Overall ImpressionsFor a vehicle that tackles off-road trails regularly and is used as a daily driver, our Wrangler has been extremely reliable. We're still on the original clutch, water pump, alternator, starter, and so on. Yes, the NV3550 tranny is noisy at idle, but it hasn't changed since day one. It's a truck transmission, and it's just one of the inherent quirks you have to live with if you own a Jeep. Hey, it's not a car and, thankfully, it will never perform like one
The Avenger Supercharger, although now beginning to show signs of wear, was definitely the best power mod we could have made to the 4.0L engine. We highly recommend an aftermarket intake tube and open-element air filter to get the full power benefits. The rest of the Jeep, including the exhaust system, is stock. We average 11-12 mpg on required premium unleaded fuel. On the highway and off-road, the supercharger complements the 4.56 axle gears and 35-inch tires. Had we not installed the supercharger, 4.88s would have been the gear of choice. Our Jeep isn't an extreme rockcrawler, but it has traversed the Rubicon Trail and been through Moab several times without issues. We have never wished for more gearing than the 2.72 low-range gearing in the NV231 transfer case.
Red currently sits on 35x12.50R16 Nitto Mud Grapplers on 16x8 wheels with 4.5 inches of backspacing. We used a combination of 1-inch body lift and 3 inches of suspension to clear them. The tires are a little wide and rub at full stuff and steering lock. The best-fitting tires we've ran were 315/75R16s on 16x8s with 4.5 inches of backspacing. They're still about 35 inches tall but slightly narrower.
Rust hasn't been a problem anywhere (hey, it's California, what did you expect?). However, like many older TJs the fender flares have faded to a hue close to battleship gray. The factory top is still in pretty good shape. All of the zippers work and there are no holes. Well, maybe a small one, but that was driver error. The windows on the soft top are a different story. They are pretty scratched at this point and are difficult to see out of night and day. Ironically, most of the damage was done during cleaning and washing the Jeep. Liberal and frequent use of a plastic window protectant would have been a good idea.
Although very minor, we did have problems with the latch mechanism on the center console. It required a certain forceful jiggling finesse that borderlined on abusive. It was freakin' hard to open. We lived with it for a while until we disassembled the latch mechanism, cleaned it, and greased the plastic sliding components. Now it works just like new.
Red will most likely go through some changes in future issues. The trails it sees don't require 35-inch tires, and we'd like to get better gas mileage from the 4.0L for daily commuting. The next step could be to turn our 100,000-miler into a sleeper with high-clearance skidplates and maybe smaller tires. But if you have a build idea that you'd like to see, send it in to Jp Magazine, Build it This Way, 6420 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90048 or e-mail your build idea tojohn.cappa@primedia.com.