Diffrances between a CJ-7 and a yj

S

sleepyjeep

New member
hi i am new here and looking at two diffrent jeeps and trying to decide what one would be best for me. I would want it to be street legal and a daily driver for my little bro. Also it would be a mild to moderate off roader for me on the weekends. IT would not be a rock crawler. nor a hard core muidder. just a nice trail jeep that will see the ocational mud pit or sand pit. I made up a few requirements for it and have been looking on and off for about 4 months. It must be a manual trans. It must be a six cylander. It must have 4x4. IT has to be a cj yj or tj. My budget is limited and i know that that is not always good when looking at jeeps. So far i have passes on one cj and a few yj's. Also it must have no frame rot!!!! or if it does it has to have been fixed right. Here are a list of options i would like but am not pickey about. Fuel injection(i have never owned anything newer then 1985 so i have limitaed experance with it besides working on my dads 2000 chevy tahoe. A lift would be nice. Bigger tires would be nice no bigger then 33's. A hard top would be nice.
so that is the list and i found two jeeps that fit that pretty well.

one is a 1986 cj 7 with a hard top 4 speed hard doors decent body clean interor high miles. it has a new carb new windsheild frame but no wipers or wiper motor. Also has some primer spots that worry me. and it is idleing high and no front bumper.

the second is a 1989 yj
it has a soft top that needs to be replaced but has no holes. has half doors with glass sliders. has nice body and frame with a pin hole in the floor. also needs the motor rebuilt or replaced. new transmission and t case. But the transmission is a ba 10/5 the t case is the solid NP231. has new rear axle but it is a dana 35c. This jeep also has new carpet a new weber carb kit not installed, set off 33 alterans a tuff country 3.5 lift with t case drop kit and 1 inch shackle kit. also it does have the unfortunate vacume front disconect axle. needs the motor done needs tilt on colum fixed, needs front drive shaft installed.

What do yall think/?
i will add pics of each
also both have emissions in my stupid state
thanks
 

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Wow your gonna get some response from this one. I'll give you my $.02 worth. CJ as far as I'm concerned its a great ride and the nicest looking jeep out there. That said, they are also old and rot like crazy so either your paying big money for one done over or fiberglassed or you have a bondo box. CJ's also have shorter springs and untill about 84 narrow axles.I passed on the CJ and went with a YJ and a 91 at that my reasons were I wanted Fuel injection and the 91 was the first year for it carbs jeeps are nothing but trouble thats why many get converted with the motorcraft or webbers. I also wanted the AX15 trans mission as the BA was junk. Most YJs are reasonable priced between $2000 and $6000 or $7000 depebding on mods. I have a 3' lift with 32 and love it. There are never enough mods on a jeep so thats for you to decide. Lastly you said you wanted 4x4 I don;'t think they even special ordered jeeps in 2 wheel drive so no problem there TJ coil springs and round eyes is all I can say
 
thanks for the reply well i know that the mj came in a 2wd..... Anyways yeah the ba is junk but this one is new. Also i too love the look of the cj front end and would even consider the round headlight swap if i got a yj. The carbs are not a problem for me i get carbs and simle stuff and hate the complexity of computers but i can function with eather. And FI is nice to have off road. by the way the yj has a good running carter on it. we test drove it and it was idleing great. but it deos come with the weber carb kit too.
keep them coming !!!
 
I am not the most experienced jeeper, only had mine 3 months. Got it for 89sahara, hardtop, 6cyl, 5spd(ba/10 out of an 87) 3g's needed a new vent window, turn signal switch and leaks a little oil. Mine also has the weber conversion carb, 31" bfgs and best of all no rust! Carb can be a pain to tune and doesn't pass jersey emissions. But I think it needs to be cleaned and rebuilt. Yj's seem good on the road and good in the trails, ran mine this weekend with a bunch of tjs with no problems.
 
i like the yj over the cj & tj. ive had mine sence june and have no regrets. mine was bone stock when i got it and had to change that right away. went with 2.5" tuff country springs 31-10.5-15 wild cat ext & 15x8 black ar-767s and 1" transmission drop. tuff country springs have a hard ride so i just ordered up a set 3.5" fabtech springs came in today!!!!! wait on bushings (sold seperatly) but they dont tell you that. got the springs for $41.95 each bushing kit $47.95. what a deal. cant wait to get it installed.
 

i have had the pleasure of owning an 89 yj sahara. i have had a few lifts in it. first was a rough contry. stay away from them. if you want to know why do a search for my posts. i put in a 3 inch body lift. on it. loved the body lift i can now wash the top of the transmission and do work in it too. i have the 4.2 with a carb. i have done the motorcraft swap and think its great. and cheap. the yj has a stronger fram and better corrosion and rust resistance do to chrysler's way of makeing the metal. the yj is like the forgotten child of jeep's cj's got the hype for the longest time and keep a hardcore following and tj's have the newer design working for them ... yj's never got the hype either of the aforementioned jeeps. the aftermarket has plenty to offer the yj and they are cheaper. and plentiful. stock replacement parts are cheap if you know how to shop around . my opinon yj's are a great deal
 
They both look like they need a good bit of work. I guess the YJ might be a better choice because of what looks to be extensive and shotty bodywork on the CJ. If the rust issues that warranted that bodywork were not dealt with properly then it'll be back. I'd look the Cj's frame out really well before buying it - especially near the rear shackle hangers ;)

Oh, and the YJ has the superior headlights too !
 
