Automatic or 5 speed?

[XJfer4]

I am in the market for an XJ. I want something that can take my family anywhere I would want to go with two young kids. I have no desire to do the Ershim trail at this time. ( I do that on my motorcycle) I plan on a 5 1/2 long arm kit with 33's and will do lockers and a winch. And of course car seats. I am looking for input as to reliability of both the automatic and a manual trans. Are any years better than others? This will not be a daily driver.

Thanks in advance!!

Mike

 

[ChuckD]

Too bad you don't want to do Ershim, with that lift. 33's and lockers you would find it pretty easy.

As far as Trannies, MT or AT's is more or less your preference. They both have positive and negatives. They are both reliable, as far as MT the latter the better. 96' and newer would be a good find, otherwise since it's just a trail rig, the cheaper the better.

The H.O. 4.0l 91 and latter have 23 spline input shaftsto the tcase, earlier XJ's have 21 spline.

Now for T-cases you have two choices, 231 partime Command Trac and 242 full-time Select Trac. If you want the one you can modify really easy then the 231. I you like the all-wheel drive option then the 242 .

Otherwise if you have more specific question about axles. There is a ton of info on the Mod and OEM Tech boards.

 

[XJfer4]

Thanks for the reply. We may do the Ershim trail at some point, it is just not my priority right now. My girls will only be 5 and 2 this summer. I love that trail and love watching a well tuned machine go up Thompson ridge.

I think I am leaning toward an automatic at this point. If anyone has a vehicle for sale let me know. I have cash. I would really like to find a stocker so I can do the mods myself since that is half the fun. Also, it has to be a four door.

Thanks again!

Mike

 

[ChuckD]

Thanks for the reply. We may do the Ershim trail at some point, it is just not my priority right now. My girls will only be 5 and 2 this summer. I love that trail and love watching a well tuned machine go up Thompson ridge.

I think I am leaning toward an automatic at this point. If anyone has a vehicle for sale let me know. I have cash. I would really like to find a stocker so I can do the mods myself since that is half the fun. Also, it has to be a four door.

Thanks again!

Mike

Well we'll have to get together. My daughter will be 6 in Feb and my son will be 3 in April.

Lots of guys like the AT, it does them very well on the trail.

 

[XJfer4]

Well, I think I found an XJ It is an 88 and has 144,000 on the odometer. Runs and drives great. I think it is a steal at the $1,000 the guy wants. The nice thing is that I will then have $4k left to throw into it right away. any suggestions on brands of lifts? what NOT to do? any help in appreciated! Anyone wants to call send me an email and I will email you my number.

Mike

 

[BrettM]

the manuals in the 87-89(?) is a Peugeot and generally considered to be a piece of crap, though mine never gave me any trouble. All XJs with the 4.0 and an auto all have the AW4 which is a great tranny. Auto trannies crawl better (considering like ratios) because of the torque convertor. I swapped an auto for that very reason. I would prefer a manual but to have good gearing with a manual means both gearing the diffs and adding a Klune, 4:1 t-case, or Atlas. in other words, for cheap crawlablility, auto is better.

 

[Big Red]

the manuals in the 87-89(?) is a Peugeot and generally considered to be a piece of crap, though mine never gave me any trouble. All XJs with the 4.0 and an auto all have the AW4 which is a great tranny. Auto trannies crawl better (considering like ratios) because of the torque convertor. I swapped an auto for that very reason. I would prefer a manual but to have good gearing with a manual means both gearing the diffs and adding a Klune, 4:1 t-case, or Atlas. in other words, for cheap crawlablility, auto is better.

Correct you are. The AW4 is a strong tranny with a good reliability record many times getting 250-300K miles before needing a rebuild. The tranny used in the Toyota Supra turbo cars have a built up AW4 or very closely related tranny. The auto tranny does crawl better and with some brake mods you can get nice an creepy crawly.