Yota pickup vs Jeep Cherokee...which is better for wheelin?

I'm a Toyota fan too but those trucks are definitely not worth what people are asking for them. People think they're made of gold and great on gas. Ive never had a 22r/re that was very good on gas and most of them are rusted to shit
 
With a Cherokee, you are getting a pretty good powerplant with an ok drivetrain. With a Toyota, you are getting a sufficient powerplant with axles that are stronger than the powerplant. You can buy anything in the world for a cherokee for a fair price, and you can buy anything in the world for a Toyota with the special Toyota part markup.

If you will never have more than 2 people in it, and don't need dry cargo area, get the Yota, put some 33's on it, lock the rear, and have a party.
If you want to carry 4 people and keep stuff in the dry, buy a cherokee, put some 35's on it, put a Ford 8.8 in the rear, stroke the 4.0 to a 4.6 for cheap, and hang on!
 
i agre with the rust issues on most yotas but I've riden with some buddies in Raleigh with a yota on 35s stock and was pretty impressed minus the power. on the other hand though, been XJ fan/owner for long time now and wouldn't trade it for nothing. hey Jeepinmatt, i'd love to get a schematic of bulding that 4.6 stroker that I keep reading about if you get a chance to school me the right parts and such. whats the power gain and torque like? pm me or send me a link of the right parts and build for that. I think soon i'll be ready to try one out. thanks.
 
Get with 20"yota he is not to far from you, he can get you a rig put together for a very fair price! Plus he will be one stop shopping, he can get you tires, lifts, gears, what ever
 
88jeepster said:
i agre with the rust issues on most yotas but I've riden with some buddies in Raleigh with a yota on 35s stock and was pretty impressed minus the power. on the other hand though, been XJ fan/owner for long time now and wouldn't trade it for nothing. hey Jeepinmatt, i'd love to get a schematic of bulding that 4.6 stroker that I keep reading about if you get a chance to school me the right parts and such. whats the power gain and torque like? pm me or send me a link of the right parts and build for that. I think soon i'll be ready to try one out. thanks.
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No "schematic" per say. If you have sufficient understanding of engines, its really simple. Take the crank and rods from a 4.2L, put 4.0 pistons on them, and put them in your 4.0 engine. That makes it a 4.5L. If you bore it 0.030" over, its a 4.6L.
 
Some things to think about. How much lift does a XJ need to clear 31s? A stock yota will clear 31s. 4x4 yotas are geared at least 4.10 stock. 4.30, 4.56 and 4.88 were also factory gears (automatics, 4runners), some more rare than others. You can swap 3rds in yotas without having to set up gears. You can find geared/locked thirds fairly easily and not have to worry about setting up gears. You can also buy geared/locked thirds from ECGS and others. Simple bolt on for gear changes.

Depending on your wheeling style, you dont always "need" a solid front axle. I like trail riding. My truck is keeping its IFS. I am locked front and rear on 5.29 gears. I have dual cases and a flat belly. My truck will go wherever I want it (key phrase being where I want it).

If you want to carry 4 people, get a 85-89 4runner and party with your top off!
 
Well I've owned both a cherokee and a pickup. I finally said hell with the cherokee 6 months ago and sold it to buy a 4runner. All in all I spent wayy more money on the cherokee to have the same capabilities as my pickup truck even thought he purchase price was less initially on the cherokee. Both are capable rigs and can be nicely built but I much rather prefer the yota stock drivetrain over the xj factory drivetrain. My XJ also spent more time sitting on the side of the garage than actual driving and wheeling due to stupid stuff breaking on it.

Couple of notes I'd like to add are:
-I prefer the gear driven tcase in the yota
-less lift to fit bigger tires on the yota (XJ I needed a 4.5inch lift and fenders cut to fit 33s properly at full stuff.)
-brakes on the yota are better from factory
-cherokee had more interior space and if you are a bigger guy or hauling friends can be more enjoyable
-you can sleep in the cherokee (yota I put a camper top on)
-aftermarket parts for XJ are cheaper but I found i had to upgrade more parts to keep up with my yota.

So take your pick. I owned my XJ for 4 years and built it from a 2wd renix model. I had the pickup for a couple years and these are just the things I noticed.
 
I'm leaning more towards an older Toyota pickup, extended cab. The question I got now is, what year? At first I was thinking '84, but recently I been lookin at an early 90's model, maybe a '90/'91? Idk, what's y'all's opinions....again, I really appreciates all of y'all's help
 
84-85 for ext cab with solid axle
85 appears to be the sweet spot if you want a 22re solid axle ext cab, which is what I would suggest.
Anything 86+ is gonna be IFS but can be capable or a SAS isn't too bad to do if you had some help.

