1994 Jeep Wrangler S review from North America

The catalytic converter was bad when I bought it, in fact the entire exhaust system needed some help.

The manifold gasket was bad (but didn't really hurt anything, and gave it a tough throaty growl when you revved the engine)

I can't say it was a bad vehicle, because overall it was really good. The exhaust problems were annoying, but relatively cheap to fix. The manifold gasket was the worst at just under $300 (the part was only $19). When I first got it a tank of gas would take me around 350-370 miles; as of the last month it's now only doing 220-250. Obviously, I need to schedule another tune-up!

At around 90,000 miles I had mechanic go over it to make sure it was road worthy (we were going to drive it on vacation... approx. 2500 miles total...); he said that would be the best thing for it after being in storage all winter. So we set off.

About an hour into the trip I pulled over to check on the cargo (some plastic was flapping) and realized my left turn signal was suddenly not working. We continued on and it started working again, but it would at random just not work.

Then a few more hours into the trip, I noticed that it was extremely difficult to keep it straight when passing trucks. I struggled with that for the rest of the trip and finally realized that the outer shell of the muffler had come loose and I was essentially driving with a big air scoop underneath (a gas mileage killer). But that was an easy fix; I asked around to find a good local mechanic that could take a look at and scheduled an appointment.

Two days into our "vacation" my check engine light came on. So I called the mechanic and told him to check that out too when I bring it in. He cut the outer shell off the muffler and said it wasn't leaking so it would be fine. Then he got really puzzled when he hooked it up to the computer to see what was up the check engine light... it said something about the A/C not connecting, which was odd because I didn't have air conditioning. So he told me to ignore it and sent me on my way.

About 8 hours from home I go to start it and it won't start. I'm turning the key, and get nothing. We know it's not the battery because the radio works fine and it's a standard, I could pop start it if needed. So I finally get a tow truck and find a Jeep dealer that will fix it for me right away (11 am on Saturday). The tow truck guy is all confused and he checks my fuel lines and all sorts of stuff. Then by dumb luck he cranks the steering wheel and turns the key... it starts. He tells me it's something in the ignition switch and not to shut it off until I get home. So, I get home, I take it to my mechanic, they replace the ignition switch, but now it won't start at all and they can't figure out why! After 2 days they finally realize the problem is the computer, I need a new one. Of course, they realize this AFTER we replaced the alternator, battery and ignition switch. But new computer (just shy of $1000) and all is well with the Jeep... for awhile.

All the hoses were replaced at about 98,000 - after my second radiator went out we noticed some cracking and figured now would be a good time.

I replaced the water pump at 101,000 miles, had them check the timing chain too... just to be on safe side.

We thought the starter was going to need to be replaced at 2 weeks after the water pump went out, but my dad messed with it and found it was just a bad connection. One great thing about the Wrangler... it's easy to fix a lot of stuff yourself.

So, now it's all set and hopefully will keep running good for another 4 or 5 years!