Jeep Wrangler

desno

Well, according to the jeep tape, they recommend using a wet rag and wiping your windows side to side. I've been doing this since january and I haven't had any hint opaqueness. The back window gets especially dirty since the aerodynamics of the jeep helps that part get dustier than the rest. I hope that helps!

des'

wheelerman

i just put the hard top in the backyard on top of the hot tub. and the soft top gose in the front room by the couch .

jeep_boy

Huh? What? Jeeps have aerodynamics? Yeah like a brick wall on wheels!

mtngal

"...brick wall on wheels!"

Ain't that the truth!

I refer to my jeep as him, because a noble black steed (what I call him) should be a stallion, not a mare.

tluke

tsjay,
My wife paged me while I was out this morning doing some running around. She got the call from the dealer saying that it came in. I immediately called them to see if I could get it today assuming that I could coordinate with my brother-in law who was buying my truck. Well everything worked out with the plans and we set an appointment to do the deal at 4:00PM. That gave me 3 hours to kill. I kept busy by washing and waxing my truck and giving it a complete interior cleaning, so that I could turn it over in the best condition. This also served to keep me occupied. My truck looked very sharp and I assumed that my new Jeep would look equally good. Finally the time came and the wife and I headed out for the 15 mile trip to the dealer. We had gone about 5 miles and it started to rain. Not only did it mess up my truck but I was thinking about seeing the new Jeep for the first time all covered with rain and not looking it's best. We got there to find that it had not rained there, so "Goldzilla" looked real nice. I think the Inca gold contrasts very good with the black trim. The wife thought it would look better. I loved it. What does she know, she didn't even like my solar yellow Dakota that I was selling. It took what seemed like a long time to complete the paper work. The salesman was very complete showing me all the features of my new Jeep. I was thinking the whole time OK enough is enough I want to drive it. As I pulled away from the lot my first impression was that the throttle response was very good. As you may remember I got the Sport with 3.73, tire group and the new 4 speed auto. It felt good to be heading out. I only drove it to 50 mph. At 50 mph the tach showed 1500 rpm. That seems kind of low. I guess that new OD really works. We stopped for a celebratory ice cream cone down the road and then headed home to get ready to go downtown to a festival called Celebrate Erie. My wife was ready in a few minutes and when she came out to go she automatically headed for the car. I said, hey what are you doing you know we have to take the Jeep! Another chance to drive it. I really am enjoying it. It handles great and is tons of fun so far. I will have to adjust my habit of carrying everything I may possibly ever need in my vehicle. Very limited space, but I'm sure you know that. I'm just glad it came in today. I wasn't planning on getting it today. I thought that the earliest it would be in was Saturday when it would be tough to get it because of my schedule at the HOG rally. This all worked out great. The dealer said that I was the first buyer of an '03 Wrangler and mine was the first Inca gold that he had. At this point I have lots to do in my free time. I have to read the manual and view the video about the top removal. Mine has the dual tops. I want to get the hard top off so I can run with the soft top before the weather here turns cold. That will start to happen soon enough and then we will have our usual 100" to 140" snow fall winter season. I don't go back to work until Aug. 27th so I will have plenty of time to enjoy my new toy. It's been a long time coming and the last year and a half wait seemed like forever, but like I said a long time ago "I'm a patient person". It was worth it!

mtngal

I haven't seen the inca gold yet, but it sure sounds pretty. The 5 speed manual has fairly low rpms in 5th - it looks like they were sucessful in doing that with the auto. Maybe I will consider an auto next time.

