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Comments
-Mike
The soft top does surprisingly well with hail. It is like a trampoline for it - up to a point. The multi-layered sailcloth is surprisingly strong. It gives MUCH better than the metal hood.
-Paul
Congrats on the Unlimited!
More importantly, as an Air Force retiree, I want to thank you for your service to our country. You and your fellow marines, soldiers, airmen and sailors are sincerely appreciated.
Randy
PS - a "case" of Quaker State oil now consists of 16 quarts. Picked one up today for $1.09 per quart plus a mail in coupon for a free $10 Shell gas card. Makes up, a little, for what the robber barons are charging.
-Mike
Welcome home, and thank you for serving our country. Glad you made it home safe.
Congratulations on the new Unlimited. It would be my pleasure to take you out for some wheelin', if you lived close enough to make it practical. Where are you located?
Tom
Have you hugged your Jeep today?
Mark
You only have a 17 gallon tank? :surprise:
"DRILLING HOLES
Do not drill holes in the top and bottom of frame
rail, metal fatigue can result causing frame failure.
Holes drilled in the side of the frame rail must be at
least 38 mm (1.5 in.) from the top and bottom
flanges.
Additional drill holes should be located away from
existing holes."
It just seems like those seventies and eighties packages fit with the Jeeps so well. The last few Wrangler packages seem that they drove through Pep Boys with the crap magnet on (I stole that phrase from somewhere I can't remember, but it's applicable here.) And I 'ain't pickin on anybody because my first Jeep was an 89 YJ. Right in the "Le Jeep" Renault/Chrysler days. At least the, umm..."Islander" (sorry to bring that up) had special paint. This package seems to be stickers and a can of paint for the center stack. I actually do like the wheels, weirdly enough.
I don't discount all the packages as My Dad has a Grand special edition, and it works well. It was a package way to get lots of the luxury items on a Grand and not have to pony up for the v8 (he likes the 4.0 better).
Did you know they also made a tan Levi's interior in addition to the blue? Austinjeeps.com always has some fully restored CJ's as fuel for my dreams. I just can't afford to daily drive a CJ as many miles as I put on my TJ, so I have to wait until my Jeep addiction can handle two at once!
I remember reading about white pins that had to be installed in the 03 and higher models. The top does fit, but i read with some minor modifications, it would fit perfect. Does anyone know about any of these modifications.
Thanks,
Mike
Nate
I wouldn't recommend it, but I once drove the Sport 35 miles with a 2000 foot elevation gain after the light came on. I almost tried the same thing in the Unlimited right after I got it, but there had been an accident between where I was and the next gas station, so I went to the next exit and turned around. I find the Unlimited's light (the few times I've actually seen it) to come on when I have less gas than with the Sport.
In my opinion, the ride in the Unlimited isn't all that much different than the Liberty. It's certainly not as bouncy or as skittish as a SWB Wrangler. Since you are talking about the convertible aspect, I would guess you are looking at a soft top. The new soft tops are much quieter than the '95 Wrangler tops, but they are noisier than the Liberty (something that occasionally bothers my other half, but not me). And the Unlimited has more sound padding, so it is much quieter than my '98 Sport.
As far as gas goes, my Unlimited gets about a mile or 2 less than my Sport, but that could be partly due to the auto tranny in the Unlimited vs. the 5 speed in the Sport.
I am perfectly happy having a '04 soft top Unlimited as our daily driver - and we commute 150 miles (and almost 6,000 feet) a day. Whether your wife will be as happy or not will depend on her own tastes.
Thanks!!
Spencer
The rear window of the hardtop will likely blow out of its gasket after a while as well. When you close the door all that air has to go somewhere...
The top on the Miata was a breeze to put down and up (one handed from the drivers seat). However, I've found the Sunrider top on the Unlimited (I haven't thought of a name for her yet) is a great alternative to completely taking down the top for a quick open air ride. With any luck I'll never find out about it's ability to handle hale.
Semper Fi,
Clay
Right now I'm stationed at Camp Lejeune on the North Carolina coast. I'm originally from east Tennessee so I get up that way fairly often. Next time I'm up that way maybe I can make a trip to West Virginia (that is where you are located as I recall) and take you up on your offer. That will also give me some time to get some trail essentials together.
What do you think of the name Sally for her as in "Long tall Sally"?
Semper Fi,
Clay
I live in western KY, Clay, not WV. You are probably no more than about five hours from Turkey Bay, depending on where in eastern TN you live.
Bring it on anytime.
Tom
Have you hugged your Jeep today?
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a156/gdh03/IMG_0569.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a156/gdh03/IMG_0570.jpg
Even with a 2.5" lift (okay 3") I can fit the 32x11.5's on my rig (I DO have Spidertrax spacers installed) with my factory wheels. If I have a rubbing problem, I'll do the body and motor lift and be done. AND be out less $$ than a pure 4" lift.
