What did you do to your jeep today?

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Birdman330

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Installed the rear loom that has Park Sense and Rear Fogs, now I've hit a ''road block''. BCM is programmed to activate, switch goes through the motions for activation/deactivation, module running check shows everything is active when switched, no Rear Fogs but I have to DTC's that say open circuit. So I'm missing something and the WK2 has no fuses/relays for the front or rear fogs.
 

sota

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question for the collective.

2005 MY car
16k miles usage in 1st year
16k miles usage over the next 13ish years.
regular oil changes done at 3k miles intervals, according to the carfax.

planning on doing an oil change at 36k miles, and considering doing a trans flush-n-filter-n-fill. is there ANY reason anyone can think of why I shouldn't do the trans? service interval is 90k, but given the age of the car and filter/fluid, I'm considering doing it as preventative maintenance.
 

sota

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been thinking about tires, specifically spares.
I know tires "age out", but how bad is it for ones that never see the light of day, like the ones in trunks of cars?
Are the "donut" spare tires designed to last longer without age problems?
What about an ordinary/OEM tire in the dark all the time?
Finally, what about the spare on the outside of the jeep, that's been under a cover most/all it's life.
 

LibertyTC

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Tires are important to safety. Even a new looking tire, can dry out over time & separate without notice, with no sign of wear or cracking, & can definitely become dangerous.
Understanding how to read the manufacturing date code as seen in this ABC News video below, is critical information to know.
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sota

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@LibertyTC I understand how to read tires. I'm trying to find unbiased data as to why there's no care for temp spares, and if conditions as I mentioned (in the dark, in the trunk) will allow an "ordinary" tire to last much longer.
unlike some old/used/exposed tires I have here, which have rock hard tread blocks and/or visible signs of deterioration, the spare in the wife's car (as an example) looks, feels, even smells like a brand new tire, and has lived its entire life (except maybe for a total of a couple minutes over the last 16 years) in the trunk, under cover. so i'm trying to find out... is it "bad" ?
 

LibertyTC

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@LibertyTC I understand how to read tires. I'm trying to find unbiased data as to why there's no care for temp spares, and if conditions as I mentioned (in the dark, in the trunk) will allow an "ordinary" tire to last much longer.
unlike some old/used/exposed tires I have here, which have rock hard tread blocks and/or visible signs of deterioration, the spare in the wife's car (as an example) looks, feels, even smells like a brand new tire, and has lived its entire life (except maybe for a total of a couple minutes over the last 16 years) in the trunk, under cover. so i'm trying to find out... is it "bad" ?
I do not believe that there is specific test analysis or data available on the donut spares. Even on NHTSA search, nothing.
On thing is certain, there are specific conditions about the usage and warnings about speed & limited mileage about these types of tires.
From personal experience, I have driven over 150 miles on a never previously used donut spare, in the mountains here in summer.
The car was 10 years old. I made it to the next tire shop successfully, and eventually replaced the used donut soon after, with another new one from a bone yard.
 

Birdman330

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I worked for Bridgestone, the time limit for a tire being used is 6 years because it has begun drying out. A tire that is sitting non used that includes coming right out of the factory is 10 years.
 

sota

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I feel like there's a lot of here-say and not a lot of facts/data/support around this issue.
I've seen the 6-10 rule being expounded, but I've also seen reports that state that, stored properly, a tire can last indefinitely. So somewhere between these two, the truth must lie.
I'm not opposed to spending money on a new "spare" tire, I just don't want to spend money I don't have to.
 

Birdman330

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A tire can not last indefinitely, it is a rubber/petroleum compound it will eventually dry out even if you put it in a climate controlled area. I had issues with the fact it is under DOT law that if a tire older than 10 years comes into a repair shop it's to be taken out of service and customers flipped their lids over it.
 

tommudd

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Spare tires are said to be good for up to 10 years, but after 5 years they should be checked on a regular basis for dry rotting etc.
I have the originally spare from my 03 , always covered and was never on the ground, looks brand new but I would never think of using it even for a mile
Most everyone states the 7-10 but I have always told customers 5 to be safe, after that you are on your own.
 

Birdman330

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Short distances would be okay, the fact the Spare even the Doughnut is only meant to be driven just to the repair shop and back, of course if you have a full sized on matching wheel you should do out a 5 tire rotation anyways so you have near matching tread depths to minimize damage to any driving aids you have IE TCS, ECS etc.... Of course 90% of the problem with dry rotting is, that it happens inside WELL before you see it on the outside.
 

profdlp

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Counting down the days (currently at 16) before my extended warranty expires. Every clunk and rattle is agony.
 

TorrentIV

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Front pads and rotors done, pads were free (AutoZone's gold lifetime). May not be the best, but since I replace every year, not bad. Also learned the 'clangclangclang' of the ESP is a lot more noticeable on steel wheels.
 

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