Episode 720 – Jeep Liberty or Death

This Week In Jeep

2023 Jeep Compass Gets More Power

Jeep is preparing to bump the Compass SUV’s power output with a new engine for 2023. According to a document on the EPA’s website, the 2023 Compass will have a version of the same turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four found in the upcoming 2023 Dodge Hornet. In the Compass, the 2.0-liter inline four-banger will make 200 plus horsepower and at least 221 pound-feet of torque, both of which represent a significant bump over the old engine. The outgoing engine is not only larger but heavier as well, a naturally aspirated 2.4-liter inline-four with 177 horsepower and 172 pound-feet of torque. That’s about a 13 percent increase in power and torque… that’s a difference you can actually feel. The eight-speed automatic transmission is standard, and the previous front-wheel-drive model has been dropped. Pricing for the 2023 Compass starts at $31,590. The off-road-oriented Trailhawk model starts at $37,340 and the loaded High Altitude will set you back just over $40k. The only other changes for 2023 include new 17-inch wheels for the lower trim levels and additional driver-assistance features as standard equipment. The Compass did receive a new infotainment screen and a facelift for 2022 that included refreshed styling, making it look more closely related to the Grand Cherokee. A design change everyone thought was long overdue. If you’re interested in checking one of these out for yourself, or more likely for a loved one, the 2023 models will begin arriving at dealerships in the first quarter of next year.

Jeep Liberty name badge is being regurgitated

Because the naming executives at Jeep and its parent company Stellantis don’t have a single imaginative bone in their body, the Jeep Liberty name badge is being regurgitated. The question is though… Is it a new model, or will an old Jeep get a new name? The website CarBuzz recently discovered trademark documentation filed by Jeep with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for the word “Liberty.” The application was filed on 17 November 2022 and was filed under the category of vehicles as its primary class. Why would Jeep do this though? Don’t they already own the right to Liberty? According to the rules and regulations of patents and trademarks, a trademark does not expire as long as it remains in continued use. 

If it lays dormant for a period of ten years, it expires. It just so happens that it has been 10 years since Jeep passed the Liberty badge to the rear end of the second-generation (KK) Liberty.

If you’re too young to remember what a Liberty was, here’s the abridged version: In 2002, Jeep wanted a bigger difference between the Cherokee and the Grand Cherokee, so the former was renamed the Liberty. Jeep built two generations of the Liberty before finally coming to its senses and discontinuing production in 2012. Jeep listens to the Jeepers now… and had they done so back then, the Cherokee would have lived on, and we wouldn’t be haunted by the days of the Jeep Liberty. And yes I believe they would have made it differently. If you ask me, both generations of Liberty were absolute garbage warmed over.

The second-generation Cherokee, the 84-01 (XJ) remains an absolute legend and still has a ton of aftermarket support. The Liberty? Not so much. We haven’t received a model update announcement for the 2023 model year Cherokee either, and only 2022 models are available on Jeep’s website. The same is true of the Compass. You can order the 2023 model year of every other model Jeep sells in the USA but those two. So this begs the question, is this an indication that the Cherokee and Compass models are on the way out? Time will tell. Keep this in mind, however… We all have heard about how the Cherokee Nation is not happy with Jeep using its name. Sports teams like the Cleveland Indians and Washington Redskins have opted for woke ideology and have famously changed their names, but Jeep has refused to take part in such virtue signaling. There was a report in March 2021 stating that Jeep was open to changing the name, but we haven’t heard anything since. Meanwhile, the Grand Cherokee just keeps winning awards. 

The fifth-generation Cherokee has been on sale since 2014, so a replacement must be waiting in the wings. Will Jeep go back to using the Liberty name due to pressure from the Cherokee Nation? If so, the million-dollar question is going to be what will happen with the Grand Cherokee?