Highly suggest staying with the 22R or 22RE engines and a 5 speed. Unless you go newer in which case the 3.4 is really a great engine.

IMO best bang for your buck if you can find it will be an 85 EXT cab with 5speed and 22RE. Might want to consider looking at a 4runner also.
 
I used to have a 4runner (1998) back in high school, but I didn't think it would last as long as it has, so I sold it back to my grandpas n got my truck. Well, the 4runner is still goin strong!! I like the look of the '85 tho, looks sharp. With a 7" Skyjacker suspension lift, what size tires could it run? And would a high steer kit be required or extended driveshaft?
 
Joe Baucom said:
I used to have a 4runner (1998) back in high school, but I didn't think it would last as long as it has, so I sold it back to my grandpas n got my truck. Well, the 4runner is still goin strong!! I like the look of the '85 tho, looks sharp. With a 7" Skyjacker suspension lift, what size tires could it run? And would a high steer kit be required or extended driveshaft?
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I've got 33s on a 3inch lift on my 84. I also have 35s on my 89 4runner with 7.5 inches of lift. It could fit 38s though without much issue. The 35s actually look a little bit too small.
 
I have 33s on mine right now with a 2" body lift (needed the BL cause of the extra cab on reg cab frame). All I need to run 35s is to move my rear axle back 1".
 
Very nice!! With the setup I wanna do, the max tires I would wanna run would be 37's? They'd look pretty sick with that solid axle, too. I can't wait til I can finally start this project
 
2010nctaco said:
Anyone look at the price of old yotas lately? He could probably get a Cherokee for around a grand and put $2k more into it before he could buy an 85 or older decent shape Toyota. And I'm a yota fan.
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I just got a 93 jeep cherkee for 485 runs good just need tender loving care staying stock not should have 12oo in it when I get it on road
 
bobs bait said:
I just got a 93 jeep cherkee for 485 runs good just need tender loving care staying stock not should have 12oo in it when I get it on road
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A couple weeks ago I got lucky and picked up a 93 4runner that is clean as can be, just has an exhaust leak for $950. I was going to try and flip it, but is nice and think it will be my driver and camping vehicle. Probably leave it pretty stock except for a small lift and at tires. Can't beat a cheap vehicle, especially with new car prices these days. If you pay $1000 for a vehicle, that's 2 new car payments. You could afford to drive one for a year, scrap it and go find another one and still be ahead.
 
Keep shopping till you find a good deal on a yota. Sure you can buy a cherokee cheaper now, but it will need a new rear axle, stronger front shafts, a SYE on the t-case, a lift to clear anything bigger than 235/75-15, and probably gears to turn the new larger tires. I found my 97 tacoma for $1000. It had 4.10 gears, v6, 5-speed, more miles than a lot of semi's on the road, and some wiring issues that the previous owner could not find. IFS yota's of all years are stronger than you think and will clear 31's stock.
 
I'm on the side of the yota. I've had three toyotas and loved them all. Two were straight axle but all three were very capable off road. One 85 was carb and the one I have now is efi and I love it off road. The first 85 I bought was stock, as soon as I was done putting a new head gasket on it I slapped on a set of completely slick 33s and went wheeling with some mildly modified samurais yotas and an xj. That yota went everywhere the other guys went and mine was stock. Now the xj that went with us probably had at least $1000 in mods, maybe more, and it was only on 33s. My point is, that you can get a toyota completely stock, and if you're not afraid to get into the throttle, you can still do what a slightly modified xj can. Hope this made sense and mostly I hope it helps in the decision making process.
 
Buminator said:
If you don't want to hear it quit watching the thread. .
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We had quit watching the thread until you brought it back from the dead. Why you posting to it now and not back in January when you joined the site and the thread was semi fresh? Since this thread is based on a question that can only be answered by an opinion and not facts and it also gets asked once every six months, those of us that have been around this site for quit a while can get a tad cranky.Train wreck? Gotta watch it.Same with these old threads when reserected after being forgotten. I have no dog in this fight since I own neither,wheeled neither,worked on both from breakage on the trail.
 
Correct answer is neither....
Toyota has little to no power but does have a frame. Cheap to build but getting harder to find stuff for.....
The heap has a uni body and will eat it self after a while. I have had both and now fame a Jeep with a frame and nothing else Jeep on it. The wife has a grand and mall crawls it....
 
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