As far as space goes - it has more than you think, but it is vertical instead of horizontal. Not long after we moved to the mountains, we decided that a freezer was a must (its 30 miles to the supermarket, and only a small market and a couple of convenience stores in between). So we bought a small chest freezer at Costco. It (and it's box) fit in the back of my noble black steed! on the other hand, if I want to take the Wrangler to see my Mom in Vegas I can either take the dog or the laundry, but not both... Taking the back seat out makes a big difference when it comes to cargo room (and it is easy to take out), but not that much!

wheelerman

lets all hope your going to use that jeep for what it was made for WHEELING!!!! don't be one of those show and shine jeeps. hope you have lots of fun in it off and on road.

wheelerman

what is gill's . i know you guy dislike me but i just had to know. i'm going to hollister hills on sat. with on other jeep from sac. . it's his frist time there so it should be fun.

tidester

i know you guy dislike me but...

Everybody likes everybody else here! Occasionally some get annoyed at what others say, however! :-)

tidester
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desno

I didn't mean to make it sound like the jeep was a lamborgini or something, just that the square shape makes the wind act differently. That's probably why they say to not run without the back window unless you take off either the doors or the side panels with the carbon monoxide and stuff... I'm not a aeroscientist or whatever, but I did sleep in a Holiday Inn Express... does that count? hahahaha

des'

tsjay

I hope you were kidding when you said that about us not liking you??? I can't remember saying anything to make you think I didn't like you, and I don't remember anyone else saying anything like that either.

Gill's is a web site that is totally noncommercial and was set up by a private individual down in southern Alabama who is a Jeep lover. The site has a BB, a photo gallery, and a chat room. A lot of us in here use the chat room at Gill's, and some of us are there about every night.

Go to: http://itsajeep.org

Check out the photo gallery. Come to the chat room about 7 PM your time on almost any night, and you will find some of us there.

Tom

Have you hugged your Jeep today?

tsjay

CONGRATULATIONS!

When do we get to see some pics? I have never seen the inca gold color, but it sounds like a color I would like.

I know you are in seventh heaven now! I remember well the thrill of picking up Thelma Jane, but like I tell everyone, the thrill isn't hard to remember, cause the thrill is still there! That's one of the wonderful things about a Jeep: they continue to be fun and exciting long after the "new" is worn off.

Tom

Have you hugged your Jeep today?

bamatazz

HEY, ive got a Show JEEP, nutin worng with that
TAZ will never see mud. Thats what makes jeeps special. We can do what we want with them, Keep them clean like I do, or get them VERY muddy & dirty. Doesnt matter.. But..hey i still like ya.
This Jeep has gotta last me FOREVER too.. I would like to give it to my son at some time.
Also, mine is the 60th Anniversary edition,
only 4,097 were made, collectibele to me.

Keep Jeepin
BAma

kelleyo

Goldzilla is a good name.

I am thinking that I might name mine "Pepe, my little mule".

This was used in Romancing the stone by the Columbian guy with the Bad A** Ford Truck.

Thoughts?

jthurlow

Tluke: congratulations on acquiring Goldzilla--you two should be a happy couple. You are the first to acquire the new four speed auto transmission, and I was wondering if you know the gear ratios. For reference, the sales brochure for my '99 Sport, states that the three forward ratios are as follows: First 2.74; Second 1.54; Third 1.00

mtngal

We spent this morning looking at X Wranglers. I wanted to get something on the 2003's, so I can see all of the differences between them and the 2002, and also, the differences between the X and the Sport. The salesman didn't have anything about the 2003 and said that the brocure wouldn't be out until the first of the year (even though they had some on the back lot). He couldn't tell me the differences (I've learned about many of them here) and didn't know what the differences were between the Sport or the X.

Then we went over to the Ford dealership to look at Escapes. That salesman didn't know how to search the inventory to see if they had a 4x4 V6, didn't know if the V6 Escape came in a manual (doesn't), and couldn't explain how the 4x4 system worked. I did find out that it does not come with a LSD even as an option.

In all, I knew more than either of the salesmen I talked to, and I sure don't know much about the Escape.

One interesting thing the guy at the Jeep place said was that the Rubicon was on hold right now. Since he was clueless about everything else, I don't know how true that is - anybody know? I'm sure it is overkill for what I do now, but maybe if I had it, I would do more. I'd really like to at least look at one!

jayorion

Thanks guys for the tips.
I had heard about using Pledge, too.
I might try it on the old window first.

