Episode 724 – Jeep Used as Battering Ram!

This Week In Jeep

It IS Still a Jeep After all…

Jeep Used as Battering Ram!

Over the years I’ve had the pleasure of bringing to you many stories of Jeeps and dumb criminals, and in some of these stories, the Jeep they’re driving ends up being the focus of the story. Not the crime. Not the criminal, ro even the efforts of law enforcement. Nope. The frickin Jeep takes center stage, and WHY? Because usually it’s the Jeep serving the role in these cases more often than not as the getaway vehicle, and ends up doing double duty as a battering ram or demolition derby car. Story after story, the Jeep rams one cop car after another taking them out of the chase, all while the Jeep seems more than capable of chugging along. Today we have such a story, but not with a Jeep you’d think capable of such a feat, but here it is. According to the reports from the police of Wethersfield Connecticut, an officer was on a routine patrol near the Almar Motel on Arrow Road. Just before 2:25 a.m., the officer noticed a license plate that had been reported stolen to Middletown police. The plate was attached to a silver Jeep Compass, there was not a year listed, so we don’t know if it was a first gen or second gen Compass, either way, it’s a Compass…..  And a backup officer was called to the scene.

Ok, so you got that mental image good and sharp in your mind? Two cops flanked this silver Jeep Compass, and their patrol cars were behind the Jeep COMPASS. As the officers stood alongside the Jeep, the driver put the vehicle in reverse, struck BOTH police vehicles, and fled the scene. According to the report, both officers said they attempted to pursue the vehicle; however, one police vehicle was completely inoperable, and the other sustained enough damage to make it unable to effectively or safely pursue the fleeing Jeep. The pursuit had to end before it even began, because of a frickin Jeep COMPASS? Thankfully, none of the officers were hurt. However, if you have any information about the driver or this apparently indestructible silver Jeep Compass, you’re asked to call the Wethersfield Police Department. 

Manufacturing Milestone For Jeep Plant

We may not think much of this particular model here in the states, and by “we” I mean pretty much anyone listening to this show, and a great deal of other Jeep owners out there who chose to buy, well, any other Jeep than a Compass. But the Jeep Compass has been the key to the Jeep brand’s success across the globe. 

The compact SUV is built at four different assembly plants worldwide, but one of those plants is celebrating a huge milestone of 400,000 units being produced there.

The Jeep plant in Brazil (which has a name even I can’t pronounce) has been producing the Compass since October 2016. Since then, the vehicle has not stopped evolving. 

In 2021, the Brazilian-built Compass received a mid-cycle action (MCA) that brought even more design, technology, sophistication, and performance to the Compass’ arsenal. It now sits as the reference to what other automakers look at when entering their vehicles into the C-segment market of SUV’s. Although the Jeep compass has always been considered one of those “other Jeeps” it is nonetheless still a Jeep.

And its Jeep DNA has helped cement it as the sales leader among the C-segment SUVs.  In 2022, up to October, 51,070 units of the Compass were sold, which looks to put it once again, at the top of its category for sales at the end of the year. A position, mind you, that it has reached for the last five years running. For the 2023 model year, the Compass expanded its list of standard features and gained an extra dose of protection with the new “Jeep Healthy Cabin” package, a technology that removes impurity particles from the air and eliminates impurities by up to 83%. And with the climate controls set to recirculation, even uncle Bob will have a hard time fog banking the Jeep with his infamous chili-dog salute. The Brazilian-built version of the Compass is sold in 16 countries across Latin America. Those countries include Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Mexico. What is funny about that, is that the American and Canadian version of the Compass is produced at the Toluca Assembly Plant… in Mexico (which doesn’t produce its own country’s models). So yes, Mexico is building the same Jeep that it imports.

Tell me how that is smart. 

Tech Talk with Jeep Talk

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 Episode 720 I covered all the things your Jeep needs to have in order to power and mount a winch to begin with. In this installment of Tech Talk, we’re going to get into the winches themselves. A lot of what you’re going to find as far as used winches go are likely going to be older models, that have either been left for dead, have been misused and broken, or is the unfinished project of someone just like you. 

Some of the brands you’re likely to come across are of course the ubiquitous WARN, but also winches like Ramsey, MileMarker, Smittybilt, and Superwinch. Sure, there are others, like T-Max, Kodiak, or (ugh) Badlands, and other Chinese crap that isn’t worth pulling a dead lawn mower across the driveway, let alone finding a home on the front of your Jeep. Serviceability and initial quality are the key elements here. If it wasn’t made good to begin with, or if you can’t get parts for it, what’s the point? Right? You’re either polishing a turd or you’re embarking on an exercise in futility.

But hey, if you need the practice or something to waste time and money on, you could find worse choices. When it comes to reputation in both the aforementioned areas, few come with the prestige that WARN does. They’ve been doing this longer than just about anyone else, and you can still get parts for even some of their oldest winches. From the old uprights like the Belleview or the very sought after WARN 8274, (and honestly, if you can get your hands on an 8274, it will be the last winch you ever buy) …to the more modern VR or ZEON series, you can rebuild, or even upgrade them all. All the other brands will also have some degree of parts support, but few will come close to the level of support you’ll get from WARN. So it might be a good idea to keep your radar tuned for used WARN winches, but you don’t have to put all your eggs in one basket as it were either. Just know that WARN has the largest selection of replacement parts for their winches than virtually any other manufacturer. Despite the brands you find, or the model you end up going with, we need to make sure you’re not buying a lemon, or something that’s going to leave you stranded in the middle of a mud hole the third time you use it. The key to buying any used winch is to know what you are looking at. There’s quite a few things happening electrically and mechanically to make a winch work right, and some of it can be overwhelming. So let’s make sure you got the right stuff before you head out to look at one, so that you don’t spend all day troubleshooting a boat anchor. When you head out to look at a used winch, be sure to bring a GOOD 12-volt battery and power leads or at least a set of jumper cables with you so you can test the winch to see if it even works. Don’t grab the 12v lawn mower battery that’s been sitting in the shed for the last 6 years. It needs to be a good, 12v battery with at least 650 CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) …this is the common minimum amperage requirement for most winches in the 8k to 12k rating range. Sometimes someone might be selling a winch they thought didn’t work, come to find out, all that happened was it got hooked up wrong, or a wire came loose.

