What do you think the TJ should have come with from the factory (that you added on later) ?

GTboosted said:
2 or 3 PC hard top. They are heavy for a single person

A second strap and holder for the door. (Setting one for an adult and if you have kids a shorter one that you simply slide on a separate pin)...I swear I have panic attacks when my kids try opening the doors in a parking lot
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Got an aftermarket strap for mine with multiple holes so you just dial in the length you want.

—
There must have been a time
when we could have said no.
 
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psrivats said:
Thanks for sharing the JK details. Most of those issues sound like because of poor implementation rather than poor choice (cost cutting? Indifference? Who knows). Do you know if some of these were early issues and later model year JKs and this year's JL have these issues sorted out? I remember reading someplace that JW Speaker makes the headlights for JK models; thought they have a great reputation, no?

The best thing about Jeep aftermarket if that they can be better than factory (like Currie and Savvy for experience). Depending on what you can afford, there are always many options, which is never a bad thing.
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The only thing on that list I'm aware of them fixing for the JK is the headlights. I believe in 16 or 17 led headlights became an option. Now that option was apparently about 2x the price of a set of jw speakers at the time. At least so I was told, I never checked myself.

I have no idea what from that list is fixed other than the headlights are now better standard than an upgraded JK apparently.

—
There must have been a time
when we could have said no.
 
TJ2 said:
Mine turns on as soon as you start the engine. You have to manually turn it off.... every time.
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On a couple Fords I’ve looked at you can change that in the settings. I’m not sure what kind of Ford you have but you may want to search it out if you haven’t.
 
TJ2 said:
Yeah, and then there is like a horizontal bar stacked up hat shows how hot if it's all lit, then you need to push the button once every bar to lower it down.
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And thats a factory kit? There is no doubt in my mind thay there is an issue with yours that needs to be resolved on your particular F150. I find it incredibly hard to believe that Ford built and designed their heated seats to come on every single time you get into their trucks.
 
Fouledplugs said:
And thats a factory kit? There is no doubt in my mind thay there is an issue with yours that needs to be resolved on your particular F150. I find it incredibly hard to believe that Ford built and designed their heated seats to come on every single time you get into their trucks.
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Not always, mostly when it is cold weather, I think there is a sensor from the outside.
 
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Drizit said:
Higher fenders: they did this on the JK (stock it will take 33s if they aren't wide) but they held them on with plastic clips that snap when you look at em funny

Tummy tuck: they brought everything higher but used a trans crossmember made of tinfoil that gets bent out of shape it it comes within several feet of a rock. They also used a T-bar of plate about an inch wide and called it a transmission skid because when they had a slightly larger (I own larger frying pans) skid the trans would overheat.

Consensus: You should never expect the factory to get the upgrades you want correct.

What do I want? And option for more power and the drive train to stand up to it.

—
There must have been a time
when we could have said no.
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Funny the Cheif Engineer for the Wrangler explained why they have these issues and it makes complete sense.

The plastic clips are $5 and cheaper than a whole fender. The designed them to break at the cost of a cheaper part versus an expensive part.

The “tinfoil crossmemebers” are designed to hold the trans up yet be light and provide some drainage. They dont build Jeeps for the 2% that are hardcore off road enthusiasts. They build them for back and fourth commuters who make up a majority of Jeep Wrangler owners. Same for the TJ.

Thought you might like to see/hear a engineers perspective on common Wrangler complaints.

 
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psrivats said:
Thanks for sharing the JK details. Most of those issues sound like because of poor implementation rather than poor choice (cost cutting? Indifference? Who knows). Do you know if some of these were early issues and later model year JKs and this year's JL have these issues sorted out? I remember reading someplace that JW Speaker makes the headlights for JK models; thought they have a great reputation, no?

The best thing about Jeep aftermarket if that they can be better than factory (like Currie and Savvy for experience). Depending on what you can afford, there are always many options, which is never a bad thing.
Click to expand...
 
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Fouledplugs said:
Funny the Cheif Engineer for the Wrangler explained why they have these issues and it makes complete sense.

The plastic clips are $5 and cheaper than a whole fender. The designed them to break at the cost of a cheaper part versus an expensive part.

The “tinfoil crossmemebers” are designed to hold the trans up yet be light and provide some drainage. They dont build Jeeps for the 2% that are hardcore off road enthusiasts. They build them for back and fourth commuters who make up a majority of Jeep Wrangler owners. Same for the TJ.

