The ’80s were a dim time, automotively speaking. We got such gems as the Chevrolet Citation, Renault Le Car, Delorean DMC-12, and Clark Griswold’s Family Truckster foisted on us and we were expected to like it. Therefore, it should be no surprise that Jeep stepped away from its decades-old tradition of CJs and bastardized the market segment with the YJ. The CJ cleared 31s stock, but the Wrangler’s lowered suspension was lucky to clear 29s. The CJ had a nice flat dashboard, but the Wrangler had a crappy plastic thing that creaked and groaned right off the showroom floor. Track bars and leaf springs? Check. Computer-controlled carburetor? Check. Harsh ride and limited articulation? Check. Square headlights? The Wrangler fun-fest continued.
Still, if you are able to look past some of the drug-addled ’80s wonderfulness, you’ll see a decent Jeep just waiting to be built. A mandrel-bent 4 x 2.5 x 0.125-inch rectangular tube frame replaced the poorly welded “C” channel frame of the AMC-era CJ. Flat, equal-length leaf springs replaced the more highly arched, dissimilar-length CJ springs. Half-steel doors made an appearance. Galvanization on the body and frame meant that it might last longer than 5 years in the rustbelt. Better steering, fuel injection, and more found its way into the Wrangler. Maybe they’re not so bad.
Many will tell you that you...
Many will tell you that you need to convert your YJ to coil springs. A lot of TJ guys will agree. We won’t tell you not to coil-convert your YJ. We will tell you to think about it since conversions can run upwards of several thousand dollars. Sure, the kits work great and offer much improved ride, articulation, and often handling, but unless you’ve already got a ton of money in things like body armor, engine swap, axles, and so forth, it might be cheaper to start with a TJ if coils are what you are after. That said, companies such as Superlift, Rock Krawler, GenRight Off Road, T&T Customs, and Pro Comp all offer coil-conversion kits that will sooth your TJ envy.
So here we are, 25 years after the first Wrangler came out and actually liking that bastardized non-CJ we were so angry at AMC/Chrysler for forcing on us in the first place. Today, the YJ Wrangler is typically the cheapest open-top, short-wheelbase Jeep you can buy, and with some simple modifications they can be made into trail monsters.
If it is legal in your area,...
If it is legal in your area, get rid of the track bars since the leaf springs provide the lateral axle location. The track bars exert such tremendous force on the frame from fighting the leaf spring that if you wheel your Jeep you can rip the frame-side track bar mount or the frame itself. Get rid of them and enjoy more articulation, a better ride, and the joy that you’ve gotten rid of one of Jeep’s unfortunately necessary anti-Nader devices.
We slam spring-over suspensions...
We slam spring-over suspensions because of their many shortcomings. Axlewrap is a big one. But the fact of the matter is that the nice, flat YJ Wrangler springs lend themselves well to a spring-over setup. With a slip yoke eliminator, steering corrections, and longer driveshafts, shocks and brake lines, a sprung-over YJ can be a great off-road machine. It will fit 35s with no fender trimming or 37s with fender trimming and still ride like stock. Of course, if you wheel it you’ll be replacing those supple springs because you’ll bend and/or break them fairly often.
Dana 35. It’s junk. Throw...
Dana 35. It’s junk. Throw it away as soon as you can and replace it with a Cherokee or Comanche Dana 44 or a Ford Explorer 8.8. The other axles are so easy to find in junkyards that if our Dana 35 needs a brake job, it’s almost enough justification for an axle swap. Yeah, we have come that far.
In the transition from lockout...
In the transition from lockout hubs and cast-iron gear-driven T-cases someone figured this little piece of awesomeness for the Dana 30: the central axle disconnect. It wasn’t needed as evidenced by millions of TJs and XJs running around without it. Get rid of it. The cheap way is to use an XJ or TJ long-side shaft, a piece of steel, and a regular Dana 30 inner axle seal. You gotta pull the carrier, but every CAD housing we’ve seen was already machined for that inner seal. Or the 4x4 Posi Lock is under $160 and includes a new aluminum housing, cable, hardware, and instructions to manually control your front axle engagement from the cab.
Unlike the Cherokee, either...
Unlike the Cherokee, either six-cylinder option in the YJ gets you a good engine. Many look down on the ’87-’90 Wranglers because they don’t have a 4.0L, but the 258ci inline-six is no turd. Well, the 258’s induction system is a turd, so plan on a new induction system. There are several kits out there but the two that we’ve used are the Howell TBI kit and the Mopar MPFI kit. The Mopar kit might provide a shade more fuel economy and uses factory Jeep parts, but the Howell kit is less expensive and uses many factory GM parts.
Even if you don’t go with...
Even if you don’t go with a spring-over, borrowing the flares from the later TJ Wrangler is a fast and easy way to fit bigger tires. The fenderwells shrunk from the CJ to YJ but the TJ fender openings were bigger than either. You can get almost 2 inches more uptravel with TJ flares and more tub clearance. Don’t bother scrounging for used greyed flares, since complete new sets are available for around $140 plus shipping. Quadratec, 4WD Hardware, and Collins Brothers Jeep are good sources and they are usually in stock.