Related... but not the same
- Thread starter StG58
- Start date
That's all fine and dandy, if you have 40k laying around, or you want to finance it.
Most of us however do not. But hey... If I ever win the lotto!
Another way to look at this is that it drives down repair cost for consumers. Which is a good thing.
Not saying I like it. I actually prefer the PSC type metal tube fenders on JK fronts. Think the painted to match tube fenders actually look better than the pastic fenders.
I also believe it may be the Jeep engineers's ways of creating confidence in JK customers to take their JK's out to explore. Which is good for all Jeep owners becuae it arguably opens up trails and parks. I can hear the engineers now, "these fenders are plastic, if you bend it or put it against a tree/rock it will pop right back into place. At the worst it will cost less to replace it since it is made of plastic. "
PLEASE NOTE: I am simply playing devils advocate here.
Oh I am sorry I thought you were trying to get a point across that the JK is more expensive than the TJ was.
I was simply pointing out the TJ and JK arguably cost the same brand new when inflation is calculated.
If you utilize resources one can "easily" purchase/finance a JK(R)/JKU(R) for much less than dealer invoice. One of the arguably pros to the the JK, its still on dealers lots.
Some JK forum members have had very great success at coming together and doing group buys at one dealer. Offering that dealer 15+ sales in a week or soemthing. Some claim to have gotten get their JKs for less than SMSRP.
Makes we wonder if that was a thing bck in the TJ days. How cool.
Some JK forum members have had very great success at coming together and doing group buys at one dealer. Offering that dealer 15+ sales in a week or soemthing. Some claim to have gotten get their JKs for less than SMSRP.
Makes we wonder if that was a thing bck in the TJ days. How cool.
OP
That would probably be a somewhat better, or closer, comparison. I own a TJ SE and a JKU though. That's what I have on hand to compare.
Roger that.That would probably be a somewhat better, or closer, comparison. I own a TJ SE and a JKU though. That's what I have on hand to compare.
OP
Skid plates...
The TJ has the "infamous" shovel and a gas tank skid that seemed to have come from the factory pre-rusted. Both work, to a point, on and off road.
This is going to blow some minds. Our JKU Sport has a gas tank skid. That's it. No protection for the engine or transmission. The underside is exposed to whatever is on the trail. There are a lot of tubes, wires, plastic and aluminum parts just waiting to get beat on or snagged.
The TJ has the "infamous" shovel and a gas tank skid that seemed to have come from the factory pre-rusted. Both work, to a point, on and off road.
This is going to blow some minds. Our JKU Sport has a gas tank skid. That's it. No protection for the engine or transmission. The underside is exposed to whatever is on the trail. There are a lot of tubes, wires, plastic and aluminum parts just waiting to get beat on or snagged.
OP
Oil changes...
TJ, four quarts of 10W-30 and a filter. Traditional placement of drain and filter. Easily accessible from underneath.
JKU, 6 quarts of 5W-30 and a filter cartridge. Drain plug in the usual place with the filter on top in a housing. You have to remove a plastic beauty shield to get to the filter and oil fill, but the beauty piece just pops on and off.
Here's a gotcha on the JKU. The anti-drain back valve is in the oil filter canister. It's a pretty flimsy plastic assembly. They break often enough that Crown has a "fix it" kit out for the problem. Get one. They are about $20 on Amazon. If yours breaks, you are done until it's repaired. The dealership wants several $100 to repair it, and they replace the whole oil cooler / oil filter assembly.
TJ, four quarts of 10W-30 and a filter. Traditional placement of drain and filter. Easily accessible from underneath.
JKU, 6 quarts of 5W-30 and a filter cartridge. Drain plug in the usual place with the filter on top in a housing. You have to remove a plastic beauty shield to get to the filter and oil fill, but the beauty piece just pops on and off.
Here's a gotcha on the JKU. The anti-drain back valve is in the oil filter canister. It's a pretty flimsy plastic assembly. They break often enough that Crown has a "fix it" kit out for the problem. Get one. They are about $20 on Amazon. If yours breaks, you are done until it's repaired. The dealership wants several $100 to repair it, and they replace the whole oil cooler / oil filter assembly.
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Sounds like my wife's 2012 Grand Cherokee.
