September 2021 – 4×4 Radio Network

Episode 517 – Cracked Hard Top Repair and Trail Dust

This Week In Jeep

Mike Manley No Longer Associated With Jeep

It’s the end of an Era… PSA Peugeot’s takeover of Fiat Chrysler to form the world’s fourth-largest carmaker has had its first executive casualty, with former Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley stepping down as his role of head of the Americas. Stellantis announced Tuesday that Manley was leaving to become CEO of the largest dealership network in the United States, AutoNation Inc., based in Florida. One does not simply replace a man like Mike Manley. Instead, America’s chief operating officer Antonio Filosa will report directly to Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. Manley was named CEO of Fiat Chrysler in July 2018, coinciding with the illness and sudden death of long-time CEO Sergio Marchionne. When Stellantis was formed, Tavaras, who was Peugeot’s chief executive, took over as CEO of the combined carmaker, all but casting the man, the myth, the legend, Mike Manley clean aside, virtually ignoring all that he had done for the Jeep brand. And let us not forget what all these other parent companies in the past would be if it was not for Jeep.

Manley was, has been, and always will be credited with the turnaround of the Jeep subsidiary, which was a lifeline of FCA profits. Manley is well-respected in the analyst community, lauded for his strong credentials to run a global automaker both in terms of technological and strategic transitions. Mike is moving on and will be taking over a dealership group that has posted more than $20 billion in sales and $382 million in net income last year alone. He starts Nov. 1, replacing Mike Jackson, an industry icon who has been with AutoNation for 22 years. Jackson retired in 2018 but was called out of retirement when his replacement left the company. Auto Nation is the largest chain of car and truck dealerships in the U.S., with more than 300 locations nationwide.

The company says it has sold more than 13 million vehicles in its 25-year history.

Manley will retain ties with Stellantis as a board member of the Stellantis Foundation.

Dumb Criminals Story From Florida (where else?)

Police have taken four men into custody following a chaotic chain of events in a Lauderhill neighborhood. Lauderhill Police units responded to a call of a rollover crash along the 4700 block of Northwest 11th Court, at around 10:10 a.m., Sunday.

Investigators said the subjects were inside a 2015 Jeep Cherokee that had been reported stolen in Broward County when it slammed into a tree, rolled over, and hit an SUV parked outside of a home. Oh but if it were only that simple. The man whose home resides behind said tree, Mr. Daniel Howse said he actually heard the vehicle before the moment of impact.

“Well, I was sitting in my garage this morning, and I heard what sounded like someone doing donuts in my street here, so I got up to come out here to look to see who it was, and by the time I was in my front door, I had a four-door Jeep overturned and in my yard, colliding with my Cadillac, and four people scrambling around inside the car.”

Police said the subjects then took off on foot. Officers set up a perimeter, and after a several-hour search of the area, they located the subjects in a field between Northwest 51st Avenue and the Florida Turnpike. Investigators said one of the men attempted to flee again but was apprehended by a K-9. I love it when that happens. To others.

That subject was of course transported to Plantation General Hospital for treatment of his well-deserved wounds.

Wrangler Unlimited Willys Xtreme Recon Unveiled With Army Looks

The Xtreme Recon package isn’t exclusive to the Rubicon anymore.

Jeep had a new release for those attending the Detroit 4Fest this last weekend. Among other things, Jeep unveiled the previously unannounced Wrangler Unlimited Willys Xtreme Recon. It gets some of the features from the Rubicon Xtreme Recon but with the retro military look from the Willys model. The Xtreme Recon package on the Wrangler Unlimited Willys gets 35-inch tires that wrap around 17-inch bead-lock-capable wheels. There’s also an inch and a half suspension lift bringing the total ground clearance to 11 inches. Not bad right? But just for the sake of comparison, the Xtreme Recon equipment on the Rubicon provides 12.9 inches of ground clearance.

And just to put one more nail in the coffin Ford will need to bury the Bronco in, which is the Wrangler’s only competitor, by the way, has just 8.3 inches of clearance.

Customers will still get the rest of the equipment that comes on the Willys.

This edition of the Jeep comes with a gloss black grille and rock rails and comes in the Sarge Green. There are also other colors available, but I can’t for the life of me imagine why someone would pick this trim and not want this color to go with it. Finally, there is the traditional “Willys” in a stenciled font on the sides of the hood. Inside the Jeep, the Willys is available with the Heritage Tan and Black cabin, but an all-black interior is also an option. The combination of the military-theming, big tires, and taller ride height creates a rugged non-stock-looking Jeep right off the showroom floor. The appearance is a stark contrast to the Tuscadero Pink Wrangler that we have reported on launching right now, too. Green and Pink, It’s like Gi-Joe meets Barbie, in the back of his Tonka Truck. Unfortunately, this edition of the Wrangler is solely available as the four-door Unlimited model. Buyers can select either the 3.6-liter V6 or 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder though, and prices for the Willys Xtreme Recon start at just under $40k.

Deliveries start in December.

Tech Talk with Jeep Talk

TOPIC/QUESTION: You Cracked Your Hard Top – Now What?!?

