Rant: Wifes new Jeep runs better
seb001
05-11-2006, 06:32 AM
I got an 2002 Apex edition last fall with 65000Km. Was my first Jeep and love it.
I just got my wife a 2003 Sport with 47000Km. Now what a difference. The new Jeep is stiffer, does not rattle, no klonking noise, acceleration is better, changing gears is better, in general it feels much nicer than mine. The new one was perfectly maintained.
Tried to swap with the wife to no avail.
Are there things (linking arms) that can be adjusted. When I grease the fittings, I can see grease ooze out of the rubber seals. I think that the previous owner just pumped till the seals broke. Is it hard to change them?
I guess I'll have to look at the spark plugs and fluids to make sure I'm in top shape.
I just got my wife a 2003 Sport with 47000Km. Now what a difference. The new Jeep is stiffer, does not rattle, no klonking noise, acceleration is better, changing gears is better, in general it feels much nicer than mine. The new one was perfectly maintained.
Tried to swap with the wife to no avail.
Are there things (linking arms) that can be adjusted. When I grease the fittings, I can see grease ooze out of the rubber seals. I think that the previous owner just pumped till the seals broke. Is it hard to change them?
I guess I'll have to look at the spark plugs and fluids to make sure I'm in top shape.
o|||||||o
05-11-2006, 09:32 PM
Is the Apex a 2.5 or a 4.0? Are there any modifications to either Jeep?
Ray H
05-11-2006, 10:52 PM
I got an 2002 Apex edition last fall with 65000Km. Was my first Jeep and love it.
I just got my wife a 2003 Sport with 47000Km. Now what a difference. The new Jeep is stiffer, does not rattle, no klonking noise, acceleration is better, changing gears is better, in general it feels much nicer than mine. The new one was perfectly maintained.
Tried to swap with the wife to no avail.
Are there things (linking arms) that can be adjusted. When I grease the fittings, I can see grease ooze out of the rubber seals. I think that the previous owner just pumped till the seals broke. Is it hard to change them?
I guess I'll have to look at the spark plugs and fluids to make sure I'm in top shape.
Assuming we are talking apples to apples (both with 4.0 and manual tranny and soft top). The only difference between an 02 and 03 is the top. The 03 has a 3 ply soft top and the 02 has a 4 ply top. The springs may be stiffer if it can with a hardtop.
I dont know what kind of adjustment you want with the control arms. The length of the control arms can be changed by adjusting a cam but unless your alignment is out, I wouldnt touch it.
Im wondering if your Jeep is stock because the stock suspension links dont have grease fittings. I take that back, the track bar does, but not the control arms. If you are talking about the steering links, they do have grease fittings and are adjustable, but again, they only adjust alignment. The rubber boots can be changed. The biggest pain will be getting the tie rod ends loose.
The difference in acceleration and ride may be something as simple as tires. The power difference could be due to axle gear ratio differences between the two. Maybe the previous owner changed shocks. There are many factors. Its really hard to come up with the answer without more help.
I just got my wife a 2003 Sport with 47000Km. Now what a difference. The new Jeep is stiffer, does not rattle, no klonking noise, acceleration is better, changing gears is better, in general it feels much nicer than mine. The new one was perfectly maintained.
Tried to swap with the wife to no avail.
Are there things (linking arms) that can be adjusted. When I grease the fittings, I can see grease ooze out of the rubber seals. I think that the previous owner just pumped till the seals broke. Is it hard to change them?
I guess I'll have to look at the spark plugs and fluids to make sure I'm in top shape.
Assuming we are talking apples to apples (both with 4.0 and manual tranny and soft top). The only difference between an 02 and 03 is the top. The 03 has a 3 ply soft top and the 02 has a 4 ply top. The springs may be stiffer if it can with a hardtop.
I dont know what kind of adjustment you want with the control arms. The length of the control arms can be changed by adjusting a cam but unless your alignment is out, I wouldnt touch it.
Im wondering if your Jeep is stock because the stock suspension links dont have grease fittings. I take that back, the track bar does, but not the control arms. If you are talking about the steering links, they do have grease fittings and are adjustable, but again, they only adjust alignment. The rubber boots can be changed. The biggest pain will be getting the tie rod ends loose.
The difference in acceleration and ride may be something as simple as tires. The power difference could be due to axle gear ratio differences between the two. Maybe the previous owner changed shocks. There are many factors. Its really hard to come up with the answer without more help.
Ray H
05-12-2006, 01:17 PM
Something else just occured to me that they changed for 03. Jeep set the seats about 1.5" lower on the newer models. Something to do with the airbags. This may also give it the feel of being more stable or carlike but makes it harder to see over the hood.
fredjacksonsan
05-12-2006, 02:47 PM
Keep in mind, too, that the older Jeep with 22K more on it may have been off road a lot, where the newer one was mostly on-road.
tomvid
05-17-2006, 03:50 PM
Changing the gear lube in your man trans will greatly improve your shifting.
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