I'm not sure what you mean by the drain back valve though?
OP
If the wife's Grand Cherokee has the 3.6 V6, the oil filter is in a canister on the top front of the engine. Inside that canister is a plastic and metal anti-drain back valve. It looks kind of like a really spindly cage with a tiny boob on top. It has a tendency to break when the canister top is unscrewed and the filter is pulled out. Doesn't do it often, but you shouldn't drive the rig if it does. No 2012 to 2014 or '15 3.6 liter V6? No problem.
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I agree, with inflation included. I couldn't have afforded a new one then, or now. To me to pay sticker price is just not worth it on any car. That's me though. If I had a couple million in the bank I'd still buy used and spend the rest elsewhere
OP
The TJ compared to the JKU "off road" is interesting. The TJ SE has nothing in the way of computer assistance on it, and the JKU has a ton of goodies that "help" you drive under various conditions. My SE doesn't even have anti-lock brakes. The JKU has anti-lock brakes, traction control, a stability system, hill decent and at least one more nanny control that escapes me at the moment. When you take the TJ out, you just drive it to the best of your abilities. It goes where you point it and does what you tell it. Not necessarily so on the JKU.
Lifting a JKU or even putting larger tires on it changes the inputs to the computer and also changes how it reacts. Most of the changes are subtle, and barely noticeable, but they are there. One example that comes to mind is when the wife was learning how to hill climb on a loose surface. The traction control was actually fighting her. With the traction control on in 2wd the JKU would bog down and try to dig the rear tires in. In 4hi, it was better but still noticeable. It did OK in 4lo. Most of these nanny systems can be turned off once you learn the routine, but shut the rig off and you have to do the dance all over again. Each selection in the transfer case has a different program for the nanny systems in the computer. That can be a little disconcerting at times as the JKU reacts differently than you were expecting depending on 2x, 4hi or 4lo. Even just going above the tire size that came stock on a particular JKU has a pronounced effect on performance. That's both on road and off road. My best advice is to budget in a good programmer if you decide that a JK/U is going to join the stable.
We're still playing with the JKU off road, and learning what it likes and doesn't like. More on this later if anyone is interested.
Lifting a JKU or even putting larger tires on it changes the inputs to the computer and also changes how it reacts. Most of the changes are subtle, and barely noticeable, but they are there. One example that comes to mind is when the wife was learning how to hill climb on a loose surface. The traction control was actually fighting her. With the traction control on in 2wd the JKU would bog down and try to dig the rear tires in. In 4hi, it was better but still noticeable. It did OK in 4lo. Most of these nanny systems can be turned off once you learn the routine, but shut the rig off and you have to do the dance all over again. Each selection in the transfer case has a different program for the nanny systems in the computer. That can be a little disconcerting at times as the JKU reacts differently than you were expecting depending on 2x, 4hi or 4lo. Even just going above the tire size that came stock on a particular JKU has a pronounced effect on performance. That's both on road and off road. My best advice is to budget in a good programmer if you decide that a JK/U is going to join the stable.
We're still playing with the JKU off road, and learning what it likes and doesn't like. More on this later if anyone is interested.
Huh I had no idea. I wouldn't like that at all. If I bought a used JKU, I'd definitely want larger tires on it. Sure it'll be one of the family vehicles to go to Walmart, but I'd be pissed if the computer was fighting me.
OP
That's where the programmer comes in. The MOPAR engineers, bless their hearts, opened up the computer on the JK/U's, so you can go in and do a bunch of changes. Some good, some bad. It's actually nice in a way because with a higher end programmer you can adjust shift points, set the speedo for tire size, turn the various nanny controls on or off, tune the engine for torque and horsepower...you can even tune for what type of gas you are going to burn. There's a lot there to work with. It's not like a TJ though, if one of those systems develops a glitch, you have an expensive, time consuming issue on your hands.
The traction control and stability system will absolutely heat your brakes up if you get into it for awhile off road. It's doing Jerry's trick of applying the brakes to control wheel spin, with the addition of trying to keep the direction that the front wheels are pointed correlated with the direction the JK is headed. I guess you can make it spaz out going side hill as well, though I haven't gotten there yet.
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