As for aerodynamics, I think of it as having the aerodynamics of a refrigerator on wheels.

To kelleyo: I call mine "Old Henry" since it's 12 years old.

Jayorion

tluke

kelleyo
I was driving one day not long ago and it hit me to call my Jeep Goldzilla. As soon as I got the idea I knew that would work. My wife thinks it is kind of immature for a 50 plus guy to do such a thing. She doesn't understand. Pepe seems like a good name. At least it would fit good on a vanity plate unlike Goldzilla which has too many letters. If you look back to post 6246 you will see the suggestion made by twylie that I use AUZILLA. I submitted an application for
AU ZILLA. It will have a space between the U and Z to make it more understandable. I liked his idea. It will take about 6-8 weeks to get it.

jthurlow
I really don't know about the gear ratios. I tried like crazy to get that info myself but I never was able to get the scoop on the '03 automatic ratios. I never did see an '03 brochure. I was hoping that the ratios would be a little lower than what was in the prior automatics. It seems fine but the RPM's really drop when it goes into overdrive. As I said earlier at 50 mph the tach shows 1500 rpm. That seems kind of low. My window sticker lists the mileage as 16 and 19, which I believe is an improvement over the '02 3 speed. It may be as good as the '02 5 speed but I'm not sure. I will tell you, I watched the video this morning and it seemed like quite a process to take off the hard top and put on the soft top. I hope it's one of those things where once you do it it 's easy the next time. We'll see.

If the weather is nice I will get it all cleaned up and take some pictures. The wife (in-house computer expert) will help me post them. Driveway pictures, you know!

wheelerman

you've always been cool !! went to hollister hills today with one other jeep i meet on the net. he has a 95 yj stock with the 2.5 . those yj's suck !! we took him around to show him all the parts of the park . and even gave him a ride in my tj to take him down the fat rut trail . after that we had lunch and then are frends with the yellow 02 tj showed up that when thing got nuts. we went back to the rut trail and danny with the yj said he'ed try it .so i went frist then the yj then the tj .we made it half way down and thats when all hell broke loose! the yj roled !! we tried to role it back over by hand but could not do it.so we got out the strap and i pulled him and it roled back up right al most by it's self with some driving by danny. but when all this was going on he got four flats!! thank god he had a air suply onboard. we where going again in under a hour. by now danny said it was time to go home. even after the role he said he had a great time. the yellow tj has like 400 miles on it and thay take it al over the place .it shold be a crime to not let your tj go offroad.

bamatazz

As far as I know, I dont think the Rubicon has been put on hold. I have to go to my dealer tomorrow, I will check with him. Last time I talked to him, he had 2 orders for them. He is a great guy, he is helping me on my JEEP show next year. Sounds like the guy u talked to didnt know what business he was in.
TLUKE!!! CONGATS DUDE!! I new jeep owner in born!!
Twylie-- Thanx for your help..
I really apprecite it!!

KEEP JEEPIN
BAMA!!

wheelerman

not taking your jeep offroad is like not letting your kids out to play. unless you have a yj then i would keep it on road too. i don't get sasquatch muddy just dirty but when he's washed he still looks new .

tluke

I washed the Jeep and took some pictures. I placed them in the "Photo gallery". If you want to see what an '03 Inca Gold Sport looks like take a look. My first offroading adventure was driving onto my side yard so all the pictures were not driveway shots. Find them in the "Jeep owners club".

stever

Nice pics - haven't been looking in there for a long time. Tom, that Badlands Off Road Park looks a lot like an old strip mine I used to play in with my CJ5 when I lived in TN.

For those wondering where the pics are, here's the link (or click on the Owner's Club link at the top for all the discussions).



Steve

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mtngal

Lovely jeep - I really like that color. I'd have a hard time getting that one dirty for a week or 2!

tsjay

BEAUTIFUL JEEP! Thanks for the pics.

I really, really like that color!

