Episode 428 – CoronaVirus Hits Easter Jeep Safari

When it comes to upgrading the headlights on your Jeep, there are literally hundreds of options out there. Your stock halogens might be fine and dandy when new but over time, their output will weaken which can lead to unsafe driving conditions at night. To educate those looking to upgrade their Wrangler headlights, Extreme Terrain’s Joe Dick recently published his Jeep Wrangler headlights buyer’s guide video. In the video he installs and reviews several headlight upgrade options, weighing their pros and cons while demonstrating their light beam and color temperature output in the controlled environment of XT’s video studios. https://www.extremeterrain.com/wrangler-jeep-headlights.html

This Week In Jeep:

2020 Easter Jeep Safari Update: RE CoronaVirus

Breaking News out of Moab Utah from The Red Rock 4 Wheelers – The organization who hosts the annual Easter Jeep Safari each and every year – Last week, The City Council of Moab, Utah, first made an announcement that the Easter Jeep Safari Vendor Show was going to be cancelled due to the CoronaVirus… BUT, their attempt to put forward an anti-gathering ordinance was initially voted down. Then, according to insiders, Red Rock 4-Wheelers, inc. started working out how to keep the Vendor Show going… Many local business owners even offered to donate any and all supplies they could to help mitigate the possibility of a COVID-19 problem. Unfortunately, an overabundance of caution prevailed, and The Red Rock 4 Wheelers made the announcement this week, that the Grand County council has put forth an emergency ordinance limiting attendance at special events. A careful review of the attendance limits on mass events has forced the Easter Jeep Safari Organizers into the position of now officially cancelling the Vendor Expo held in conjunction with the event. They apologize for the inconvenience and hope people will still come for the trails.

Recall on 2018 – 2020 Wranglers and Gladiators

It happens often with first generation vehicles. It’s inevitable that there’s going to be bugs that need to be worked out. Finding, addressing, and fixing these bugs usually takes place in the form of recalls, which happens to virtually every automaker on the planet from time to time. So when I saw a recall issued for the new Gladiator, I’m almost ready to say, it’s about time. I know, I know, that’s a bit of a pessimistic view, and there was that itty bitty recall back in the 4th quarter of 2019 where they thought some of the assembly guys forgot to put diff fluid in the rear differentials, but I don’t count that one, and I was kind of holding out hope that Jeep was going to knock it out of the park with the first gen Gladiator. Unfortunately this week, Jeep made the announcement that they are recalling some 33,000 Gladiators (and Wranglers too) to fix a problem with the clutch pressure plate. This particular recall actually sounds like more of a supply chain problem with the vendor who makes the transmissions for these vehicles. In this case it’s Aisin Seiki, a Japanese fortune 500 company who makes components and systems for the automotive industry. On the surface it seems there may have been a quality control issue with the pressure plate materials, and not a manufacturing fault from Jeep. The recall involves 2018 through 2020 Wrangler SUVs and 2020 Gladiators with manual transmissions built between August 23, 2017, and February 13, 2020. The reason for this recall stems from a report published last week by the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). This document says the clutch pressure plate could become overheated from friction, which could cause the pressure plate to fracture, which in turn could crack or fracture the transmission case. If that happened, heated debris from this rapid unplanned disassembly of the transmission housing could contact ignition sources and cause a fire. The fractured pressure plate could also cause a loss of propulsion or drivability, which of course were to happen at the most inopportune time could result in a crash severe enough to KILL YOU. Owners of the affected vehicles should be on the lookout for a burnt-clutch smell or could experience “excessive or abnormal” clutch-pedal travel; either could be a sign that the clutch is about to fail. There have been no accidents and one minor injury related to the problem, according to the NHTSA report. FCA will start notifying owners on April 22; in the meantime, owners can check the NHTSA recall website to see if their vehicle could be included. We’ll of course have that link for you in the show notes for this episode at Jeeptalkshow.com https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls

Top 5

Jeep Life:

