Experience with a JK (1 Viewer)

[jimbo92]

Got into a discussion over in the 300 series thread, and figured I would start a new post as to not derail that thread any further.

I have always been a cruiser guy. I grew up wheeling the pine barrons of NJ in my grandfathers 72 FJ40 that he bought brand new. I've had 3 40 series, 3 80s, and a 3rd gen runner. Dad and I are currently restoring a 77 FJ45.

When the time came to purchase something new, reliable, and capable enough to suit my needs the only thing that popped up was the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited JK. Solid axles, 6 speed manual, removable top/doors, and a good aftermarket following. Was I going to regret this "Jeep thing"?

1st impression...this thing is not the 80 it replaced. Build quality is NOT on par with an 80. However, new this Jeep is like 32 grand and in today's dollars my LX450 would be over 70. Is there a difference? Yes. Is there 40k of difference? No. Chrysler has come a long way, and for what it is it is a very decent vehicle. The updates in 2011 made a WORLD of difference to the drive-ability. It is fairly quiet, rides decent, and tracks well at speed. With the hardtop on it is almost like a normal vehicle and has all the normal features: PW/PL, Sirius radio, Infinity sound, and a bunch of safety crap.

Offroad....wow this thing is impressive. It goes about anywhere you point it. Great gearing options with the 6 speed, hill start assist is the bomb, and the power steering has no problem turning the 35s. The traction control is as good as anyone could ask for and kicks in very quickly.

How are they built? Very well. Nice big control arms with big bushings, a strong fully boxed frame, decent skid plates, and very good factory sliders. You can make fun of the plastic bumper and fenders all you want...but they always snap back into place, and compressed air always straightens that bumper back out. The Dana 44 used is 44% stronger than a standard 44 and has the same size pinion as a dana 60. Even the dana 30 is high pinion and uses joints that are equivalent to a 1350 which is bigger than a standard 44 (1310).

Overall it has been a very good truck that has taken everything I have thrown at it. At 87k miles it is still very solid and drives great. Will it do it at 300k like an 80 series? Probably not. But, with stupid high resale value, when the warranty runs out at 100k there is a good chance I will sell it and just jump into a new one and start over.

So overall anybody looking to replace what the 80 series could do in a more modern vehicle I definitely recommend the JK. Compared to the TJ i tried a few years ago it is light years ahead. The TJ was easy to break. Tj dana 30 was a weak low pinion turd with tiny joints, and the Y-Link steering was traaaaash. It was knocked out of alignment every time I wheeled and bent very easily.

 

[jimbo92]

I am hard on the equipment:
(JK)

(LX450)

 

[Canyonero]

"Build quality is NOT on par with an 80."

What do you mean by this? What has not held up on the JK or is inferior to a LC 80?

Thanks for the write up though, you definitely have credibility with many types of 4x4's so it's nice to see some information that contradicts my bias against Jeep quality. Hope your JK continues to perform.

 

[jimbo92]

Just doesn't feel as solid as the 80. The 80 just had a weighted tank like feel to it. It was like wheeling a bank vault. Materials used inside, and fit and finish was better. Nothing faded on the 80, glass headlamps, and overall it was just way over engineered compared to the jeep

 

[Enigma]

If I was in the market for a new 4x4, I'd buy one. These new JK's tick off all the boxes for me; 4 doors, soft top convertible, factory lockers, gear reduction, etc etc. Essentially everything the FJC should have been.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

I like them too, but my experience is limited to 6 weeks-three 2 week trips to Hawaii. The interior is a bit cheap feeling and tries too hard to be tough (in fairness, the FJ Cruiser does this too), but it's otherwise good. It holds 4 people and luggage easily, ride is fine (but I'm not super picky) and the 2-3 times I took it off road the 4wd system worked as expected. I never took the hard top off just because it wasn't mine, but it looked easy.

I will also say I have seen literally dozens of them on the Rubicon trail, so they work and don't break at the first pot hole.

Having owned one other Chrysler product, I don't think I'd want one past 100K miles, but maybe things have changed.

Good review.

 

[jimbo92]

Well, it either popped out of gear or i put it in 6th instead of reverse. Ended up in the lake as a total loss. Bought it back from insurance and sold it to a buddy. Pulled the plugs when it happened and blew the water out. Sat in the lake for about 12 hours. Drove itself on the trailer and everything seems to work after drying out several days. I have ordered a new hardrock rubicon to replace it. 6 speed should be nice with 4:1. Heated leather and nav will be a nice addition as well. Sure will miss the fact this one was close to paid for...

 

[Sligex]

Eh, you can wash the JK interior with a hose if you wanted to

I suppose if it wasn't pulling air then you didn't have to worry about hydrolocking, that would be a great deal considering I've seen JK's do worse

If it was pretty much any other vehicle, no way.

 

[jimbo92]

So have put about 4k on the new rig in a month of ownership. The new motor (83 more horse) is such an improvement! So is the 4:1 case, electronic swaybar disco, and lockers. Also like the fact the jeep finally stepped up the interior. Heated leather and a 9 speaker alpine system have made it a much nicer place to be. Pulls my pop up like a champ.

 

[NMBruce]

I have a 2013 JKUR and it is a great SUV. I do trails in CO and no rock clawing, so the Jeep is stronger than what I need and I am also amazed at the place it will go. I drove it to Alaska and back pulling a off road trailer (1200 lbs loaded) last year and avg 17.5 mpg. I have only one major complain with it, the seats (passengers is worst), after about 8 hours my back is killing me, at the end of a long day, it sucked. But I think a lifted GX470 will go where I want and be more comfortable getting there, so I will switch in the next few months.

