The clutch gang!

[DanW]

With any manual, you have to learn what the engine/tranny likes and doesn't like and then develop habits around it. Every single manual vehicle I've owned has its own quirks like that. Mine used to have some of that bucking or similar behavior at low rpm, but it has subsided as it has been broken in and now really doesn't do it unless in a very tall gear and being lugged. Every engine will do that under those conditions, though. Just keep driving it, breaking it in, and learning. There really isn't as much variance in how these engines/transmissions/clutches behave as there is among the people operating them.

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[Ronnie S]

With any manual, you have to learn what the engine/tranny likes and doesn't like and then develop habits around it. Every single manual vehicle I've owned has its own quirks like that. Mine used to have some of that bucking or similar behavior at low rpm, but it has subsided as it has been broken in and now really doesn't do it unless in a very tall gear and being lugged. Every engine will do that under those conditions, though. Just keep driving it, breaking it in, and learning. There really isn't as much variance in how these engines/transmissions/clutches behave as there is among the people operating them.

I hear ya Dan. Every vehicle I have owned with the exception of my Dodge Ram has been manuals too. I'm def not lugging the engine. It helps to know that you had a little of the bucking and has subsided since breaking it in. How many miles do you have on yours? I'm at around 2,800. At what mileage did your's smooth out?

 

[DanW]

I hear ya Dan. Every vehicle I have owned with the exception of my Dodge Ram has been manuals too. I'm def not lugging the engine. It helps to know that you had a little of the bucking and has subsided since breaking it in. How many miles do you have on yours? I'm at around 2,800. At what mileage did your's smooth out?

Oh yeah, you are way early. I'm over 18,000 miles. It has gotten better and better. It also has freed up and feels like it is putitng out more power than ever and gets a little better mileage, although that's only if I can keep my foot out of it, Lol!

Modern engines with tight tolerances don't break in as quickly as they did decades ago. I think most of my current engines in our small fleet take to around 20k before they feel loosened up and more free-revving. The good news is that they also last much longer. I remember when a well maintained engine was considered great if it went past 100k miles. We had cars that were smoking and burning oil like a diesel by 100k, and my Dad took good care of them. (This is probably showing my age by now! Lol)

Have some fun with it. Light it up and run it hard through the gears. This engine does like to rev, which is part of the fun of that 6 speed!

 

[Ronnie S]

Oh yeah, you are way early. I'm over 18,000 miles. It has gotten better and better. It also has freed up and feels like it is putitng out more power than ever and gets a little better mileage, although that's only if I can keep my foot out of it, Lol!

Modern engines with tight tolerances don't break in as quickly as they did decades ago. I think most of my current engines in our small fleet take to around 20k before they feel loosened up and more free-revving. The good news is that they also last much longer. I remember when a well maintained engine was considered great if it went past 100k miles. We had cars that were smoking and burning oil like a diesel by 100k, and my Dad took good care of them. (This is probably showing my age by now! Lol)

Okay thank you for that Dan! Looks like mine is still in its infant stage and needs to keep breaking in. I might just take it to another dealer just to make sure everything is fine. Mine hooked up the computer and couldn't find any codes what so ever.

 

[DanW]

Okay thank you for that Dan! Looks like mine is still in its infant stage and needs to keep breaking in. I might just take it to another dealer just to make sure everything is fine. Mine hooked up the computer and couldn't find any codes what so ever.

I'll quote Brooks & Dunn in "Boot Scootin' Boogie" Fire up that Pentastar and..."And let them horses run!"

 

[AwCrimety]

I've had quite a few,...behaviours in this jeep that bothered me...but I THINK it's starting to get better....somehow. This break-in is real, I guess. I have less than 4000kms on it now, but I'd say after about 2000 I saw improvement with lugging under 2000rpms. It used to be I HAD to downshift even from 3rd to 2nd under 2000rpm, but that has smoothed out, and even in 4th it's useable under that mark.

In the last few hundred kms though, Ive noticed way less bucking when trying to drive just above idle, AND, less annoying instances where the engine just revs itself after settling to idle.

Hopefully I havent just jinxed it

 

[Meatwad]

I've only owned one car that was an auto, and I found it to be boring. Love the added level of control over RPMs/shift points, particularly complimented with an aftermarket exhaust. Having a built in theft deterrent is a nice feature too!

 

[RockyMtnHigh]

Last weekend I took mine out to silver lake sand dunes, and I have to say that the manual is a drawback in that environment. I found myself having two options to get up the hills: 1) red-line it in first, but never lose torque or 2) shift into second at the bottom of the hill and gun it to the top, hoping I don't lose momentum and stall. There is no changing gears on the climb, and if I wasn't moving fast enough I was dead in the sand. The next problem was coasting down the hills. If you've driven on big sand dunes you know that you want to drive straight down the dune without really stopping or hitting the brakes as that can cause you to slide sideways and then you'll roll. So as I'm coasting down, I just hit the clutch and ride it, picking up speed but as I mentioned earlier, 2nd gear is what I need to get up the next hill, but by the time I get to the bottom, I'm at a 3rd gear speed, which won't carry me up the next hill. So I'd have to let out the clutch in 2nd which would engine brake me pretty hard. It's definitely an art driving a manual on the dunes, and the JL is far better than my TJ was. I'm not saying I'd prefer an auto, but it would have made things easier in this case

 

[intentsrig]

Thought about this the other day...what fluid type are we using in this new manual transmission?

