Rubicon gurus

jeep06 · **Posted:** Thu Jul 05, 2007 11:45 pm

Ok, I'm looking for the rubicon gurus, need some tips on buying a '05 Rubi. Local dealer just got in a '05 Rubicon Unlimited with a few options on it. It is a stick and not sure what all else it has on it, didn't have much time before the salesman came out to hoover over me...haha. What are some major things to look for on these, high wear items, poorly designed things that break or wear out quicker than they should. It has between 30-40k miles on it, salesman didn't even know for sure...haha. They are asking $20.9k for it, on the high side of retail from what I have found out on the internet, but the bad thing is, it came from a car auction, so who knows what is toasted on it. But if I remember right, these had a 7/70 drive train warranty on them? She needs new tires so I figure they are the originals, if I get it, maybe see about them putting on a new set of G/Y silent armors. Thanks for any help, might be a new toy for me and a new home for the libby.

yazhi · **Posted:** Fri Jul 06, 2007 10:49 am

Treat it as you would any other used car. Check the fluids, look for any kind of sevice record, although the dealer has probably changed them, but check anyway. Crawl under the jeep and check to see if it has actually gone off road. Look at the skid plates, control arms, suspension, the diffs...basically looking for rock rash, rubs and leaks. We just bought an '05 Rubi Unlimited and it looked like it had never been off road, it was really clean.
Take it for a test drive and take it on the dirt. Put it in 4WD hi and low, make sure it shifts right and don't forget to test the locker too. Make sure they are working. We did this with the '05 and with my '06 and mine was brand new. Both times the salesman thought we were nuts, but you have to make sure everything is working correctly.
Yup, '05 was the last year they offered the 7/70. In my opinion, I don't think there's anything poorly designed in the Rubi's...but then again I'm a bit bias...we have 2 of them :wink:

pixeldzn · **Posted:** Fri Jul 06, 2007 12:22 pm

Everything Annette said sounds right to me. Just check for what you would check on any used vehicle, and then check the Jeep specific things like the lockers and 4wd system. Rubis are really stout. As long as it looks good, go for it! And since the tires a worn, you have a good excuse to get a budget boost and some 33s right off the bat!

Rubicons are great. I will own two of them soon as well.

jeep06 · **Posted:** Fri Jul 06, 2007 1:00 pm

Hey thanks for all the help, I knew someone on here would have some advice. Sounds like most all the things I was going to check, just hope I can get a chance to try out the t-case somewhere on a dirt road. I was thinking if I can get it for a long enough time and since I only live a mile from the dealer, I might wheel it in my garage and throw the floor jack under it to test the ball joints, u-joints, etc. Really can't give rig's a very good look laying under it at the lot. Still worries me why it went threw an auto auction, most generally Rubicons around here sit on the used lot for a day or two at the most. Oh, do the '05s have the sun rider top that is made out of the sail material? And yes I know the Rubi's are one tuff ride..... makes me want one even more!!! Thanks again for all your help, maybe go look at it closer tomorrow. I'll keep you updated!!

:)

pixeldzn · **Posted:** Fri Jul 06, 2007 1:26 pm

Mine was bought at auction as well. Not sure why it goes down that way sometimes, but it does.

Be sure to do a carfax on it and check for any major accidents in its past.

05kjrenny · **Posted:** Fri Jul 06, 2007 4:41 pm

Everybody else pretty much sum it up, mines a 06 swb with a sunrider, the sunrider is pretty much standard on the lwb in 05 I believe. They were avaliable in 06 as well. Just look at the top above the doors you should see the bulge from the sliding thing to open the sunrider. That seems like a fair price in my neck of the woods, there are wranglers in fair condition sitting on the lots around here with higher prices than that. And since its a stick it will sound like its grinding from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd gear all the time, its normal. I think they all do it.

longarm · **Posted:** Sat Jul 07, 2007 10:06 am

.............

