I'm new to the forum and ready to move on a 2005 Rubi. My wife has a new JL Sahara and we have both been bit HARD by the Jeep bug. Already off roading and building her Jeep up so now it's my turn. Can't afford two JL's so I honed in on the 2003-2006 Rubi. I'm new to the 4:10 gear ratio but familiar with the inline 6 engine.
I found one that just became available at a local dealer. Here are the specs:
2005 Rubi.
115,000 miles.
ALL stock and original except steering stabilizer and stereo.
Hard top only.
Engine and underbelly completely dry, no leaks or smells.
Tranny fluid still pink, smells fine and I believe it is original.
New Michelin tires (265/70 R16 I think).
Interior in very good shape, scratch/ding or two on the body which we will call built in character
Alignment is dead on.
Concerns:
When hitting the brakes it pulls left. Most likely bad left caliper. Dealer noticed this before I even mentioned it. They are looking into it.
When the locker switch is pushed up or down it does not appear to be locking the axles. The light does not come on and there is no noise coming from the underside indicating the axle locked.
** At highway speeds a weird cyclical vibration can be felt in the floor, NOT the steering wheel. It sort of comes in a wave, i.e. it starts off, then gets slightly more intense and then backs off and stops, then repeats within a few seconds. It's very odd and I have no clue what could be causing this. This is my biggest concern.
Transmission has a very slight clunk when putting it into gear sometimes and I think I may have felt it when I came to a complete stop once. Nothing very severe.
Idles fine but has that slight hiccup that the inline six seems to produce irradically.
Bouncy ride but I suspect with 13 year old shocks and springs that they are to blame and in short order a lift will be going on it.
Driver's seat sits low, would ultimately raise this by bolting some blocks between it and the floor.
I was shocked to find at 75 mph it was just above 2k RPMs, my 2005 Highlander is worse than that at close to 3k RPMs. But I noticed it would not go above 75 without a major push on the throttle and going down a slight grade. 75mph seems to be it's max highway speed.
Mashing the pedal to the floor does not produce the dropping two gears, spiking the RPM quick throttle response I am used to. I suspect this is the 4:10 gear ratio doing what they do.
I understand this is a 15 year old Jeep and that it's a... well... Jeep. I'm not looking for polish and finish. I'm looking for a solid starting point to build. I went for the Rubi because it has the locking diffs and I plan on offroading a couple of times a month. I'm not opposed to a Sahara but then I get the Dana 35's which aren't as robust as the Dana 44's BUT I suspect are better daily drivers for the highway. I've seen some Saharas and I'm not opposed to picking up one of them.
Dealer asking 14K, I said 12K and I think with my trade we can work it out to be 12K. I would be EXTREMELY grateful for any advice or words of wisdom!
I found one that just became available at a local dealer. Here are the specs:
2005 Rubi.
115,000 miles.
ALL stock and original except steering stabilizer and stereo.
Hard top only.
Engine and underbelly completely dry, no leaks or smells.
Tranny fluid still pink, smells fine and I believe it is original.
New Michelin tires (265/70 R16 I think).
Interior in very good shape, scratch/ding or two on the body which we will call built in character
Alignment is dead on.
Concerns:
When hitting the brakes it pulls left. Most likely bad left caliper. Dealer noticed this before I even mentioned it. They are looking into it.
When the locker switch is pushed up or down it does not appear to be locking the axles. The light does not come on and there is no noise coming from the underside indicating the axle locked.
** At highway speeds a weird cyclical vibration can be felt in the floor, NOT the steering wheel. It sort of comes in a wave, i.e. it starts off, then gets slightly more intense and then backs off and stops, then repeats within a few seconds. It's very odd and I have no clue what could be causing this. This is my biggest concern.
Transmission has a very slight clunk when putting it into gear sometimes and I think I may have felt it when I came to a complete stop once. Nothing very severe.
Idles fine but has that slight hiccup that the inline six seems to produce irradically.
Bouncy ride but I suspect with 13 year old shocks and springs that they are to blame and in short order a lift will be going on it.
Driver's seat sits low, would ultimately raise this by bolting some blocks between it and the floor.
I was shocked to find at 75 mph it was just above 2k RPMs, my 2005 Highlander is worse than that at close to 3k RPMs. But I noticed it would not go above 75 without a major push on the throttle and going down a slight grade. 75mph seems to be it's max highway speed.
Mashing the pedal to the floor does not produce the dropping two gears, spiking the RPM quick throttle response I am used to. I suspect this is the 4:10 gear ratio doing what they do.
I understand this is a 15 year old Jeep and that it's a... well... Jeep. I'm not looking for polish and finish. I'm looking for a solid starting point to build. I went for the Rubi because it has the locking diffs and I plan on offroading a couple of times a month. I'm not opposed to a Sahara but then I get the Dana 35's which aren't as robust as the Dana 44's BUT I suspect are better daily drivers for the highway. I've seen some Saharas and I'm not opposed to picking up one of them.
Dealer asking 14K, I said 12K and I think with my trade we can work it out to be 12K. I would be EXTREMELY grateful for any advice or words of wisdom!
