MrDillClinton

For those of you that wheel ( or just drive hard) with the 6 speed, how hard are you on your clutch? Sometimes when I'm stuck in some shat (not submerging the clutch, though)and rockin her back and forth, I feel like I'm really putting a wearing on the clutch.

I'm also thinking that if you have larger tires and didn't regear, even in 4lo you're going to have some times where you may have a hard time getting going up an incline without gassing it pretty good and maybe riding the clutch a bit.

I also start out in 2nd gear constantly on the street - has anyone seen long term issues from any of this?

Alias

In 4-Lo if you are in 1st or 2nd gear you don't need to touch the clutch at all, you can be completely holding down the brakes and it will not stall, the jeep will automatically increase the RPM's a little bit.

Basically find a comfortable gear, and just let the engine do it's work.. there is little need to use the clutch.. (it does take a bit getting used to this behavior). but it will save your clutch!

also remember in 4-lo that you do not need to hold the clutch down to start the engine. (useful for muddy/water areas..).

Here's a good post that talks about 4wd with a manual

Sunkist Rubi

Does anybody have any info on how durable the clutches are? I have a 2012; I believe all the JK 6 speeds and clutches are the same?

Sputnik

The only time I've had to rock it was once when I got stuck in 4HI, at the time I didn't think of switching to 4LO. But since then if the need arises, 4LO gets me out of anything. I haven't had to rock it in 4LO yet.

MrDillClinton

Yeah, I've read that thread for sure, even posted in it. I'm looking more for anyone that has experienced pre-mature wear on the clutch.

If you're in some terrain that has lots of inclines and declines, you can't always just idle through. Especially with rocks, trees, etc, sometimes you've got to start and stop, turn around, all kinds of stuff. You want to get over a big muddy log, you are going to have to work the clutch, and its pretty hard to do without some feathering.

Keep wheeling - it'll happen quite a bit if you keep playin in the slick stuff. 4-lo doesn't really help you any more than 4-hi when your wheels are just spinning.

Sputnik

But they spin a lot slower and therefore grip much better, allowing you to focus more on your braking and steering while making it impossible to stall, unlike 4HI. In the snow/ice, as long as you're really careful with the throttle, or ignoring it all together, 4LO should get you out 9/10 IMO. Provided you're running a decent tire. But you're right, I still have a lot to learn.

MrDillClinton

I can't speak to the ice & snow thing, because where I live it rarely gets below 40.

Maybe you're right about the 4-lo business, but if I was in an AUTO I'd only use 4-LO for mud if I needed to use the lockers. I use 4-LO in the mud just to avoid having to clutch if I need to reverse. Otherwise, I'll go with higher wheel spin. In the mud I mess with, there's no such thing as "spin slower, and therefore grip better." Its Spin faster, and hope you dig your way through.

*edit: and definitely no braking goin on.

Sputnik

Good point about the mud. Most of my wheeling was done on snow/ice so those were the two that instantly came to mind when I thought "slippery" surface. Haven't done a lot of wheeling in deep mud yet.

MrDillClinton

Oh man, its fun, but its messy. If you go muddin every once in a while, you'll eventually find mud caked on every small crevice on the JK. Inside and out.

I always try as hard as I can to clean out underneath as soon as I leave the mud-hole, because once it dries its really tough to get off.

Sputnik

Does it mess with your rust proofing? I've always wondered that. Seems like some rust proofing methods would be obsolete, like krown for example.