My new GC Overland Now What

insjim · 08-22-2010, 06:57 PM

Picked up a 2002 GC Overland today, Inferno Red...Beauty! It has the Quatro Drive and the 4.7 HO auto transmission with a modest odometer reading of 73,000 miles. Everything has been checked and seems to function as it should. Runs and drives excellant and I would like to say I got a decent deal at $6,000...I bought it off the second owner who had only had it for 6 months and sold it due to needing a third row for extended family, All he did in his ownership is change the oil and air filter gas and drive...so the history of maintnance is lost and I am looking for advice on what things should be addressed in the most important order. I will be having the maintnance performed at a drive through Jiffy lube in my area and do not want to overwhelm them at once so where would you start? Looking for opinions..Thanks

myjeeplovesmud · 08-22-2010, 07:11 PM

first things first, find a new place. i wouldn't trust jiffy lube to wash my jeep let alone change fluids. second, most of the fluids in your jeep, because of the H.O are Dealer Only Fluids, and MUST be changed with them. I Would change every fluid in the jeep. Tranny, Diffs, Transfer Case, Coolant, etc. I would give it a tune up, again, special H.O ONLY plugs MUST be used. Either Find a good Mechanic in the area, or swallow your pride and go to the dealership. If you DO NOT use the recommended fluids, your jeep will be needing alot more than some fluids swapped quite quick

**billzcat1** · 08-22-2010, 07:22 PM

Agreed 100%. Do not use any drive-through lube shops to take care of this vehicle. Either do it yourself or find a decent independent mechanic to take care of it. The fluids are not HO-specific, but they are Quadradrive-specific so you would be in the same boat with a regular 4.7 V8. So far the only maintenance items I've found to be HO-specific are the air filter, plugs, and oil (10W30 instead of 5W30).

I just got done swapping all the fluids on my new-to-me Overland because the Quadradrive was not working correctly. Thankfully it doesn't appear to be damaged, but it should never have been in that situation to begin with. Probably the work of idiot tire shop monkeys: there was definitely ATF in my transfer case when it ABSOLUTELY requires the dealer-only Mopar fluid. Also, I do know my TC has been taken apart because it has non-factory bolts in it. Who knows what happened. Just take care of your WJ the RIGHT WAY and skip all the headaches.

insjim · 08-22-2010, 07:34 PM

Ahha, Sounds like fluid specs is important to to us dealer supplies...good advice. I think I will be performing the task myself. Which fluids say two of them would you change first minus the engine oil....I kinda spent most my money on the toy.

insjim · 08-22-2010, 07:40 PM

I would also like to know if it is time to switch to synthetic oil?...I know once you switch stay with it. What would you guy recommend and what grade (BRAND ETC.) of oil. I live in the Midwest (Missouri)

straty1987 · 08-22-2010, 08:47 PM

all info you need on the WJ is hear WJ Jeeps.com - Main Menu

what to use and when Jeep Grand Cherokee WJ - Maintenance information and schedules

changing the TC and diff oil is simple, just dont go nuts with the price of the oils

if you switch to synthetic motor oil can go back. but motor oil will open allot of peoples ideas.

most use mobile1 or amsoil and a wix filter. but you might have your brand taht you like. just dont use a frame filter

**billzcat1** · 08-22-2010, 09:00 PM

I also do the Mobil1/Wix combo which is also very popular on the Bob Is The Oil Guy forums (if you are a lube dork, you'll sign up). Amsoil is nice but SO expensive. I ran Amsoil in my BMW but each DIY oil change was over $100 for oil + filter alone. Mobil1 is pretty cheap in the 5 qt jugs at Walmart. A 5 qt jug plus an extra quart should be in the neighborhood of $27 and a Napa Gold filter (re-packaged Wix) is $5-7. I really like the Mobil1 High Mileage line - it runs a different additive package and nothing runs smoother in my ZJ.

Do the diffs and transfer case fluid first. These are pretty easy but can be a little messy. It looks like DC tried to make the TC skid plate so that you can drain the fluid without removing it by making the skid plate have a drain/funnel shape to it, but I recommend removing it. It's only 4 easily removed 15mm bolts and that's a lot less clean up to deal with when you wrap things up.

The TC MUST have that dealer-only fluid. I had issues with driveline binding while parking and also had some unnatural noises the one time I had wheel spin in 4HI (and the gerotor/clutch pack was working). I drained clean ATF and replaced with the Mopar fluid and all is well. You only need two quarts. The diffs must have 75W140 with friction modifier. The Redline 75W140 fluid has the friction modifier included and is only $10 a quart. The Mobil1 equivalent gear oil is about twice that and requires you add the FM to it. I've had great results with Redline products on each of my last 7 cars.

insjim · 08-22-2010, 09:22 PM

Much appreciated on the info with pricing...Wow! looks like a trip to the dealer tomorrow and I will print out your spec's advice and take it with me. Thanks again to all. One more question on the radiator fluid....Is 50/50 premix antifreeze sonding right to use after flush? It can get pretty cold here in Mo. and should I use any additives to prevent known heater core problems, not that I have a problem with mine.

**billzcat1** · 08-22-2010, 09:59 PM

The WJJeeps site says "only Mopar coolant is recommended." It is tempting to pick an antifreeze that is "compatible with all models" but so far I believe only Motorcraft (Ford) and Mopar antifreezes are made with HOAT formulation. Also, a google search found Zerex G-05 coolant has HOAT formulation. Since you are going to the dealer anyway, just pick up the right stuff for a few bucks more. It's a 5-year service interval. The extra $5/gallon only equates to $1/gal/year.

insjim · 08-22-2010, 10:06 PM

Good advise I will get it there, Its been a long time since I have wrenched on a vehicle.....I usually buy new then trade them in after a while... Things sure have changed.

myjeeplovesmud · 08-22-2010, 10:12 PM

i use regular coolant, and have for 100k+ miles with no issues. Coolant is coolant as far as i'm concerned. I used to use mobil 1 synthetic 5w30, but no longer do. Mobil 1 is not longer 100% synthetic, even tho the bottle states it does. I would reccomend Penzoil Ultra. it's great stuff and is really cleaning my motor out. NO MORE DIRTY H.O FOR ME... hahaha

myjeeplovesmud · 08-22-2010, 10:14 PM

OH, Penzoil Ultra is the ONLY oil Ferrari will run in their cars.... thats good enough for me lol
Pennzoil - Not just oil, Pennzoil®

Theres A Few Videos, I Think They Speak For Themself

**billzcat1** · 08-22-2010, 10:25 PM

Ferrari also requires full top-end rebuilds every 10,000 miles. No one would ever argue that Ferrari motors are built to be durable. Their primary concern with oil is likely high-temperature longevity and/or lowest possible friction.

As for the oil debate...let's not get into that here. BITOG is the place for that. Honestly, unless we are having UOAs done, we have no idea whether or not the oil we are using is "good" for our engine so everything here is pure speculation.

myjeeplovesmud · 08-22-2010, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billzcat1

Ferrari also requires full top-end rebuilds every 10,000 miles. No one would ever argue that Ferrari motors are built to be durable. Their primary concern with oil is likely high-temperature longevity and/or lowest possible friction.

As for the oil debate...let's not get into that here. BITOG is the place for that. Honestly, unless we are having UOAs done, we have no idea whether or not the oil we are using is "good" for our engine so everything here is pure speculation.

To a degree, yes.

Apollo21 · 08-23-2010, 05:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by myjeeplovesmud

NO MORE DIRTY H.O FOR ME... hahaha