Maintenance Advice

[MadDog]

Hey All-

So here is my dilemma: My 06 KJ has just passed 18K miles and has no issues at this point. I am moving to Atlanta in early May which will be about a 900-1K mile drive from New York. Since I am moving there to go to school, I want the KJ to be as worry free maintenance-wise as possible. So I am looking to do some preventative maintenance on it in the next few weeks that I have off before I leave, even if doing some of these items is before the required mileage/time interval. It will most likely be another 7-10K miles before I can get back to my tools at home up here in NY, so I don't mind doing some things early. Here is what I am thinking of doing:

Oil Change (Already on Mobil1 & it's due, so no biggie there)
Spark Plugs - Change to Platinum plugs
Front Differential Fluid Change
Rear Differential Fluid Change
Transmission Fluid? T-case fluid? (Don't know if this is necessary or not before 30K)

The truck hasn't been driven all that hard, been driving an assortment of city and highway driving in traffic with no offroading or towing since I got her new. The brakes were changed at 16K (whole story behind that involving Chrysler's incompetence in manufacturing brake discs). So what do you think is really necessary at this juncture and what isn't? How hard are some of these operations to do? I've done spark plugs on other vehicles before, so that doesn't scare me, but the rear differential without a drain plug is a little unnerving. I've read the how-to's, but would be curious to hear from people who have done these themselves. Is there anything I am leaving out that should be done by 20-30K?

Thanks for any input!

Andy

 

[Searcher67]

Might as well do it now, like you said you have the time and tools NOW!
Changing the spark plugs is an easy task, just try not to break the plastic wire harness channel!

Everything that your talking about is easy to do and inexpensive, so do it now you never know what the future might hold..

In my case, I was fortunate enough to get all my maintenance done on both vehicles..That was right before we both got laid off!!! So, now in retrospect, its a good thing that I got all that done. Now, its something I don't have to worry about til next year!

We have always planned ahead. We don't have to worry about heating the house next winter nor do I have to worry about food supplies.

We stocked up on firewood last month for next year and I always keep a room full of food supplies. OK yes we are extreme but thats how I was raised....ALWAYS PLAN FOR NEVER ENOUGH!

 

[JeepJeepster]

Dont need the ****** done yet but you can do the rest.

Take some extra tools so you can do basic stuff(if you know how). A battery booster is the best thing in the world to have. I picked one up and Ive already used it twice, works awesome.

Diffs are easy. Front diff has a drain and fill plug but the rear doesnt. Popping the cover off isnt a big deal at all. Just make sure you clean both surfaces off really well before applying the RTV to the cover. Make sure you line it up well and dont smear it all over the place when putting the cover back on. Usually its best to get one bolt started in the top of the cover then start working your way around.

 

[Dave]

I agree with what everyone is saying. You only have 18,000 miles so at a absolute minimum you should do the oil change but take just the tools you would need to do an oil change down there just in case. And the plugs since you will be putting a lot of miles on and you might even get better mpg with the new plugs. Also, when you get down to Georgia, you might also find more areas to off-road if you wanted. I know there are JKJCountry and LOST members in Georgia so you could even hook up with them.

Dave

 

[desertkj]

18k is very low. Personally, I would not bother with the plugs at that low of mileage unless you just feel like wrenching on the Jeep. Assuming you have kept up on all other scheduled maintenance, Schedule B in the manual just recommends an oil change and ball joint inspection at 18k and 21k miles.

 

[feetwet]

Locking lug nut on spare, locking gas cap... and hope like h3ll your AC works good.

 

[JeepJeepster]

Well, since he said he was going to school I assumed he wont have a place to work on his Jeep down there. I figured thats why he was wanting to do all this stuff now so it wont need to be done for awhile.

Locking lugs and a locking gas cap are both good ideas. Keeps the stupid people away that dont know how to steal stuff.

 

[MadDog]

You are correct in that I want to do the maintenance while I am still home since I won't have the tools or the facility down in GA. And locking gas cap & locking lugs have already been installed - one step ahead! Thanks for the advice guys, I think I am going to do everything that I can now (plugs, differentials, maybe T-case as well, but not transmission) while I still can.