Just to give you an idea of what else to consider with a 4" suspension lift, consider:
adjustable track bars, front and rear - center your axles left to right
drop pitman arm - for steering - may or may not be needed
adjustable control arms - to realign your axles front to rear, a larger lift will bring them 'in' more towards the center of the Jeep, making it unstable.
I'm sure Mac and Tom can add more, but I think the OME 2.5" lift is about the perfect height, and add the BL/MML if you want 33's or above (I suspect I'll be fine w/o em for 32's). I ordered mine from www.dpgoffroad.com and got the Heavy duty springs/shocks to allow for bumper, winch, and armor weight.
Summary:
4" lifts introduce more issues and more money
2.5" + body and motor lift will give you the same effect for less cash, and probably better ride
Here's mine on 30's for now. You can see that I have a LOT of room for 32's. Even flexing, you can see I have room for a bit more tire.
Flexing...
Lookin' pretty...
With the winch...
-Paul
Nice pics.
As far as "hard core off roading," there is nothing that says that you have to be doing something radical to have fun. Besides, what is radical for one person may be considered pretty tame by someone else. Even the toughest stuff I do at Turkey Bay would be laughed at by the hard core rock crawlers.
Just get out and enjoy that Jeep. A day spent outdoors in your Jeep is a great day.
Tomster
Have you hugged your Jeep today?
Mark
You might try putting vents or something into the hard top. I agree with you that it's hard to get rid of a top you got so cheaply. Not sure what to use to do the job though.
Don't think the new tailgate venting works so well, as I get a fogged windshield in any rain at all unless I'm running the defrost. My 89 didn't seem to do that. Of course it leaked bunches of air and water both in AND out, so it equalized humidity very well :P
Anyway, be sure you want to do this. As Wrangler owners, we're "unique" in what we put up with to get trail performance. The ride will be worse. I have driven a Liberty, and even had the chance to do so off-pavement once. The independent front end makes a huge difference. It is still a short wheelbase, so both vehicles will be "choppy", but hitting bumps on the road with an IFS means that each front wheel can move almost completely "independently" of the other. This really improves handling, steering feel, and impact harshness on pavement. That's why most other street-biased SUV's use it. If you want JUST the top-down part of the equation, you might consider a good older Wrangler that you can get for pretty cheap AND keep the Liberty. Plus, if you decide you hate it, it's hard to lose money on a used Wrangler unless you just completely neglect it. I've seen rusty 87 Wranglers full of leaves still selling for $3500!
Side note: You'll also want to consider that Wranglers are very difficult to get in and out of in a skirt. I did not consider this, and catch some grief over it occasionally
Yes, the Unlimited does drive MUCH better than the old Wranglers, and is even smoother than the regular TJ. But remeber that the Liberty (KJ) was designed for those that needed to be on pavement most of the time and were tired of being beaten up by the old Cherokee, which had solid axles. In this mission, it succeeded well. It's sales numbers are very good.
You might rent one for a week to see what you think over more than just a test drive. We're always glad to welcome more owners if you decide to do it!
Tom
Have you hugged your Jeep today?
Chad
One involved "crap" accumulating in the #3 cylinder.
I think the fix is that the dealer installs a cover.
It should be done for free by the dealer.
Sunday I did a bit of work on the Jeep, installing the A/C J tube to fix any drain issues I may have, siliconing part of the plastic around the door to help reduce water intrusion, and got ready to touchup paint the boo boo my front fender sustained. Going wheeling this weekend with the wife for the first time, so I have a few things to get the Jeep ready.
Then we went rockwall climbing in Nashville and had an early dinner at the Aquarium restaurant at Opry Mills.
-Paul
While I'm at it, I probably should pick up some black touch-up paint - the '98 Sport has a bare spot on the front - looks like another rock. That paint seems to have held up better - which is interesting, since I've done much more to keep the Unlimited waxed etc. than I ever did to the Sport.
So to answer your question, I've never heard of anyone getting paintwork warrantied for insect damage, and neither will get your a/c evaporator core or radiator replaced if it gets taken out by a big hard bug (which happens down here sometimes
I do have a couple of questions, if I might ask. 1- How difficult is it to remove the hard top? 2- Since the 4x4 is limited slip, what can I expect when going off road vs. the transmission system on the Rubicon?
I will post a picture (I know that is "mandatory" for true admission to the club) as soon as I take one over the next couple of days.
This is exciting and I can't wait to take her off road soon! Chuck
I've never off-roaded a Rubicon (or a 4x4 with lockers, for that matter). There are places where you would need a locker, but it is amazing how trail worthy the stock Wrangler is - just ask Paul who was off-roading a (more or less) stock SE for a while. I don't do hard core stuff like Tom, so I've never felt a need for lockers (I have needed the extra traction of 4x4 before).
One of the things I'd like to add would be air lockers - I'd love to have an on-board air compressor to air up my tires when I've aired down for soft stuff.