Ordering a 04TJ this weekend - opinions please!

The two inch receiver options are much more sturdy than the (joke) 1 1/4" options. A bike rack, for example, will flop all over the place if it is designed for the 1 1/4" receiver, but the 2 inch receiver rack that I have is pretty darn sturdy. I am with Bill on the hitch size.

Earle

Thanks. I have a 2" in my Cherokee which has a higher towing capacity. Didn't know they'd have a 2" for the lower capacity Wrangler.

Can't get the Dana 44 with ABS :-(

2" aftermarket it is!! that's why i asked the experts!

If you can't get the Rubicon, be sure to get the Dana 44 rear axle option. Skip something else if you can't swing the extra dough. The standard Dana 35 is a pile of crap.

Sounds good, but I'd ditch the side steps (they'll get broken off on the trail anyway), and also the tire cover (never understood why people try to 'protect' the spare when the other four tires/wheels are exposed anyway?). And by your request, I'll keep my mouth shut regarding the ABS at the expense of the Dana44. :)

Other than that, >Hi. I'm plonging down for a 04TJ Sport this weekend. I don't intend on rock

They have auto dimming mirrors now? Sheesh.

If you order the 30" tire/wheel group you will get the TracLoc as well. With ABS you will get a rear D35, which will be fine for your purposes. When you do serious off-roading, eventually you will be replacing that rear axle....fortunately a D44 that is ABS compatible is in the aftermarket (and no I'm not trying to troll Bill H).

2" is better, and shop that around, a hitch place will probably install it for less than the dealer. You will lose some departure angle, as it hangs below th ebumper. I have a Draw Tite I might be willing to let go....used but not abused, make an offer....

If you are going to replace the tires with 31's soon, I would opt for the tire/wheel group, because included with that is a 3.73 final drive ratio, where stock would be 3.07. I'm not sure if that applies to the auto tranny, tho. If you can get the 3.73 without the tire/wheel group, get it.

IMHO spending more than a couple hundred to upgrade the sound sytem in a Wrangler is a fools errand...these things are so noisy at highway speeds you won't be able to hear the improvements. I had to replace my radio because the stock one got infiltrated by dirt, and I just replaced the speakers with some Polks (5 1/2" round up front, 6 1/2 in the sound bar) and it made a huge difference, but I still can't tell on the highway. If you want thumpin' bass, you might want to get a 4" lowering kit and 20" rims as well.... :-)

No D44 with ABS, see above....

No matter how much the dealer says he is selling it for, remember he is making money, even if he is selling it below dealer cost. Not a bad thing. I ordered and bought my TJ for something like $150 over invoice, but I know he made more than $150.

One last thing...The bugs in the new 4-sp auto may not be worked out yet, you might consider the 5-speed.

Good luck!

• * * Matt Macchiarolo
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ditto... what Bill said... That also gets you the 3.73 gears which is better for towing and bigger tires (I assume you included the 4.0... does the Sport always include that?)

-- JimG

80' CJ-7 258 CID 35" BFG MT on 15x10 Centerlines D44 Rear, Dana 30 Front. SOA 4.56 Gears, LockRight F&R Dana 300 w/4:1 & Currie twin sticks Warn X8000i w/ dual batteries

For better or for worse... yes.. and its got a nifty little compass for those times I forget my Garmin eTrex at home..

Can't get ABS with the 30" group = no 30" group for me.

Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking with the 1 1/4 - I have some accessories that fit my 2" on my XJ.

I'll look into getting the 3.73's.

Wow same speaker setup in my XJ. Swapping out the factory stereo for an Alpine CD, replacing all 4 speakers with front Infinity and rear Polk's and putting a 6" self amplified bazooka in my XJ is definately good enough for me. Granted, my XJ has a permanent roof, I think it might be an improvment. I'm not into loud. I just want to be able to hear over the wind when the top's off/down. Plus Circuit City has some good deals around now and they finally sell Alpine!

making money, even if he is selling it below dealer cost. Not a bad thing. I >ordered and bought my TJ for something like $150 over invoice, but I know

Yeah, I read something about "dealer holdback" where the MFR pays the dealer some money for the sale. I guess thats how they make money even if they sell it at invoice. And considering I'm literally going to drive it off the car carrier, they won't pay rent for the parking space it would have taken up.

you might consider the 5-speed.

I've heard very good things about the auto and I like my 4 speed auto in my XJ so I'm kinda partial to auto. Besides, if I get the stick I'm apt to go speeding around turns and testing my roll bars to see if they really work.

Thanks, Matt!

get the D 44

83 CJ 8, a work in progress out the "XXX" to e-mail me

Hmm.. that's been changed since 2000, mine came with ABS and the 30" tire/wheel group, but it subbed out the D44 for a 35.

