Episode 760 – Most Reliable Jeeps?
This Week In Jeep
Carlos Tavares Says There Will Be More Closures
More auto plant closures will happen if high prices for electric vehicles (EVs) cause vehicle markets to shrink from pre-pandemic levels.
As the chip shortage ends, automakers lose pricing power.
- (more chips = more cars = lower price/supply and demand)
7 in 10 prospective EV buyers in the U.S. expect to pay less than $50k for the next vehicle.
So the 40% more it costs to make an EV must be absorbed by the automaker
- if the EV industry is to survive.
Regardless, as the market shrinks, the auto industry needs fewer plants.
Did Your Jeep Make The Top 10 Most Reliable Jeep List?
Jeep isn’t necessarily known for being the most reliable brand of vehicles on or even off the road for that matter. The term “Just Empty Every Pocket” didn’t come from nowhere after all. Jeepers are always putting money into their Jeeps to make upgrades and make the vehicle their own. That reputation of people always working on their Jeep has created a stigma about the brand’s reliability. Despite this, or maybe in spite of it, the Jeep brand has a massive following of die-hard fans, who love their rig no matter what.
Present company included. That being said, new Jeeps are generally considered more reliable than older Jeeps, but with the chip shortage that lasted the better part of the last 3 years, used Jeep values were never higher, and we saw a glut of used Jeeps hitting the market.
So chances are, you… or someone you know… may be in the market for a new-to-you, or new-to-them used Jeep. So with that, we take a look at the top ten list of the most reliable used Jeeps according to JD Power, Kelly Blue Book, and Edmunds, arguably, three of the most influential automotive powerhouses in the industry.
10 – 2011 Grand Cherokee (style, comfort, ride, features, tech, power, quality of mat’ls)
9 – 2017 Wrangler (the highest rating of used JK era Wranglers by KBB)
8 – 2017 Compass (price)
7 – 2020 Wrangler (quality, features, ergonomics, power, best rating of JL era JD Power)
6 – 2000 Cherokee (best XJ for reliability, emissions, power, KBB)
5 – 2019 Grand Cherokee (standard options, cutting-edge tech)
4 – 2014 Wrangler Willys Wheeler Edition (most features wrangler, bang for buck, KBB)
3 – 2020 Jeep Gladiator (most dependable in class JD Power / KBB)
2 – 2003 Wrangler X (X trim = best equipped for the price, most reliable TJ, Edmunds)
1 – 1986 Comanche (still reliable, unique design, Edmunds users give it high ratings)
Tech Talk with Jeep Talk
TOPIC/QUESTION: Tips From The Junkyard
Over the last week or so we’ve heard some updates from Chuck regarding his new leaf springs, and the super articulating orbit eye that they have. This gave me some inspiration to cover a topic related to springs. So I figured I’d give some love to the TJ crowd this week. TJ owners deserve a cheap solution to spring problems just as much as anyone else. Especially with the way inflation has hit the aftermarket Jeep world. Who knew colored valve stem covers could cost so much? And of course one of the things that eats any Jeep budget to shreds is the cost of a lift kit. Well, I’m going to give you a couple of suggestions for some junkyard parts that will help you lift a stock TJ to fit much bigger tires and give you more articulation. What I’m about to share with you will net you anywhere between 2 and 3 inches of lift when you’re done. And the cost of this will be pennies on the dollar compared to buying a new lift kit, even if it is no-name junk off amazon. To accomplish this, you will of course need to head down to your local wrecking yard. The first thing you’ll want to do is track down a V8 Grand Cherokee ZJ. That’s the Jeep SUV built between 1993 and 1998. You’re going to be pulling the front springs from It, so it must be a V8 Grand Cherokee, or you won’t get the lift out of the springs. You will also need the thicker isolators found with those same springs.
Remember, the Grand Cherokee was, and is a luxury Jeep, and to dampen some of the road noise they use much thicker isolators that act more like a spacer on the TJ than a sound dampener. The V8 engine in the Grands was a much heavier engine and required a slightly taller spring than the V8 Grands did, and these springs and isolators together are about 2 to 3 inches or so taller than the front stock TJ springs.
Now to bring the rear up to height, we’re going to be looking for a Crown Victoria. That’s right, just like the old cop cars. The Crown Vic springs are also taller springs, made to handle the weight of such a large car. Here too you’ll want to grab the isolators, and I hear some guys are running both sets of isolators to gain just that extra little bit of height. There are other considerations you will have to take care of after putting these springs into a TJ as well. First and foremost is of course going to be the shocks. The stock shocks won’t have the travel necessary for the new ride height and suspension travel, so new shocks will be needed. Now you could opt to go new here and to be honest, you’d still be well ahead of the game. Or you could continue to save, and turn to places like eBay, Craigslist, or FB Marketplace to track down something used.
Look for take-off shocks from a stock Rubicon JKU. When someone upgrades their Jeep with aftermarket parts, they “take off” the stock stuff and sell it for super cheap. The stock Rubicon JKU shocks (these are the red ones BTW) will be the perfect upgrade, they are just barely within the specs needed to accommodate the new suspension of the TJ, and will be a suitable, easy-to-find, and inexpensive option. You may need or want to look into track bar relocation brackets as well. These will be needed to recenter the axles under the Jeep after the junkyard lift. You probably won’t find these in the junkyard, and they’re rare on the used market, but it never hurts to look. Either way, they’re relatively inexpensive, so just add them to the list and 
get a set regardless. You will also want to look into getting an alignment done as soon as possible since you just changed a lot of geometry under the Jeep in some rather critical areas. There are also a lot of “while you’re in there’s” that can go along with this too. Things like brake line length, we just talked about that recently too. You will of course need larger tires now, duh! Visual inspections of steering and brake components should be done ANY and EVERY time you crawl under the Jeep for any reason. Maybe it’s time for some new wheel bearings or a brake job, or maybe you’ll discover a worn tie rod end or ball joint, who knows, just be prepared for the unexpected and a last-minute run to the parts store or rockauto.com. In the end, you’ll have enough lift for some larger tires, you will have increased your suspension travel, and seriously change the looks of your Jeep for the better, so there’s the cool factor to all of this too. I will warn you though, that you will get what you pay for. Things may not fit perfectly, things may squeak, and you will definitely notice a change in the ride quality from what the Jeep was when it was stock. The overall ride quality of a junkyard lift is not going to be as soft of a ride as you had before and for a daily driver, I would almost advise against this procedure just because of that if this is something that matters to you. But don’t let that or me stop you, once lifted, it’s a lot easier to change things later down the road. And speaking of that road, when it comes time to leave said road and hit the trails, no matter what… you’ll still be doing a lot better than you were when the Jeep was stock. Now don’t think this ends with the TJ, there are tons of modifications that can be done to all kinds of Jeeps with junkyard parts. So do some research, and I bet you’ll be surprised what parts from other vehicles will fit on your Jeep and do just fine.
Links Mentioned in this Episode
NEXEN Tires USA https://www.nexentireusa.com/
Trails 411- POWERING Your Adventure https://www.youtube.com/user/backcountrydriver
The 4×4 Radio Network http://4x4radionetwork.com/
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