I am fairly new to Jeeps, but I bought a new (mostly stock) 94 YJ with the 2.5L 4 banger, and I am happy with it. I have had to do some minor repairs and have put some minor mods on it, but it is running fine. This YJ was in actually very good condition to start with, although it had 110K miles on it. Just in case, though, I did a COMPLETE maintenance to the car, to avoid any future problems that could have been avoided. The only thing that has really come out is the problem where the engine stutters on hot days after driving for some time, and the fact that the fuel system was dirty as heck! But I do think the problem is the fuel pump, and I will replace that soon...

When I bouth it, the YJ had 31 Duelers (HT) on American Racing outlaw II wheels (offset, so the Jeep has that "wide stance"). There was no lift, so the wheels are running a bit close to the frame for my taste. It's fine for the road, but not for offroading IMHO... But it does look nice, especially with the square lights up front (which only the YJ has and I like better, although some will say it makes it less of a Jeep because of it; I guess to each his/her own!).

Since, I have put a Gibson Cat-Back, the dealer I bouth it from also replaced the cat (for a crappy one, I should mention, but still, a free new crappy cat is not unwelcomed in my book!), removed the 2 air restrictors from the intake box, dropped ina K&N filter, installed KC Daylighters on the windshield bracket, put a console in the center, installed sound system (I do work for Sony, so I could not pass on that! I have a pair of 4 1/4 speakers in mop-pods beneath the doors, 6X9 speakers on sound wedges between the roll cage and the rear wheelwells, and a 12" subwoofer on the back; it sounds SWEEEEET!), and this weekend I plan on installing the hardtop (got a new Pavement Ends one on clearance from eBay to replace my Best Top Soft top during the winter), change the Oxygen Sensor (just received the new Bosch one; let's see how that goes!), and install the Throttle Body Spacer.

Eventually, I do plan to do a 4.0L Throttle Body Swap, to increase HP a bit... After that, I intend to do a Spring Over Axle conversion (with all the implied changes), and go for 33" tires, but I have to wait until I save some more money for that one. This SOA conversion is one of the main reasons I preffer YJs over TJs, as the end result (although A LOT more work) is great! They also tend to be a bit cheaper, as they are older.

I WILL have to get all the paint off this car and repaint it at sme point, as it does have some chips on the paint and you can see the rist starting to form (plus the windshield has a big rust spot that has already made a small hole on the outter frame, so the frame will be changed), but again, that will have to wait until the bank account grows a bit!

After that, I was thinking about a winch, another pair of daylighters, new (wider) fender flares, a new alternator, a new water pump, new bumpers, snorkel, on-board air system, electric fan (was thinking about the Ford Taurus one to keep costs down), changing all the radiator hoses for better ones, rocker guards... Now thinking about it, it seems that for every item I buy and take off the list I end up putting 2 new items!!! The eternal money pit, if I have ever seen one! Looks like this Jeep will end up costing me about 4 to 5 times what I paid for it in the first place!

By the way, at the time of the picture, I had only done the maintenance, and installed the console.

Felipe
 

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Very nice and thanks for all the points. from a style point i like the CJ etter. however i cam more conserned with function right now and i can always do a cj grill later. ( i know i know but ever vehical we own has sqaure headlights) Also the yj needs some mechanical work but the cj does not seem to need as big. The cj looks to need body work. THe yj needs a new motor due to high millage and loss of compression and oil leakage but does not seem to burn. I have found a ton of 4.2's locally for good money and even sonme for free!! Also 110k is not bad at all for a 92! our 2000 tahoe has 107k and my moms 99 volvo has 180k. It is really in how you up ceap them. MIles don't mean Shat unless they were beat on and or not maintaced when needed. all milles indicate as worn in parts. take good care and it will last. My 1984 chevy only has 114k and my dads Miata has 13k on it and it s a 99. Any ways keep the Opinions comming and thanks for those who have posted!!
 
NO guys i am not going get into that one. Alll i ment by that was that i prefer the cj styling. However the square head lights are growing on me and if i get a sqaure on it is gonna stay that way. thanks for all the input and any pother helpful input would be great
 
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