New Gladiator: Best Advice?

[Janster]

Don’t worry and relax…… Just drive and enjoy it. Depending on what YOU want …and/or need.

I will say….you gotta go topless & doorless atleast once. Get a set of extra hands (with muscles) to remove & re-install. When removing the doors - make sure that ‘spring loaded’ arm STAYS OUT the whole way (watch some videos on removing the doors). Have a soft place to put the doors & top while you cruise around. Hopefully..somewhere secure.

If you discover that you LOVE going naked…..and would do it again, then you’ll want to research on the best methods of removing & storing the top & doors for longer term. Some folks remove the the top/doors and leave them off all summer. Others remove & re-install often depending on the weather. It all depends on YOU….

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[Stan H]

Does Jeep claim the transmission fluid is lifetime for both automatic and manual? I’d be interested to read what the manufacturer says about service intervals for the manual, where could I find this info?

Does the levelling kit help reduce wear and tear on steering and suspension components?

Does the levelling kit help reduce wear and tear on steering and suspension components?

No it does not .

 

[TTU03]

Will do some more research on this. Did the death wobble start when your vehicle was stock, or after it was lifted and modified?

Death wobble for me started at four year mark, 48k miles. The drag link ends were worn and became sloppy.

I added taller front springs on the front to compensate for the bumper and winch weight. It was about a year after that I ran into DW. My gut says my minor mod had little to do with the death wobble and steering components just wear out over time and use.

 

[Volt0]

Join the forum, laugh and learn with the rest of us.

a couple of things not listed so far, so this might be a bit of a bucket list :

1. Don’t splash water/mud into your intake
2. Do some recovery research
3. Don’t get the radiator clogged with mud
4. Find out what your off-road+ button does, and what it does differently in 4hi vs 4low
5. Fold the windshield down at least once
6. Don’t follow to close behind heavy equipment to prolong your windshield
7. Park with the nose uphill
8. Find your drain ports
9. Find your Easter eggs
10. Practice with various tire pressures off-road
11. Disconnect your front swaybar unnecessarily
12. Practice switching the t-case between 2hi, 4hi, and 4low
13. Enjoy wheeling stock as long as you can
14. Do some research before getting bigger tires

 

[Janster]

1. Find out what your off-road+ button does, and what it does differently in 4hi vs 4lo

I played around with this feature a couple times and didn’t discover the purpose….. shift points? Higher rpm’s? From what I experienced - you could do the same thing by putting the tranny in manual mode and shifting yourself. If you’re in 4lo - I’d never (or rarely) shift out of 1st gear anyway.

What am I missing?

 

[Volt0]

I played around with this feature a couple times and didn’t discover the purpose….. shift points? Higher rpm’s? From what I experienced - you could do the same thing by putting the tranny in manual mode and shifting yourself. If you’re in 4lo - I’d never (or rarely) shift out of 1st gear anyway.

What am I missing?

Your Rubi might be slightly different than my Mojave for OR+.

OR+ w/ 4lo adds BLD, simulating lockers; could be useful for you if you want to avoid binding up your front u-joints with the front e-locker.

OR+ w/ 4hi allows for more wheel spin ( think mud ), and with a 5sec hold on the traction control button you can disable another nanny feature, and then turn on your rear locker ( think sand mode ).

You may have to mess around to see what works best for ice & snow.

your basic 4wd will do a lot on its own; it’s good to know how you can further tweak it, should you need to. There’s plenty of thread posts on the OR+ feature

 

[OldButStillJeeping]

When you first got your Gladiator, what was the best advice you wish you had of known at the time?

Hoping to learn some tips or tricks that will help with longevity and reliability.

So, what is the best advice you would recommend for a new Gladiator?

Any suggestions for preventative maintenance or common issues to keep an eye on would be much appreciated.

My 02 cents...

1> If you off road it especially in mud or have snow and wet weather, get floor mats if you don't have them already. I have the WeatherTech brand. Other brands are available.

2> RAM dash mount for your cell phone, etc. Check out RAM Mounts for the dash.
https://rammount.com/pages/jeep

3> Leave the suspension stock until you research it, talk to people, network, etc. Leaving it stock is usually the best unless you have a dream-rig visual preference. Or if you wheel it hard and know what you are doing.

4> The 3.6 V6 gas engine is a very good engine. Do your oil changes regularly by 5K miles with factory recommended oil and factory filter. (Or WIX).

5> If you are going to get deep in the rough, install a winch. You may never use it but if you need it, it may save your life.

6> Avoid deep water. It is a 4wd rolling computer.

7> Have your tires spin balanced and rotated every 10K miles or less. In my experience with solid front axles; 90% of death wobble is caused by unbalanced and / or over sized tires. And THAT, prematurely wears out your bushings. So they say the bushing went bad or bla bla and now one has death wobble. No! You didn't spin balance and rotate the tires regularly which caused your bushings to go bad.
The other 10% cause is low-tech lift kits, and steering kits. Do yourself a favor, leave it stock get your tires spin balanced and rotated regularly.

Be well. Jeep on.

Eric

 

[professorkx]

After a a recent fight with death wobble, I wished I would have spent my first bit of mod money on replacing track bar, drag link, and tie rod with beefy aftermarket. Not only has this solved my death wobble but the steering has gotten much “tighter”. Lift or no lift I would swap these out for a better driving experience. All bolt on items and total cost is really not much compared to a lot of the mods people are installing.

