What Type Of Jeep Wrangler Do I Have?

Not all Jeep owners are indeed ardent enthusiasts. Not many people know that their 1988 Wrangler YJ has 33" mud terrain tires, ARB lockers, a 4" Skyjacker lift with a drop pitman arm and double steering stabilizer, a Supertop soft top, and Dana 44 axles.

Maybe all that counts is just getting behind the wheel and doing your own thing. Furthermore, lift kits, lockers, wheels, and weekend excursions over rocks and through mud are not included; you need to know what car you drive to obtain the necessary parts.

Comprehendable.

Even yet, it can be helpful to know what you drive, even while a Jeep owner's manual does not come with an off-road punch clock or a mandate that you spend 20 hours a week fixing something on the car.

The subject will inevitably come up.

Which model of Jeep do you own? JKU, TJ, A JK, LJ, YJ, You may come across a hard-core fanatic at work who is curious if you were at a Jeep event when the subject came up. They may even ask you whether you need a replacement soft or a "summer" type top, which is nothing fancy.

What kind of Jeep is it?

This inquiry, which can perplex people who haven't needed to know, frequently gets a shrug or a hesitant "I don't know, it's a Wrangler" as an answer.

Fortunately, you are not alone in this, so you have no reason to feel ashamed if you don't know the answer. We constantly witness and hear this, whether over the phone every day or at the different performances we attend every year.

How, then, can you tell what you have in response?

It's not as hard as you can imagine. Furthermore, the two- or three-letter codes mentioned above are not some coded "handshake" exclusive to die-hard Jeep enthusiasts. They are just internal names used by automakers (AMC, Daimler-Chrysler, Chrysler LLC, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) that have owned Jeep over the years. Knowing the model year of your Jeep can help you identify which one you own.

Those of you who drive more recent Wranglers—those manufactured between 2007 and the present—drive JKU edition (4-door) or JK model (2-door). Most owners likewise meet this description, since Wrangler sales have increased dramatically over the last five years to about 200,000 units annually. That's a significant number of Wranglers and JK or JKU owners.

But depending on the year of the car, if your Jeep Wrangler is a little older, it might be a TJ or YJ.

While TJ versions went on sale in 1997 and were produced until 2006, Wrangler YJs were built from 1987 to 1995. A TJ with an extended wheelbase, an Unlimited or LJ, was also made between 2004 and 2006.

Older cars fall outside the Wrangler era and are called CJ. In contrast to Wranglers, these models were manufactured from around 1945 until 1986, but they are somewhat more uncommon, and most people who own one usually know which type they are driving. Thus, we will continue to focus on distinguishing Wrangler variants.

What would happen if you didn't know the Jeep's manufacturing date because you bought it secondhand, inherited it, or acquired ownership in another way? That becomes a little more difficult, but the easiest method is visually recognizing a few crucial locations on the Jeep. 

Jeep Wrangler JK

Almost always, if your Jeep Wrangler has four doors, it is a JKU. A few specially constructed Jeeps were initially intended to be two-door vehicles but have been expanded to incorporate additional doors. These oddball vehicles are much more expensive than the typical Jeep, so chances are you would know if you owned one of these vehicles.

Other simple indicators that your Jeep is a JK include:

• Integrated fog lights into the bumper
• Performance-enhancing features like stability or hill descent controls
• Side-facing turn signal lights on the fender flares and the grille beneath the headlamps

Furthermore, the headlights on every JK vehicle are rounded. 

Jeep Wrangler TJ/LJ

Jeep TJs lack the amber lights on the front grille but feature circular headlights. Instead, the turn signal lenses are set into the fenders' fronts. Furthermore, there are no built-in fog lights on the OEM front bumper. Moreover, the car's width is around five inches smaller than a JK's, making comparisons relatively straightforward.

As mentioned, Jeep also produced the Unlimited (LJ), a Wrangler with a longer wheelbase, during the TJ model year. With a wheelbase 103.4 inches longer than a TJ's, this one has a noticeably longer section from the back wheels to the tailgate. 

Jeep Wrangler YJ

Examining the grille is the simplest and fastest way to determine if your Wrangler is a YJ. The first Jeep models with square headlights instead of the customary round ones were Wrangler YJs. Aside from the headlights, two additional distinguishing characteristics are the bigger windshield of the car, which allows the wipers to rest on the windshield, and the "kinked" grill slats that give the front grille a bent look.

Jeep did not formally produce a Wrangler for the 1996 model year, although some folks do seem to have 1996 Wranglers, or at least ones that they bought that year. Generally speaking, these are just leftover 1995 Wrangler YJs with some TJ components installed; nevertheless, round or square headlamps are the best identification method. 

Additional ways to identify your Wrangler

Even while your car's features make it simple to find out what you have, you might only sometimes be able to look at it when needed.

Therefore, you may also determine the year of your car and whether you have a JK, TJ, or YJ by using the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). This number can be found on most insurance cards, and Jeep's website has it entered. This will often inform you whether your Wrangler is a 1998 model year or newer and mention any recall alerts you might need to be aware of. Some cards go so far as to indicate the year of the car.

Checking the 10th digit of your Jeep's VIN, which relates to the model year, is another method to see if anything shows up on that website or if you are sure the car is older. In that position, cars manufactured in 1997 have a "V," while those made in 1995, 1994 (R), 1993 (P), 1992 (N), 1991 (M), 1990 (L), 1989 (K), 1988 (J), and 1987 (H) have a "S."