Bought a 2006 Wrangler X in January. I knew the gearing was low from the test drive, but didn't realize how low until after we drove it around a bit. I don't really need first gear unless starting uphill. Im in 6th gear by 35-40mph. My brother did the wheel turn test and we have 4.88s. He did it twice bc he thought he was wrong the first time.
Regardless, the rear end needs some attention. Definitely seals, maybe more. He's coming to take a deeper look this weekend. Assuming it's not totally trashed, we are debating whether to fix seals and deal with what we have, or get the axles rebuilt with different gears.
We bought this for our teenage son to drive. He won't be doing any hardcore rock crawling or off-roading. He just wants to get muddy. Most of his driving will be around town to school and sports. And some occasional summer beach trips (150 miles each way) which will get pricey with the gas mileage.
My brother did say these gears would be great for a bigger lift and 40s. But that's not happening. The 33s on it are almost brand new (less than 1500 miles) and I'm not putting my 16yo son on 40s.
If this were your teenage son's Jeep what would you do? Fix what we've got and deal with the terrible gas mileage? Get the gears changed out? Swapping the axles entirely is also an option, but not my preference. We can't buy brand new, and getting used axles I'm worried we'll just get a new set of problems.
Regardless, the rear end needs some attention. Definitely seals, maybe more. He's coming to take a deeper look this weekend. Assuming it's not totally trashed, we are debating whether to fix seals and deal with what we have, or get the axles rebuilt with different gears.
We bought this for our teenage son to drive. He won't be doing any hardcore rock crawling or off-roading. He just wants to get muddy. Most of his driving will be around town to school and sports. And some occasional summer beach trips (150 miles each way) which will get pricey with the gas mileage.
My brother did say these gears would be great for a bigger lift and 40s. But that's not happening. The 33s on it are almost brand new (less than 1500 miles) and I'm not putting my 16yo son on 40s.
If this were your teenage son's Jeep what would you do? Fix what we've got and deal with the terrible gas mileage? Get the gears changed out? Swapping the axles entirely is also an option, but not my preference. We can't buy brand new, and getting used axles I'm worried we'll just get a new set of problems.
