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New Jeep Break In Advice

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Old 11-08-2011, 12:34 AM
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After waiting just over a month, I'm only hours away from picking up my new Jeep Sahara 2-door! Which has been the longest month of my life.

I've never owned a brand new car before, and I'm not sure quite how to properly break a new car in. I've tried searching for a thread on this subject, but I'm not finding anything.

Does anyone have some advice for me? Or suggestions even?

All will be appreciated!

Thanks.

Last edited by Jeepinstein; 11-08-2011 at 12:36 AM.
Old 11-08-2011, 12:50 AM
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Default first 500 miles no faster than 55

but for the rest of lets say 1500 miles id drive at variable speeds to seat the piston rings properly so id punch the throttle a bit here and there but dont kill it either ! then change oil at 1500 miles. thats how i do it . i never run it hard just drive it the way you plan on driving it will conform to your habits i believe . best of luck with it . dont listen to those who say drive it like you stole it right out of the gate!
if you want a dependable vehicle id go the other way ! other than babying it there isnt much more you could do to break it in . try and stay on back roads no hi ways , and also get into some dirt and go through the 4wd high and low back and forth to try and get those parts moving as well brakes same thing dont stomp on them just lightly use them as you would normaly !
Old 11-08-2011, 01:10 AM
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Yeah, as jeepmojo said vary your engine speeds (dont just sit on the highway at 2000RPM for hours) and give it a dose of WOT (full throttle) at lower RPMs every now & then. It's also important to break in the brakes & the rest of the drivetrain too, particularly the diffs. If you have to do highway driving straight away, stop every half hour or so & let the diffs cool down for 10 or 15 minutes as you want the gears to wear in gradually & not get too hot; avoid towing & hard offroading too for the first few hundred miles (my dealer told me not to put it into 4WD for the first 600 miles but I think this advice was a bit extreme).

Generally speaking though these modern vehicles are assembled to much tighter tolerances and moving parts are generally manufactured and finished to a higher degree of precision and machining so you don't have to stick to a strick break in regime like you did with vehicles of 20 or 30 years ago.
Old 11-08-2011, 02:06 AM
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Drive it like you stole it.
Old 11-08-2011, 03:00 AM
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I purchased my JK new, then three weeks of city driving later, I took off for Yellowstone National ParK and the Bighorn mountain range. 6700 miles later I was back in South Florida. The JK started out in local city driving (35 & 45 mph), then Interstate speeds (75 plus) which included construction areas (45mph), then high altitude and in-park scenic crawling (25 or less) at 8,000 to 13,000+feet. It handled the deep snow at altitude and the heat at sea level. Then I changed the oil (oil change light never came on and I only lost 1/2 quart of oil). Now that's the way to break that engine/drivetrain in.
Old 11-08-2011, 04:40 AM
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Thanks all! I want to take as good of care of this thing as I can. varying my speeds shouldn't be an issue because of my drive to work either being at 40-60mph depending on traffic. With stop lights.

Is it recommended I change any other fluids besides the oil early on? I shouldn't have to, but I'm also no expert!

About how long did you guys wait to start your modding?

Thanks for your replies so far!
Old 11-08-2011, 05:06 AM
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Modern cars dont need so much of a braking in period.

For the mods you can start with the cheap ones (lots of treads here), you will see how you will get addicted!. Then the serious mods come in, but wait until you get some experience and wheele it, so you have the need for them and know which ones first.
Old 11-08-2011, 05:15 AM
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Drive it like you stole it and a cop is following you.
Old 11-08-2011, 06:29 AM
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Drive it like you intend to drive it. Drive normal for you not easier or harder.
Old 11-08-2011, 07:38 AM
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Originally Posted by geman
Modern cars dont need so much of a braking in period.

For the mods you can start with the cheap ones (lots of treads here), you will see how you will get addicted!. Then the serious mods come in, but wait until you get some experience and wheele it, so you have the need for them and know which ones first.
I would've assumed they need more, but I can see why they may not need it anymore. My post count is low, but I've been doing so much reading on this forum, I'm not only addicted with certain mods, I'm straight addicted to this awesome website!


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