• * * Matt Macchiarolo
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On 03 Dec 2003 08:13 PM, Matt Macchiarolo posted the following:

The stock 30" tires suck anyway. Just make sure you get at least the 7" wide steel rims. I put a set of 30" wrangler MT/Rs on my TJ as soon as I got it home, then sold the stockers to recoup some of the cost. The result was great traction at LESS than the cost of the factory option, although this was only possible since I got dealer price on my tires at the time, otherwise it would have been the same cost for better traction.

8^)

I gave up the possibility of a factory D44 and later upgrade to disk brakes to get ABS, so I can sympathize.

---------------------------------------------------- Del Rawlins- del@_kills_spammers_rawlinsbrothers.org Remove _kills_spammers_ to reply via email. Unofficial Bearhawk FAQ website:

I also have a 2" reciever that I'd be willing to let go. (Sorry, Matt, not trying to start a competition here ;-) ). I'm lazy, though, so unless you can come get it (Littleton/Denver, CO area), fuhgetaboutit. It has a minor bit of surface rust/peeling paint, but is structurally in great shape. Just needs to be repainted and installed. Mine's off a

1997 TJ; I am assuming nothing has changed in the bolt hole patterns in the 2004 TJ frames that would preclude your being able to use it on your Jeep. If you want it, email me.

A friend has the new 4-sp auto in his Rubicon. Granted, he has only had it since May, but he has already thashed his Rubi pretty well on the trail (not in the bad way, just meaning he's put it to good use) and the tranny has so far held up just fine. And the extra crawling ability the tranny affords is awesome.

/Bob

Part of the cost of the 30" tire/wheel group is the 3.73 ratio. Otherwise you are stuck with the 3.07 ratio, and to change it later would be more expensive than the cost of the option.

Agreed...the Goodyear GetStuckAnywhere (GSA) do suck. 31" MTR's on mine first, now 33" General Grabbers.

• * * Matt Macchiarolo
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Yeah, I'm opting for the stock tiny bicycle tires on the 15x7 rims.

They're exactly the same ones as on my 96 xj except they have a different cap - i have BFG AT's (forget which size) but they're chunky and are aiiight in the mud (no lift, though).

According to t looks like i can put 31" MTR's on a 15x7 rim - anyone confirm?

How do these compare to BFGAT's? The last time I had goodyears on my XJ was a set of wrangler rt/s' which were not too great off road. The stock wrangler AT's were better but a little smaller.

On 05 Dec 2003 08:02 PM, Valued User posted the following:

IIRC, they will fit but might rub offroad without modification, which can range anywhere from additional washers under the steering stops ( limiting turn radius) to a simple coil spring spacer lift.

I've never used BFGATs but a buddy of mine has a set and likes them a lot. I'm a bit of a Goodyear snob having formerly been a dealer but I will say that the RT/S is a piece of garbage. I never stocked them, although I would occasionally order one as a replacement for somebody who ruined one out of their set. In my opinion, it was designed as a cheaper tire they could sell to the OEMs, and they certainly didn't hold up worth a damn in rural Alaskan conditions. The RT/S actually hurt our business because it was more difficult to sell a customer a set of the higher end Goodyear tires with the lousy experience with their OEM wrangler RT/S, Wranger AP, or whatever fresh in their mind.

I may catch some flak here for saying this, but I believe the GY Wrangler AT is the best "all around" light truck tire ever made, and it was really annoying when it was discontinued, it being our best selling tire at the time. It rode well, was quiet on the highway, did acceptably well for mild offroading, gave decent winter traction and in the heavier ply ratings, was damn near invulnerable to ordinary road hazards. I have personally seen several cases where the carcass stopped nails from penetrating. The nail would go in until it hit the steel belts and stop right there, while the rest would be a mangled mess. About the only thing that would kill them short of normal wear, was sharp rocks at high speed and underinflation.

Now a lot of readers here will poo-poo the Wrangler AT for its mediocre performance in serious offroad use, but the fact remains that it wasn't designed for serious offroaders and we are at best, a fringe group. 8^) Which is why they designed the MT/R...

I don't have the operational experience with the MT/R that I do with some of the other Goodyear tires since I got out of the tire business shortly after buying my set, and only sold one or two other sets. But based on 28,000 miles of experience with them in some pretty nasty conditions I would put them up against anything on the market. What is most amazing to me, is that for as well as they do offroad, how well they perform on the road too. There is a little bit of a hum but that is it as far as noise goes.

---------------------------------------------------- Del Rawlins- del@_kills_spammers_rawlinsbrothers.org Remove _kills_spammers_ to reply via email. Unofficial Bearhawk FAQ website:

Nice options!-D35's are fine for weekend warior type stuffs.We got a plan?-A buddy-a route? A winch? We don't all hop big rocks here."Baby steps,Baby,Baby steps,now".A good stereo could muffle the woman.Think ahead!Have a plan.D44's cost big money.Go figure. All the best to you-Hank.

I have the "Apex"pkg.that included chromed wheels. Q.Do you think I have the 3.73 gears?

-The "Apex" is based on the "X"Sport.

-Thanks,Hank.