The AX15 had a habit of cracking fifth gear, I would have bought the NV3500 five speed post 2000/2001 was a better box.
All TJ's in Aust have the same diffs, Dana 30 front and Dana 44 rear, all have rear drums and front discs, all have 4.0 L six. The 44 is ok, the front 30 is prone to giving up when used hard Esp with bigger rubber 33" -35" plus, diff locks etc.
Later ones have a slightly different dash fascia, later ones also have different heater controls ( round knobs instead of sliding controls), various models have driver as well as passenger airbags. Also some changes in factory softop fitment in late to early models.
From about 2003? Motors went from distributor to coilpacks, which made them a bit less prone to water ingress stopping spark.
Like all things, the later the better, so I'd be looking for a low kms 2004 onwards five speed manual TJ. If it looks clean underneath and inside and has some sort of service history then it's worth looking at.
That said, if you plan on big mods, big lift etc, get one already done, you may save literally tens of thousands, although what you save on mods you may need to spend on maintenance.
Don't expect fuel economy better than 15kms per litre and you will have no reason to be disappointed. Budget on 20km per litre if it's heavily modded. If it's does better than these figures you've had a win.
Jks are full of electronics and bs; they are longer, wider, heavier and still have the same plastic diffs as the Tj, unless you go for a Rubicon that doesn't sound like it's in your budget anyway. Don't bother, go a TJ.
Edit: more accurate dates on gearbox and coil pack changes below
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Originally Posted by Das_Colonel
Yeah no need to be rude yeti, I'm not a total novice
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Last edited by Richo; 01-07-2012 at 06:37 PM.
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