1998 Jeep Wrangler Sahara from North America - Comments

Transmission problems.

Transfer case problems.

Electrical problems.

Rusting problems.

If you are thinking about buying a Jeep/Chrysler, you may want to read this:

My Story:

I bought a 1998 Jeep Wrangler Sahara in the spring of '98 (my dream vehicle). It worked great until the 36k mile/3yr. warranty ran out a few months ago in July of 2001. Since then, I've had transmission problems with the 4-wheel drive, electrical problems, and it's beginning to rust in a few areas. Keep in mind this vehicle has 40k miles on it, it's 3 years old, and it's been pampered like a baby.

What I've Done So Far:

I've contacted Chrysler several times, but they have been unresponsive. Last time I called, they said that "their computers were down and that they would call me back", but I never received a call. It's also hard to get a hold of them, because they keep bankers hours - 8am to 5pm.

The Payoff:

According to a mechanic I just spoke to, the transfer case (source of transmission/4-wheel drive problems) is going to cost around $2,000 to fix. I've used the 4-wheel drive from time to time during the winter. The Jeep has never been "off-road". I thought Jeeps were rugged, dependable, long-lasting vehicles, guess not.

Final Analysis:

I was a sucker for the marketing. My brother warned me about Chrysler, but I didn't listen. I still really like my Jeep, despite its drawbacks, but it is most likely to be the last Chrysler I will own. It's too bad too, I wanted to purchase a Grand Chief Cherokee for my wife, but we decided to go with an Audi S4 instead - which we love!

Just thought I would pass this info along, hope it is helpful.

-Mark Gardner

St. Paul, MN.

When I started reading your letter it is exactly my story. I also bought a jeep wrangler 4.0 in 98 and also it was my car of dreams. I just reached 42,000 miles and noticed the shifting from 2nd to 3rd in and automatic was having problems so I took it into jeep and the said the seals were worn out and needed to be replaced. I also have done everything in servicing at the time it was suspose to be serviced at the dealership. The one thing different is that at 30,000 miles I took it in for a tune up and major service and told them I was having problems back around 20-25,000 miles with the gears slipping and not shifting smoothly. They did after me keeping on them agree to pay for half the repair which cost 1600.00. I also have small areas that are rusting and those are the next thing I am going to confront them on. I think that is covered to 7rs. Hope your jeep doesn't have any more major problems. James.

I just read the two comments. I don't know what has happened with your two cases, but I also have a 1998 Jeep Wrangler Sahara. I have not experienced any of the problems you have. It has the automatic and is working fine. My car belonged to my step-mom, and now me. It has crossed the country from Arkansas to California, been through Colorado winters, and now Arizona summers. It has almost 93,000 miles on it and no major problems yet. It has had regular servicing, and yes, there have been some minor things. I have noticed no rust anywhere, and it has been coated with ice slicer through winter in CO. I don't know, maybe I just got lucky with mine, but I have experienced nothing major like listed in the other comments.

I have owned my 1998 Wrangler since October of 1998. Purchased from Earnharts Dodge in Tempe Arizona, it currently has 65,000 on it and I have experienced no issues. My particular model is a Sport with the I-6 4.0L and manual transmission. I have had it offroad on many occasion and made full use of the skid plates (especially the fuel tank plate, thank goodness the actual tank is plastic!! I wouldn't know how to bend it back otherwise) The only issues I have experianced are the same for all Jeep owners 1997-2003, which is that the A/C evaporator leaks water in the passenger side when it is extremely humid out (and has been working for awhile) and the defroster will also drain water into the passenger side when there has been a heavy rain. The other common issue is a short in the dash that causes all the gauges to shut off, I do believe this problem has been fixed in later models, but I have that issue as well. Otherwise, this has been a very solid (mechanical) and reliable vehicle with no other complaints.