Thought you might like to see/hear a engineers perspective on common Wrangler complaints.

Click to expand...
You are absolutely right about who they built jeeps for, but a guy can dream right?

As to the clips, if you buy em aftermarket they are cheaper than a fender, from the dealer though they are $8 each (in Canada) and there's over a half dozen per fender (don't remember the exact amount) look at it from the point of view of a tj though, our fenders don't drop off at a touch, and yet they tend not to get trashed ether.

—
There must have been a time
when we could have said no.
 
Drizit said:
but a guy can dream right?

As to the clips, if you buy em aftermarket they are cheaper than a fender, from the dealer though they are $8 each (in Canada) and there's over a half dozen per fender (don't remember the exact amount) look at it from the point of view of a tj though, our fenders don't drop off at a touch, and yet they tend not to get trashed ether.

—
There must have been a time
when we could have said no.
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Yes.


Yea I do wonder why they went to plastic on the JK. I can only guess because of the increased overall width of the Wrangler, they thought people might trash metal fenders out on the trails, so plastic was their solution. That and weight savings. Just a guess.
 
Among a few other things already mentioned in the previous post, my wishlist would include Dana 44’s front and rear. But actual Dana 44s with 1/2 walls and 3 inch tubes. The second generation Dana 44s would be even better, but they were engineered well after the TJ was designed. Better beefier engineered knuckles and inner C’s
But this is too specific to a rock crawler or hardcore off roader.

- A 4.0L with 1.5 horsepower per cubic inch like more properly tuned engines.

- An open source computer for fuel/air adjustments to support add-ons or power adder’s.

- A roll cage that continues all the way through the front passenger compartment of the TJ/LJ. Perhaps the front end of the cage could drop down behind the dash like some aftermarket fabricators have done in the past by cutting a hole in the corners of the dash.

- RB1 radio option.

- High pinion front end...still lost on why the TJ/LJ went low pinion after using high pinion on all the YJ’s.

- Deep tinted soft top windows.
 
Having just removed my fender flares to clean/polish (fronts) and strip/repaint (rears), I am scratching my head as to why the nutserts weren't installed ALL the way around. I rectified that myself:
normal_Nutserts2.jpg

normal_Nutserts1.jpg
 
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OK, I have one more to add to this after the big list I had in the original post.

LOCKING GAS CAPS from the factory and not as an optional thingy that the dealship installs later. I really hope JLs come with this.

The gas cap situation has bothered me from the day I got the jeep. I understand the heritage and the simplicity of just having a simple gas cap cover, and I have not had any mishaps but whenever I went hiking, I was worried about idiots putting crud into the gas tank. I just ordered a OEM locking cap off ebay (that can be keyed to the ignition key) thanks to pointers from @Fouledplugs and @L J.

A colleague at work got a Tesla a while ago, and some idiot keyed it badly in the 2nd week while it was charging in one of the courtesy stations at work. My colleague was so distraught. Some people just don't want anyone to have nice things.
 
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cliffish said:
where did you get those nutserts? and did you need a special tool to install them?
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I got them at McMaster-Carr, and yes, you will need a special tool also. I bought the aluminum nutserts in the same size as the factory steel nutserts - M5X.8 - the smaller "depth" of .5-3.3mm thickness. The corresponding tool is called a "Wrench-Drive Rivet Nut Installation Tool" for M5 Thread Size. I've used hundreds of these in various sizes over the years - mostly to install Corvette door panels securely on the fiberglass inner doors. Fair warning: If you've never installed these, you will need a 19/64" drill bit (an odd size, to be sure) to make the existing holes larger. Also, DO practice installing a few of these in a throwaway piece of steel - there is a VERY fine line between getting these aluminum nutserts to mushroom properly, and with just 1/16th of a turn too much on the tool, you will strip out the internal nutsert threads, forcing you to drill out the nutsert completely and try to reinstall a new one...

I reinstalled the front two fender flares yesterday - they came out great! Now I can remove them easily in the future if I need to do so; once I get the rear two flares repainted, it will be great to not have to remove the inner plastic fender wells to R&R the rear flares. Lastly, I liberally applied Anti-Seize to all the fastening hardware as a further prophylactic measure against future issues...
 
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