Should I change all the fluids?

[Mjv]

What are your thoughts on changing all the fluids. Just bought a 2001 tj and am thinking change all fluids and start fresh as the new caretaker.

 

[Gasman]

that's exactly the first thing I would do with any used vehicle.

best to start fresh

 

[The IsARubicon]

We just got our 2006 LJR a few weeks ago and the first thing we did was change all the Jeep juice in it..

 

[Mjv]

Sound good to me. Who knows how many owners & how they took care of it. (All the fluids seem to appear normal in color and smell)

 

[Jerry Bransford]

We can make suggestions if we knew any details about your Jeep, your Profile is completely devoid of any information. Model year, engine size, transmission type, and if you intend on doing really tough trails or are planning on towing a trailer much.

 

[Mjv]

2001 tj 60th. 4.0 manual. Federal land trails, hunting land two tracks. No hard off roads.

 

[LieutenantJohnson]

yup good idea to change fluids and inspect all suspension and steering components.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

2001 tj 60th. 4.0 manual. Federal land trails, hunting land two tracks. No hard off roads.

Redline MTL for your NV3550 transmission. Any good quality GL-5 is fine for your axles like a 75W-90, 80W-120, 80W-90, etc. The viscosity is not critical so long as it's a GL-5 gear lube. I prefer a conventional gear lube in my axles, the axle's ring & pinion gears run cooler with a conventional gear lube (yes). Castrol, Valvoline, Pennzoil, NAPA, etc. are all fine.

Your power steering system requires a power steering fluid, a synthetic is good for that. Don't use ATF+4 in your power steering system like newer TJs use, the change to ATF+4 didn't occur until 2003. For the engine, any 5W-30 or 10W-30 is fine, I run a conventional Valvoline 10W-30 in mine. Your transfer case takes any good quality ATF, it's not fussy so long as it's labeled as an ATF.

 

[Mjv]

Thanks Jerry for all the great info!

 

[RMETeeJay]

Most definitely. It's also a great way to inspect and get familiar with your Jeep. You may find other things that need attention and/or discover mods that POs did.

Did the seller include any service records? If so, you may be able to skip some fluids and know when the next change should happen.

 

[Mjv]

No past service records. Whenever I sell a vehicle I give a load of paperwork.

 

[RMETeeJay]

Same here. It's always the first question I ask the seller, and more often than not there are none.

When I bought my TJ, I asked and seller says no. After I picked it up, I found a bunch of records in the glove compartment.

 

[Sea Cot]

that's exactly the first thing I would do with any used vehicle.

best to start fresh

I attempt to remove all traces of the previous owner(s) DNA before digging in to the maintenance of things. During the cleaning process, any loose change I find gives me feelings of having gotten a better deal.

 

[Mjv]

I found 85 cents and a lot of French fries.