Hi. Newbie here. I just got rid of my old Toyota and will be venturing into the Jeep world. My brother in law suggested I check out this site. I'm currently looking for a Jeep. I've been looking at a 1988 with the 4.2 V6...Does anyone have any comments or recommendations regarding this engine compared to the 4.0. Any recommendations on "good" years to look at. Thanks.

bad years are 87-89. Look for a 4.0L (91 and up if you can afford it). Best years are 94-95 for YJ's


but if the plan is to do a full build and the 88 is cheap enough (i.e. $2K) it is not a bad deal.

the bad on (87-89, and some 90's): weak tranny, crappy carb that will let you down.

good: can find them cheap in decent shape, ready to build.

Thanks for the info. It really helps.

Me again. What year did they stop making the narrow track. My brother-in-law has a '78 and he is having problems with going higher.

V6?

92+ for the years... I like my 4 popper, but many will tell you to get the 6.

The 4.2 is an inline 6.
World of difference between it and the 4.0. The 4.0 is fuel injected with a shorter stroke and higher RPM range. The 4.2 , with its longer stroke, puts out good lowend torque, but the crappy Carter BBD leaves a lot to be desired.

The early Wrangler was the bastardchild of the jeep world. The Peugot 5spd they used was garbage and expensive to fix, the onset of the D35c rearing it's ugly head, and they hadnt fixed the carburetion problems the later CJ's endured.
The upside is the body used a better metal alloy decreasing the rust potential.

Your Bro-in-law has a narrowtrack.

The narrow track stopped in 81 I think. 82 was the 1st year with wides, again I think. don't quote me but Im pretty sure


micky