Military Jeeper

I'm in the market to buy a used JK Wrangler Unlimited but I've been sticker shocked on what people are asking for used JKs on sites like Craigslist, etc.

The price range I'm looking at is around $15,000 but people are asking $15,000 and above for JK with over 100,000 miles.....that's fricking nuts. With that, what are some of the "big issues" that the JK's are known for that I should look out for on a high mileage JK Wrangler Unlimited?

TIA....appreciate your guidance and input.

resharp001

In general, I would look for something that is completely stock. I would not what to mess with a jeep that somebody else lifted. At least if you lift it you know exactly what has been done to the suspension, and can use the parts that YOU decide to use, not what someone else decided. Don't get caught up in the looks of a lifted jeep.....cuz most of them are not done correctly.

I agree that it's crazy what pre-owned jeeps are selling for these days.

Military Jeeper

Oh trust me I know about buying someone else's butchered Jeep is like. My CJ5 was a nightmare, everything was done wrong and had to be redone. My JEEP is iconic of the phrase what does JEEP mean (Just Empty Every Pocket).

I'm more concerned with flaws in the JK mechanically. Water pump, timing chain, axle/tranny/engine concerns that I should be aware of more so but I always appreciate all feedback.

Rednroll

I have 126K miles on my 2009 JKU Wrangler. Purchased new.

Replaced exhaust O2 sensors at 90K miles. After replacing those, it runs and starts as good as the day I got it. The 3.8L is a reliable engine. It won't win any 0-60 time races, but it's pretty reliable. The only "common" problem I'm aware of in the 2007-2011's with the 3.8L, is that others have reported burning a quart of oil every 1-2K miles and have moved to a slightly heavier weight like 5W-30 to curb that problem. I run the stock specified 5W-20 and have not seen those same problems. I have changed my oil every 3K miles since I've owned it. So take that for what it's worth.

I think it's in pretty good shape for having over 125K miles on the ticker and living in the rust belt. I've taken care of it. It's not for sale, and I don't plan on selling it. I would say inspect the seller. If they seem like someone that takes meticulous care of their vehicles, then buying a high mileage one shouldn't be too much of a concern.

karls10jk

If it's been kept up with then there's not much mechanically to shy away from. The oil guzzling would be my biggest concern and moreso with the 07-09 is where it seemed to be more prevalent, though it's certainly present with all 3.8's.

I'm at 150k with oil changes, a single coolant change (per the manual), and an exhaust manifold change due to massive cracks. The manifolds came right off and it was $150 to do both of them with a 10yr warranty.

The manual transmission needed a throw out bearing but it seems we received a terrible design that is noisy. I replaced it and it stated making noise again but it wasn't that gritty sound so it doesn't concern me.

I may be a little OCD so the differential work I did probably wasn't necessary but I did see a little material missing from one of my spiders so I tore open the rear end and replaced the spiders and shims back there. I chose to be a little careless when reinstalling my front axle shafts and destroyed the front axle seals....that was a $15 mistake but again- it's got enough mileage that I'm ok replacing little things like that.


Costs....
Exhaust manifold $150
Spiders (rear rebuild) $100
Front inner axle seals $15
Front wheel bearings (preventative) $150
Rear wheel bearings (preventative) $60-80
Coolant (per the book, with new cap) $50
U-joints (preventative) $100

So nothing is catastrophic and realistically the vehicle could continue to run fine without the services being performed but I'd rather do a little bit on the front end than have it fail on the back end.

resharp001

Lotta posts out there with people having 150k, 200k, 250k+ miles on both the 3.8L and 3.6L. Makes me happy to see cuz I plan on keeping my JK forever.

Rednroll

Same here. It's payed off and it's the funnest vehicle I've ever owned and haven't gotten bored with it yet. I also enjoy learning more of the finer details on the forum as well. When I feel myself getting bored, I just switch the tops, or drive around with the top and doors off for a few days and everything feels new to me again. Doing upgrade mods helps keep it fresh as well. I plan on doing one of the LS engine swaps in the future. However, I'll be happy if I'm not put in a situation where I find myself forced to do that swap sooner than planned. So 200K+ reported miles sounds great to me.