Tom

Have you hugged your Jeep today?

tsjay

I finally got around to trying wheelin' with the front sway bar disconnected, and, MAN, what a difference! Several people have told me that I needed to try that, and they sure knew what they were talking about.

The handling on the highway is fine with that sway bar disconnected, so I think I will just run that way all the time.

For the non-offroaders who might not know what I am talking about, the sway bar can be disconnected to allow more wheel travel when offroading. This helps keep the front tires on the ground when going over obstacles, so that you don't lose traction. Since I have open differentials (no lockers), anytime one wheel is off the ground, that wheel spins and the one still on the ground on the other side won't pull.
This makes it even more important to keep both wheels on the same axle in contact with the ground at all times.

Disconnecting the sway bar made a world of difference! The same things that I was having to take a run at before, I just crawled over today.

Yeeeeeehawwwwwww!!!!!!!

Tom

Have you hugged your Jeep today?

wheelerman

that gold jeep is nice looking .when you frist said gold i said what the hell? i beat you won't see a lot of gold jeeps that would make it even more cool .i don't see a lot of rust/ orange tj's . theres like 2 that i see here in san jose ca.

wheelerman

you have a nice looking jeep too. do you have a manul or at ? with my at i use the brake as a locker . i can get a wheel way off the ground and still go . when ever a wheel starts spining i just step omn that brake and most of the time it works . it helps a lot in the lose stuff. i wish you could see my photos . and with that sway bar undone man do we get some good flex!!

tsjay

Thelma Jane is a five speed.

Thanks for the compliment on her looks. I think she's beautiful too, but I might be somewhat prejudiced.

Tom

Have you hugged your Jeep today?

wheelerman

from the looks of your photos your a man who knows what to do with his jeep . i love the looks of those mt's on those the black rims . what made you pick the lift you did ? if i ever find the money i'm going to get the rancho rockcrawler 2.5 it looks like it gets some good flex .

tluke

Thanks for the positive comments about my choice of color. I like colors that stand out and are unique. I like the way the black trim contrasts with the gold. I'll bet it won't show dirt easily either. Well, the next task will be to remove the hard top and raise or try the soft top. As soon as I can get a helper.

wheelerman

it's not hard to take off the hard top ,but it dose take two to get it off. and the soft top is as easy as 1,2,3. the frist time is a pain but after that it's a snap.

tsjay

The only reason I got that Procomp 2" lift is because of the deal a buddy of mine gave me on it. He sold it to me AND installed it for only $200. How could I pass that up? It was on his Jeep, but he upgraded to a bigger lift and let me have that one.

I still want a bigger lift someday, but in the mean time, that Procomp is better than nothing.

As far as the AR767s, I got them because I was ruining the factory Canyon wheels on the trail: scratches and rock rash. I thought I had better get them off of there while they still looked good. I sold them for $300 to recover a good part of what the Mud Terrains and the AR767s cost me.

With the trade in allowance on my BFG All Terrains, I got the five Mud Terrains, five AR767s, mounting, balancing, and tax for $600. Then, I got $300 for the Canyons, so it only really cost me $300 to go from the Canyons with ATs to the AR767s with Muds.

Tom

Have you hugged your Jeep today?

twylie

Tom, glad you got around to trying to run with the sway bar disconnected. Be careful on the road, though. I found it's no problem if you're not running too fast and dont' need to make any "emergency" manuevers. I don't think it would be too safe if you needed to swerve to avoid something though. Either way, be careful! Since the best wheeling spots around me are 2 hours+, I didn't feel comfortable running disco'ed on the interstate. The JKS discos are not cheap, but work like a champ. I can disconnect n 30 seconds and it takes less than a minute to reconnect (usually need to wipe the junk off them first).