Tech Talk with Jeep Talk

TOPIC/QUESTION: 

Buying a Used Winch Part 2

In episode 716 I started talking about the things you need to know when buying a used winch. We know where to look now to get the best deals on a used winch, and the types of winches that we’re likely going to be looking for. In this episode, we’re going to get into some of the considerations you need to take into account when it comes to mounting and powering that used winch. So to that end, we need to make sure your Jeep is set up for a winch in the first place. Now you don’t necessarily need to already have a winch bumper and be pre-wired with all the cables needed before you go out and buy your new-to-you winch, but knowing what the Jeep needs to have in place ahead of time, may help when deciding just how deep you want to go down this rabbit hole. You may decide to buy new is the better way to go, vs. putting in the work and effort to bring something back from the dead. Either way,  all winches require power, and this means at the very least you need a good battery. One battery will do, but two are better. So make sure your battery is in good condition, and that it can handle the massive load a winch will put on it and the charging system. 

Many service centers will do this kind of system check for free, so call around and find a place close to you that does this, and be sure to mention your plans to add a winch to your Jeep. If they find your battery isn’t up to the task of powering a winch or is at the end of its functional life cycle, then consider replacing the battery, and upgrading it… ya know… while you’re in there. A bigger better battery with a bigger reserve will only be a good thing in your Jeep. And of course, having a properly working alternator to keep that battery good and charged is important too. They’ll test all that and give you a report card and some recommendations as to what to do next if anything at all. Now getting that power from the battery to the winch is the other half of this equation. Winches draw a massive amount of power, more than anything else on your Jeep, so the cables that supply this power need to be up to the task of transmitting all that juice. That’s why you see those large diameter wires hooked up to every winch you’ll see on any vehicle. The bare minimum size for a winch power cable will be a 4 gauge (4awg) wire, but I’d recommend using two gauges (2awg) as it will help the winch perform better. The smaller the number in the wire gauge, the larger the wire diameter. The larger the wire, the more amperage can freely flow through it thus providing more power to the winch while it’s under load. The large wire isn’t cheap so be sure to budget for it, and the connectors that will need to go on the ends of these wires too. Now of course you will need a place to put your winch once you have it, and if you’re at all like me, you’d rather that winch go on the front of your Jeep than the top of your workbench, but if there are repairs that need to be done, that will give you time to figure out how you’re going to mount the winch to the Jeep. Your Jeep may already have a winch bumper, but the previous owner took the winch with them, or maybe you just haven’t had the funds to fill the hole in the bumper you bought last year. Either way, look into all the different mounting options available to you for your Jeep. And no, a winch bumper is NOT the only way to put a winch on the front of a Jeep. There are options that incorporate into the factory bumper and are plenty strong too.

So don’t worry, you don’t necessarily have to fork out a thousand bucks or more just for a mounting solution for your budget winch. A lot of it will come down to looks, but mostly budget. The bigger, the badder, the more cool looking something is for your Jeep, and the more likely it is to be expensive. That doesn’t mean you should cheap out though, saving up a couple more months is better than pulling the trigger too early on something you’ll regret buying down the road. But even then, one Jeeper’s junk is another Jeeper’s treasure. So no matter what, you’ll always be able to recoup some of the cost by selling it off down the road to someone else. The mounting plate for the winch is also only part of the equation, and chances are, the used winch you picked up didn’t come with the little bag of hardware that is included when they are new, for you to mount it with. So with that, you’ll need to figure out how long, and of what size of nut and/or bolt you’ll need. When It comes to this, don’t get fancy. Stay away from the chrome, or whatever it is you pulled from your great-grandfather’s junk drawer. Go to the hardware store, get yourself some grade-8 hardware, and be done with it. And if you want to take it a step further, you can opt for the security mounting solution from Factor-55 that you heard about in a recent “must-have pick of the week for your Jeep.” If you’re worried about somebody unbolting your winch, that is, or if you just want a conversation piece. Well Jeeper, it looks like we’ve run out of segments for this tech talk, so in the next talk we’ll get into the actual testing of the winches and all things to look for when checking the function or usability of a used winch, and of course HOW to test a used winch. Don’t worry, I won’t leave you hanging, so be sure to subscribe to the show, so you don’t miss out. 

 

 

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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