Am I just outdated?

[Happy Joe]

I dealt with that on my Jeep. The crank and the cam sensor through the same code, still not a hard fix and if in doubt replace them both. The 4.0 is easy to reach things on compared to a newer engine and easier to work on.

Yep! and why I used to carry a spare off road... although the bell housing mounted crank sensors were/are not fun to change.
Enjoy!

 

[calicamper]

Neighbors 35yr old jeep is using a 2013 ECU and a 2013 engine. Because the 35yr old stuff was a disaster and costly to replace and still wasnt very reliable. Soo??

The Cumings 2.8 swap kit is kinda the same deal. Better reliability, cleaner, more efficient better power etc. There will be more swap kits for old full frame on body rigs as the yrs go on simply because the full frame on body stuff isnt made anymore etc.

Just how it is

 

[toylandcruiser]

I suppose 20 years ago really isn't that long back when talking about electronics and vehicles. That would be 1997, Vehicles in the 90s are to new to be old and to old to be new.

On this site I’ve read tons of posts making the claim 90s trucks were less complex and more reliable than modern trucks. Over the years I’ve discovered that whatever generation of whatever you drive was the last of the real whatever it was.

 

[Mitch502]

Neighbors 35yr old jeep is using a 2013 ECU and a 2013 engine. Because the 35yr old stuff was a disaster and costly to replace and still wasnt very reliable. Soo??

The Cumings 2.8 swap kit is kinda the same deal. Better reliability, cleaner, more efficient better power etc. There will be more swap kits for old full frame on body rigs as the yrs go on simply because the full frame on body stuff isnt made anymore etc.

Just how it is

I'd argue that the reason the 2.8 swap is so awesome is because of how simple (although not really cheap) the powertrain is.

And him using the 2013 ECU likely caused him to spend a lot of money on the tuning /settings in the ECU since most of them have electronic steering, etc built into them now.

He could have rebuilt the factory stuff using newer (better produced) parts and it would have been cheaper and likely just as reliable. But not the same cool factor I'm sure.

 

[MOguy]

of course there is always the $$$$$$ between new and old.

 

[MOguy]

Neighbors 35yr old jeep is using a 2013 ECU and a 2013 engine. Because the 35yr old stuff was a disaster and costly to replace and still wasnt very reliable. Soo??

The Cumings 2.8 swap kit is kinda the same deal. Better reliability, cleaner, more efficient better power etc. There will be more swap kits for old full frame on body rigs as the yrs go on simply because the full frame on body stuff isnt made anymore etc.

Just how it is

A rebuilt 4.0 or 4.2 or what ever is in that year Wrangler is not that expensive compared to the route he went.

 

[MOguy]

On this site I've read tons of posts making the claim 90s trucks were less complex and more reliable than modern trucks. Over the years I've discovered that whatever generation of whatever you drive was the last of the real whatever it was.

I am sure there are. I am not saying are or aren't reliable I am just saying they may not be old enough to be considered old by some and not new enough to be considered new by others.

You could buy an older vehicle (even a 90s) and for a small fraction of what a new on cost and with a very small amount of the money saved fix the older vehicle and make it reliable.

 

[vintageracer]

Replacement parts availability ALWAYS tells the tale about how good your NOW "Vintage" (that means OLD) daily driver vehicle really was when new and is NOW that it's OLD!

Got a 40's thru 90's Chevrolet or Ford truck you probably golden for your entire lifetime easily obtaining damn near any part you will need overnight to keep that "Vintage" POS that you love so much running and driving you happily about your merry way on a daily basis.

Got a Edsel, Rambler, AMC or many other "Orphan" brand vehicles or make/model as your "Vintage" daily driver and you will probably be Sheet out of luck if you are trying to maintain that ole POS as a daily driver.

Just like it's always been it's "All About The Choices" YOU make as you try to convince everyone else about how smart and frugal you are or how smart and frugal YOU think you are when it comes to your choice of a daily driver POS!

