Manufactured between 2007 and 2018, the third generation of the American Jeep Wrangler is a purposeful off-roader with front and rear live axles, each controlled by leading or trailing upper and lower links, a Panhard rod, anti-roll bar, coil springs and telescopic dampers. The vehicle we’re servicing is owned by independent Jeep specialist Hargreaves Garage of Keighley in West Yorkshire. It’s powered by a 3800cc V6 petrol engine and mated to an automatic gearbox. Proprietor Phil Boocock has owned the vehicle since 2013 and uses it both on and off-road, so he has not only kept up with servicing and rustproofing, but has also added a few upgrades, including adjustable telescopic dampers at all four corners, ARB front and rear diffs and LED exterior lighting.
Overall, the Wrangler is a straightforward vehicle to service, but at nearly two tons and a little over 1.8m wide and tall and almost 4.2m long, it’s quite a large vehicle to work around. Fortunately, thanks to a generous amount of ground clearance, the servicing work we’ve shown can be conducted on the floor, or by raising the vehicle a little with drive-on ramps.
Rob says
Hargreaves Garage hasn’t discovered much corrosion in the Wrangler JK, but it’s still worthwhile inspecting the chassis rails, axle casings and the underside of the floors during a service and keeping on top of rustproofing.
Equipment required
› jack › axle stands (or ramp) › oil trays › oil filter wrench/strap › › › › › › › › › › › › › › › › ›