jeep06 · **Posted:** Sat Jul 07, 2007 3:44 pm

Longarm, I live near Jackson, not too far from you. Yes I was thinking they are high on the price......but I haven't bought it yet...haha. Just went in today to look it over closer, took it for a little test drive,,, pavement only for now. It has 29,900 mi on it and their puter shows it is still covered under the 3/36 and 7/70 and hasn't been transfered to any one except the original owner. But I am going to do the carfax just to be safe, I wouldn't want it with no warranty...no way!! I did notice the drivers side front tire was chopped pretty bad, pass. side was alright, will no doubt have to put it on the jack to check ball joints and things. Oh it only has the sunrider softtop, but they do have an '04 unlimited with a hard top they might consider swapping, but I didn't see any harness for the wiper in the back????? He has the info on my Liberty and says he has a Dr. looking for a diesel,,, so show me the money I say!! haha. Told them I wasn't going to give it away,,, I can drive my libby for a long time if I have to. Well enough for now, thanks for all the info and yes I will no doubt check out the lockers.....bet they are pricey to repair....oh I forgot, the a/c sucked...... they will be fixing that and the mirror didn't work,,,,map lights, compass/temp. Thanks again.

Fulltimer · **Posted:** Sat Jul 07, 2007 3:59 pm

Check for flood damage!

Terry

longarm · **Posted:** Sat Jul 07, 2007 4:33 pm

.........

jeep06 · **Posted:** Sat Jul 07, 2007 4:46 pm

Ok, just spent the $25 for carfax, it was titled in Missouri and Illinois. So it was owned by two people, but the DCX record only shows one owner, think the second owner would not have transfered the warranty, or is the salesman blowing smoke trying to get me to buy it? It showed being sold in Missouri at the car auction and was a "fleet vehicle". Not sure what that means.... but makes me wonder. First owner put the majority of the miles on it, so hopefully he/she took care of it. I looked at the owners manual pouch, all the paper work/manuals were there, no records of service though, but I keep mine on puter, so who knows. I did notice all the books and paper work in the pouch had been soaking wet at one time in their life, the pages were still readable, just the covers showed signs of being wet, rather it was just a rain storm, flood, roll over???? Carfax showed all the major things ok, guarantee/no problems. Oh longarm, how do you know if the lockers are working? Does a light come on in the dash, or just go by the sound and feel? Thanks again for all the replies..... still doing some serious thinking on this one. I'll keep you updated!!!!!

jeep06 · **Posted:** Sat Jul 07, 2007 4:58 pm

[quote="longarm"]Flood damage in an LJ isn't that big of a deal as long as nothing was hydrolocked. I have sunk mine twice where everything inside was floating around. The pic below when I was submerged, not only did I drive it home under my own power, but I towed my buddies H2 all the way from the Mounds ORV Park 20 minutes to his house becuase he hydrolocked his. I want a hardtop in a bad way for winter. I don't even run my soft top unless it's winter. I had my tub LINE-X'd, bought Bestop seat covers, and run a safari top. If it's gonna thunderstorm, I put the doors back on. If I were you, I might try and get them to come down on price and get the bumper to bumper warranty if the lockers aren't covered. If it's been seriously beaten on, you will most likely need ball joints, front axle shafts/and or seals replaced, ect.... First thing I would do if you get it is check the diff fluid. You can check it at the dealership too. If it's nasty, CHANGE IT. It isn't cheap either as front and rear only take synthetic. If you get and want any tips and tricks I can point you in the right direction. JCR OFFROAD in Kalamazoo is a great place. Here's my rig that I have built thus far.

Longarm,,, great looking rig.... you have it tricked out very nicely!! I looked again today VERY closely underneath, and I swear this thing looks like it has seen only black top.... I know it is easy to clean off the chunks of mud, but there is always a light brown stain where it's seen mud. There are no scratches anywhere under it.... skid plate is like new and it has factory paint on everything, just starting to show a little rust and the normal peeling. I had the little woman crank the wheel back and forth....no obvious loose joints anywhere..... but the floor jack will tell the story. It show signs of normal greasing, not just the dealer here shooting a little on the zerks to impress anyone...haha. Thanks again...and Kalamazoo is about an hour from here!!!!

