Spank
Well-Known Member
Yeah, the frame issue certainly didn't do the TJ any favors and I'll never understand why Jeep didn't add a few holes to the bottom from the factory. That would've easily solved the issue at virtually no additional production cost. Frame rust isn't quite as much of an issue in drier climates, but still a serious consideration if you took your TJ on trails, got mud and junk into the side holes (that were totally worthless), and left it there.I could see that argument, but struggle with the frame rust. The JK frames hold up MUCH better. My Yj frame also did better. (1993 model year. Some YJ years were terrible for this.) Maybe the later TJ years are better, but every used TJ I've seen either has the issue or the issue has been repaired. I did ask a big TJ fan and local Jeep mod shop owner who is a fellow member of a Jeep club which year to look for and he said they all have the issue. He makes more money fixing frames than he does on any mods. Maybe down in the sun belt they do better?
But the TJ is the father of the JK and JL and was a real ground breaker with its4 link coil spring suspension. It took Jeeps to a whole new level, for sure!
Regardless, I think a TJ well taken care of will outlast a JL, especially in the electronics department. We've both gotten lucky having extremely reliable early '18s that haven't succumbed to most, if not all, of the TSBs and recalls over the past few years. However, I'm starting to notice computer issues creeping up. There have been a couple times my center gauge display has failed to wake up when I've climbed into my Jeep and I'm on my second UConnect radio and it has already had a screen replaced.
The radio eating shit doesn't surprise me at all, but the center screen bothers me. Nonetheless, these are things that should be happen years down the road. And as much as I love the design and aesthetics of the JL dash, I'd prefer the instrument cluster to be totally analog. I have no expectations of either display lasting another couple years without repair or replacement.
Mechanical parts that are used regularly, take beatings, and are tested to their limits are one thing. Firing up my Jeep and not being able to see how much fuel I have because my center screen fell into a coma is another.
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