Look at the overall condition of the winch itself. If it’s a painted winch, how does the paint look? Is it rusty? Pay special attention to the bolts and mounting gear, are they stripped, rusty? What’s the condition of the cable? Find out if it’s the original, and if so, how old it is. Does it have any kinks, loose or broken strands? All this is a must know, but not a deal breaker, since the cable can be replaced. If it’s a synthetic winch rope, be sure and look for fraying and/or tears. 

Then look for a fairlead and see if there’s a lot of wear. If it’s a roller fairlead, do all the rollers spin freely? Is the fairlead mounting bracket bent or wallowed out?  And don’t forget the condition of the controller. Inspect the button, check its operation to make sure the controller isn’t frozen. Also pay special attention to the cord as it goes into the controller, and as it terminates at the winch-side plug. Is the shield still intact? Any breaks or burns? In the end, a replacement controller can be ordered and will be brand new out of the box. What you find as you go through all of these inspection points can be great indicators of how well the previous owner took care of the winch, but aren’t necessarily deal breakers if you’re aware of what you’re going to need to rebuild or replace. Next comes the actual testing of the potentially new-to-you winch. Be sure and use at least a set of jumper cables in the test to verify if the winch works. That speaker wire isn’t going to cut it, and the moment you try and power things up with anything smaller than jumper cables, you’ll have some nice hot wire and a stinky smoke show and not much else. It doesn’t matter if the winch looks great… if it won’t pull,  you’re in for a lot more work than you may want to get into. So inspect the housing and really check out the wiring and solenoid packs.

Any crimps in the wiring could be a potential break, if it’s a spliced together mess, you’re going to be in for some rewiring. So if your electrical game is weak, you may want to move on to another option. Watch out for excessive oxidation on the solenoid connections, that’s going to be a dead giveaway that they’ll need cleanup or replacement. But cleaning of contacts and bus bars is easy with a wire wheel or some elbow grease and a wire brush. Be sure to look closely around the cooling fins if the winch has them. Too much build up could spell trouble. Speaking of thermal damage, look for “hot spots” on the wire studs. These would be signs of a short, a spark, or loose connection. This indicates a poor installation, and means at least at some point, the connections were loose enough to cause arcing, (or worse) and that can lead to serious motor or solenoid problems. When you’re testing a winch, if it powers in and out you want to listen for grinding or popping noises; those can indicate broken bits in the drivetrain and spell serious trouble.

But remember, gears can be replaced if things haven’t been too terribly grenaded inside. The drivetrain of a good winch can be completely rebuilt, but parts will add up quickly. So maybe pass on one that is a garbled mess of twisted and broken metal inside. You will also want to check for cracks in any of the winch’s housings. Cracks can indicate internal damage or massive overloading of the winch, and cracks will also allow grease to get out, and water to get in where it shouldn’t and damage internals.

Honestly, I would avoid any winch with cracks in the housings unless it was free or nearly free and might have some usable parts. OK… let’s say you’ve checked out the things we’ve listed and the winch seems to be in good or great working order. Congratulations, sounds like we may have a winner on our hands. But there are still a few other considerations before forking over the cash to take a look at. Not all these things will matter to every Jeeper, but still they’re worth mentioning so that you’ll have a better idea of what you’re looking at. Does the winch have a reverse? If you don’t like to free-spool, this is important. How about a manual brake and clutch? What type of drive gear does it have? Is it spur, worm, or planetary…which one do you prefer? (They all have advantages, the pros and cons of each are too extensive to get into on this segment, so be sure to do some research.) Does the winch you’re looking at have a new or rebuilt motor? And is it set up with a remote switch? You can save yourself a bunch of money on a winch, if you follow these guidelines and find a “diamond in the rough”. Trust me, they’re out there. You may find an excellent deal that just needs some cleanup and a little attention. But you’re gonna need to use your eyes, hands, and a checklist of the things we’ve covered here, to avoid buying a boat anchor, or paying more for something than you should. Well Jeeper, I hope this helps. If nothing else, you’ve got a better understanding of things to look for when buying a used winch, and may be able to pass some of this on to a friend who could use a push in the right direction.

Must Have Stuff Pick-of-the-Week for your Jeep!

The Lazy Waver    $14         https://amzn.to/3B2yiuM

Have you ever been driving down the road, distracted by the kids in the back, nuggets in your lap, maybe the Jeep in the rearview mirror, or trying to skip that terrible song again? Only to realize that you missed giving another Jeep wave? And then you spend the rest of your day thinking about it, hanging your head in shame, and promising yourself you’ll do better next time. Never again! Never miss a Jeep wave again with this Lazy Waver! Available in left or right hands depending on how you wave and in a light or dark skin complexion. These ship in a single color but you can easily paint it for that perfect match. Double sided tape is included to mount the hand to the dash. This makes the perfect gift for that lazy waving Jeeper! These hands are made with plastic using an additive manufacturing process. Additive manufacturing is a process of laying down the product with a thin stream of plastic layer by layer. This results in visible micro-layer lines and other possible minor surface imperfections. In other words, this is a 3D printed Jeep Wave that sticks to your dash in front of your steering wheel to make it look like you just threw up two fingers in that iconic Jeep Wave. 

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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