Episode 488 – Don’t Lose Your Nuts!
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This Week In Jeep
So will it be an even “cuter uter” … or should we just call it “Le Jeep”
Talk of a new Jeep crossover even smaller than the subcompact Renegade dates back several years. Most of us thought it was just a joke or a gag of some kind after the lackluster reception of the smallest Jeep ever the Renegade, formerly a trim package for the CJ, is now dubbed cute-ute. Well like many Jeep rumors, they start off in the ether and eventually become reality, and this is another that seems to be happening.
Citing official documents from Jeep’s parent company Stellantis reports last week surfaced that a baby Jeep, code-named Project 516, will start production in late 2022 at a plant located in Tychy, Poland. The plant is currently the home of production to the Fiat 500 and Lancia Ypsilon cars. Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Gowin in a tweet last December also mentioned an investment in the Tychy plant to support new vehicles. The basis for the new vehicles would be Stellantis’ CMP front-wheel-drive platform which is designed for mini and subcompact cars and supports plug-in hybrid and battery-electric powertrains. A Jeep executive in a 2019 interview hinted at a baby Jeep measuring about 13 feet in length, which would place it in the minicar segment. In comparison, the subcompact Renegade is about 14 feet long and a mini cooper is just over 12 and a half feet long. According to the released reports, the baby Jeep will launch with an internal combustion engine standard, but will eventually offer battery-electric plug-in or hybrid powertrains. A fully electric version of the Jeep is reportedly coming in 2023, which will likely make it the first-ever fully electric production Jeep. We’re not going to count the Jeep Wrangler Magneto since it was just a one-off custom concept that was unveiled at this year’s Moab Easter Jeep Safari. Initially, the baby Jeep will likely be off-limits for the United States until it passes all of the NHTSA standards for crash safety.
Jeep Inventories Dwindling – Production Issues
Jeep maker Stellantis slashed planned production by 11% in the first three months of the year due to the global chip shortage and has warned of additional cuts in the weeks ahead as the crisis lingers. A lack of semiconductors resulted in a cut to planned first-quarter production of about 190,000 across all operations. The problem will force it to cut second-quarter production even more, but it expects the situation to improve after June. Eight of the company’s 44 plants were affected to some degree by the shortage as of Tuesday and at least two of those are Jeep plants. The company’s finance chief, Richard Palmer, said Stellantis expects the issue to continue into next year, adding, “It would be naive to expect it to just disappear.” The warning came as growth in South America and Europe fueled a 14% rise in sales at Stellantis to $44.5 billion, compared with the first three months of last year, when lockdowns related to the coronavirus pandemic took their toll on sales and factory output around the world. Speculators expect things to improve in the second half of this year, but a fire at a Renesas Electronics plant in Japan, as well as serious outages in Texas after the storms in March, have exacerbated the tensions on the global semiconductor market, and new problems, such as a drought in Thailand, are casting further doubt on how soon this semiconductor shortage will end. For now, though, production must continue, until it can’t.
Jeep Jam coming to Lake Cumberland Speedway this Saturday
The Kentucky Hillbilly Jeep Krew is back with a new weekend event in support of the American Cancer Society’s local chapter. The Krawling Over Cancer event starts this Friday, May 7, and continues through Sunday, May 9. The three-day event gets underway Friday night with a Show ‘N Shine kickoff celebration at Buffalo Wings and Rings. The Krew has been hosting these shows on a monthly basis, picking a different business each time as a way to boost the local economy. The club will close out the weekend on Sunday with a Mother’s Day Trail Ride. The main event is Saturday’s 2021 Jeep Jam. The Krew has partnered with Lake Cumberland Speedway for a day-long extravaganza featuring live music, races, mud bogs, rock crawling, inflatables, a vendors alley, concessions and more. Headlining are country artists Brad Hardin of Danville and Jordan Foster. The Kentucky Hillbilly Jeep Krew is a group of Jeep owners out of Somerset Kentucky, and engage with the public and their community thru events like these that benefit good causes. https://www.facebook.com/groups/687783961866777/
Jeep Talk Show Gladiator Update
Shortly after ordering the 2021 Jeep Talk Show Gladiator I reached out to several great companies that we’ve had on the show to see if they would be interested in being part of the JTS Gladiator build. They all said no, and one said, how did you get this number. That was until we contacted our friends at Bolt Lock! The folks that secure all your Jeep goodies with ONE KEY, FOR ALL YOUR LOCKS. They jumped at the chance to outfit our Gladiator with their locks, well after some begging, telling them how everyone else said no, and there may have been tears, not me them, right before they gave in.
