Clutch Recall (2/23/23): Clutch Pressure Plate May Overheat -- Affecting 70,000 Manual Jeep Wranglers and Gladiators

[4xjeepr]

I still don't have the gear display. But I don't trust the dealer for anything.

I can understand that. I wasn't going to have mine done either but, I went in for an oil change and rotation. They noticed the tsb when I checked in and did it, told me afterwards. I had another appointment and didn't bother with it.

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[ErrngeElise]

I have the standard one. Mine is a Sport S.

So they screwed it up on multiple interfaces? Neat! lol

 

[OHJeeper]

I don't even use 5th until I hit 70 with 35s/4.10s

I don't use 5th gear until I'm at 80 ? 37's... and I still have to downshift on the smallest of hills in Ohio - factory 4.10 gearing

I am scheduled for 5.13s the week after Christmas at Babbit Bearing on the south end of town.

 

[AustinL911]

I don't use 5th gear until I'm at 80 ? 37's... and I still have to downshift on the smallest of hills in Ohio - factory 4.10 gearing

I am scheduled for 5.13s the week after Christmas at Babbit Bearing on the south end of town.

Let me know how Babbit does. That's who I was going to use as well. Shame they don't do clutches. ?

 

[Rahkmalla]

i can easily maintain 60 up a slight grade in 5th gear on 35/4.10s without lugging my engine or getting deep into the skinny pedal, and trust me my 35s are not light. I've got steel wheels with load range E 35s. I just can't conceptualize how anyone isn't touching 5th gear on 35s/4.10 til 70 or 80 with 37s.

 

[OHJeeper]

i can easily maintain 60 up a slight grade in 5th gear on 35/4.10s without lugging my engine or getting deep into the skinny pedal, and trust me my 35s are not light. I've got steel wheels with load range E 35s. I just can't conceptualize how anyone isn't touching 5th gear on 35s/4.10 til 70 or 80 with 37s.

I guess the difference between 35's and 37's is the difference... at 60MPH I am sitting at something like 1800 RPM in 5th gear and this motor is a DOG under 2k RPM. Even if I am doing 75 in 5th gear and hit a hill, I'll slowly decelerate even with the pedal to the floor until I'm closer to 70 and then it bottoms out - won't go slower, but also won't accelerate. If I downshift to 4th, I get above 2000 RPM and can actually accelerate again.

And, at 75 MPH in 4th gear I average about 18.5 MPG on the hwy. I drive a 200 mile stretch between Columbus, OH and Louisville, KY frequently and I've done multiple MPG tests in the last 2 years. If I try and use 5th gear on that same stretch of road, at the same speed, I only average 17.2 at best. This motor seems to prefer slightly higher RPM (somewhere between 2500 and 3000 in my experience).

In 4th gear at 70 MPH I am close to 2700 RPM. When I regear for 5.13 my 6th gear will be close to the same at 80 MPH.

I also try and keep it slightly below 3000 RPM so the oil pump doesn't run the second stage.

 

[Padre]

I had my clutch rebuilt by Southbend Clutch. It works so much better. I removed the clutch and sent it to South Bend Clutch. They sent it back that week. Here are some before and after pics. Now, I am no expert so the owner made me a video of what they did.

 

[hjdca]

Interesting.... Southbend Clutch replaced the hollow centerpiece with a solid centerpiece. Seems like a fairly straight forward fix for the new Gladiators coming out of the Factory. I wonder if Jeep is doing something similar for the new trucks ? For me, after going to 5:13 gears at 20K miles, I never had to slip the clutch again - even with 37" tires. I am at 64K miles now. For people that need to back up a boat on a steep driveway, it would be nice if you could go to 4WD low without engaging the front diff..., but, not even the Tazer will let you do that.

 

[ACTman]

Interesting.... Southbend Clutch replaced the hollow centerpiece with a solid centerpiece. Seems like a fairly straight forward fix for the new Gladiators coming out of the Factory. I wonder if Jeep is doing something similar for the new trucks ?

Sorry, IMO that is just like putting lipstick on a pig. It fails to address the reasons why the clutch overheats in the first place. Also, the other mating surfaces are thin and susceptible to failure.

 

[flycast209]

I took delivery of my 2023 today! My foot is in a cast so I had my son drive it who bought my 2021 Mojave. He says the clutch feels way better than his 2021! So they must have legitimately fixed it? We'll see when I get to drive it, but today was promising!

 

[4xjeepr]

I took delivery of my 2023 today! My foot is in a cast so I had my son drive it who bought my 2021 Mojave. He says the clutch feels way better than his 2021! So they must have legitimately fixed it? We'll see when I get to drive it, but today was promising!

Hopefully, they use the same repair on already sold vehicles if it indeed feels better than your '21. I'm still waiting for any new information on when my 2020 will be called in for the recall.

 

[flycast209]

Hopefully, they use the same repair on already sold vehicles if it indeed feels better than your '21. I'm still waiting for any new information on when my 2020 will be called in for the recall.

Yes I am hoping for the recall parts on the 2021 also. He says it is a dramatic difference that made him smile.

 

[4xjeepr]

Yes I am hoping for the recall parts on the 2021 also. He says it is a dramatic difference that made him smile.

Outstanding! That's making me feel somewhat better at what Stellantis has come up with to make the clutch and feel more in line with what's expected.

 

[mbbq22]

I had my clutch replaced a little over a month ago by a shop down here in Charlotte. Currently running 4.10's with 37s. Just got back from a long roadtrip to see family for the holiday, about 9 hours each way. I can say that on East Coast highways up to NY, I could easily cruise around 80mph in 6th gear. That said, when I needed to accelerate, I was often having to drop down to 4th gear to do so. Eventually I'll make the jump to 4.88 or 5.13 but for now, this set up will suffice.

On a separate note, the shop that did my clutch installed a CenterForce, stating it was the only aftermarket clutch they felt comfortable installing. I noticed fairly often during my trip that when downshifting from 6th to 5th, I couldn't get into 5th and would often need to go down to 4th. There is a periodic "stickiness" when trying to shift gears from time to time. I'm assuming this means the clutch wasn't bled properly but can anyone confirm that assumption?

 

[OHJeeper]

Let me know how Babbit does. That's who I was going to use as well. Shame they don't do clutches. ?

Dropped my rig off 12/26 in the morning and they had it done by Weds evening. I picked it up Thursday afternoon and have mostly broken in the new gears.

I went with Spicers, so your mileage may vary, but these new gears are QUIET. Absolutely no noise at all compared to the stock 4.10's.

Jimmy at Babbit is awesome - they did a great job.

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