2006 JEEP WRANGLER suspension

After Driving Off-Road
Off-road operation puts more stress on your vehicle than
does most on-road driving. After going off-road it is
always a good idea to check for damage. That way you
can get any problems taken care of right away and have
your vehicle ready when you need it.
•Completely inspect the underbody of your vehicle.
Check tires, body structure, steering, suspension, and
exhaust system for damage.
•Check threaded fasteners for looseness, particularly on
the chassis, drivetrain components, steering, and sus-
pension. Retighten them, if required, and torque to the
values specified in the Service Manual.
•Check for accumulations of plants or brush. These
things could be a fire hazard. They might hide damage
to fuel lines, brake hoses, axle pinion seals, and
propeller shafts.
•After extended operation in mud, sand, water, or
similar dirty conditions, have brake rotors, wheels,
brake linings, and axle yokes inspected and cleaned as
soon as possible.
WARNING!
Abrasive material in any part of the brakes may
cause excessive wear or unpredictable braking. You
might not have full braking power when you need it
to prevent an accident. If you have been operating
your vehicle in dirty conditions, get your brakes
checked and cleaned as necessary.
•If you experience unusual vibration after driving in
mud, slush or similar conditions, check the wheels for
impacted material. Impacted material can cause a
wheel imbalance and freeing the wheels of it will
correct the situation.
212 STARTING AND OPERATING

WARNING!
•Do not use a tire, wheel size or rating other than that
specified for your vehicle. Some combinations of un-
approved tires and wheels may change suspension
dimensions and performance characteristics, resulting
in changes to steering, handling, and braking of your
vehicle. This can cause unpredictable handling and
stress to steering and suspension components. You
could lose control and have an accident resulting in
serious injury or death. Use only the tire and wheel
sizes with load ratings approved for your vehicle.
•Never use a tire with a smaller load index or capacity,
other than what was originally equipped on your
vehicle. Using a tire with a smaller load index could
result in tire overloading and failure. You could lose
control and have an accident.
•Failure to equip your vehicle with tires having ad-
equate speed capability can result in sudden tire
failure and loss of vehicle control.
CAUTION!
Replacing original tires with tires of a different size
may result in false speedometer and odometer read-
ings.
Alignment and Balance
Poor suspension alignment may result in:
•Fast tire wear.
•Uneven tire wear, such as feathering and one-sided
wear.
•Vehicle pull to right or left.
STARTING AND OPERATING 227
5

Towing Requirements
To promote proper break-in of your new vehicle drivetrain
components the following guidelines are recommended:
NOTE: Trailer towing requires special rear axle lubri-
cant. Refer to “Fluids, Lubricants, and Genuine Parts” in
Section 7 for more information.
CAUTION!
•Avoid towing a trailer for the first 500 miles (805
km) of vehicle operation. Doing so may damage
your vehicle.
•During the first 500 miles (805 km) of trailer
towing, limit your speed to 50 mph (80 km/h).
Perform the maintenance listed in Section 8 of this
manual. When towing a trailer, never exceed the GAWR,
or GCWR, ratings.
WARNING!
Improper towing can lead to an injury accident.
Follow these guidelines to make your trailer towing
as safe as possible:
Make certain that the load is secured in the trailer
and will not shift during travel. When trailering
cargo that is not fully secured, dynamic load shifts
can occur that may be difficult for the driver to
control. You could lose control of your vehicle and
have an accident.
•When hauling cargo or towing a trailer, do not over-
load your vehicle or trailer. Overloading can cause a
loss of control, poor performance or damage to brakes,
axle, engine, transmission, steering, suspension, chas-
sis structure or tires.
242 STARTING AND OPERATING

