Your stock Rubicon diesel JT bottoming out? Here’s the fix!!

[djthumper]

Is there an updated TSB? I still have to prove to my dealer that this is happening to me (or prove I’m wrong) as their tech couldn’t repro and didn’t see anything by visual inspection.

There is no updated TSB as of yet. They took it on a drive and were able to reproduce the bottoming out. I even have about 250 additional pounds in the bed area and still bottom out. The TSB says that it is because of a harsh ride. I also was prepared with a video of my harsh ride on a small section of the trail that you could see that it wasn't that bad yet hear the suspension crashing. My Sport falls in line with the dates on the vehicles listed in the TSB, your 22 is outside of the listed dates. YOu should already have the updated shocks.

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[Dougstdig]

Is there an updated TSB? I still have to prove to my dealer that this is happening to me (or prove I’m wrong) as their tech couldn’t repro and didn’t see anything by visual inspection.

Look and see if you have any circular or semi-circular impact areas on the spring pad inside the spring on the axle. My tech saw this and the parts were ordered before the service writer came and told me what he did. No test drive…no need to reproduce.

 

[ParatusExpeditions]

Look and see if you have any circular or semi-circular impact areas on the spring pad inside the spring on the axle.

I've definitely asked them to look they said nothing by visual inspection.
Just checked in my driveway. The fact that the center of the pad is clean from the contact of the bump stop to me is sufficient? But mine is 2022, though bought it in March so I doubt it wasn't built before Feb 22. Another


possibility is that I'm sending it too much.

 

[Dougstdig]

I've definitely asked them to look they said nothing by visual inspection.
Just checked in my driveway. The fact that the center of the pad is clean from the contact of the bump stop to me is sufficient? But mine is 2022, though bought it in March so I doubt it wasn't built before Feb 22. Another


possibility is that I'm sending it too much.

For comparison, here’s mine. My photos are not from as good of angle as yours, but you can see in between the coiled wire where the semi circle rust spots are.

 

[ParatusExpeditions]

Thanks, I'll wait a bit and see if they update the TSB or if it starts rusting out too. But it's hard to know if that's my driving or not. Wish I could jump as a passenger on a confirmed "faulty" one to compare.

For example, small parking bumps are fine if I got 5-10mph. 15mph or so and it's a harsh loud CLANG. Like my 1996 F150 handles those better at the same speed. That's frustrating
Sometimes on the trail if the terrain dips and comes back up I'll bottom out as well. Could be that I just overestimate the up travel of the suspension of a stock Rubicon (first jeep).

 

[djthumper]

Thanks, I'll wait a bit and see if they update the TSB or if it starts rusting out too. But it's hard to know if that's my driving or not. Wish I could jump as a passenger on a confirmed "faulty" one to compare.

For example, small parking bumps are fine if I got 5-10mph. 15mph or so and it's a harsh loud CLANG. Like my 1996 F150 handles those better at the same speed. That's frustrating
Sometimes on the trail if the terrain dips and comes back up I'll bottom out as well. Could be that I just overestimate the up travel of the suspension of a stock Rubicon (first jeep).

Mine would actually crash at 5 MPH as well along with little dips on the trail.

 

[ParatusExpeditions]

That's helpful, thanks

 

[CerOf]

That's helpful, thanks

You probably are “sending” it a bit too much. It’s up travel isn’t the greatest. It’s down travel is impressive.

My wife’s grand Cherokee could take speed bumps/humps faster than I. It’s the IFS suspension.

Before I lifted, it would bottom out on any road hump or dip, hard. Required two hands on the wheel. With mopar 2” lift, all is well. Wife’s Graand can still take speed bumps better, but I can take dips and humps at nearly twice the speed she can.

At some point, it will still botttom out. Just not in every day driving.

 

[ajkaz]

Thanks, I'll wait a bit and see if they update the TSB or if it starts rusting out too. But it's hard to know if that's my driving or not. Wish I could jump as a passenger on a confirmed "faulty" one to compare.

For example, small parking bumps are fine if I got 5-10mph. 15mph or so and it's a harsh loud CLANG. Like my 1996 F150 handles those better at the same speed. That's frustrating
Sometimes on the trail if the terrain dips and comes back up I'll bottom out as well. Could be that I just overestimate the up travel of the suspension of a stock Rubicon (first jeep).

Honestly you might just be driving a little fast. We have similar Jeeps, '22 JTRD I took delivery early March. I test drove a 21 JTRD with the bottoming issue, it felt totally different. It bottomed out on the test drive on the easements when leaving and returning to the dealer at around 10mph. If your hitting speed bumps at 10 mph and not contacting your in good shape. There is very little uptravel with this spring, you should look at a higher rate front spring with a little more height to it. Clayton has a 1.5" leveling spring with a higher rate, this would allow you to hit those speed bumps with more speed. You could just swap springs and leave everything else stock, works fine.

 

[ParatusExpeditions]

Thanks for the perspective. Lifting it is on the list of things to do of course, but haven't got to it yet.

 

[willhonkforparts]

Has anyone seen an improvement with this simply from a stiffer shock? Hydraulic bumps?

 

[willhonkforparts]

You probably are “sending” it a bit too much. It’s up travel isn’t the greatest. It’s down travel is impressive.

My wife’s grand Cherokee could take speed bumps/humps faster than I. It’s the IFS suspension.

Before I lifted, it would bottom out on any road hump or dip, hard. Required two hands on the wheel. With mopar 2” lift, all is well. Wife’s Graand can still take speed bumps better, but I can take dips and humps at nearly twice the speed she can.

At some point, it will still botttom out. Just not in every day driving.

I don't think "sending it" is the issue. It's too well documented that these things bottom out (rather violently I might add) on surfaces and at speeds that the non diesel trucks, and pretty much everything else on the road, handles with ease. There's no reason that a small bump/dip on a dirt road, taken at low speed (15 mph is a low speed) should cause any vehicle to bottom out so forcefully that it sounds like some hit the frame with a giant sledge hammer. The springs, shocks and bumps are simply too soft for the small amount of up travel and extra weight the diesel trucks have. It happens so easily and frequently that there is NO WAY AT ALL that the engineers and test drivers didn't experience it in testing. There is just no way they didnt drive these things down a dirt road, or even a broken up paved road in testing. Jeep clearly decided that engineering new springs for the entire line was more expensive/time consuming than just sending it out to customers knowing that many would be upgrading the suspension anyway. They obviously decided it was something they would prefer to handle with a TSB down the road, only if enough people complained about it. This also gave them more time to come up with the solution of the new springs/shocks/bumps included in the TSB.

 

[@californiajeeping]

Put a lift on and call it a day

You wont get anything decent as far as suspension performance without lifting the suspension up. The uptravel is far too little for a smooth ride. Did 4 hours of trail and dirt road exploring last weekend and the ride was decent until i got to the rough washboards i forgot my air compressor to air down and the patagonias were HARSH. It was entirely the tires at 38psi that caused the teeth chattering. Large bumps and whoops on smoother higher speed dirt roads were soaked up with ease.

 

[ToJTornottoJT]

Has anyone seen an improvement with this simply from a stiffer shock? Hydraulic bumps?

As previously noted in this thread... yes, mine no longer bottoms out after the fix. I think new bump-stops actually stop metal-to-metal contact too.

 

[Almost]

Finally got the dealer to push my Jeep through for the TSB. Shocks are on back order and they’re estimating at least a month.

I have a local speed bump I used with the tech so I can document the before and after. Most likely will pair with the Clayton springs for a true fix and will also test before and after.

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