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New JLU "break in" mileage before a trip

JeepNomad

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I want to buy my new JLU in April but I have a 1,200 trip from TN to NY planned in June. No wheelin' involved, just highway miles (approx. 75-80 mph). Is 1.5 to 2 months of around town driving enough to break in time before a long road trip?
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I bought my Jeep on a Saturday afternoon and drove it about 50 miles home. I drove it about 600 miles on Sunday.

Avoid high speeds and RPM and don’t drive at a constant speed (cruise control) for any long distance. It’ll be fine.
 

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I want to buy my new JLU in April but I have a 1,200 trip from TN to NY planned in June. No wheelin' involved, just highway miles (approx. 75-80 mph). Is 1.5 to 2 months of around town driving enough to break in time before a long road trip?
You'll be fine. Just at least get around 500 miles on the engine with some around town and even highway driving in before you go. You should be able to do that in 2 months I would hope :).
The key is don't buy it off the lot, get on the highway and set the cruise at 70 and then hold at steady RPM for 1000 miles... lol.
The first 500 miles or so it's a good idea to vary the RPMs, i.e. don't use cruise control. Speed doesn't really matter, it's RPMs you care about. You can go 30mph and keep it in a gear that holds 3,000 RPM and that would be worse for the egine than doing 70mph varying your RPMs. After 500 miles I would change the oil/filter and then drive as you see fit.
 
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JeepNomad

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You'll be fine. Just at least get around 500 miles on the engine with some around town and even highway driving in before you go. You should be able to do that in 2 months I would hope :).
The key is don't buy it off the lot, get on the highway and set the cruise at 70 and then hold at steady RPM for 1000 miles... lol.
The first 500 miles or so it's a good idea to vary the RPMs, i.e. don't use cruise control. Speed doesn't really matter, it's RPMs you care about. You can go 30mph and keep it in a gear that holds 3,000 RPM and that would be worse for the egine than doing 70mph varying your RPMs. After 500 miles I would change the oil/filter and then drive as you see fit.
Thanks for the info! What I had planned to do fits right into what you are saying I should do. My plan is to drive it around town, highway, and a few dirt/gravel roads (easy... not wheelin' by any stretch) just to makes sure it doesn't have any quirks before the road trip. It's my first Jeep Wrangler (had an '89 Comanche a long time ago) so i'm sure i'll have more than 500 miles on it in 2 months!!
 

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Best advice: Drive it how you want it to perform/be more aggressive than usual. The transmission goes through a learning period, if you baby it, it will perform like it in the long run.
 

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Best advice: Drive it how you want it to perform/be more aggressive than usual. The transmission goes through a learning period, if you baby it, it will perform like it in the long run.
I second this. I should have stressed the not babying it part. It's ok to get those RPMs up for a brief blip so that you run it through the whole range.
 

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Kick that mother f ers ass! No matter if you have an auto or manual tranny DON'T shift it out of 1st gear at ANY speed for the first 10,000 miles. Then change the oil if there happens to be any remaining,
 
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JeepNomad

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Best advice: Drive it how you want it to perform/be more aggressive than usual. The transmission goes through a learning period, if you baby it, it will perform like it in the long run.
Great info, thanks!
 
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JeepNomad

JeepNomad

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Kick that mother f ers ass! No matter if you have an auto or manual tranny DON'T shift it out of 1st gear at ANY speed for the first 10,000 miles. Then change the oil if there happens to be any remaining,
So what are you thinking... maybe do 80 or 90 in first gear to really break it in? LOL Just kidding, I get your point... don't baby it.
 

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I want to buy my new JLU in April but I have a 1,200 trip from TN to NY planned in June. No wheelin' involved, just highway miles (approx. 75-80 mph). Is 1.5 to 2 months of around town driving enough to break in time before a long road trip?
500 mile will be fine . i got my jl sport at the end of may and did normal driving till 900 miles. then did a ny to tn and back 1600 mile trip at the beginning of aug. no problems and was getting 25.5 to 29.6 mpg doing 70-75 mph with a/c blasting and no cruise control.
 

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I want to buy my new JLU in April but I have a 1,200 trip from TN to NY planned in June. No wheelin' involved, just highway miles (approx. 75-80 mph). Is 1.5 to 2 months of around town driving enough to break in time before a long road trip?
bonnaroo huh?
 

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^^
And even though new engines piston rings mostly break in at start up the last 20 years, it won’t hurt to put it in manual mode coasting downhill, downshifting to moderate rpm, to get the throttle blade to close (not as much as they used to) and create manifold vacuum that expands the rings to the cylinder walls breaking them in (cutting the peaks off the crosshatch leaving the valleys that hold some oil) more completely.
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