According to the owners manual...it states mopar ATF+4..which I find odd. Considering the JK was
Mopar 4874464AB Manual Transmission Lubricant was it not?

Also it does not state how many quarts to use

 

[multicam]

Thought about this the other day...what fluid type are we using in this new manual transmission?

According to the owners manual...it states mopar ATF+4..which I find odd. Considering the JK was
Mopar 4874464AB Manual Transmission Lubricant was it not?

Also it does not state how many quarts to use

Don’t know about the JK but it doesn’t matter because that was a different transmission.

It wouldn’t seem weird to me that this takes ATF +4. My old YJ’s transfer case took ATF +4 and the Aisin transmission in that jeep (the AX-15) took 10w-30 synthetic motor oil.

And as far as capacity, it’s probably between 2-3 quarts. If it’s anything like the YJ you just fill her up till it comes out of the fill hole anyway. I don’t know yet... will investigate when my Jeep gets here Monday

 

[intentsrig]

Don’t know about the JK but it doesn’t matter because that was a different transmission.

It wouldn’t seem weird to me that this takes ATF +4. My old YJ’s transfer case took ATF +4 and the Aisin transmission in that jeep (the AX-15) took 10w-30 synthetic motor oil.

And as far as capacity, it’s probably between 2-3 quarts. If it’s anything like the YJ you just fill her up till it comes out of the fill hole anyway. I don’t know yet... will investigate when my Jeep gets here Monday

Yeah I guess it isn’t that odd. Yeah our transfer cases still use atf as well.

I don’t need to change mine yet..but I want to before summer.

 

[homerun]

Don’t know about the JK but it doesn’t matter because that was a different transmission.

It wouldn’t seem weird to me that this takes ATF +4. My old YJ’s transfer case took ATF +4 and the Aisin transmission in that jeep (the AX-15) took 10w-30 synthetic motor oil.

And as far as capacity, it’s probably between 2-3 quarts. If it’s anything like the YJ you just fill her up till it comes out of the fill hole anyway. I don’t know yet... will investigate when my Jeep gets here Monday

I agree I have used ATF+4 in both my old YJ and my Ranger. I was surprised to learn that 10w-30 is what was recommended for my XJ, but that is what many people told me. Since I was worried about this particular tranny already showing signs of where when I picked it up on craiglist I went a bit more premium and ended up getting Redline MT-90 as was many said it was highly recommend. It did carry a premium price. Its been about 20k miles and no concerns, but maybe the 10w-30 would have had the same results? Honestly unless it $h!ts the bed on you how can you tell if one is better than the other?

 

[multicam]

I agree I have used ATF+4 in both my old YJ and my Ranger. I was surprised to learn that 10w-30 is what was recommended for my XJ, but that is what many people told me. Since I was worried about this particular tranny already showing signs of where when I picked it up on craiglist I went a bit more premium and ended up getting Redline MT-90 as was many said it was highly recommend. It did carry a premium price. Its been about 20k miles and no concerns, but maybe the 10w-30 would have had the same results? Honestly unless it $h!ts the bed on you how can you tell if one is better than the other?

Some people claimed a noticeable difference in shifting feel and smoothness with MT-90, which I also heard nothing but good things about. Ultimately the 10w-30 probably would have worked fine but for peace of mind I don’t blame you for going with the Redline. If I kept my YJ longer I’d have switched to it too.

 

[iznthesky]

Manual is def cool but FCA did a crappy oem tune on it. Driving 40-45 in 3rd gear and holding at steady state the thing bucks or sputters a little bit. 1-35 mph and 50-80 mph it runs great. 35-45 steady speed is crappy.

My 2 door Rubicon, 6 speed manual drives great. By the time I get to 40-45... I am already in 6th gear and it “Pulls” steadily as fast as I want it to go. I have never experienced what you are describing.
I usually operate my JL engine between 1500 to 2500 RPM range. It has plenty of torque to climb hills and the only time I am down shifting to 5 is going up and down the steep inclines in the Ozark mountains ( they are just steep hills) in Arkansas and Missouri.

Surely you should have the engine tune re-examined. Our stock JL,s should be running similarly.
Good luck with that.

 

[LLRubylady]

Had the top off today for the first time. Forgot what gear I was in and noticed i was doing 33 in 2nd gear! yikes! Hope i didn't damage anything. COuldn't hear the engine sound through all the wind.

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