Hi folks. I have a 98 Wrangler Sahara. Currently 69K. 500 miles before extended warranty runs out. I experienced no problems until my return trip. (800 mile round trip) Schedules maintenance were performed prior to the trip. 60 miles into the trip home, I lost 5th gear which caused the vehicle to not shift into any gear. (manual transmission) From there, it goes down hill. The 5th gear was physically busted. (hair line crack) and the Cat converter was defective. All replaced under warranty, but would have costs roughly 3K. After getting partially home after repairs, I noticed a rattling. Brought to my dealer near my home. They told me a linkage problem existed and it was not covered under warranty, but, there was a technical service bulletin on it. I didn't hear this problem prior to the first service or prior to going to LA. I got the car back drove it for 3 to 4 months. Now, I took it in for another regular service and they stated the radiator leaks, the water pump is leaking, the rear end has water in it and it and the bearings are shot. News to me considering I have no fluid spots in front of my home. The rear end might not be covered under the wareanty because of water damage which I have no idea how it could have gotten there. The technician tells me the vehicle would have had to of been submerged in order for this to happen which it was not. The cost is possible 2.5K to fix. I also thought I would not have any problems with my jeep considering I always maintain proper air pressure, I haven't driven it offroad except for driving it in the snow 3 years ago for skiing and it has been serviced since. (I also thought this was a very durable vehicle) I don't live in a flood area and we haven't had any major rain in the S.F. Bay Area. I also love my jeep and I would consider purchasing another, but, I might consider purchasing a low end version and building a better unit from after market parts.

I to own a 98 Sahara, and its been great. It now has 98,050 and is still going strong. Other than replacing my rear axel which happened about two months ago, and my idler pulley. Also my gauges do cut on and off, but you just give them a good tap. Everything else is great. I've done some serious off-roading in it, but she still purrs. No rust yet, but as far as leaks go it's a jeep. Hell I cruise without top or carpets in the warm season rain or sun shine. She is truly a beast and I'm very satisfied with her.

There was another section where it said the gages goin off is a result to the connections behind them on the dash being loose. There person stated to remove the plastic underneath the dash, reach up there, and tighten them. That's it for all who wonder, seems like it's a common problem.

I just read over the previous comments and I would just like to add a few myself. I have worked for Chrysler since 1994 as a transmission tech. yes I have seen a lot of problems in the earlier years, however as of now I must say that I am standing here with no work to do. I currently work for a Dodge dealer where we see mini vans, cars and trucks. Yes I can agree that in the beginning (from 1989 to about 1996 or so) there were a lot of problems with the front wheel drive transmissions. So now I make about half the money I used to. I truly believe in Chryslers, Jeeps and Dodges.

My wife owns a 98 jeep wrangler Sahara edition with an automatic transmission. It has approximately 90K miles and has the same problem of slipping. While in 1st gear the tachometer will bounce to about 4K RPM and eventually get in gear and go. I will be working on it this weekend as it is an apparent hazard to our safety. While I don't make much money, I can't afford to take it to a dealer and give them my arm and leg. For this reason our technician friend probably isn't seeing much work. My brother also owned a dodge ram in which he had the transmission replaced after about 5 years of use. It would be nice to limit transmission problems to one company, but I have witnessed problems with other vehicles as well. We live in America, were quality and long-lasting products have taken a back seat to cheap and disposable products. If companies made a vehicle that lasted forever their would be no profit, our mechanic friends would go out of business, and we would still complain.

