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Comments
TAKE YOUR JEEP BACK TO THE DEALER IMMEDIATELY!
There's obviously something very wrong with it, if it doesn't leak. DC says Jeeps are designed to leak.
Tom
Have you hugged your Jeep today?
The comments about tire quality definitely ring true as well, but her driving style is simply going to have to be different than if she had a Camry.
I have seen comments mostly in magazines about people putting an NV242 case in Wranglers (from a Grand Cherokee) to get the AWD function. Apparently, it can be done. This capability does great things, as my father's 04 Grand has the AWD, and it's marvelous when you're travelling in bad weather, but it's still a high vehicle with a high roll-center. In the end, maybe the spin was a good thing. No one was hurt, and as we've all been teens, we know that teens don't believe anything bad can happen until it does. Maybe the feeling of spinning out of control will cause her to slow down a bit, or maybe want to go driving with you in a parking lot so you can demonstrate some counter-steer techniques. Personally, I feel she'll be a much more capable driver by learning to control a Jeep, which is one of the least "watered-down" off-pavement vehicles left in production.
Always wondered if the wobble wasn't anything wrong, per say, but simply how it goes with the new Wrangler. The unique front end suspension of a utility vehicle, but compromised to make it more car-like for daily drivers. Soft rubber bushings, etc. Maybe some combination of all those things just means there's going to be wobble every now and then. Dunno.
Could be worse I guess. My Jeep doors could be leaking.
-Mike
http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-hy-neil9nov09,0,2482696.story?col- l=la-home-highway1
-Mike
I recently moved from Oregon to Southern California and I'm thrilled I can survive without a full soft-top on during the winter. I have a bikini top with a windjammer and duster for protection from the few rain storms that come through the area each winter (its not fully covered, but enough so I don't have to worry). I have a problem with rain pooling on the bikini top and duster cover and was wondering if any other owners experienced this problem and had any clever solutions. I was thinking of purchasing some straps and ties to keep tension tight to prevent pooling, but it is just a thought.
Thanks for helping!
No, that'll just give you a small puddle! You need something to push it into a slightly convex shape. There is a commercially avaliable product somewhere, but it's easy to do yourself. You need a springy strip of wood about 2" wide and 1/4" thick. It needs to be slightly longer than the width of your top, so that when you fit it between the bars above the doors it bows upwards. Fix it by attaching velcro to it, then wrapping the velcro around the bars. You can leave it as is, but I'd smooth the edges then varnish or seal it for a nicer end product.
Would like to carry a canoe on top. Would appreciate all suggestions. Thanks, spiderwebil
I am interested in buying a Jeep Wrangler.
2001-2005, a soft-top,a 6cyl at minimum. I do not want to spend more than $10,000.
I will not use it to offroad.
any help or advice will be greatly appreciated.
thanks and take care
Reasonably priced too at $99.95 from Olympic and available here 4WD.com.
Then there's the Congo Rack from Kargo Master which costs $319.99 for the Unlimited from the same place, and can be used with a soft or hard top.
There's a crossbar kit for that one if you need it.
There's more out there if you look. :shades:
-Dan
BTW, most people are amazed to learn there's such beautiful country in Oklahoma. I was! (Great national forest roads, with several side spurs leading who knows where!)
I have problems manipulating Photobucket as well, but your picture seems a great size to me.
Thanks for the correction, and for the link!
This tuffy replaces the factory console, which was lacking in my SE entirely so it made it easy to install. Above the sub, I still have plenty of secure storage room too w/o losing any space in back.
-Paul
Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a try.
-Rob
-Paul
Went back to the dealership yesterday and told everyone who would listen how ridiculous this whole situation is. Invited all of the people in charge dressed in nice clothes to sit in the Jeep while I sprayed a hose on it to see if they thought the leaking was "normal." All declined.
The sales mgr. gave the info. to his boss, so we will see where this goes.
Day before yesterday, the service mgr. took a brand new 2005 Rocky Mt. Edition with a soft top right off the lot and sprayed a hose on it and guess what? It leaked as badly as mine. Surprise surprise. I got this VIN # of that car and asked them if they intended to sell it as a new car now, knowing that it leaks. No answer.
I told the service mgr. and the sales mgr. that if Wranglers are designed to leak (at least according to the powers-that-be at Chrysler) I'd like them to show me the page in the manual where it says that. Also told them that they've been wasting their time trying to fix a problem that, apparently doesn't exist. Perhaps Chrysler should have told their people that Wranglers are "designed" to leak like Niagra Falls whenever it rains. Would save the guys and gals in the service dept. a lot of time.
believe it or not, I didn't lose much space switching from the add a trunk to the Soundeck.
