LOL, are you serious!? I had no idea until you just told me. A less "tippy" vehicle? What a joke!
Why are track bars bad on the YJs? I know nothing about YJs, so this is all news to me.
What's a real Jeep?
- Thread starter StG58
- Start date
LOL, are you serious!? I had no idea until you just told me. A less "tippy" vehicle? What a joke!
Why are track bars bad on the YJs? I know nothing about YJs, so this is all news to me.
VirtualRussel
TJ Enthusiast
The track bar is used to keep the axle from shifting side to side and is necessary on coil sprung vehicles. The leaf springs in YJs, CJs, etc already keep the axle from shifting. Granted, if your vehicle weighs enough and has large enough tires then there could still be a need for it but a factory YJ will never be that heavy. All it does on a YJ is limit articulation.
CJ owners are indebted to the YJ though because they did come with wider & stronger springs than anything previously. I run OME YJ springs on my CJ.
I was about to say... Wouldn't the leaf springs keep the axle from moving laterally on the YJ?
So basically the track bar on the YJ is pretty much useless? Do a lot of people end up removing the track bars on the YJ then?
VirtualRussel
TJ Enthusiast
This is a real Jeep!
Oh, wait a minute...
Oh, wait a minute...
If you put a bucket on the front of that it would be an oversized bobcat skid steer.
Fun thread.
In stock form, I think the TJ and XJ 4x4 are the perfect blend of simplicity and technology. Still easy to work on and find replacement parts, but with fuel injection, air bags, great suspension etc.
In stock form, I think the TJ and XJ 4x4 are the perfect blend of simplicity and technology. Still easy to work on and find replacement parts, but with fuel injection, air bags, great suspension etc.
Ted
TJ Enthusiast
Jeep has gone away with what I call a real jeep. I know several thousand people here in AK that have JK's. Electrical gremlins are the biggest problem with the newer JKs. A few have redone almost everything to better them. I know several that have built and redone things and have put an additional $50- $60K into them. They work for the big oil companies and make $150k + a year so they have the money to do it. I can't afford it. But it really feels good when all that money fails to do any better than I can do. Make me smile inside.
OP
I'm running into that right now. The wife traded into her dream JKU recently. Beautiful rig. Comfortable, powerful and solid. She's leaving it up to me to modify it so she can go the same places that my SE goes. That's turning into a nightmare. Is it capable off road? Undoubtedly. But, it's longer, wider, taller and heavier by a substantial amount. Sure, I can probably make it happen. She's going to loose some of that pretty paint in the process though. It's also going to cost a grip o' cash as well.
I have a really hard time imagining paying 40k for a brand new JKU and then taking it off-road to damage the paint and everything else.
Sure, if I was loaded out the ears, but I'm not... So, for most of us, I can kind of understand why you see so many of them "unmolested".
But, like @StG58 pointed out a while back, that means more Dana 44 axles for us!
Sure, if I was loaded out the ears, but I'm not... So, for most of us, I can kind of understand why you see so many of them "unmolested".
But, like @StG58 pointed out a while back, that means more Dana 44 axles for us!
I'm with you. I hope to find my wife a used JKU Mall Crawler. Let someone else spend the $$$$ up front and then I'll reap the benefits. Figure when the 2018 model rolls out the soccer moms will need to upgrade.
Ted
TJ Enthusiast
They are capable. But for what it cost + building I would rather have a TJ. Im not into the JK's. As far as I'm concerned Jeep went to shit in 06. I have a LJ Rubicon and a 15 Rubicon in the drive. I don't want todrive it and neither does my wife but my daughter is more than happy to do it.
Running with JK's everytime I go out here in AK I have seen many struggle with what my LJ easily does. But not all of them can drive.
Running with JK's everytime I go out here in AK I have seen many struggle with what my LJ easily does. But not all of them can drive.
OP
Upgrade parts for the JK's run 50 to 100% more than the same type parts for a TJ. What the asking price is on some of that stuff is plainly astounding! Factor in the cost of even a good used JK and it makes me shake my head. We, unfortunately, paid more for a four year old JKU than what it sold for new. Why? It was the only JKU in the Pacific Northwest that was that specific color of Red, and it had the factory half doors. With the new JL's coming out in a matter of months, without a half door option, the value is only going to increase. It was now, or never.
True fact, there. I wish you success on that though. The street value is going through the roof around here on the JK's.
That's true as well. The JK's got a lot of folks into Jeeps that would have never thought of getting a TJ. Once they got them, they of course, wanted to take them off road. It's a pretty steep learning curve going from driving a Suburu on a gravel road to taking a JK off road.
True fact, there. I wish you success on that though. The street value is going through the roof around here on the JK's.
There have been more JK's built since 2012 (starting there because you couldn't give me a 3.8 v6) than TJ's during their production run. I'm just figuring that all these Mall Crawlers that are trying to keep up with the Joneses will flood the market with used 2012-2016 models when the 2018 comes out. But with that said, I plan on holding onto my TJ until they bury me in it.
There have been more JK's built since 2012 (starting there because you couldn't give me a 3.8 v6) than TJ's during their production run. I'm just figuring that all these Mall Crawlers that are trying to keep up with the Joneses will flood the market with used 2012-2016 models when the 2018 comes out. But with that said, I plan on holding onto my TJ until they bury me in it.
The JK/U is a trendy vehicle right now. I see bunches of them driven by soccer moms and the like. The same as big SUV's in years past. Jeep did it right by making them plush enough for soccer moms to drive the kids to and fro with Starbucks in one hand and IPhone in the other. If @JP98 claims of build numbers are correct, you can't fault them from a business standpoint even if they are less "Jeepy."
OP
Probably, and faster than the with the CJ's as well. It's getting really hard to find a rust free, unmolested TJ around here right now, give it another few years...
The JKU is a smashing success for Chrysler. They even admitted that it's blown them away how successful it's been. This is one reason they're very, very reluctant to change it that much. They fear if they do that, they'll lose a lot of the dedicated Jeep crowd who loves the Wrangler. They quickly put the IFS rumors on the JL to rest, because they knew that would be like sacrilege to Wrangler enthusiasts (and it would be).
So, the JL will have some changes, but they won't be enough to make it something totally new. I think mainly they're now looking for ways they can get better fuel economy out of them, that's the real issue.
So, the JL will have some changes, but they won't be enough to make it something totally new. I think mainly they're now looking for ways they can get better fuel economy out of them, that's the real issue.
OP
I don't really think they are less "Jeepy", certainly not less capable. Just a different take on the same theme. They are a home run for Chrysler.
We'll have to wait and see what the JL brings to the table. Between fuel economy and safety, it's going to be interesting.
The upside of the current JK trendiness is that there will be a lot of cheap JKs out here eventually.
When that happens, you can restore your TJ (Like so many are doing with CJs) and beat the hell out of a JK.
When that happens, you can restore your TJ (Like so many are doing with CJs) and beat the hell out of a JK.