If you Jeep long enough, well, you’ll find out one way or another, carnage happens. Whether it’s a quarter-million miles on a wheel bearing that just isn’t going to go another 3 feet, or that quarter panel that just got bent up by that rogue tree root, the more you wheel, the more likely it is you’ll experience some breakage along the way. Oh, I’m sure there’s someone out there who says they’ve been wheeling for 40 years and haven’t so much even scratched the paint. Show me that Jeeper, and I’ll show you a mall-crawler, or at least someone who’s never had their Jeep on three wheels or less. The fact of the matter is, crap happens. Even if you’re trying your hardest not to break something, all it takes is one slip off of one line, and now your hardtop has a nice crack in it. For the smallest of cracks, hairline stress fractures that don’t penetrate to both sides, I’d say keep your eye on it and don’t worry too much for right now. Yes, there’s something you can do about it, but we’ll get to that in a minute. For those who have a crack that goes all the way through, or have punctured their hardtop, it may still be repairable. So Jeep hardtops are made from fiberglass. And if yours is color-matched, well then, we’re not going to be able to bring it back to showroom quality without having the right equipment, supplies, and skill set. BUT, we can get you sealed up and protected, and push out having to spend a fortune on replacing it for a while longer. What we’re going to be doing is a patch job. This is going to require working with fiberglass. In its raw state, fiberglass is a type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet, or woven into glass cloth. It is strengthened using a two-part epoxy-like resin. This consists of the resin itself, and a hardening agent or catalyst. Working with fiberglass is akin to having superglue on your fingers while you sift through shag carpet looking for an earring. It’s messy. And trust me, this isn’t going to be fun. You will need to familiarize yourself with the particular product’s mixing instructions, as they are all different in the ratio of hardening agent to resin.

You will definitely need multiple pairs of disposable gloves around and at least a few super cheap paintbrushes. DO NOT USE FOAM BRUSHES. They will melt and ruin your resin. I would also highly recommend having at least one drop cloth to protect the interior of the Jeep. A few little plastic mixing buckets and some stir sticks would help too. Fiberglass puts off a lot of fumes while it hardens, so you’ll want to make sure you’re working in a well-ventilated area. That doesn’t mean with the garage door closed and the Jeep’s doors open either. I’d even consider a small fan to keep the air moving around some. Here’s a quick tip… if you mix the fiberglass resin with too much catalyst, a process called “mixing it too hot” …it will actually catch fire or melt anything that comes in contact with it. In other words, anything this stuff touches is either the work zone or something that will be thrown away. Speaking of the work zone, we’ll get into what you need to do to prep things here in a minute, but you need to be aware that once mixed, it is in a perpetual state of hardening. You will only have a small amount of time to work with the resin before it hardens completely. This is why you’ll want to have more than a couple of mixing buckets and sticks. Chances are, you’ll mess up, so it’s good to have spares. One of the tools you’re going to need is a grinder at the very least, but a Dremel may be the right tool for the job. Providing you have the right bit. Sanding, grinding, or filing cured fiberglass is messy. It produces fine dust that you don’t want in your nose or lungs, so I hate to say it, but you’ll need to wear a mask. I know! I know! But you’ll thank me later. Using a rough drum sander bit, or a small, mildly aggressive burr bit would be preferable. The goal here is to knock down all the spurs, and anything protruding above the top or underside surfaces. This is going to be the most tedious part of the process, as you don’t want to go too deep, remove too much material, or slip and gouge a perfectly good area of the top. In the next tech talk, we’ll go into the specific steps needed to prep, fill, and finish that crack in your Jeep’s hardtop.

Jeep Life – With Jeep Momma

Wheeling Those Dusty Summer Trails

Hi Tony, Josh, and Wendy… Whoever came up with “Just Empty Every Pocket” sure knew what it is like to have a Jeep. You may have a newer Jeep and don’t truly understand the enormity of Just Empty Every Pocket. It goes deeper than adding accessories or upgrades. Once your Jeep gets up there in age you start to really feel it in your pocketbook. I mentioned before about my shock mounts and control arm mounts and needing to upgrade to beefier ones. Now it’s time to replace those lower control arms and something funky is going on with my sway bar links making funny clinking noises. Oh, the Joys of being a Jeep Owner.

But emptying those pockets is sure worth it once you get out on those trails. The trails here in Colorado are so amazing with the spectacular views from mountain passes. For the most part, the trails I have wheeled here in Colorado have been pretty easy when it comes to the technical difficulty. They can get intense if you are afraid of heights. I have a pretty big fear of heights or should I say ledges. That fear, though, is getting easier to overcome the more I wheel those mountain passes. Here in Colorado a lot of those trails are old mining roads which can get pretty busy in certain areas. There are a lot of motorcycles or should I call them dirt bikes and those side by sides are everywhere. You need to be very alert on these trails as speed doesn’t seem to matter to these people. And some of them don’t yet know the etiquette of how to respond when you come upon them on the trails. Extreme patience is needed. I know I have mentioned this before but a great app to have is GAIA GPS even just the free version. You can keep track of where you are. In the Silverton and Ouray area of Colorado, there are so many trails. Another good tip is to check the weather. A lot of these trails are closed seasonally due to snow on the trails. Like tons of snow sometimes up to more than ten feet. Then there is the dust. Sometimes it is super dusty on the trails. If you decide to go topless you could be in for a dusty ride so be prepared. And be careful when you get warm in the middle of your trail ride and decide to turn on your ac. Be expected to get a plume of dust shot out at you.

Most of the Jeep Wranglers have spots for cabin filters but leave the factory without the filter. So check before you go. It might be a good idea to slip one in if you plan on being out on dusty trails. Next week on Jeep Life I share some winterizing tips for those in those cold-weather snowy states.