-Dan
The thing I like best about the Congo Rack is that you can remove two bolts on the windshield mounts and then flip the whole rack backwards to put the top up or down. Very slick.
If you go with any rack that requires you to remove the torx bolts on the windshield pillars I recommend you take some cash to a body shop and have them remove all the bolts you need. Search this forum for "Torx Bolts" to read my long frustrating story. Of course you're probably more mechanically inclined than I am so you may not have so many problems.
Yours in Jeep Coolness,
Dave
Thank you
It's all necessary, no question, but none of it has to be done by a Jeep dealer. Many people do it themselves, the information on how to do it all is in your Owners Handbook, and you can make substantial savings that way.
In fact, even if you chose to buy a floor jack and stands plus all the tools and parts required to do the entire 30K service, you'd still be ahead of what the dealer would charge you!
Thanks!
It doesn't really work that way. Total lift will equal about 7"-8" and dropping the t/c by an equal amount will return the propshafts approximately to their original angles. However, this will (a), point the front of the engine at the sky, (b), prevent you from operating either shifter, and (c), considerably reduce your ground clearance.
The correct solution is fit a slip yoke eliminator to the t/c, and to use a rear propshaft with a double cardan joint and its own slip joint. The axles are then rotated to give the correct angles. Of course, you'll have to cut and reweld the front hubs to correct the castor angle.
A 'Spring Over Axle' lift is one of the more difficult ways to lift a leaf sprung vehicle.
You're welcome!
Oil changes are $20 at the place around the corner so I don't usually bother to do it myself anymore. The fluids to be changed every couple years or so are your coolant, manual or automatic transmission fluid, transfer case (which takes ATF fluid), and both differentials (make sure you have the $3 Mopar special additive for your rear one if you have the limited slip). Most quick-lube places will do those for a fraction of the price the dealership will charge you. Coolant and automatic transmission fluid changes are usually about $40 to $60 each, the others between $10 to $20 each. If you have them all done by the same place or shop, you ought to be able to argue down the price a bit. So figure between $100 and $150 for all the fluid changes and they should throw in your tire rotation for free. None of these "should be done by the dealer." These are not mechanically difficult tasks, they are the simplest of maintainence chores that mostly involve opening up a plug, draining out the old fluid, putting the plug back in and refilling with fresh fluid. $700 is a typical stealership ripoff.
Ryan
I'm thinkin' we might have discussed this via posting or via emails, but where in southern IN do you live, and would a trip to Turkey Bay for some wheelin' be out of the question?
Why don't you email me, and let's talk about it. My email is public in my profile here at Edmunds.
I've been having trouble mustering enthusiasm for wheelin' since I lost my Puppy. It was our favorite thing, and it was something that we always did together. Ross Allen was my number one Jeepin' buddy. I'll bet I have been wheelin' 200 times, and he was with me all but three times. I sure miss him.
Anyway, about your lift...
If all you plan to do is mild wheelin', then there is no need for a big lift and big tires. The higher you go on your lift, the more you mess up your driveline angles. You reach a point at about 3" of lift where you need to make driveline angle correction. This can be done with a transfer case drop, but that just reduces the ground clearance that you had gained by the lift.
There are all kinds of things that come into play with a big lift. The driveline angles that I just mentioned are one thing, but there is also steering geometry to consider. The axles are attached to the frame by control arms. When you raise the frame higher, as you do with a suspension lift, that has the effect of pulling the front axle towards the back of the Jeep and the back axle toward the front of the Jeep. This repositioning of the front axle will take you out of the desired range for castor, and it can even cause death wobble.
I think good old Mac hit it right on the head. Get yourself an OME lift, and this will give you about 2.5" to 3" of lift. (The OME for TJs is nominally a two inch lift, but people get a little more than that usually, especially when they go with the heavy duty springs. Lots of folks say that the ride is better than factory with the OME springs and OME shocks, even with the heavy duty version.) You will need to drop the transfer case for driveline angle correction, but you should not need to mess with control arms. Your steering geometry will probably not be messed up enough to hurt anything, but you WILL need to have the front end aligned immediately after the lift is installed.
A cheap alternative to a suspension lift would be a spacer lift, or "Budget Boost," as they are often called. Rubicon express makes a kit for just a little over $200, This gives you a 2" lift. Longer shocks come with that kit.
Holler at me.
Tom
Have you hugged your Jeep today?
http://home.earthlink.net/~tsjay53/