1997 Jeep TJ Sport review from North America

Manifold warped and snapped a bolt off just after warranty.

Brakes at 50K

New Shocks at 50k

Control arm Bushings around 60k.

New radiator at about 70k

New Water Pump around 80k.

New Exhaust and Cat at 95K

Windshield wiper mortar at 100k

New Plenum Box at around 110k. A plastic arm broke off clean that the vacuum operated push rod hooks to. The heat would not come out of the dash which is important in a soft top Jeep in Vermont.

While looking at the long list above I realize I have put some repair money into this thing. It has had mostly highway miles and rarely has gone over 60 miles at a time in the last 2 years. It has been paid off for 3 years and most of the repairs have happened after I paid it off. My Jeep still looks great. Very little rust which is good for Vermont. Every other year or so I buy 2 cans of rubberized undercoating and touch up the frame. Taken out of context these repairs look excessive. The plenum should have been a life timer I concede. But every thing else is a ware item meant to be replaced. Molly, my Jeep, is still a pretty strong runner and hasn't been to the doctor in about 7 months. Today she is getting a tune up and new tie rod ends and her third set of shocks. I paid 17k for it in '97 and can still get probably 6k for it today. I figure I have about 3k in repairs through the years. That puts me at about $2500/year over all cost with out oil and gas. $208.00 / month. NOT BAD AT ALL.