:)

P.S. Hell I just noticed you have a CRD KJ too.....best of both worlds.

yazhi · **Posted:** Sun Jul 08, 2007 12:39 pm

how do you know if the lockers are working? Does a light come on in the dash, or just go by the sound and feel?

You will have lights on the dash. One for the front and one for the rear. Press the button down once to lock the rear and twice to lock the front. The lights on the dash will stop blinking when the lockers are fully enguaged. Lean your head out the window and turn the wheel, you will see the front tire gripping and your turning radius will be much bigger. You should be able to tell when you are fully locked, just make sure you do it on the dirt and perferably alittle bit of lose dirt, that way you can really tell.

dynamike · **Posted:** Sun Jul 08, 2007 2:57 pm

yazhi wrote:

We just bought an '05 Rubi Unlimited...we have 2 of them :wink:

not to hijack........but

Sammy has a new friend ????

yazhi · **Posted:** Mon Jul 09, 2007 10:41 am

dynamike wrote:

yazhi wrote:

We just bought an '05 Rubi Unlimited...we have 2 of them :wink:

not to hijack........but

Sammy has a new friend ????

Yup...her name is Lucy and she'll be at Big Bear for her official debute :lol:

jeep06 · **Posted:** Sat Jul 21, 2007 10:00 pm

Well I finally got the Rubicon from the dealer today (Saturday) to take home and give it the fine tooth comb. Took it for a little ride, went down a gravel road to test out the t-case. Went into 4H no prob., put it into 4LO, little gear meshing, but nothing abnormal. Hit the air locker, rear locked up almost instantly, front one took about 5 seconds or so. I guess they are working ok, really hard to tell on gravel, but at least the lights say everything is ok. Tomorrow will be the jack and creeper testing.... check all the fluids and ball joints. Only flag I see so far is the front driver side tire is chopped pretty bad,,,, looks like they didn't rotate the tires on a regular basis, but the driver side is worse. I know with the stock MTR's, rotation is a must. I will let you know if I find any problems tomorrow. Sure is a great rig though!!!!!

05kjrenny · **Posted:** Sun Jul 22, 2007 3:09 pm

Sometimes my rear locker stops blinking instantly, the front sometimes blinks for like 5 seconds. Seems to be normal I guess. As for the stock tires its all about proper balance and pressure and rotation, make sure you stay on top of them and they will wear nicely. Get rid of the stock tires and get something in a different load ratings and the ride will improve greatly.

jeep06 · **Posted:** Mon Jul 23, 2007 10:44 am

Just an update,,, I finally got a chance to give it a close look yesterday, all fluids look clean/new, all of the suspension components are solid and tight, about the only thing I found that I didn't like is someone in the past didn't have the rear window retainer bar installed correctly and closed the tail gate bending the top right corner of the tail gate a little bit and damaged the seal on the retainer bar. Dealer says he will install a new back window and retainer bar, also put on a set of 5 new Mickey Thompson Baja radial MTX tires, which looks like a better tire for me versus stock MTR's since the majority of my driving will be highway. Thanks for all your help,,, need to make up my mind before tomorrow morning, not sure if I can let my great diesel liberty mpg go or not....haha.

P.S. I tried the lockers again yesterday...they both the front and rear locked in almost instantly.
P.S.S. Anyone drive their Jeep with a soft top in the Winter? If so, how is it.... hard to heat, any problems with road salt???

05kjrenny · **Posted:** Mon Jul 23, 2007 5:57 pm

I run a soft top in the winter, theres so much heat coming in from the floor its not a problem heating things up. Beside a soft top is easy to take off in january when we had some 70 degree days in southern maryland.

kj in a tight spot · **Posted:** Tue Jul 24, 2007 6:29 pm

jeep06 wrote:

P.S.S. Anyone drive their Jeep with a soft top in the Winter? If so, how is it.... hard to heat, any problems with road salt???

Jeep heater works REAL well and blows pretty warm. I run softop yearound. Granted I am in California, but I do spend plenty of days in the snow still AND it does get pretty cold here in the valley...no complaints from me, just wear a jacket if it is not warm enough

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