Coupler Lock Jeep Center Cut, Padlock Jeep Center Cut, 5/8″ Receiver Lock Jeep Center Cut, 6′ Cable Lock Jeep Center Cut, and Off-Vehicle Coupler Lock Jeep Center Cut. You can find all the BOLT products that will fit your Gladiator at this link https://www.boltlock.com/vehicle_match?make=JEEP&model=GLADIATOR&type=BASE&year=2021
Interview
Dominick and Ben from Mickey Thompson
Dominick has been the President of Mickey Thompson since 2017 and in the tire industry for 24 years. Mickey Thompson is obsessed as an organization with breaking barriers and carving new paths. We consider ourselves to be in the “traction” business and continue to hold ourselves accountable to the standard set by Gene and Mickey in 1963! Innovation, and the relentless pursuit of what’s next, drives the organization. Our purpose is to “Defy limits-Unleash your passion”
Ben is Senior Product Manager of Light Truck for Mickey Thompson tires and has been with the company for 15 years. Ben’s first three years with Mickey’ were in Motorsports, traveling to dragstrips and off road events all over the country to support the racers/competitors. Then Ben joined the product group as assistant product manager, getting a taste of product development in virtually all areas of the product portfolio, then became a Product Manager and finally Senior Product Manager of Light Truck. Ben has been a “car-guy” his entire life and currently has a ’63 Galaxie, ’86 Capri, ’88 GMC panel van, ’05 Evolution, ’07 F-150 and has most recently gotten into welding and fabricating.
Tech Talk with Jeep Talk
Keep Those Nuts In Place!
If you’re familiar with wrenching on vehicles, then chances are by now you’ve developed or discovered a few little tricks that help make things go a little easier. Whether it’s a tool purchase or just a technique that you pick up, having more things to turn to in your toolbox, is always a good thing. So here’s a quick tip that will keep you from fumbling those fasteners in a tight place. If you’ve ever run into a situation where you need to thread a nut or bolt onto or on something in a tight place, or with little to no access with your hand, getting things started with your fingers may not be an option. Being able to secure a nut or bolt to a wrench or inside of a socket can get you working where your fingers can’t. But what if you have a nut that needs to be threaded onto a long stud or bolt? A deep socket is needed here, but the nut just falls to the bottom of the socket. It won’t if you have the socket stuffed with tissue paper. A little TP in the socket cavity will keep the nut from falling down but will give way and compress as the threads protrude through the nut. Let’s say all you need to do is hold that nut in place while you thread this shoulder bolt through a hole, but you can’t see or access the area where the nut is going, and there isn’t enough clearance for a socket. Using some painter’s tape, electrical tape, or my personal favorite and go-to tape for many things, is Gorilla Tape. It’s like duct tape on steroids and is the perfect tape for working around grit and grime.
Place a small piece of tape to the broadside face of the wrench so it spans across the opening. Now place your nut in the pocket you’ve just created. The head of the nut will adhere to the tape and stay in place no matter the angle or pitch of the wrench, as the nut gets threaded, the tape will stretch, be pushed out of the way, or will release from the wrench allowing full protrusion of the bolt. A small ball of tape in the bottom of a regular socket can keep a hold of the face of the nut or head of the bolt enough to feed in down vertically without dropping. It may take a couple of tries before you figure out the proper amount of tape and what kind is easiest to work with for your needs.
Jeep Life – With Jeep Momma
Top 5 Jeep Suspension fails
Hey guys!!! Being in the garage 7 days a week, 8 to 12 hours a day, you can sure get an education. Compared to six or seven years ago, I would have to say, I have moved up a lot in my technical knowledge of the mechanics of Jeeps. Tony, I know now… that the henway needs those heim brackets on the frame! HaHa… That was probably one of my favorite moments on the Jeep Talk Show Podcast. You guys need to check it out. Definitely, a blonde moment… The best part is I have had several Jeep Guys fall for that joke. Well… after seeing Jeep after Jeep come into the shop, I have gotten an in-depth look at Jeep Suspension issues. My Jeep has experienced several of these issues, as well. Anytime you add a lift or bigger tires to your Jeep expect to see some of these Suspension fails down the road. There are some that are odd ducks, but there are some very common ones. Here are my Top 5 Suspension Fails.