Try airing down if you haven't already. Makes the ride a bit smoother and the tires can wrap around the rocks, etc.

tluke - congratulations! I bet you're having a blast with the new Jeep. I'll check out the pics, but I'm sure it looks great!

someone asked about soft window cleaning... I just use water and a cotton cloth and then dry with a fake chamois. For scratches/fogging, I use Novus. It's a multi step product that can be used for everything from mild to deep scratches. It takes some time and effort, but I was able to get my windows looking new again after some elbow grease and Novus.

-twylie

tluke

I just posted pictures the right way with the help of tsjay. Same pictures, different look. Tsjay walked me through the method of actually posting a picture and not just posting a link. It worked out good and looks great. Take a look in the "photo gallery". Thanks again tsjay.

wheelerman

hay for $200. i would be running that lift too. i've ran my jeep with no swaybar on the hwy twice and the only thing that sucked about it was the wind ! it would blow me to the next lane.

wyldone

Just purchased a used 2000 Jeep Wrangler,6 cylinder, automatic with 43900 miles on it. We have a question. What does the temperature gage normally register? Ours is running about 220 as soon as you start the engine and stays there.

The outside temperature in the area we live has been in the middle to high 90 degrees for the past week.

Is this normal or is there a problem?

tsjay

All the TJs that I have heard of run at 210°F. That's where mine settles in too, maybe just a hair below 210°.

I'm not sure if the extra 10° is enough to worry about, but it wouldn't hurt to check things out.

Is the radiator clean? Could be some of the spaces between fins are full of bugs and/or dirt.

Congrats on getting that Jeep! Welcome to this forum.

Tom

Have you hugged your Jeep today?

anonymous02

I've got some catching up to do!

mac24

It's likely that you have a faulty temperature sender. Your gauge needle should start fully to the left when cold, then take about five minutes of driving to reach approximately 200F. It's a five minute job to change the sender, which costs about $25 from DC, less from a motor accessory store.

anonymous02

"If the weather is nice I will get it all cleaned up and take some pictures. The wife (in-house computer expert) will help me post them. Driveway pictures, you know!"

No no no no!

It is a jeep. Wait until it rains, then take it out and get as muddy as humanly possible. THEN take pictures!

P.S. :-)

P.S.S. Congrats on your new jeep!

anonymous02

Congratulations on your jeep!

Have you tried tapping the gauge with your finger to see if it is stuck?

bamatazz

This mean im out of the club, since im not a jeep purist like wheel?
Dude im sorry if i dont take TAZZ off road,
But this vehicle has GOT to last forever.
I cant afford to get any thing fixed if I did go off-road. When yours is all bent, scratched & broke.. TAZ will still look new.
ok..im off my soap box (maybe)

Hey Wheel
Wash that jeep sometimes

BAMA

anonymous02

I'd be VERY VERY careful with that on road now. For the 5-10 minutes it takes to put 2 bolts in, I'd think it is worth the peace of mind to reconnect on road. I wouldn't waste my money on those "quick" disconnects, it is just as easy to use a bolt. Just toss the current torx ones and replace with regular hex bolts.

anonymous02

I wonder if they got a new server. It seems awfully fast today, and all the problems last 2 weeks, ...????

hmmmm.

stever

I think the server got reset - I know that a lot of resources are still being thrown at it to fix the "page not found" problem. Thanks for hanging in there!

Steve
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tidester

I'm keeping my fingers crossed and holding my breath!

tidester
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anonymous02

Oh, good!

I am glad it wasn't just me!!!

Why isn't this posted somewhere prominent?

lvchef

I own a 2001 TJ SE and am starting to wonder if it is worth adding a lift kit and larger tires. I am worried about the 4 cylinder engine not having enough power. Does anyone have any comments about or ideas? I am leasing it now, but will buy out after lease end as in 1.5 yrs its cost is only $10,500. I ordered it from factory and has everything I could want in a Jeep, but the 4.0 L engine. Anyone Please advise.....
(formerly known on Town Hall as ChefRKM - it has been a few years)

stever

Just since May '01 :-) Forget your password?

chefrkm Mar 29, 2001 2:46am

(and welcome back!)

Steve
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