In 3 days Neil and I will be heading south for Kingman Arizona for some wheeling. However a wintery mix is in the forecast. Then we will head to Mojave Road in California for our LTWK Fan ride. We have been frantically working on a YJ Build to take with us. Neil has a goal to get me to drive each different Jeep. We found it neglected in a field, bought it and began bringing her back to life. Her name is Jersey Girl After Neils dog who we lost in January. She was with us on the last journey and will be in spirit on this one. We fixed the shackle hack job and did a SOA Springs Over Axle. The previous owner had them under the axle and some home-made shackles. Along with a homemade bumper which took Neil 3 hours of grinding to get off. A Big Shout out to Extreme Terrain for sending us a front and rear bumper. We will be using the Barricade bumpers just like on my Jeep. I really like them a lot and with the magic dirt here in Colorado I’m hoping for rust free bumpers in the future. They are really solid bumpers and look great. Plus they are super easy to install. We also added beefed up steering with a ⅞ Heim kit. Was really cool to learn about the Heim joints. Tony and Josh did you know the Heim joint is a spherical rod and doesn’t need greased because it’s wrapped in teflon and you get a bigger range of motion. One thing Neil gets on me about using the correct nomenclature. I tend to call things in my own way. Like the Heim joint is the sliver ball that swivels. I call a wire cutter clippies. And the lady finger the little people cane. It’s really learning about all the different Jeeps and different mods. However I am looking forward to getting away from wrenching and the garage life. It’s exhausting going back and forth to the auto stores especially when they get things wrong or ask you 50 gazillion questions just to get a belt. After Mojave Road we will be heading to Moab. We were thinking of swinging by the Rubicon Trail but I reached out to Steve 4.3lxj and he said if we wanted to do some deep snow wheeling go ahead. If not wait til summer. So it will be Moab for a couple of weeks. I was looking forward to hanging out with my son Ben but it looks like the mass hysteria will be preventing that.

Tech Talk With Jeep Talk:

Over the years of this show we’ve focused on the suspension of Jeeps in one facet or another many times over. From modifications and upgrades, to things to watch out for, the “oh while you’re in there’s”, and of course what the stuff is called and how it all works. This week, we’re going to start to take a look at the kinds of suspensions found under all kinds of Jeeps and compare them. This isn’t going to be a matter of what is best, more a matter of what’s out there, and how does it compare to your own Jeeps suspension. Overall there’s really only a handful of suspension types that one can put under a Jeep, but they all have their own characteristics, and we’ll get into each a bit as we go through the list. I figure we’ll start with where it all started,…. the first type of suspension that could be found under the earliest of Jeeps dating back to the era of the MB’s and Willy’s. We’re of course talking about the leaf spring. Use of the leaf spring on a wheeled vehicle can date clear back to medieval times. Back then of course a vehicle had wooden wheels, the leafs were referred to as carriage springs and if you had seven slots up front, that meant your horse needed some serious dental work. The use of this style of spring continued all the way up through all years of the Mb’s through the CJ’s, into every year of the YJ’s and into the early 2000’s on some Jeeps. Leaf springs are even in use still today on other vehicles from small pickup trucks to giant cement trucks. Leaf springs are pretty tough, and can usually handle more weight than a traditional coil spring. Over the years, automakers (including Jeep) slowly phased out the leaf springs by switching the front suspension to coil springs, so the vehicles drove and had a ride more like a car. I guess drivers over the years have gotten a lot less rugged – but don’t get me started on that. Jeep kept the leaf springs in the rear to support heavy loads and retain the utility of the vehicle for many years. You’ll recognize this mixed set up in the older Cherokee XJ’s and Comanche MJ’s. This too eventually went away for a fully coil sprung suspension system. It’s not likely leaf springs will ever go away, but they aren’t used as much as they were in the past, and they’re all but extinct in new Jeeps. Leaf sprung vehicles, including Jeeps will typically ride a little harder, but they will be more stable offroad than a coil sprung Jeep. This is because the footprint of the suspension is spread over a wider area on the vehicle. Although having less components than any other suspension system to work properly, there is also more maintenance that requires more labor. This can range from anything like removing the spring packs from the vehicle to grease between the leafs, or replace a bushing, or to have them re arched, or to replace a leaf, or… well you get the idea. Over the long term leafs can be troublesome but so can any other suspension system too for that matter. In order to lift a leaf sprung Jeep you have several options. The easiest is to add a lift shackle. The shackle is the hinge point on the end of the leaf spring that connects to the frame and allows for the changes in length a leaf spring goes through as it articulates. Lift shackles are longer, thus providing the lift compared to shorter OEM shackles. You can also change the leaf pack altogether, this can give you more flexy springs that are softer, and more forgiving offroad as well as giving you the lift you want. You can put in an “add-a-leaf” which essentially changes the arch slightly of the leaf pack, giving you a bit of lift, but usually not much, and even this may decrease over time faster, as it is meant to work with whatever old ass sagging springs you have in there now. Add-a-Leaf’s will also make the ride a little more stiff since you are essentially adding more spring to the spring. The final option is to add a lift block between the bottom of the spring pack, and the top of the axle. This is a very popular option for the big coal rolling bro-dozers out there as it is a very inexpensive way to get a lot of lift. All these options range from the most to the least desired for a number of reasons including safety. Top of the list in that category would be axle wrap, and it is the bastard cousin of death wobble and is the thing that destroys suspensions and drive lines. I could delve deep into the science and geometry behind axle wrap, but we’ll save that for another show. Just know the more space there is between the bottom of your spring and the top of your axle the worse this is going to be. Well…I knew I was going to end up throwing a bunch of tech into your ear holes, so we’re going to make this a multi part series. NEXT week, we get into the most popular suspension system ever put under a Jeep, the coil spring. There’s a lot more to those coils than you think and we’re not done when we finish with THEM so don’t miss the next few shows!

