From Toy to Daily Driver

sgtjdgelinas

sgtjdgelinas

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 17, 2017
Messages
569
Location
Sanford nc
After two years of barely driving the TJ, to daycare every day and some weekend trips, I've taken a job where I'll have to drive it about 60 miles daily.
What would you do to prep your Jeep for this transition? I've changed the oil regularly, flushed the coolant system and changed the Transmission oil. All advice is welcome.
 
I commute in my LJ daily, but its only about 5-6 miles each way.

I would recommend taking everything out you can to lighten it up (trail / recovery gear, hi lift jack, etc), and if it needs tires choose A/Ts over M/Ts. (or be silly like me and have two sets) And since you have an automatic, I'm a big fan of the Derale automatic transmissions cooler after installing one.

Besides that, general maintenance on everything. And realize you're driving a brick down the road, so gas mileage isn't going to be great no matter what you do. :)
 
I commute 40 miles a day. Make it as light as you possibly can. what tires do yo have, and what psi do you run them?
 
That all seems like pretty common sense stuff, I drive it two miles every day, and I have a newer set of MT's so I won't be changing tires anytime soon. I don't have any issues driving it any distance right now other than the AC is out and it's summer in NC.
I also have a motorcycle to share the load with the TJ.
 
If you've been blowing off replacing your speedo gear because you weren't using it as a DD, now's the time to get it.

Right after I had my lift and tires put on (and when I was still using my TJ as a daily driver), I didn't replace my speedo gear. I couldn't figure out why everyone on the highway was going so friggin' slow while I was still trying to hit the speed limit.
 
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Jeffreybomb said:
If you've been blowing off replacing your speedo gear because you weren't using it as a DD, now's the time to get it.

Right after I had my lift and tires put on (and when I was still using my TJ as a daily driver), I didn't replace my speedo gear. I couldn't figure out why everyone on the highway was going so friggin' slow while I was still trying to hit the speed limit.
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It's on the list, I checked my speed with an app and at 70 my speedo reads 90.
 
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I DD mine 40 miles a day, I dont carry anything inside other than my coffee. When I go on longer trips (over 100 miles), I find a set of ear plugs definitely help
 
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I don't DD mine, but I do drive it to work often. 52 miles round trip. Just make sure your maintenance is up to snuff, and you should be golden. I don't carry around a bunch of extra stuff. My trail gear is all removable. I also have a QD on my CB antenna, so that is in the garage.

I also second the earplugs.
 
I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but I stand by my statement that one of the most important systems (and probably the most common system to fail with mileage and age) on any vehicle is the cooling system. That being said, if I was going to daily my TJ, I'd make sure the cooling system was overhauled.

A lot of people would assume that just because they have 50k miles that their cooling system is fine. However, if your cooling system has 50k miles but your vehicle is 13 years old (assuming it's the stock cooling system), then it's still time for some preventative maintenance if you ask me.

That being said, this thread may be of use to you: Jeep Wrangler TJ Cooling System Overhaul FAQ
 
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The speedo will finally be accurate.
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The only issue I found was where the SYE is kept me from setting the gear mount to the 39-45 space, it's at the space for up to 38 and I installed a 39 tooth gear. Doesn't seem to have any ill effects so far.

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