I own 2 Jeep Wranglers. Both built in USA not Canada. Vehicle #1 herein called Black (B) and Vehicle #2 herein called Teal (T). (B) is an "S" type and (T) is a RIO GRANDE. Both purchased used. (B) purchased with 38,000 miles and (T) 36,000 miles (approx). (T) at time of purchase did not have a jack so I went to one of many dealers (In Scotsdale AZ (nice people) ). They looked up the part and said the 95 jack had an engineering spec reference to the 97 as being the same jack. I ordered the jack and 2 days later picked it up, mounted it in the cradle, and could not close the hood. Returned the jack w/o problem, they noted the inacurracy and said they would report it to... (again I applaude the dealer as extremely responsible). (T&B) both have after market lifts. (T) was done w/o replacing sway bar with longer sway bar. This causes the springs to slant to the driver side when one looks at it straight on. (T) now has 85,000 miles on it. At 78,000 miles I replaced the transfer case. At 82,000 miles I started to hear sonme clutch noise and realized I needed to do a clutch job. Fri last, I lost 5th gear. ie: fifth acts like neutral and just spins. I had my shop do the clutch (clutch was close, but still OK however had some heat stress). I am driving it as a 4 speed right now, will check trans fluid level (for myself (I'm quadnoid (ie paranoid times 2) ) as I like to know for myself). (T) has gone through 2 water pumps (note: metal threaded pipe what comes out of top of pump is a booger to remove, and dealer pipe will not fit new pump from dealer or popular after market part houses pumps! (very interresting as this is a possible engineering oversight (remember the jack?) (oversight is common to (B) as well as I have gone through 1 water pump with (B) ) ). (T) has a new radiator as well. (B) has 75,000 miles and I have only replaced the afformentioned water pump. (B) does have lifter clatter and I will probably get a chance to adjust this this summer. I am also replacing a motor mount on (T) this weekend (1 is shot the other looks great) SERIOUS NOTE HERE: I have had the rear shock brackets break on (T) The passenger rear has broken twice in the last 10,000 and 3,000 miles and the drivers rear just prior to the tranny failure! (possible connection?) no such problem with (B)! (B) I also advanced the timimg (great horse power boost) (wife mainly drives (T) and babies it). I really horse my (B) and am TOUGH on it. I will let you know what I find on the fluid levels in both trannies. Please note also this is AZ and the heat really SCORTCHES the heck out of these vehicles. Also, my (B) is loosing the paint on the hood and only the hood. (T) looks factory new (paint) (B) has lost windshield wipers 3 times (nylon clips just disappear (T) no problem (go figure) ). (T) has a problem with right rear tail running light (works doesn't work (can't find a short) ). Over all FUN FUN FUN - COOL COOL COOL - not expensive to maintain (B) - expensive to maintain (T) but I will probably buy a 3 year 75,000 mile guaranteed tranny I found on the web and then (T) will have new clutch, rebuilt tranny, and rebuilt transfer case. considering I paid $7,000 for it ($5,800 for (B) ) SO... $2,400 in repairs + $7,000 is $9,400 total for (T) almost double the cost of (B).

PLEASE NOTE: I change my own brakes. On the knuckle, the pads slide closer to the disks (front) as they wear. Both jeeps display wear (notch) in the slide area, but only on the left front and inside pads (T) is almost all the way through (B) has slight to minor wear. Very interresting eigh?

With what I know, I would shy away from any Jeep displaying cracks, or welds to the rear axle or shocks etc. I do not know why, but I believe there is a problem here and the stress is being applied to the drive train. I am also re-fitting (T) with an enlongated sway bar (stabilizer) to take the slant mentioned earlier away from the (T) Jeep.

Any other thoughts? Hope this helps.

Wranglers are built in Toledo, Ohio.

I bought a 2000 Wrangler Sahara. It has 22,000 miles. I drove it for 8 days and all of a sudden the check engine light came on and it either quits running or runs real rough after 5000 RPMs. It has been in the shop for 6 weeks and they cannot fix it. They have changed out all the sensors and the main computer 3 times. I am told it is electrical, but no one can find the problem. Any help would be appreciated.

UM yes, I have a 98 Sahara which I have owned from 2004. It has 118k miles and I have had NO problems.

If you say your jeep has been pampered, I'd hate to see what you call pampering.

I run 35" tires with a manual tranny with a 4" lift. It runs like a champ; I even race it and win.

Everything is stock except the wheels, tires and lift. The only thing I have done is put a battery on it cause my sound system ruined it.

Thanx smitty.

I own a 1998 Jeep Sahara and it now has 60K miles. It runs great and I have had no problems with it except for the A/C compressor. I replaced the cloth top this year and now have tinted plastic side windows. I own a few cars but I almost always ride with my Sahara. Easy to park, great visibility and it goes in mud, sand, snow anywhere.

I own a 98 Wrangler Sahara 6 cyl manual, and bought it about seven years ago with 75,000 miles on it. Despite the rear end going on me, fortunately under warranty, I have had no problems. This engine is awesome and would recommend it to anyone to buy a Jeep. For all you complainers, go buy a Cabrio or Sebring.

Christian

I own a 1995 Jeep Wrangler (YJ).

4.0 liter in-line six. 5 speed transmission.

140,000 miles - still running like new!