History Of Off Road Jeeps - What's In Your Jeep? - Jeeps 2003
A Breakdown Of Stock Options
Photography by Fred Williams, Verne Simons
TJ Wrangler ('97-present) The TJ was the prodigal son of the small Jeep family. Coming back home with round headlights and performance-minded suspension, it made even grizzly old Jeep gurus stop moaning. These rigs quickly became a benchmark for competitors to attain. We have even seen guys swap the entire frame and drivetrain under older CJ-bodies. Our choice? A '03-or-later Rubicon, but repaint it the Citron Pearl Green to match the '97 models.
| TJ Wrangler Engines | TJ Transmissions | TJ Transfer Cases | TJ Axles |
| 151ci inline-four (’97-present) | AX-15 five-speed (’97-99) | NV231J (’97-present) | Front |
| 242ci inline-six (’97-present) | NV3550 five-speed (’99-present) | NV241OR (’03 Rubicon only) | Dana 30 (’97-present) |
| Chrysler 32RH auto (’97-present) | | Dana 44 (’03 Rubicon only) |
| Chrysler 42RLE (’03 Rubicon only) | Rear |
| Dana 35 (’97-present) |
| Dana 44 (’97-present) Fullsize Wagoneers, Cherokees, and Grand Wagoneers (’70-’91) |
| Midsize Cherokee XJ (’84-’01) and Wagoneer |
| XJ Engines | XJ Transmissions | XJ Transfer Cases | XJ Axles |
| 151ci inline-four (’84-’01) | AX-4 four-speed (’84-’87) | NP207 (’84-’87) | Front |
| 173ci V-6 (’84-’86) | BA-10 five-speed (’87-’89) | NP229 (’83-’86) | Dana 30 (’84-’92) |
| 242ci inline-six (’87-’90) | AX-5 five-speed (’84-’01) | NV231J (’88-’01) | Rear |
| 242ci inline-six HO (’91-’01) | AX-15 five-speed (’89-’99) | NV242 (’87-’01) | Dana 35 (’84-’01) |
| NV3550 five-speed (’99-’01) | | Chrysler 8.25 (’91-’01) |
| Chrysler 904 Auto (’84-’91) | | Dana 44 (’87-’89) |
| Aisin AW4 Auto (’87-’01) | | |
| Midsize Grand Cherokee ZJ, WJ (’93-present) & Grand Wagoneer ZJ |
| ZJ/WJ Engines | ZJ/WJ Transmissions | ZJ/WJ Transfer Cases | ZJ/WJ Axles |
| 242ci inline-six ('93-present) | Aisin AW4 auto ('93) | NV231J ('93-'95) | Front |
| 318ci V-8 ('93-'98) | 44RE auto ('96-'98) | NV242 ('93-present) | Dana 30 ('93-present) |
| 360ci V-8 ('98) | 42RE auto ('93-present) | NV249 ('96-present) | Rear |
| 287ci V-8 ('99-present) | 45RE auto ('99-'00) | NV247 ('99-present) | Dana 35 ('93-present) |
| | 5-45RFE auto ('01-present) | Dana 44 ('96-present, some were |
| | 46RFE auto ('98) | made with aluminum centersections) |
Commando ('70-'73) We like Commandos. Commandos are cool because of the 101- to 104-inch wheelbase, removable hardtop, cool slanted back end, and great name for a vehicle. Believe it or not we like the one with the non-Jeep (almost IH Scout-looking) grille the best. Yes, we know it's blasphemy. Which one do we want? Well, one late blurry night in North Carolina we saw a white '73 sitting in a used car lot with 38-inch tires and the ugly grille. We still kick ourselves for not selling an extra spleen to buy it.
| Commando Engines | Commando Transmissions | Commando Transfer Case | Commando Axles |
| 134ci inline-four (’70-’71) | T-90 three-speed (’70-’71) | Spicer 20 | Front |
| 225ci V-6 (’70-’71) | T-14A three-speed (’70-’73) | Dana 27AF (’70-’71) |
| 232ci inline-six (’72-’73) | TH-400 automatic three-speed (’70-’71) | Dana 30 (’72-’73) |
| 258ci inline-six (’72-’73) | T-15A three-speed (’72-’73) | Rear |
| 304ci V-8 (’72-’73) | T-18 four-speed (’72-’73) | Dana 30 (’70-’71) |
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