Newbie Nuggets:

Picking a Line

Picking a line is probably one of the most misunderstood statements in jeeping. Now I don’t mean picking the shortest line in the grocery store, I mean how you pick your line when you approach an obstacle. Picking your line can be summed up as “how will you get through the obstacle and which line (or way) is best for you, your ability and your jeep set up? I have mentioned previously that you need to get out and watch others go through an obstacle. This is to “see” how they got through it either with ease or they struggled. Some key things to keep in mind;

1) What is your jeep wheel base? – are you two door, four door wide or narrow. This makes a difference in how your jeep tracks over the obstacle.

2) What is your jeep width? Most are standard but there will be exceptions – understanding the width is very helpful. What I mean is if you drive through a narrow road with bushes on both sides, can you get through without touching either side? Knowing your spatial boundaries will also help navigate an obstacle.

Tire tracking is so important – do you know how your jeep tracks? There is a great video on Jeep 4-1-1 showing exactly what we are talking about if you want to see it visually. When you turn your front tires the rear will track differently- they will not go in the same line as the fronts. They will track inside the path of the front wheels. It’s geometry. The length of your jeep makes a difference if the tracking is narrow or wide from the front. With longer wheel bases, the rear tires will track farther inside the path of the front. How does this matter in picking a line? If you place your front tires on a rock, as an example, and think “I’m clear so I can turn the front wheels” you will more than likely slip of the rock with the rear tires. This happens because the rear tires tracked differently and you needed to continue forward until the rear tires are in-line with the front tracks, or as close as possible. Same applies with setting up for the line you pick. Getting through an obstacle takes patience and understanding. It’s all a process of learning. If you are not lined up straight to that obstacle, you will have a difficult time tracking through the obstacle. You will get through; it just may not go as smooth as you had anticipated. First thing I do when I approach an obstacle is see where I want my front tires to go. I also need to be aware of where my rear tires are – for example, if I turned sharply to get to that obstacle I may need, or want, to back up once or twice to “line up ” my rear tires so that I am in a better position to track correctly. Setting up for a line is basically deciding which way to get up and over the obstacle. Sometimes obstacles will have an easy way or a more difficult way through. For example: the left side might be an easier way while the right side might be “oh hell no”! Most of us with experience want the challenge for the harder route, but being new, or unsure of your ability, you may want to take the easier route. There is no shame in picking the route you want – good or bad, you are learning about your jeep and how it tracks. So try it, you may have to retry and start over, but at least you tried it. Once you pick a line, stay with it. Rule of thumb is to track in that direction until just behind the driver door (B-post) reaches the apex and then make changes in direction. This may not always apply, but it’s a good start. What I mean is don’t make any turns or changes in direction until you have passed the driver door on that obstacle and you are confident where you rear tires are going. Your rear tires most likely will be tracking in the same direction as the fronts. Another thing to keep in mind is to make little or small increments in your movements. Don’t get up on a rock and then decide to turn full-lock and wonder why you slipped off. Little or small increments in the steering will help stay on track. Don’t forget that using a spotter to help you through is another great way to learn and figure out what your jeep does. If you commit to a spotter you MUST stay with them through it all. Don’t use them and once the front tires are clear, decide “I’ve got this” and then your rear tires slip off. The spotter’s job is to be your eyes and help you through. On one run we were helping this guy through obstacles and he did just that – he needed help lining up and once I got his front tires up, he would stick his head out the window, look down at his front tire as he drove and slip off every time. He stopped watching the spotter and got himself stuck every time. If you use a spotter – USE them. We will have a segment on spotting in a future episode. Picking a line is part of the challenge of jeeping. You want to see if the line you picked allowed you to get over the obstacle, or hindered you. Only way to figure this out is to try it! The best teacher is EXPERIENCE.

