08 JK - 3.21's or 3.73's?

[RuSeY]

What a mess!

So the long and sort of it is my 08 unlimited sport v6 manual won't be towing much at all if it does come with the 3.21's which seems like it will.....

[ksk]

3.73's are better all round if youre using the car for both onroad and offroad.... 4.11 is better only for 4 wheeling... not too good on the economy...



KSK

[EugeJK]

Originally Posted by RuSeY

What a mess!

So the long and sort of it is my 08 unlimited sport v6 manual won't be towing much at all if it does come with the 3.21's which seems like it will.....

ksk, he's got manual petrol, it's 3.21. the 3.73 sounds as a good compromise, but it's manual petrol.

i'm gonna re-gear my crd with 4.1 as soon as i get it. with 32"s as now standard, it's gonna rev at ~ 2500 rpm in 6th at 110 km/h that's ok for turbodiesel. they like to be revved.

rusey, if towing is important for you, just re-gear it. the 6 speed tranny built by mercedes was chosen and matched to 4.1 for the king of rock crawling - the rubicon, but it's not fuel efficient! so for on-road use they decided to gear jks with 3.21 and 6th gear became basically useless. auto has less gear range, so they went with 3.73 having realized later 4.1 auto wasn't fuel efficient either.

[J.B.]

Originally Posted by RuSeY

Im rather confused about the spec's for the manual 08 Unlimited Petrol.

My dealer is telling me that all the Petrol 08's come with the 3.73 ratio's. This is great for me as i'll be towing a boat and as far as Im aware Jeep recommends not towing with the 3.21's.

Can anyone confirm that the manual 08 Unlimited Petrol's have the 3.73's?

I've checked the aus jeep website and it still hasnt been updated with the 08 specs.

...My 'Understanding' ...if I can use the word understanding ..honestly when it comes to DC/Jeep Australia... is that the original shipments of petrol & diesel vehs to Australia (other than the Rubicon)... ran 4.1 ratios in the automatics... the CRD also ran this ratio in the manual (yes..yes )..but the petrol ran 3.21 (no no). Whilst my enquiries were centred on the CRD alone..my impression was that the so-called MY08 Wranglers... were getting 3.73 ratios in the auto (good good)... plus the diesel auto got a torque boost up to 460 NM (good again) The manuals however were going to be 3.21 in the diesel...and I heard no mention of a change for the petrol...so believed it would be running the same. Personally...my test drive of the CRD with 3.21 in manual...left me happy with the engine...but very unhappy with the gearing and this is with the diesel torque ! I'd imagine the petrol running the same gearing would be even less inspiring. You'll be able to tow of course...but what weight...and what sort of performance are you going to get ? ..Not much ! Yes ..all these things can be fixed aftermarket...why should they need to be unless we go several sizes up in tyres. You may have read elsewhere...that Jeep was offering (extra $3000) an 'off road group' option on the manual to change the ratios to 3.73....give you a rear diff lock..and electronic sway bar disconnects. This I feel is a good move...but the continuation of this 'package' has been put in doubt by a few on another thread. I hope it's not the case...and if it is true (my dealer is very quiet about it)...I would hope the 3.73 part of the option is maintained (mind you this should be at no additional cost 1)..otherwise my purchase order isn't worth the paper it's written on. ... So ..no real answers from me I guess...but plenty of sympathy. If you order..and they state they can deliver a 3.73 manual/automatic...and you end up with a 3.21... then I guess they either pay to get the diffs done for you (get lockers put in if you do...pay the extra yourself) or they forfeit the sale...and you miss out on the car.

[masonbee]

Hi All,

My name is Mason.I work at a Dealership in Brookvale in Sydney.I just looked at my 08 Vehicle info guide and it says all manuals 3.21 all autos 3.73 only exception being man CRD with offroad group 3.73.

Hope this clears up any confusion.

Regards Mason

[SCHUFFO]

I got sent from my dealer a pdf document info pack that has all 2008 changes as well as full specs. If you want a copy, email me at schuffo@hotmail.com

[Nigel]

I believe Mason is correct, except for unavailablilty of off-road group, you guys have got to remember, don't blame the dealers even the distributors don't know what is coming- for example no-one currently (in Australia at least) when the actual changeover on CRD diff ratio's occured. We can only give you as much information as we are given, and then hope that it isn't
a.) Wrong (more common than you would reasonably expect!)
or
b.) Changed (U.S very much dictates what we get and changes the rules without notice all the time)

Cut the dealers some slack as they are very poorly informed more often than not- if I make an equiry regarding diff or gear ratio's I tend to get a lot of blank looks.....