At wit’s end with 2022 MT JLU

[Willing&Able]

I honestly don’t understand your stance. Of course there’s an aftermarket. That has nothing to do with anything. People spend piles of money on “upgrades” lol, without even attempting anything. You can literally replace everything, the Jeep and its transmission are badass stock. TSB or a run of crappy parts doesn’t equate to junk. How many actual broken transmissions do you hear about? How many snapped shafts or blown gears? I’ve have heard of clutches burning out, but that’s about it. Aside from manufacturing defects, The feeling that the clutch is too light for people…lol that’s a personal problem, not an engineering design issue. Idk. I still think the entire issue people are having is the gearing of the differential. Which is a torque issue. Which you solved by regearing. I also don’t think I got a “good one” and over 50% of them have manufacturers defects. Maybe 50% have been offloaded at the dealership by inexperienced people that don’t know how to drive one though. Maybe at that moment someone is breaking the overly sophisticated clutch assembly. But my daughter is learning how to drive stick with mine and she’s doing as expected. So idk. I actually love the gear spacing too, just saying. 30 years of you owning a MT is nice… lol, do you really want to go there?

We will agree to disagree then. You think the MT (clutch in particular) is great, I think it is subpar for $50K+ vehicle and the worst MT I've owned. I'm not alone here. And you aren't alone either - others have had zero issues. Point of the forum, I think, is to share experiences.

Not sure what the reference is to 'do you really want to go there'....

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[Cutterone]

I've had the CF2 for about 2 months now, just over 1000 miles on it, its better in some aspects, not in others. I seem to occasionally get a stutter/shake as if it's about to stall if I let out clutch without giving it any throttle, once underway its good. I can only assume that with the 3.45 gears in my Sahara that the heavier flywheel might take a bit more fuel to get going...does this sound reasonable to those of you with a higher auto IQ than I? Again I'm mostly pleased with the CF2 but most of the glowing reviews I realize where on rubis or even folks who have already regeared. So I am back to thinking a regear is in order and that the stupid 3.45 gears are the culprit, horrible choice for the 6sp...

 

[OrneryBear]

I've had the CF2 for about 2 months now, just over 1000 miles on it, its better in some aspects, not in others. I seem to occasionally get a stutter/shake as if it's about to stall if I let out clutch without giving it any throttle, once underway its good. I can only assume that with the 3.45 gears in my Sahara that the heavier flywheel might take a bit more fuel to get going...does this sound reasonable to those of you with a higher auto IQ than I? Again I'm mostly pleased with the CF2 but most of the glowing reviews I realize where on rubis or even folks who have already regeared. So I am back to thinking a regear is in order and that the stupid 3.45 gears are the culprit, horrible choice for the 6sp...

The heavier flywheel should make pulling away without giving it throttle easier. You are right, with the lower rubicon gearing it would make it easier than with the 3.45 gears.

The shudder may just be a result of the fact this is a performance aftermarket clutch with a lot higher tq holding. Typically on any race clutch I've had you get more engagement feel in the driveline due to the higher friction disk and higher clamp force of the pressure plate. A high performance clutch you can't slip as much and you need to get used to giving it more of an ON/OFF faster clutch release, but don't just dump the clutch.

 

[Cutterone]

The heavier flywheel should make pulling away without giving it throttle easier. You are right, with the lower rubicon gearing it would make it easier than with the 3.45 gears.

The shudder may just be a result of the fact this is a performance aftermarket clutch with a lot higher tq holding. Typically on any race clutch I've had you get more engagement feel in the driveline due to the higher friction disk and higher clamp force of the pressure plate. A high performance clutch you can't slip as much and you need to get used to giving it more of an ON/OFF faster clutch release, but don't just dump the clutch.

That makes sense, I still might look into a 4.56 regear next year, I think that would drive great

 

[Cutterone]

The heavier flywheel should make pulling away without giving it throttle easier. You are right, with the lower rubicon gearing it would make it easier than with the 3.45 gears.

The shudder may just be a result of the fact this is a performance aftermarket clutch with a lot higher tq holding. Typically on any race clutch I've had you get more engagement feel in the driveline due to the higher friction disk and higher clamp force of the pressure plate. A high performance clutch you can't slip as much and you need to get used to giving it more of an ON/OFF faster clutch release, but don't just dump the clutch.

So don't dump that clutch, which I'd never do on purpose, but let it out a bit quicker than the stock clutch?

 

[bio86250]

I’m at wit’s end with my manual 6-speed JLU and need advice. From the lurch into second gear to the violent clutch release in first to the chatter on sharp inclines and the annoying rev hang, I’m starting to get a sense that most of the issues arise from the inadequate and poorly designed dual clutch system. After enough research and talking to other car Jeep owners, that’s the only answer I can come up with. The dealership of course won’t concede to any of this, but after driving manuals my entire life, I’m ready to definitively state this isn’t user error.

My question is this: the vehicle only has 3K miles on it. Is it better to trade it in and take a loss, or try replacing the clutch with a Centerforce? I love manuals and love the truck other than the crappy clutch, so I’m on the fence. I know a new clutch won’t help with the rev hang issues, but I’m willing to live with that if that’s the only tradeoff. Any thoughts, ideas, recommendations appreciated.

