35" MTR's, oh yeah and a couple of lockers,
> I'll be wheeling with the best of them through most of the trails.
>
> Greg
> 1987 Grand Wagoner
>
>
>
> William Oliveri wrote:
>> I have a CJ7 and was wondering about the best year/model for full sized
or
>> full cabin jeeps such as wagoneer or cher-a-kee, etc. I don't know
much
>> about them. Looking for the same simplicity that a CJ7 has or close to
it.
>>
>>
>> thanks,
>>
>>

AUTOKAWKR

For performance and upgradeability the Cherokees are probably the best. They
are 2 doors, all had v8's and they are wide track. They did make a 4 door model
and a narrow track but not a lot of them. Just look for the bigger fender
flares and it'll be a wide track. Check out www.ifsja.org for more info than
you could possibly use.


Mr. Bill
at a 4 way stop.....the vehicle with the largest wheels has the right of way
My Jeep is not an SUV....your SUV is not a Jeep

AUTOKAWKR

For performance and upgradeability the Cherokees are probably the best. They
are 2 doors, all had v8's and they are wide track. They did make a 4 door model
and a narrow track but not a lot of them. Just look for the bigger fender
flares and it'll be a wide track. Check out www.ifsja.org for more info than
you could possibly use.


Mr. Bill
at a 4 way stop.....the vehicle with the largest wheels has the right of way
My Jeep is not an SUV....your SUV is not a Jeep

AUTOKAWKR

For performance and upgradeability the Cherokees are probably the best. They
are 2 doors, all had v8's and they are wide track. They did make a 4 door model
and a narrow track but not a lot of them. Just look for the bigger fender
flares and it'll be a wide track. Check out www.ifsja.org for more info than
you could possibly use.


Mr. Bill
at a 4 way stop.....the vehicle with the largest wheels has the right of way
My Jeep is not an SUV....your SUV is not a Jeep