These are not in any order, but all 5 are very common when you go bigger. Bigger may be better, but Bigger drains your bank account. First, you have your ball joints. I went from a stock Rubicon to a 3.5” lift and 35-inch tires. My ball joints were the first to go. I ended up replacing mine right before my big adventure in 2019. Many experienced Jeep mechanics told me to replace them with the OEM ball joints. But of course, I had to go aftermarket. That was a mistake. It took just over 500 miles to get them to the seat. That was some intense driving. Next to the wheel bearings. I just replaced mine a couple of months ago. Then you have Bad geometry from the adding of a lift and steering. The inner tie rod ends can also go bad. And number 5 your control arms, on the Jk’s and JKU’s especially if you wheel. Those control arms are low hung and you most likely will at some point come down hard on them, which can alter them. How do you know which issue could be yours? There are several tricks you can use. An alignment is a good way to detect bad geometry. Visually inspecting is another good way to look for issues, like scrapes, dings, shiny metal… Those could be indicators. And check your tires for wear! Another way is inspecting the movement of your tires. You would need to make sure you can unload the Jeep’s suspension. That means getting your Jeep up on Jacks so your front tires can freely move. By moving your tires in different directions will give you an idea of which issue it may be. Putting a big pry bar under the bottom of the tire and trying to move it up and down… This could be bad ball joints. Taking one hand at the 12 o’clock position and the other at the 6 pm position and moving your tire back and forth, feeling for movement and play. If you have the movement that usually means wheel bearings. The 3 pm and 9 pm position doing the same thing would most likely be bad inner tie rod ends. Do your due diligence though…research though. It may not always be a bad tie rod end. Look closely at that tie rod movement. It could also be your steering knuckle. Just like mine. The hole got wallowed out. So, I had to replace my steering knuckle. Again be careful when you replace yours. Those aftermarket ones could require a certain size lift and certainly upgraded steering. Neil and I did a video showing you visually how to inspect your Jeep. You can even see the movement in my inner tie rod end where the knuckle went bad. Head over to my youtube channel. Just search the Jeep Momma. The video is titled Top 5 Jeep Suspension Fails. I am also sharing pictures of the wallowed out hole on my steering knuckle compared to the new one. In the show notes. Not sure what did it… could have been the bad wheel bearing left on too long which created horrible wear on my tires. Not sure… I bet Josh might have some suggestions too. Oh while you’re on YouTube… Please subscribe to my channel… I just hit eight thousand subscribers. My goal is to hit 10K by the end of this year.
Must-Have Stuff Pick-of-the-Week for your Jeep!
Jeep JK Front Door MOLLE Panel $120/pair
https://www.newhollandoverland.com/product-page/jeep-jk-front-door-molle-panel
Heads up JK owners. Are you about ready to just cut off that sagging worthless net sack on the side of your door? It was once a functional mesh pocket, but likely by now, yours has more droop in it than 30-year-old XJ leaf springs. Ditch the sag and get something that’s not only practical but virtually limitless in the possibilities it affords you. Whether it’s mounting a firearm, a knife or hatchet, comms, molle pouches for storage, flashlight or fire extinguisher mounts, or even a tactical cup holder, the versatility of these panels gives you unlimited options for storage or organization.
Camp Fireside Chat
Is a shorter wheelbase or a longer wheelbase better for wheeling?
Alright, who likes ‘em short? And who likes it long and wide? 😉
You can join us around the virtual campfire every Thursday night at 9:45 pm when we record the latest episode. Subscribe to our newsletter to get weekly reminders and how to join via Zoom, or follow us on Facebook (https://facebook.com/jeeptalkshow) for notifications.
Links Mentioned in this Episode
NEXEN Tires USA
Jeep 4-1-1
https://www.youtube.com/user/backcountrydriver
The 4×4 Radio Network
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Bolt Lock
Dixie Overland
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-QyHhoUYk-FrMY6f9vnrxg
New Holland Overland LLC
https://www.newhollandoverland.com/product-page/jeep-jk-front-door-molle-panel