I am Considering a JK Wrangler

[Rickman]

Hi All
This is my first post.
I have had several 4x4's over the years. Some good, some bad & some really bad. First was a SWB 1986 Nissan Patrol. Then Land Rover Discovery Series 2, Mitsubishi Challenger, & Nissan Navara Ute. All of the above vehicles went on weekend 4x4 trips, & also did some outback touring.
I have been looking at purchasing a JK Wrangler Unlimited Sport Diesel as my next 4x4 to do much the same sort of stuff so it will not have extreme mods. A dual purpose off-road vehicle for weekends & touring & my daily driver.
I suppose i am asking for any information regarding the reliability of the Jeep & any suggestions for mods that may help keep it reliable. Mods will be a 2 inch lift, 33's, rear locker, dual batteries, front & rear bars. I have heard all the horror stories about Jeeps, but my previous 4x4'x all had their share of issues. I did like the Challenger, very capable & reliable, but boring as a brick. I just have a feeling that the Jeep is the right vehicle for me. Any info would be appreciated

Rick

[ToEasy]

Gday Rickman

Welcome to the forum.

I have 3 Jeeps and love them 2 x JKU's and a GC STR.

Look like anything they have there quirky problems but in my opinion all 4X4's/cars do.

Don't listen to all the Jeep haters. The amount of people who told me I was mad for buying 3 Jeeps was unbelievable.

When I asked why I was mad and if any of the haters had had one the answer was no and they couldn't really give me a valid reason why not to go with Jeep.

My Jeeps are all petrols, Im a mechanic by trade and don't think that modern diesels have the advantages over there petrol counterparts anymore but thats just my opinion not to say its right or wrong.

Im sure you will get heaps of advice and info off this site and you will love your new Jeep.

Cheers

[ToEasy]

LOL that is an SRT. STR is the I have had to many beers version of the SRT

[rjl3175]

We have a JKU diesel with now 80k on the clock, the best way I can describe ours is fuggen awesome. Not without faults but can't help but love it to bits.

[Rickman]

Hi Too Easy
Thanks for your ideas. Just thinking about diesel vs petrol, all my previous 4x4's have been diesel so I suppose the economy factor is a major issue, especially when outback touring. I realise that over the petrol engines have improved but still thirstier than diesel. I was very surprised that the diesel was auto only. I suppose I should consider a petrol manual as an option

[Rickman]

Hi rjl3175

Is your JKU Auto or manual?

[Paul-JK]

My JKU CRD auto has just clocked over 115,000km and I've had no issues. I too had concerns when I first bought it having heard all the horror stories but I couldn't be happier with it. I'm sure some will not have been so lucky but that's the same with any brand these days.
Mine's running 33's with a front bar. It's my DD and has taken us away camping over a fair amount of NSW. We've not done any long interstate touring but I would in a heartbeat. We've also just bought a camper trailer so it's about to be a tow-tug as well.
As long as you try before you buy so you know what to expect then you should be fine. They don't handle like an IFS truck because they're not an IFS truck but with your history you should know what to expect from live axle 4WD's. Try imagining how you'd pack all your gear in it as well as they are deceptively small inside.
They're not always as straight forward to maintain as your average Nissota as spares are often best sourced overseas to keep the costs down but with a little extra planning it's not an issue. A lot of workshops have no experience of working on JK's at all, even more so the CRD, so it can be hard work if you pick the wrong workshops but there are quite a few Jeep specialists around now.
Get out for a test drive and see what you think, and maybe even try the petrol as well. I've not driven the new 3.6 but most people I know with one sing it's praises. The petrol will be cheaper to maintain and I don't think it's too thirsty either.