I think you will love the Jeep, congrats

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

I switched from a 100-series with everything to a new JKUR. I agree with everything Jimbo said. I can't compare to an 80, but rock crawling the jeep is like auto pilot compared to the 100. Can stays level and the suspension does the work. It's not built nearly as heavy duty as a land cruiser but as other have said, I'll just buy a new one every 4-5 years. I get bored once the project is done anyway.

As for the gx470, they're nice looking. But I wheeled top of the world with a very built up one and it made it. But they only have like 8" of clearance. It seemed to require a lot of spotting even compared to a long wheelbase Tacoma on 32s. Granted it was built for overland travel not rock crawling. But I'd stick with the Jeep or a new 4Runner if I were you.

 

[jimbo92]

Good write up klaus. Little update on my end. On my way back from Florida and about to tick over 23k miles in just over 5 months. Jeep has been very solid and wheeled all over. Towed my popup to Moab with it and wheeled the trails at ouray in the process. Averaged 16-17 mpg towing and was comfortable enough for 3 people. Once we got there it was amazing what this thing will do. Drop it in low, hit the diff locks and sway bar and let off the clutch and it just goes. Also amazed at the creature comforts they have crammed in it. Great alpine stereo, comfortable heated leather seats, voice recognition, and blue tooth. It's also amazingly quiet with the hardtop. Once at the trail it sure is nice being able to take it apart and be able to see. Is it a car? No, but they did a darn good job of providing a good enough middle ground where there aren't a whole lot of sacrifices made to be capable OffRoad and good on the road.

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

Still loving mine. It's the size of an 80-series with better suspension, faster, more fuel efficient, and more fun. I wish it came from the factory a bit more heavy duty (stronger Dana 44s, CV-axles, exterior plastics that don't fade immediately). And I wish it was about a foot longer inside like the Africa Concept so I could sleep in it more comfortably. But most of that is easily addressed with aftermarket support and very reasonably priced.

If Toyota built one, I'd buy it. I still not so secretly want a 200-series. But honestly, it couldn't replace the Jeep off road or on fun sunday drives. So until I need more seats, I'll probably stay in Jeep world.

 

[Canyonero]

Great to hear how the new Jeeps are holding up. I considered buying one (test drive a 6-speed manual JK) before I bought my 2015 200 series. The main reasons I decided against the Jeep: too small for a family of 5 to comfortably handle adventures, and reliability concerns.

Since a lot of the trails involve large to/from drives, both of those concerns took the Jeep out of the running. But hey, now I have a 5 passenger Honda Pioneer that WILL go anywhere a Jeep will go!

They (Jeeps and Land Cruisers) are vehicles that generally live in different worlds, and even the most built 200 series will struggle in a lot of places a stock Jeep Rubicon can go. But on the other hand, it seems to me that all the best trails aren't the ones that require a Jeep anyway. At least in Colorado.

 

[NMBruce]

My Jeep did great for the 3 years/70k miles I drove it. I think Jeep still needs to work on the seats, to me they need to be in a better seating position or adjustable and the rear seats need to be redone. But for getting off road, it is a goat. Be careful as you get more miles on her, the engine can start running warm, I started having problems pull mountains out west. If the antifreeze starts to turn orange color, time to change it out.

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

Great to hear how the new Jeeps are holding up. I considered buying one (test drive a 6-speed manual JK) before I bought my 2015 200 series. The main reasons I decided against the Jeep: too small for a family of 5 to comfortably handle adventures, and reliability concerns.

Since a lot of the trails involve large to/from drives, both of those concerns took the Jeep out of the running. But hey, now I have a 5 passenger Honda Pioneer that WILL go anywhere a Jeep will go!

They (Jeeps and Land Cruisers) are vehicles that generally live in different worlds, and even the most built 200 series will struggle in a lot of places a stock Jeep Rubicon can go. But on the other hand, it seems to me that all the best trails aren't the ones that require a Jeep anyway. At least in Colorado.

I agree about the space. That's part of why I switched. It's just me, the dog and my wife. We didn't need 8 seats. But I really had to downsize my gear and get clever about packing the Jeep for overland-style trips.

I think the Jeep drives just as well as my 100 did once it was lifted. My steering was always a little off after lifting the front end, even with aftermarket UCAs. Meanwhile the Jeep drives better lifted 4" than it did stock (steering still requires a lot of input). But that's more a testament to AEV's engineering than the Jeep. But I've driven it from LA to CO, ran the kokopelli trail and drove home all over 4-5 days and I didn't really have any complaints about the highway manners or comfort. It actually got up the mountain passes a lot more easily.

The Jeep has had some issues. (one of my drive belt pulley is whining and has been since crossing a muddy river. Dealer still hasn't figured out what's causing it. But that's an issue for LC's also, and even harder to fix since the 100-series requires pulling the radiator to fix the alternator). The top has leaked the whole time which wasn't an issue because of the drought. But that's finally getting fixed with updated seals tomorrow. The undercoating isn't great. Chips easily. The paint scratches through if you look at it too hard. And the sheet metal rivals the thickness of HD aluminum foil. They also come without a bunch of things that should be standard, like door sills, or a dead pedal, or A pillar grab handles, or a hood lock, or functional headlights, or wheels that can accept bigger tires. But you put up with all of that because it has no real competition, aftermarket support solves most of these issues, and they're cheap to run since spare parts are plentiful and often times free.

 

[Canyonero]

That's great feedback! It's more or less what I would anticipate about Jeeps - both the good and bad. I'm guessing when my kids are grown and out of the house, I'll probably take the plunge on a Jeep. I'm guessing there still won't be a competitor since there has never been one so far.