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02' TJ won't go over 60

8K views 16 replies 10 participants last post by  1515art 
#1 ·
Hey everyone,

Just purchased my first Wrangler (02' TJ X) last week and am having a weird issue with the Jeep pretty much topping out at 60mph. I've read a lot on here about this issue before posting, pretty much the general consensus I've seen is this is a catalytic converter issue? I don't know a lot about the vehicle, unfortunately i had to buy it from a buy-here-pay-here place so i knew there would likely be some issues i needed to address. The vehicle has 129K on it, 2 owners, NV vehicle its' entire life. I havn't really gone past 3,000 rpm's in any gear, but it doesn't seem to have any power loss until you hit 60. sometimes it'll go 65. I'm trying to find out if anyone has anything else i should check before i go out and purchase parts as I'm limited on how much I can throw at this before I need it for a roadtrip for a wedding at the end of feb... I don't have the tools or the know-how to DIY stuff, so I'm going to have to take her to a shop and suck up the labor, trying to nail down the issue. any help is appreciated.


thanks,
beau
 
#2 ·
Is it throwing any codes ? Is it stock without a lift or bigger tires ?
I'll be honest, you need to get to know that thing before you throw a suitcase in it for a road trip, especially if you're on a limited budget. Find a different way to get safely & on time to that wedding.
Btw, older Chrysler vehicles, limited mechanical skills, no garage & low funds don't usually mix very well.
 
#3 ·
I figured 2 months of daily driving would be enough to know if she was suited for a 4 hour drive but the more I'm getting feedback on this, it looks more like a gearing issue which is not something I can afford for about a year anyways so she may just get parked.

She has a 3"-3.5" on 33" mickey thompson MTZ's. 30 in the front and 35 in the back, gearing is 3.07 fml... I sure as hell don't have 2,000 to fork out to regear to 4.56 or 4.88 like everyone has told me elsewhere after just dropping 3K on a downpayment.

Not everyone needs to be a super mechanic to enjoy jeeps, this is my 3rd :)
 
#6 ·
So a 4.0 is it 3 SPd auto or 5 SPd manual

33 tires is speedo corrected or are you going faster than 60 when speedo says 60

What is rpm when tops out on speed.

With 3.07 if not wanting to rehear use smaller tires more like 29 or 30"


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#9 ·
thanks everyone

-am going to check spedo against my GPS to make sure
-am about to go test drive it and check a few things, am going to video the RPMs
-i dont know if the right spedo is in there, i have no knowledge of work done by prior owner unfortunately :(
-going to try pushing her harder in 4th but havn't had much luck with that yet
-i have heard the 2.5 TJ's had that other axle and if it is a gearing issue the junk yard is the only way i can afford that anytime soon so will check that out and if i go that route ill try to sell mine back or see if anyone on forums wants them, although i doubt anyone will lol
 
#10 ·
OK, so just took her out for another test. This time i pulled up my navigation on my phone to compare speeds. Turns out I'm going faster than I thought. I was able to get to 5000rpms in my low gears (didn't push it that far past 3rd gear) and was able to get up to what my speedometer reads as 65mph. Had my passenger look at my phone, and it said I was going 73mph.

With that said, does this mean i can breathe a bit on replacing my gearing in my axle for a bit and can just change a part for the spedo to be showing the correct info?
 
#11 ·
#14 ·
I know I'm in late on this one. But I have an off the wall suggestion. Take your 35" tires off the back and put them on the front. Put the 33" tires on the rear. Do a test drive without any tight turns, somewhere you will be safe to do a speed test. see if it has a better speed response.
35" tires on a 4 cylinder with stock gears is way over size. I'd say that even 33" tires are way oversize for your stock gearing too.
I know it's a silly suggestion, but it might open your eyes to the true problem.
 
#16 ·
I have a 2006 4.0 and when I first got it a few months ago the fuel mileage was only around 12 to 13 combined freeway city, also the power was really poor on the freeway. Everything on the motor was new...no trouble lights, I assumed all was normal...mileage all freeway about same as yours. Last week error code on up stream o2 sensors so I changed them both, now tons more power and my mileage looks way improved...30 more miles on half a tank so far. Very the o2 sensors are almost out of range and the engine is running rich, killing the power and gas mileage. Mine were bad just not enough to throw the codes. Only takes a few minutes to change each sensor with the $30 dollar wrench.
 
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