Considering Selling my 3rd Gen for a Wrangler JLU Rubicon

no no no no no....100 year old suspension tech. Front solid axle is the most bogus, uncontrolled, floppy experience you will encounter in a vehicle both on road and off road. Dude id rather explode 100 CV joints and "not flex enough in the rocks" than be subjected to such a horrible ride. If there is an IFS jeep wrangler then go for it. If you must have it, then buy it and drive it right away to have IFS custom fabricated for it.

All the Jeep speed XJs I have been subjected to ride in were a major embarrassment to the owner. I would often wonder if the owner who just added a roll cage, $6000 worth of shocks nice seats is even aware that a pickup truck with some bolt on upper arms makes his vehicle look like a horse drawn carriage.

Last weekend my poor brother in law purchased his dream 2020 cherry red rubicon 4 door for the price of a BMW and I had to try my best to not make fun of the interior, obviously taken from a dodge dart. He then went over a few curbs which felt like the entire cab had been T-boned by a train.


Solid axle front has no place in the modern world. Even KOH has made the poor guys realize that they should stop being so cheap and run IFS 4x4...

 

It's for articulation, that are not built like a 1/4 or 1/2 ton. Or any other SUV. It's not a handling unit it's a go places unit. I will put my wife's stock Rubi against any TRD Pro and as a matter of fact if you can keep up to her on a twisty road I will take my hat off to you. Most cannot.

 

Take the Wrangler for a good test drive and pay attention to the steering. Make sure you take it on the freeway for a ways. I had my 98 Wrangler for 20 years, and did not replace it with a JL Wrangler.

 

Undisputed ,on a twisty flat road the Jeep will track flawlessly... akin to a train on a curved track

but in real life ( and especially off-road) there are things like pot holes and off center bumps .... this is where one learns to hate the sold axle with a passion. 100% dog crap experience over 15mph. With that gigantic unsuspended axle under you , you always feel two impacts from the unsprung weight flopping around multiple times after hitting a bump. Yes if you want to crawl over rocks and not spend money , sure SA. Or you run things like twin traction beams or spend a lot on an IFS and enjoy the ride once moving faster than a turtle.


I think jeeps look really cool. The old Cherokee XJ is a super tough reliable car , most people I know have jeeps work on jeeps and enjoy them . I’ve driven them , and I’ve even been in a roll over with one lol. There’s just an unforgivable design flaw that is a no go... that solid front axle. No way Jose

 

I couldn’t bring my self to do it.. reliability is concern there for me.. I built a house for a guy last year and his wife and daughter both drove mild lifted JKs and I being into trucks n stuff we BSd about things and he said he would never do it again. Problems left and right with both of em.. Weird stuff like Heater core and windows not rolling up or down right. Small wiring gremlins. No drivetrain related stuff so that was nice..Things a sub ten year old rig shouldn’t have to be dealing with..

 

Kind of two different classes. Went from JKR to the taco. parts for the Jeep are cheap compared to toyo stuff. Mine rode just as well as this taco. And the road noise was pretty much the same. And it would corner as well as my gti. Setup is easier and far easier to dial in. I’ve built a few. The taco is more go over rough terrain with speed, like out west stuff. Crawling like the Jeep is made for the taco can’t get anywhere close. I can get a Jeep with front and rear open diffs far further than the taco lifted locked up the same trail. And have a more comfortable ride at the same time. Taco rides and drives great and wheels meh. The Jeep drives good and wheels great. Depends what you want to do. Jeep has better seats also. Back doesn’t want to leave me after a few hour trip like in the taco

 

I've owned about 28 cars in my life and my 2015 Wrangler and 2016 Wrangler are the only two that both gave me a headache whenever I spent more than an hour driving them and my 2015 2 door actually made me a little car sick after an hour because of how much it pitches forward and backwards on the shortest wheelbase sold in America. I really tried to like them as I think they are cool. Heck, I traded in my 2 door for a 4 door hoping it would be better on road but it still sucked. I took my wifes $15,000 cheaper Forester to fill up her tank once and thought "why the hell did I buy a Jeep". In snow the Jeep couldn't come close to a Subaru so that ended my short Jeep experience. Go on a long test ride, trust me on this.

 

I sold my 2 door 2015 JK last year and got the Tacoma. IMO modified Jeeps are the coolest looking vehicles... but I reached a point in my life where "coolness" doesn't do anything for me anymore. We all know they are great off road, but on the road the Tacoma feels and drives like a luxury limo in comparison.

Now I started looking at JL's... maybe I'll get one. If I do, it will not be my daily driver again. Absolutely no way!

 

Could not agree more as a former 2013 Wrangler owner. Not going with a IFS is where Jeep’s got it wrong IMO. Mike Manley’s marching orders were not to upset the apple cart and simply update the suspension and keep the looks very conservative and that’s exactly the directive he gave to his team. The new Wrangler COULD have been a real game changer. I bet a lot of FCA designers and engineers were bored to tears working on the redesign.

 

My buddy owns two Jeeps Cherokees and they’re always at the dealer. Same guy who leased a Tesla for $50,000 for 36mos then turned it in, he was always at the dealer for that piece of shit, too. He bought a new Audi SUV, can’t wait to hear the stories about that.

 

Solid front axle and SAS obsessed noobs ...there is no better example of off-road-group-think than that. Rock crawling is the golfing of off road. Solid front axles are corny and cripple the ability of a solid off road utility truck.

 

The Jeep is more novelty to me. Lot more utilitarian use you can get out of the truck. I also think the Tacoma will be way more dependable long term, and I'm sure most people would agree with me.

 

Good luck

 

My 2013 jk rubicon has been to dealer once, for the 5 year life time warentee inspection. Guess will need to go again for 10 year inspection. My 2+ year old Tesla model 3 has never been in for service ( nothing to do). My 2016 or trd 4x4 has been perfect too.

 

The 2020 Tacoma with power seats is much more comfortable, and it seems to hunt less for gears IMO. The JLs seem to have an endless number of "gremlin" complaints. The JL/JT does not have much room in the foot well for the drive or passenger. Be sure to check that out. I have to cant my left leg way to the right, but I have big feet (size 13). The 2020 4R has some nice technology upgrades and I would purchase one before a JL. If you spend a lot of time driving on the highway be sure to drive the JL/JT on a long test drive to see what you think of the wind noise and potential "wandering" at higher speeds. They are all good vehicles and serve their purposes. Lastly, the Bronco will be revealed next month, perhaps you should wait for that. It's going to have an eco-boost motor and 10 speed transmission (smooth/powerful/reasonably reliable/efficient) and some off-road potential. Will come in both 2 (baby) and 4 door options.

 

admittedly jeeps are more capable offroad out of the box, they'll handle larger tires without massive modifications, parts, and upgrades (most such as bumpers, and sliders are cheaper... however jeeps have one MAJOR flaw.. reliability (its and FCA product, nuff said...), weak D44 axles they require sleeving the stock axle tubes, as well as the knuckles, and inner C's, most dump them and get aftermarket axles

 

Hunnn, some one solved the problem:

 

Can't believe I'm quoting myself but I bought my 4th Jeep since writing this, a TJ..

 

Keep the FJ?