Whitecon -
I spend most of my time over on the Mud Board and read stuff on here only once in awhile, but I felt like I'd chime in on this...
Let me first say that you must realize that someone who owns a 100 will say that the 100 is best, someone who has an 80 will say that's the best, and so on and so forth. Nobody will ever tell you "my truck sucks!" will they?
Second, I currently have an 80, in fact it's an 18 year old one. I also was a previous owner of a TJ so I have some experience with Jeeps as well.
Any claim that a 100 is "more reliable" than an 80 is bull**** mine has 1/4 million miles on it, has never had the engine opened more than for a valve job, never has had the tranny open for more than a fluid change, and never has had the axles open for anything other that maintenance. And I've not been the best when it comes to maintaining my vehicles recently.
Now the above statement has to be taken with a grain of salt...if you compare my 92 with a 07 you'd probably find a ton more worn pieces on mine but hopefully I wouldn't have to explain why.
Both the 80 and 100 are great trucks and can do a ton of things, you have to ask yourself what YOU want to do with yours first. If you are only going to take it on wide open trails and not get too hairy I'd probably go 100. If you want to get it down and dirty stick with the 80.
The two biggest off road performance differences IMHO are that the 80 is smaller, and the 80 has a soild front axle.
Really it comes down to $$$$, personally if I think I'm going to bang a truck around I rather spend $5000 than $25000 to do so. It makes those desert pinstripes much easier to deal with :sombrero: Unless of course you plan on walking ahead of the truck and do yard work ;-)
Here's a list of "non maintenance" parts I've had to replace over the past 250k miles.
Starter (contacts)
Alternator (never buy aftermarket)
Thermostat
Radiator (crack in the top tank)
Spedometer Cable ($80)
Air Flow Meter
I could do with a rebuild on my PS pump...$40, and replace the right Birf $350. But if I had to get in an drive it across country right now I'd still feel totally confident.
One more thing...Listen to previous posts, DO NOT make your choice without reading the Mud Board!!! There is more knowledge over there about Cruisers than you'd find anywhere. And trust me, there's plenty of 80 vs 100 discussion for you to review.