Selection of Lubricant
Use only manufacturer’s recommended fluid, refer to
Fluids, Lubricants, and Genuine Parts for correct fluid
type.
Maintenance After Off-Road Driving
After extended operation in mud, sand or water, or
similar dirty conditions, have your brake drums, brake
linings, and axle joints inspected and cleaned as soon as
possible. This will prevent any abrasive material from
causing excessive wear or unpredictable braking action.
Following off-road usage, completely inspect the under-
body of your vehicle. Check tires, body structure, steer-
ing, suspension and exhaust system for damage. Check
threaded fasteners for looseness, particularly on the
chassis, drivetrain components, steering and suspension.
Retighten, if required, to torque values specified in the
Service Manual. Also check for accumulations of vegeta-
tion or brush that could become a fire hazard, or conceal damage to fuel lines, brake hoses, axle pinion seals, and
propeller shafts. Check air conditioning drain tube on the
lower dash wall in the engine compartment for mud or
debris, and clean as required. A plugged tube will
adversely affect air conditioning performance.
CAUTION!
Under frequent heavy-duty driving conditions,
change all lubricants, and lubricate body compo-
nents and steering linkage more often than in nor-
mal service to prevent excessive wear.
Appearance Care And Protection From Corrosion
Protection Of Body And Paint From Corrosion
Vehicle body care requirements vary according to geo-
graphic locations and usage. Chemicals that make roads
passable in snow and ice, and those that are sprayed on
MAINTAINING YOUR VEHICLE 297
7

Miles 3,000 6,000 9,000 12,000 15,000
(Kilometers) (5 000) (10 000) (15 000) (20 000) (25 000)
Change the engine oil and engine oil filter, if not
replaced at 3 months. X X XXX
Rotate the tires. X X
Inspect the engine air filter element, replace if
necessary. X
Lubricate the steering linkage tie rod ends. X X X X X
Lubricate the steering and suspension ball joints. X X
Inspect the brake linings. X
Drain and refill the front and rear axle fluid‡ X
322 SCHEDULE “B”
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Miles 18,000 21,000 24,000 27,000 30,000
(Kilometers) (30 000) (35 000) (40 000) (45 000) (50 000)
Change the engine oil and engine oil filter, if not
replaced at 3 months. X X XXX
Rotate the tires. X X X
Inspect the engine air filter element, replace if
necessary. X
Inspect the PCV Valve, and replace if necessary.  X
Replace the spark plugs. X
Lubricate the steering linkage tie rod ends. X X X X X
Lubricate the steering and suspension ball joints. X X X
Inspect the brake linings. X
Drain and refill the front and rear axle fluid‡ X
Inspect the manual transmission fluid, add as nec-
essary. X
Inspect the transfer case fluid, add if necessary. X
SCHEDULE “B” 323
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Miles 33,000 36,000 39,000 42,000 45,000
(Kilometers) (55 000) (60 000) (65 000) (70 000) (75 000)
Change the engine oil and engine oil filter, if not
replaced at 3 months. X X XXX
Rotate the tires. X X
Inspect the engine air filter element, replace if
necessary. X
Lubricate the steering linkage tie rod ends. X X X X X
Lubricate the steering and suspension ball joints. X X
Inspect the brake linings. X
Drain and refill the front and rear axle fluid‡ X
Inspect the drive belt and replace as needed. X
324 SCHEDULE “B”
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Miles 48,000 51,000 54,000 57,000 60,000
(Kilometers) (80 000) (85 000) (90 000) (95 000) (100 000)
Change the engine oil and engine oil filter, if not
replaced at 3 months. X X XXX
Rotate the tires. X X X
Inspect the engine air filter element, replace if
necessary. X
Inspect the PCV Valve, and replace if necessary.  X
Replace the ignition cables (2.4L Only). X
Replace the spark plugs. X
Lubricate the steering linkage tie rod ends. X X X X X
Lubricate the steering and suspension ball joints. X X X
Inspect the brake linings. X X
Drain and refill the front and rear axle fluid‡ X X
Inspect manual transmission fluid, add as neces-
sary. X
Drain and refill the automatic transmission fluid,
and change filter.† X
SCHEDULE “B” 325
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