New Jeep owner with questions about maintenance, tires, and lift

Leadneck

Leadneck

New Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2021
Messages
6
Location
N. MI
Hello, my wife just picked up a 2014 unlimited right hand drive for mail delivery. It's all stock with 100k miles.

What type of maintenance things do I need to look out for? I'm assuming all fluids need changed.
Front axle ball joints....

She wants a lift of course and big tires. I'm guessing 31" tires are about the biggest you want with stock gears. Which would need no lift.

Are bilstein 5100 still the best shocks for ride quality?
 
You need to find out what gears it has, there are 3 different options. If it has 4.10 gears you could go up to a 35" tire as long as it's not a trail Jeep. But if you go to a 35"tire you'll need a lift, shocks, alignment.

There was someone over the weekend Posted about some Fox shocks that were very nice riding.

Oh by the way I like your Big green Jeep, always wanted one.
 
I'm familiar with the fox shocks. They are rebuildable.

As far as terrain, lots of rough terrain but rarely maxing out articulation. Lots of snow and salt. Rough dirt roads. It will also be our trail rig but mild trails. Probably driving down rough dirt roads and rough icy roads will be the most taxing on the suspension.

I have some better headlights on the way and she wants some type of HD bumper to protect from deer damage.

I will check on the gear ratio, thanks!

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Man right hand drive jeep, that has to be a rare bird. I took a trip to Paris many years back. Rented a car in England (Right hand drive, drive on the left side) that was a lot to adjust to as well as being a manual that I now how to shift left handed. We drove to France where you drive on the right side, same as US, with at Right side drive. My stress level only went down when I parked the car for the time I was there and only used the bus and walked.
Funny about Steel bumper and deer. I live in heavy dear area and I keep thinking I need to get a steel bumper so I have at least a fighting chance against hitting one
 
Put the VIN in this site to find out what gears came stock

FCA RAM

fcacommunity.force.com fcacommunity.force.com

33's are doable with new rims or quality wheel spacers like Spidertrax. Ball joints can be a wear item but if tires are stock just inspect.

I have an AEV lift that came with tuned 5100's and it is a great ride (for a Jeep).

I bought an inexpensive Barricade bumper from Extreme Terrain for my old JK (now my son's) and surprisingly, it has held up really well no rust issues whatsoever as opposed to my very expensive AEV bumper. Bolted up easy, too. Light tabs aren't perfectly plumb, but I bought it as a "deer-catcher" anyway. Model was Adventure, IIRC.
 
First off, congrats on the purchase and welcome to the forum!

As far as maintenance goes, regular fluid changes, but other than that it's just going to depend on the mileage. Nothing major with these things though.

What gears do you have in your JK?

Bilstein 5100s are in my experience not the best shocks for ride quality. For the best quality ride in an off-the-shelf shock, I personally believe that it's the Rancho RS5000X. However, if you spend the big bucks on a tunable Fox Factory series shock, you can have them custom tuned and make them ride better than anything else out there. That of course is going to be upwards of $1700 pretty easily.
 
I'll figure out the gears tonight.

I'm surprised no one recommends the Rancho 9000 adjustable?
I have found the 5100 to be a bit stiff for off road but great on the road. I found the 5000 Rancho to be softer in a tahoe, but a little too soft on the road.

Dirt roads can be miserable with poor suspension.
 
I have the Rancho 9000 adjustable on my Blazer and don't notice any difference between the settings.
 
I really loved the idea of the old air adjustable RS9000's, but it never seemed to hit the mark.

I have a set of NIB RS9000XL's in the garage. I'll probably throw them on my daughter's JKU in the spring.

A lot has to do with weight of the vehicle, too. We all know how porky these things can get.
 
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