Petro said:
Well, you hit the nail right square on the head JS. Ran the VIN and the Jeep has been in the shop 8 times in the last year. Not only the stuff JK's are known for (leaky roof, axle coverings, etc) but also stuff I hadn't heard them having problems with before like stalling, A/C leaking and needed to be recharged, and others. Guess I'll just have to wait another couple months for the '09's.
It all depends how many mods you want to do. Some of the issues I know of...
- Leaking: No biggy. I use some baby-wipes on the seals. The trick is to keep the seals clean.
- Stalling: This is a nasty one. There's a TSB to fix this I think. I've only had this happen once, at a stop sign (knock on wood). It's happened on the highway to plenty of people.
- Squealing clutch: 1 day in the garage, covered by TSB. A pain to diagnose and get fixed. Luckily I don't have this issue.
- C-clips on front u-joints: Gotta tack weld the tops, or change your front axles to support full circle clips. I have some new axles in my dining room, just waiting for some 4.56 gears to come out...
- Inner C is weak: Gotta weld some gussets. Will be doing that Friday.
- Boots on CV joints: The rubber can split if you flex a lot off road, or you hit them on something. CV joints suck, so an axle upgrade is a good thing. I have some Tom Woods axles going on this Friday.
And maybe the worst of all...
- The Autos can catch fire: It seems to be related to a trans breather running close to the exhaust. I don't think anyone knows for sure yet, but quite a few Autos have caught fire now...
project-jk.com has a good section on TSBs...
js.