'97 Wrangler Sahara - Pros/Cons?

There is a 1997 Wrangler Sahara for sale near me. It appears to be in
very good shape. Looks like it has been towed behind an RV. I'm not
familiar with the various changes and years of the Wrangler. I know
this year went to all coil springs. Any comments good or bad about
this particular year and model?

Hey Dick...The '97 and up are awesome rigs especially once you disconnect
the sway bars...I have an '03 and I run a local trail here which has some
pretty crazy off camber sections...the first time I ran it, it's was a
constant OMG OMG OMG...but after getting to know the capabilities of my TJ
that trail has become a walk in the park...until one day our Jeep club
decided to hold our annual Fall Crawl on this trail...we had a new girl to
the club and she had a '94 YJ w/ a 4" Trail Master lift and 33" BFG all
terrains, anyway, she got to the first steep hill with a slight off camber
and didn't feel comfortable to drive her Jeep down and asked if I would
please take it down for her...I really didn't want to but the poor girl just
couldn't move... I soon found out why, the trail that I walk through with my
TJ like a stroll through the park just became the scariest ride of my life,
as where my Jeep would just flex out and keep all four wheels on the ground
her YJ I had the rear wheel four feet off the ground due to stiff leaf
springs and it scared the b-jesus outta me...hence why I feel the coil
sprung TJ's rock and if it's only for the street...it's the nicest riding
Wrangler...but please love thy Jeep and spend time with her on the trail
It's a Jeep Thing!

Jeff
"Dick" > wrote in message
...
> There is a 1997 Wrangler Sahara for sale near me. It appears to be in
> very good shape. Looks like it has been towed behind an RV. I'm not
> familiar with the various changes and years of the Wrangler. I know
> this year went to all coil springs. Any comments good or bad about
> this particular year and model?

Sahara is mostly a trim package. The coil springs are wonderful. I had a 95
Wrangler (YJ) and then went to a 98 TJ. It was pretty amazing. I would check the
rig over well, especially underneath for signs of off road use, abuse, and such.
Remembing that too clean underneath or in the engine compartent is often a sign of
something being up. If you are going to off road the TJ is one of the best "out of
the box" models in my opinion. You can do nothing too it other than airing down and
disconnecting the sway bar and still have a very reasonable rig for light - med. four
wheeling.
-jenn


On Mon, 08 May 2006 17:55:20 -0700, Dick > wrote:

>>There is a 1997 Wrangler Sahara for sale near me. It appears to be in
>>very good shape. Looks like it has been towed behind an RV. I'm not
>>familiar with the various changes and years of the Wrangler. I know
>>this year went to all coil springs. Any comments good or bad about
>>this particular year and model?

I think I will go talk to them tomorrow. Don't know what trans or
A/C, etc. it has. I suspect it has been babied. People have a nice
house, and I suspect they came here to retire, then sold their
motorhome and now want to get rid of the Jeep. I already have a JGC,
but I am looking for something to hit the trails with. There is a
local group that go out almost every weekend. Sometimes with 4X4's,
sometimes with Quads. I can't afford both. They want $7,600 which
seems to be mid-range for that year and model. Might be able to talk
them down some. I would have to pay that much for a good quad, and
the Jeep is a lot more practical.

Dick

On Mon, 08 May 2006 20:42:36 -0700, jbjeep > wrote:

>Sahara is mostly a trim package. The coil springs are wonderful. I had a 95
>Wrangler (YJ) and then went to a 98 TJ. It was pretty amazing. I would check the
>rig over well, especially underneath for signs of off road use, abuse, and such.
>Remembing that too clean underneath or in the engine compartent is often a sign of
>something being up. If you are going to off road the TJ is one of the best "out of
>the box" models in my opinion. You can do nothing too it other than airing down and
>disconnecting the sway bar and still have a very reasonable rig for light - med. four
>wheeling.
>-jenn
>
>
>On Mon, 08 May 2006 17:55:20 -0700, Dick > wrote:
>
>>>There is a 1997 Wrangler Sahara for sale near me. It appears to be in
>>>very good shape. Looks like it has been towed behind an RV. I'm not
>>>familiar with the various changes and years of the Wrangler. I know
>>>this year went to all coil springs. Any comments good or bad about
>>>this particular year and model?

In article >,
Dick > wrote:
#I think I will go talk to them tomorrow. Don't know what trans or
#A/C, etc. it has. I suspect it has been babied. People have a nice
#house, and I suspect they came here to retire, then sold their
#motorhome and now want to get rid of the Jeep. I already have a JGC,
#but I am looking for something to hit the trails with. There is a
#local group that go out almost every weekend. Sometimes with 4X4's,
#sometimes with Quads. I can't afford both. They want $7,600 which
#seems to be mid-range for that year and model. Might be able to talk
#them down some. I would have to pay that much for a good quad, and
#the Jeep is a lot more practical.

If it was towed, ask them how they towed it--what they did with
the transmission (should be in gear), the transfercase (should be
in N), and the steering wheel (should be unlocked with a key in
the ignition). Let them answer the question with zero info from
you about the right answers.

/herb