 

[MOguy]

Replacement parts availability ALWAYS tells the tale about how good your NOW "Vintage" (that means OLD) daily driver vehicle really was when new and is NOW that it's OLD!

Got a 40's thru 90's Chevrolet or Ford truck you probably golden for your entire lifetime easily obtaining damn near any part you will need overnight to keep that "Vintage" POS that you love so much running and driving you happily about your merry way on a daily basis.

Got a Edsel, Rambler, AMC or many other "Orphan" brand vehicles or make/model as your "Vintage" daily driver and you will probably be Sheet out of luck if you are trying to maintain that ole POS as a daily driver.

Just like it's always been it's "All About The Choices" YOU make as you try to convince everyone else about how smart and frugal you are or how smart and frugal YOU think you are when it comes to your choice of a daily driver POS!

What is the smart thing to do?

 

[BigDaveZJ]

Part of the "age" of these vehicles is also the amount of time we've spent working on them. If I had been working on a brand new 2018 F350 for 18 years like I have my Jeep, I'm sure I'd be just as familiar with it and could fix it just as easily.

 

[Backroad Joe]

It seems age is a relative thing. My off-road rig is a 1968 Jeep CJ5. Bought it 18 years ago. Have rebuilt everything myself. Know it inside and out. My original intention was I wanted reliability and repairability on the trail and still is. It is very reliable, even so I carry 160 lbs of tools and spare parts. I've had some break downs. Fix it on the trail and make improvements at home so it doesn't happen again. The rig is far from stock. It suits my needs and I enjoy making modifications to it.

I have come upon many a late model rig on the trail with problems the user cannot identify or fix.

 

[calicamper]

A rebuilt 4.0 or 4.2 or what ever is in that year Wrangler is not that expensive compared to the route he went.

Toyota not Fiat😜

 

[toylandcruiser]

It seems age is a relative thing. My off-road rig is a 1968 Jeep CJ5. Bought it 18 years ago. Have rebuilt everything myself. Know it inside and out. My original intention was I wanted reliability and repairability on the trail and still is. It is very reliable, even so I carry 160 lbs of tools and spare parts. I've had some break downs. Fix it on the trail and make improvements at home so it doesn't happen again. The rig is far from stock. It suits my needs and I enjoy making modifications to it.

I have come upon many a late model rig on the trail with problems the user cannot identify or fix.

The avg person wouldn’t be able to fix your jeep when it’s broke down. As stated earlier, not being able to fix a new vehicle has to do with ignorance. Not difficulty.

 

[vintageracer]

What is the smart thing to do?

Walk, crawl or ride a bicycle.

That way you are never far from home and have a much reduced chance of breakdown!

 

[MOguy]

The avg person wouldn't be able to fix your jeep when it's broke down. As stated earlier, not being able to fix a new vehicle has to do with ignorance. Not difficulty.

Ignorance is part of it but so is difficulty. My mechanical skills are limited but I have a few friends that skills as to most of us. Between them, You Tube and myself we can get allot done, esp on the older vehicles.

We have limitations, esp with electronics and wiring on new vehicles. My wonderful cushy Acadia Denali has more electronics in the drives seat with the adjustment, heater and AC then my entire old truck. My old truck is almost 40 years old and going strong as are many old trucks. We will see how many of todays trucks are on the road 40 years from now. There are so many different "systems" in new vehicles that I just don't see all these parts sitting down at the parts store or in some farmers field decades from now, this is were the difficulty will be. Even the difficulty figuring out what needs to be replaced and then replacing it will be more difficult. Here is a 5 minute video showing how to replace the battery in my Acadia. https://www.google.com/search?sourc...1.31.2453...0j0i131k1.0.v4UtlAnTxL8#kpvalbx=1

On my kids 2004, not ever that new, cavalier you have to take of a heat shield and loosen the exhaust manifold to replace the thermostat or reaching around then go over and under this and that to loosen the bolts to get to the thermostat. On my older vehicles it is right up front.