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New JK Owner - What are some must do changes?

3K views 18 replies 16 participants last post by  Speed Shop Tony 
#1 ·
So, I've had my JK for going on week 3 now. So far I love it. Before this I had a Jeep Liberty and as much as I used to say before "I can do anything a Wrangler can" now that I have a Wrangler I know that is complete BS lol The Wrangler is a whole different beast on a completely different playing field that's for sure. I don't miss the Liberty in the slightest bit.

So far, Every vehicle I've owned has all had little tweakes that everyone does first thing. The Liberty it was to remove the rear sway bar, May Mazda 6 was tweaking the breather hose etc.

I was wondering, is there anything along those lines with the JK (not a JKU) that I should do? I mean, I know about the whole "turn the rear view mirror upside down" thing and replacing the bolts with grade 8 bolts (which will be done with my lift) but anything else I should remove or change that is easy enough but a known must among everyone?

I already got my lift coming to me and got plans for the larger actual mods.
 
#2 ·
Good tires and a cb radio were my first mods on all my 4WD vehicles.

Find out what you like/dislike about it. What needs tweaking.
They do pretty well as is...

(then get headlights)
 
#4 ·
Probably going to lean towards submarine.

but no, It's my daily driver but it sees the trails every weekend I can get out. not like MOAB offroading but backwoods offroading. we got a few places to wheel here near me that I go to with friends. But at the same time I use the same Jeep to go pick my son up from daycare and school too.

I already know what I'm doing in the way of lift, tires, lighting and all of that. I jsut wasn't sure of there where any MUST DO stuff like "yeah you need to remove this and that since it's just garbage added by the manufactorer that's not needed" etc. It seems every vehicle I've gotten has had something like that but I didn't notice anything while searching in regards to stuff on the Wrangler like that.

Like with my Liberty one of the main things people did was remove the rear sway bar. It was fine to drive without it without causing issues or body roll and it allowed a bit more rear articulation without it. So that was usually one of those first things most people did was to toss it out.

Just trying to find some little changes that are common to do while I wait for the lift to get here to give me something to do.
 
#5 ·
. I jsut wasn't sure of there where any MUST DO stuff like "yeah you need to remove this and that since it's just garbage added by the manufactorer that's not needed" etc. It seems every vehicle I've gotten has had something like that but I didn't notice anything while searching in regards to stuff on the Wrangler like that.
The doors and roof, you need to remove them its just garbage the manufacturers put on for. no reason :)
 
#6 ·
Two easy mods:

Transport your soft top windows easily: Clover Patch 10-ST-9702 - Clover Patch Window Roll™ for 07-15 Jeep® Wrangler JK 2 Door - Quadratec

Depending on where you live, a nice shade that you can leave in when the top comes off will help beat the sun: SpiderWebShade JK2D-PIN - SpiderWebShade SW1 JK-2D Top for 07-15 Jeep® Wrangler JK 2 Door - Quadratec

Securing your belongings isn't too hard to do, even in a soft top or completely topless Jeep:

Tuffy makes a really good security trunk that fits behind the rear seat and turns that area into a lockable storage area: Tuffy 282-01 - Tuffy Security Products Tailgate Security Enclosure for 07-15 Jeep® Wrangler JK 2 Door - Quadratec

They also make a good solid locking center console: Tuffy 274-01 - Tuffy Security Products Rear Half Security Console for 11-15 Jeep® Wrangler & Wrangler Unlimited JK - Quadratec

Beyond that you can get some grab handles that go on the roll bar, a good set of rubber floor mats to catch all the stuff you track into the Jeep. A fire extinguisher strapped to the roll bar is a great idea. And, of course, a CB radio.

Bigger budget stuff to consider is a good winch mount front bumper and, depending on your tire size, a solid rear bumper with heavy duty tire carrier or one of the replacement rear door hinges to carry the extra weight of the big tire.
 
#13 ·
You're recommending illegal lighting that doesn't work well to a newbie?
Nice.
You should at least tell him that it's illegal to install those lights, shouldn't you? You want him to make an informed decision, don't you?
 
#14 ·
+1 on replacing the headlights. This was my first mod. Soon after I bought my Jeep, I had to go somewhere at night in the country where there were no street lights and I was amazed to find that I had such a hard time seeing the road due to the horrible lights. And the brights just made it worse. I replaced them with an H4 kit. To me, this was a safety issue that had to be resolved right away.
 
#16 ·
Carry a Safety kit with you, fire extinguisher, and a basic tool set.
Keep your trac bar torqued.
Check your coolant level periodically, because these systems are somewhat difficult, to bleed out all of the air. Check all of your fluid levels, sometimes from the factory, they are low, or over filled.
Keep your radiator externally washed out, because they really collect the bugs and leaves.
The stock headlights are worthless for night driving. But make sure that you stay legal, per your state requirements.

You mentioned mods, just make sure that whom ever does them, is knowledgeable, and does them correct the first time. So many of the threads on jeep forms are complaining about problem/issues, from poorly installed lifts. There is a moderator on this forum, kjeeper10, he seems to have a lot of experience with lifts, so I would pick his brain, to help you get it correct the first time.

Be selective on your tire and wheel choices. When you go with to large of tires, well they may look neat, but again, there seems to be a lot of problems caused by this, wandering, shaking, loss of power, mpg decrease, and poor braking.
 
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