I converted my JK to solid aluminum drag link and tie rod with 1 ton ends, and found I needed to change the tie rod ends at about the same interval as the stock units. The advantage for the JK is that the stock tie rod bends pretty easily. Bent mine on Top of the World in Moab and used a short 2x4 to bend it back to something close to straight so I could set the toe in for the drive home.

The JT tie rod appears to be much stronger, so only plan to swap mine if I bend the tie rod. However, with 37 inch tires, I know I will wear out parts more frequently, so when I get a little wiggle in the steering, I replace ball joints, tie rod, hubs, drag link and maybe the track bar if the joints are loose (it’s aftermarket to center the axle with the small lift). When I buy new tires I do the same thing, all new parts.

IMHO, chasing the cause of death wobble is a dry well, replace everything and it’s fixed…

 

[Sandman 4x4]

Buy a loaded Sport S with Max Tow! If you can find one with a healthy discount. That with a second set of tires and wheels can be as much fun off road as any, but get the best mileage on highway trips with original tires and still do ok off road. You will save at least ten thousand over a Rubicon, that only has an advantage in rock crawling. A Mojave is a better choice for everything else.

 

[professorkx]

My 02 cents...

1> If you off road it especially in mud or have snow and wet weather, get floor mats if you don't have them already. I have the WeatherTech brand. Other brands are available.

2> RAM dash mount for your cell phone, etc. Check out RAM Mounts for the dash.
https://rammount.com/pages/jeep

3> Leave the suspension stock until you research it, talk to people, network, etc. Leaving it stock is usually the best unless you have a dream-rig visual preference. Or if you wheel it hard and know what you are doing.

4> The 3.6 V6 gas engine is a very good engine. Do your oil changes regularly by 5K miles with factory recommended oil and factory filter. (Or WIX).

5> If you are going to get deep in the rough, install a winch. You may never use it but if you need it, it may save your life.

6> Avoid deep water. It is a 4wd rolling computer.

7> Have your tires spin balanced and rotated every 10K miles or less. In my experience with solid front axles; 90% of death wobble is caused by unbalanced and / or over sized tires. And THAT, prematurely wears out your bushings. So they say the bushing went bad or bla bla and now one has death wobble. No! You didn't spin balance and rotate the tires regularly which caused your bushings to go bad.
The other 10% cause is low-tech lift kits, and steering kits. Do yourself a favor, leave it stock get your tires spin balanced and rotated regularly.

Be well. Jeep on.

Eric

Leave it stock? Sacrilege, I say…Sacrilege!

 

[professorkx]

Don’t worry and relax…… Just drive and enjoy it. Depending on what YOU want …and/or need.

I will say….you gotta go topless & doorless atleast once. Get a set of extra hands (with muscles) to remove & re-install. When removing the doors - make sure that ‘spring loaded’ arm STAYS OUT the whole way (watch some videos on removing the doors). Have a soft place to put the doors & top while you cruise around. Hopefully..somewhere secure.

If you discover that you LOVE going naked…..and would do it again, then you’ll want to research on the best methods of removing & storing the top & doors for longer term. Some folks remove the the top/doors and leave them off all summer. Others remove & re-install often depending on the weather. It all depends on YOU….

A sheet rock carrier from Home Depot and wall hangers for the doors allow this to be a one man job…assuming a guy stays in decent shape. I’m 66 and can handle it by myself. Open the door, roll down the windows, disconnect strap and electrical, place sheet rock carrier under the door from the outside, lift off hinges, turn to the wall and hang the door on the wall mount.

 

[Chris A]

Find a dealership service department you can live with. Most of my negative experiences with FCA products have been dealer generated. Consider a Mopar extended warranty unless you :
1.Willing and capable to repair it.
2.Don’t mind shelling out and have a good diagnostic technician handy.

Dealer service seems to make repairs by replacing parts until problem or vehicle owner goes away.

Not to scare you, I have a 500e, Promaster, JT, JL and KL. and love them all. Some of the most fun driving experiences with a slightly less reliability than top rated manufacturers IMO.

 

[NC_Overland]

Join the forum, laugh and learn with the rest of us.

a couple of things not listed so far, so this might be a bit of a bucket list :

1. Don’t splash water/mud into your intake
2. Do some recovery research
3. Don’t get the radiator clogged with mud
4. Find out what your off-road+ button does, and what it does differently in 4hi vs 4low
5. Fold the windshield down at least once
6. Don’t follow to close behind heavy equipment to prolong your windshield
7. Park with the nose uphill
8. Find your drain ports
9. Find your Easter eggs
10. Practice with various tire pressures off-road
11. Disconnect your front swaybar unnecessarily
12. Practice switching the t-case between 2hi, 4hi, and 4low
13. Enjoy wheeling stock as long as you can
14. Do some research before getting bigger tires

A whole lot more people need to do 13 and 14.

 

[professorkx]

Find a dealership service department you can live with. Most of my negative experiences with FCA products have been dealer generated. Consider a Mopar extended warranty unless you :
1.Willing and capable to repair it.
2.Don’t mind shelling out and have a good diagnostic technician handy.

Dealer service seems to make repairs by replacing parts until problem or vehicle owner goes away.

Not to scare you, I have a 500e, Promaster, JT, JL and KL. and love them all. Some of the most fun driving experiences with a slightly less reliability than top rated manufacturers IMO.

Jeep extended warranty isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. Modify your Jeep and it will get voided…

 

[Chris A]

I personally have done well with it. That said this is mostly due to the fact the dealership diagnosis through installation of parts. ie replacing a turbo for a cracked intercooler hose. Also the dealership makes a difference.

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