What have you done to your JK this week? 2.5M Views

[Nanook]

It's not what I've done, it's what I'm looking at doing.

I've been seriously considering selling the Wrangler and trading in for a diesel WK2 Grand Cherokee. I'm doing more and more long distance camper trailer towing and although my 3.8L Wrangler tows it fine, I'd like a little more poke getting up hills as well as an automatic.

I've looked at a couple so far and have been very impressed with them.

[SnakeDoctor]

Originally Posted by Nanook

It's not what I've done, it's what I'm looking at doing.

I've been seriously considering selling the Wrangler and trading in for a diesel WK2 Grand Cherokee. I'm doing more and more long distance camper trailer towing and although my 3.8L Wrangler tows it fine, I'd like a little more poke getting up hills as well as an automatic.

I've looked at a couple so far and have been very impressed with them.

I've got both a reasonable WK2 3.0 diesel/8speed and a JK 3.6/Auto (aev 2.5 with airbags)

In my opinion the JK handles the weight of my (1.4 ish T) camper trailer better from a suspension and stabilitiy perspective, the WK2 obviously is better at going up hills without big RPMs or dropping speed.

The JK is extremely comfortable off road, the WK2 has a very stiff ride without any wheel travel so it's relativelty jarring. Others don't seem to find this and it's better now with the road tyres instead of the heavy All Terrains I used to run.

We tend to take the JK on trips unless we are going to a Caravan Park or other non offroad destination, even if we aren't planning on going offroad we tend to find an excuse to go up a mystery road or two, much better with the added JK capability and much more relaxing knowing that the capability is there.

Before we got the JK we had taken the Grand Cherokee to Moreton, Fraser and other soft-road destinations.

[Nanook]

Originally Posted by SnakeDoctor

I've got both a reasonable WK2 3.0 diesel/8speed and a JK 3.6/Auto (aev 2.5 with airbags)

Thanks Mate, that's awesome feedback.

My camper trailer is around 1.6T loaded and apart from hills the old 3.8 tows it ok. I've had it up to 120kph (down a steep hill LOL) and it was solid as rock. That's with a 2" lift and airbags. It was getting up the other side that had me thinking.

I was always going to trade it in on a 3.6 JKU for a bit more poke however we decided we will sell the wife's car and stick to one vehicle (I have a work Hilux). By going down the GC route, we'll get something that she is comfortable driving, will tow the camper no worries and get us on the beach to fish.

The JK is a manual and after getting out of the Nowra fires after Christmas it took us 7 hours to do a 4 hour trip home with the traffic. By the end of Pennant Hills Road in bumper to bumper traffic, the clutch was hot and slipping and my left leg had cramped up (then again, so was the Brother in law's 2 year old Colorado).

I've just put down a deposit on a 2015 GC Limited today. It's fully kitted out with Uneek 4x4 gear, snorkel, bull bar and winch. So if the finance is approved and the repayments are fine it will be a done deal.

[Banshee]

Was getting a bit of vibration at speed on the motorway. Right front unit bearing was toast, (again). Also when checking that I found that one of the front uni-joints had gone bad again & the other seemed like it might be dodgy as well.

Pulled the front axles, hit them with the wire brush on the angle grinder to clean off surface rust, gave them a shot of rust converter & then hit them with some spray paint. Replaced both uni-joints, one was ok, the other full of rust*. New unit bearing on the right & it seems a lot smoother now. Have to try on the motorway when I get the chance.

*They were greaseable unis, but despite doing them both at the same time, it seems I could only get grease into one if them. I'll never get ones with the low profile fittings again. Even with the right nozzle, the fittings on the one had just seized & nothing got in.

[eksjay]

Added Black duck denim seat covers, front and back.

Advantages:
Looks unbelievable and if it wasn't for the logo, the covers would look like a factory fitting.
More comfortable than factory seats as there is some thin padding.
Protects your car seats from dirt and wear n tear.

Disadvantages:

You can't slide in and out of the seats like you do on the seat directly, or like you can with canvas covers. This denim fabric is grippy on your clothes. You have to gently lift yourself in and out of the seats. This may change down the track as they get worn, and washed.

[Banshee]

Well, most of the steering vibration ~100kph has gone. There is still a little, but probably nothing a really good balance wouldn't fix, and it's not even enough to be annoying.

[Negdriver]

Ripping out some old cabling from previous owner. They had a wierd setup with aux batt and electric braking wiring. Still scratching my head as to why they would run it next to the exhaust without shielding...



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