I drove 2020 Willys manual and noticed the same thing just as your describe.
I lately pass it to my dad(another story) and got 2022 Willys Sport, currently 3,000 mile and still the same issue... I guess you just have to live with that. Or get a Centerforce.

 

[bio86250]

I've been driving manuals exclusively for decades and yeah the one in the JL is terrible. I still ordered a second one, but these are definitely a love hate thing. I can't stand that chatter either but have grown accustomed to it

Ha that makes two of us!

 

[Rubi6mt]

That makes sense, I still might look into a 4.56 regear next year, I think that would drive great

Thinks it's a combination of the higher clamping force, more aggressive clutch material and the heavier flywheel that is not dampened leading to the slight chatter at very low revs.

To me this is totally normal with a heavy duty aftermarket clutch (the chatter on my puck style clutch in the mustang was something else).

However I will say that regearing to 4.88s from the stick 4.10s (on small 35s) made a dramatic effect.

I can only imagine how much of a difference it will be for you coming from 3.45s.

 

[OrneryBear]

That makes sense, I still might look into a 4.56 regear next year, I think that would drive great

Do it! Bet you'll love it.

So don't dump that clutch, which I'd never do on purpose, but let it out a bit quicker than the stock clutch?

Yup, practice a little quicker uptake in the "sweet spot" and it should help a lot.

I think a lot of people (not sure where you fall) are being told to go with the CF clutches, but might not come from a background of ever having a performance clutch, and don't really know they are signing up for something that is just simply a fix for the oem clutch but more akin to race clutch.

 

[Cutterone]

Do it! Bet you'll love it.


Yup, practice a little quicker uptake in the "sweet spot" and it should help a lot.

I think a lot of people (not sure where you fall) are being told to go with the CF clutches, but might not come from a background of ever having a performance clutch, and don't really know they are signing up for something that is just simply a fix for the oem clutch but more akin to race clutch.

Yup that is I! I've only owned manuals all my life (44yrs old), but never have driven something with what you'd call a performance clutch. So thats good advice and I'm not going to worry about it anymore. The only time it seems to happen is when I'm pulling into the garage and I feather the clutch to inch up without giving it throttle. And I only went with CF due to name recognition, initial positive reviews, and wanting a stout clutch that I wasn't worried was going to go kablewy

 

[OrneryBear]

Yup that is I! I've only owned manuals all my life (44yrs old), but never have driven something with what you'd call a performance clutch. So thats good advice and I'm not going to worry about it anymore. The only time it seems to happen is when I'm pulling into the garage and I feather the clutch to inch up without giving it throttle. And I only went with CF due to name recognition, initial positive reviews, and wanting a stout clutch that I wasn't worried was going to go kablewy

Look on the bright side, new experience! You'll eventually retrain your left foot too with practice. A little muscle memory and you'll be good. With some performances clutches too, all that chatter noise and what not can improve over time as they wear in. It sounds like the CF clutch really is a good piece. I plan to put it on our jeep in the next couple years.

You wouldn't believe how bad the noise is from my father's GT tubeframe racecar's clutch. It's a 6 disk race pack clutch, also super small diameter. That you pretty much just have to rev up the engine and practically dump it to pull away from a stop, especially with the giant slicks. It also emits a loud "HHHUUUUUURRR!!!" sound when it engages. Then it just chatters like crazy while you try to drive normal car speeds through the pits.

 

[Cutterone]

Well thanks for the advice, she's gonna be broken in slow as its time of year to pull out the winter rat!

 

[LLANERO]

I had a 2018 JL and had terrible rev-hang. After bringing it in and having the tsb update done, it almost entirely got rid of the rev-hang. It did take two visits to two different dealers to apply the tsb correctly. I have then sold it last October and purchased a 2022 6 speed and I have 0 rev-hang. The throttle delay was also a PITA but I was able to remedy it by buying a Axial speedform throttle controller and have it set on 1.4 which gets rid of the delay. It's now a joy to drive even thou it's not a 100% but very close. Livernois makes a tuner that gets you extra HP and also eliminates the rev-hang which was my last option if all else fails.

Hey, what TSB is that? I have an auto but rev hang is a pain in the a-- for rock crawling. Makes it much harder to control speed with the throttle.
I emailed livernois asking if their tunner removes the rev hang but never heard back from them.
It would be much better if it could be fixed with a TSB.
Thanks!

 

[DP79]

Just an update to this post, I ended up solving the problem: got an ACT clutch installed, regeared to 4.56, and the Jeep drives exactly the way I always wanted it to now. A story with a happy ending lol.

 

[Duece McCracken]

Just an update to this post, I ended up solving the problem: got an ACT clutch installed, regeared to 4.56, and the Jeep drives exactly the way I always wanted it to now. A story with a happy ending lol.

Good to hear!!! I also went with an ACT clutch, and installed B&M shifters to bring back some actual feeling and precision in the driving experience!

The oem clutch was horrible.

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