So I made a series of mistakes that cost me dearly in thousands upon thousands of dollars lost and weeks upon weeks of grief. First mistake I made was buying a 2008 jeep new off the lot vs. buying one used and modifying it to my taste. Second mistake I made was buying from Mark's Casa Chrysler on the west side of Albuquerque. Over the last five years, every time I took it there for a service they did poor work, only resulting in having to take it to a local mechanic to fix it right. I began having multiple engine misfires two months ago. The dealership said they were certain all I needed was a new head and valve, but once the work was done, they discovered that the piston rings where shot and the cylinder scorched and said I needed an engine replacement. Over the last five years, I only used my jeep for recreation, hunting trips, runs out to the ranch, and a few trips in the Puerco. I am a pretty gingerly driver, never hammered on the skinny peddle. I had 37,000 miles on it when the engine failed in November, thought I had a lifetime powertrain warranty, nope! Jeep said my warranty was void because of my 4" Currie lift and 37" tires, and I missed the mandatory 5 year engine inspection by around 4 months, another couple mistakes I made. I had only driven my jeep around 2K miles in the last 18 months, and the dealership service manager said I damaged the pistons by not driving it frequently enough. (ah, ok) The general manager at the stealership felt so badly about the whole story, that he offered me a whopping 17K for my jeep (I paid him 34K for it five years ago, and had put in another 10K in upgrades myself.) to trade it in for a new jeep. So, after paying Mark's $900 (for a repair that they should have known would not have fixed the piston problem) I drove 5mph to get home 5 miles away.

So the plan now is to ship my Jeep out to Las Vegas to a shop called Motech, have them rip out that crappy factory engine, and put in a LS1 6.0 and a 680Le transmission. I never liked the weak factory engine, always planned on upgrading to something better anyway, just not at 37K miles.

So the moral of the story is, learn from my mistakes. If you want to build a hunting/jeeping rig, buy a used base vehicle, and build it right the first time. Jeep does not support their product, they could care less about your purchase once you drive off the lot. This local dealership has been nothing but problem after problem, so if you must buy a new jeep, then buy from a place with good mechanics and customer service.

JEEP, "just empty every pocket"... ouch.

Regards,

Walker

 

I am sorry for your troubles. My 08 rubicon, bought used at 26 now with 72. Trouble free. Hard cold starts. Minor oil burn (I know it will get worse potentially).

My apologies really come due to not having the ability to upgrade my jeep to the point of yours.

My 33" factory tires and no lift while it won't get me into some of the extremes seen here, the need for 37" tires and a 4" lift has not been able to persuade me in knowing the unneeded extra work for the engine with the very same type of off-roading you describe. Perhaps you do in fact require your upgrades. Rather be ready than not.

Compare the two on a service record (I have never had any regular maintenance or oil changes done at any dealer ever what so ever so no warranty for me). Mine makes them want to deny yours. And there are way more of mine coming in with better service checks obviously.

Lifting is great. So is big tires. But it's kinda all relative yea know? Did you ever re gear?

In a perfect world all of our jeeps would be lifted sky high, warranty intact, and a hemi on the replacement list when the original shits the bed. Give the jeep credit for adapting to its conditions the best it could?

I am super happy for you and your hemi endeavours. I plan on doing the same as soon as my last payment is made. Best of luck. Happy holidays.

 

Thanks. Yea, in a number of the places I hunt, I need every inch of clearance. Here out west, we can get many miles beyond where a tow truck could reach I did regear to 5.13, and it ran pretty good with 37s. I never wanted more power off-road, it always crawled where I needed it to go, but just towing a small military trailer with 800lbs of meat/gear it really was slow going on the highway mountain grades. I am soon to be moving where I may be on the highway for 7-8 hours before hitting the dirt, so I need the power on the road more than anything.

No Hemi, a LS1. After doing a number of hours of research, I opted to go this route. I am super excited, and while the cost is painful, it is less than the cost of an airplane to fly into where I hunt... ha-ha.

 

Sorry for the troubles but excited for you on the ls swap!!! Which ls you going with. 5.3, 6.0, 6.2

 

Never mind I see ls1 6.0

 

Going with the 6.0, based upon what I told Robbi at Motech I do with my jeep. I need some HP for towing a small trailer, like around 800-1200 lbs, through the mountain passes.

 

I think the 5.3 with its 330 hp would be more than enough but hey can't go wrong with 360+ either lol. Is it out if a hd truck or a vortec max half ton? The hd 6 was a iron block (atleast couple years ago now idk) and didnt have multi displacement where as the vortec max was aluminum block and has multi displacement so would get better mileage. Plus the max was around 402 hp

 

Iron block 6.0 HD. It is a little heavier than the aluminum block, I think Robbi said around 40lbs, but I didn't know about the multi displacement not being in the iron block.
I don't hot-rod my jeep around and drive pretty gingerly, but plan to maybe tow two fourwheelers or snowmachines on a trailer in the mountains on future occasions. So will my stock rubicon D44 axles (with gussets) with upgraded superior chromoly shafts, Wood's driveshafts, and CTM u-joints hold up alright?

Thanks for the input.

Walker

 

I can't see your profile on my phone and you didn't say in thread but I assume you've got a rubi based on you saying your 44's. I would say the 44's with cromos ctms etc will be fine. I had a mud truck running 40 inch swampers with a blueprinted 396 pushing 500hp on a 8 lug 44. Only broke u joints and one locking hub. The rubi rear 44 is more than up to task

 

Yes, a rubicon D44. Thanks for the vote of confidence, I am hoping not to have to do an axle swap for a few years to come, I can make more money through hard work but I don't have a money tree in the yard! ha-ha