Should I get a manual or an automatic transmission car in Southern California?
In my opinion, hills are most fun with stick shift - manual transmissions are direct drive, so the losses at the drivetrain are fairly minimal compared to automatics, giving you the most out of engine's power/torque. If you have a hand brake, going from a dead-stop uphill isn't bad at all since you can use the handbrake as a hill-assist. Manuals are also far more reliable, and much easier to maintain. Your problem is definitely going to be stop-n-go traffic. The trick is not to follow bumper to bumper - just leave it in a lower gear, and just coast in gear until traffic speeds up. I usually leave my car in 2nd gear and won't touch the accelerator until there are about 5-10 car spaces ahead of me. If I do come to a stop in traffic, I try to let 1-2 car spaces open up before I start my coast again. If you try to follow stop-n-go traffic bumper to bumper, you will be constantly engaging/disengaging the clutch, which will heat it up, and wear it prematurely; you will actually smell it burning up after a few minutes (smells like burning rubber). Normally a clutch will only need to replaced once or twice throughout the vehicle's lifetime (my former supervisor has an '01 Civic - finally had to replace the clutch for the first time after 250k miles - also commutes in heavy traffic regularly), but bumper to bumper driving will require you to replace the clutch much more frequently, and it isn't particular cheap. If you just coast in low gear in heavy traffic, the vehicle/clutch will be no worse for wear, but you probably won't make too many friends while in traffic. Personally, I'd go for it. It won't be fun as a commuter vehicle, but I don't think people get Jeep's for commuting, and manual transmissions really are that much more fun. On a related note - I drive a stick (also a 2001 Civic) in the South Bay Area, so we have pretty bad traffic as well. I also have a 250cc motorcycle for commuting. Between those, I'm a very happy driver. The Civic used to be my daily, now I use it on weekends and wet weather, and it's an absolute blast to thrash it in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
How many miles can a jeep wrangler go before it needs a new engine?
If it has a 4.0 engine in it, expect it to run into the 300,000 mile mark. Wranglers last forever *if* you take good care of them. Whether it hits that kind of mileage is entirely your call. I would go for the older one honestly, saves you some money. I would also carfax the VIN and bluebook the value. You never know where this thing has been. Try to bargain a little as well. Good luck and congrats on your new Jeep! Donny, Jeeps are the cheapest vehicles to maintain I've ever had. I also do my own maintenance, which is EASY.
Jeep wrangler 2x4 or 4x4?
the re-sale value of a two wheel drive jeep is not very good at all. you should get a car if you want two wheel drive. jeeps have good re-sale value but not the two wheel drive ones. the power train warranty will cover most of your added expenses should anything on the four wheel drive break and the fuel economy difference is not that much at all like at most 5 mpg which will save you like 10 dollars a month, insurance is something you will have to look into for the difference in that as well. good news is though out of all the packages jeep makes the sahara has the best bang for the buck
Did Jeep ever offer a 2WD wrangler?
yep, I have seen one, dumbest idea if you ask me, it was cheaper and I guess alot of in city yuppies that had no plans on ever going off the road liked it.
How many quarts of Oil in a 1999 Jeep Wrangler?
6 qts. And remember this...Jeep 4.0 motors have flat tappet cams that require ZDDP (Zinc) almost all oil companies have removed zinc since newer cars have roller cams and zinc has been related to premature cat failure. Our engines need at least 1100 ppm of Zinc. Several other Jeep owners and myself are running Rotella T 15w-40 it's actually pretty cheap oil and has plenty of zinc to protect our beloved straight 6 cyl. Also Fram oil filters are junk I've seen them collapse several times. I use WIX brand filters.
Jeep Wrangler custom shift knob project?
I found an online a picture of a Pilot's grip from an MD Helicopter cyclic stick turned into a shift knob on a dodge magnum. I was thinking of doing that for my Jeep as a project. How hard would it be to turn an automatic shift knob on an 06 Wrangler into a custom grip? any suggestions?