And now it’s time for Tammy’s first jeep experience…

Next week we will continue sharing newbie ideas and we need to hear from you. We have heard from the Jeep Talk Show team, now it’s your turn to share. In the meantime you can also view some great videos on our YouTube channel Jeep 4-1-1 (https://www.youtube.com/user/backcountrydriver) with lots of tips, tricks & techniques.

Interview with:

Andrea Ellis from Lone Star Jeep Invasion

The Great state of Texas has so much to offer the Jeep Community. From the piney woods of East Texas, to the rocky terrain of Palo Duro Canyon and Big Bend, to the winding back roads of the Hill Country, and over 300 miles of Beach, jeepers have called every inch of this amazing state home. With so much space, we are hoping to bring the community closer. Vendors and you, the Jeeper, will be the main focus of the Lone Star Jeep Invasion. Come to meet and purchase from many of your favorite merchandisers focusing solely on Jeeps of all varieties. Vendors will have merchandise available for sale and order, not just products for display. Our Team has hosted or participated in many of these events locally and nationally. We have come together to give you a jeep event for Jeepers by Jeepers like no other.

https://lonestarjeepinvasion.com/

Jeep Weather:

Howdy Jeeper, Mitch here, today is Friday the 13th of March 2020, and it’s time for your weekend Going Topless-Jeep Weather Report. Apparently someone is playing Jumanji since the beginning of the year, so why not take our Topless weekend this Friday the 13th to some haunted locations? To begin, we start in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at Eastern State Penitentiary. Known for being the first US prison to implement solitary confinement. Visitors today still claim to see apparitions of former prisoners throughout these halls. Philadelphia will be rainy today at 71, tomorrow and Sunday should be cloudy at 55 degrees. How about checking out The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado? Opened in 1909 by Mr. and Mrs. Stanley, these original proprietors never left their hotel. Mrs. Stanley can still be heard playing her piano at night, bags of guests get unpacked, Mr. Stanley appears in pictures, and disembodied laughter of children can be heard through the hotel. It’s no wonder that a single night stay here inspired Stephen King to write The Shining. Estes Park is snowing today at 32 degrees, tomorrow and Sunday should be cloudy at 46ish degrees. Maybe you’re afraid of woods and possible Wendigo attacks, that’s fine. Then this Friday the 13th check out The LaLaurie Mansion in New Orleans, Louisiana. Here in 1834 Police responded to a kitchen fire where they discovered several mutilated bodies of her indentured servants in the attic. A mob heard of her horrors and ran her out of the country to France. Soon, locals started claiming that they were hearing the screams of her victims. Sadly, you can’t tour the mansion, but it is in the French Quarter for you to drive by in your Topless Jeep. All weekend New Orleans will be cloudy but today should be around 78 degrees, tomorrow and Sunday should be 80 degrees. Good luck out there this Friday the 13th weekend. Be safe, avoid black cats, and wash your dang hands! Now, don’t forget to use the #JeepTalkShow on social media, also don’t forget to tag @JeepTalkShow and me, for us to see those Jeeping Topless pictures. If you have any suggestions or want to know YOUR local weather in an upcoming episode. Then find me on Instagram @jeep_out_west or go to JeepTalkShow.com/contact in order to find all the ways to get a message to me. I’m Mitch and its always great weekend to Go Topless if you’re brave enough! Just Go Topless responsibly.

Links Mentioned in Episode 428:

Meredith E. and Extreme Terrain – JLU Build:

https://www.extremeterrain.com/throttleout-march-2020-2.html

Must Have: The Original GraBars – $86.00 – Fits all 1997-2006 TJ Wranglers

https://grabarsusa.com/Jeep-wrangler-tj-lj-steel-grab-handles-grabars

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Episode 428 – CoronaVirus Hits Easter Jeep Safari

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