Driving Line VOLUME IV ISSUE 4 | FALL 2018 | Page 29

START/STOP
BETTERS AXLES—SO FAR
The biggest annoyance on the JL by a landslide is the start/stop In the JL, Jeep engineers addressed two of the major shortcomings of the JK axles: the housing
feature. Yes. It’s designed to preserve fuel and be more eco-friendly, and brackets. However, Jeep has brought back a feature we haven’t seen on a Wrangler since 1995:
but it feels like a clunky afterthought that is far from seamless. While a front axle disconnect. This feature is on all front third-generation Rubicon Dana 44 axles and the
you can easily disable this feature with a push of the button, you’ll need new-style front Danas on all other models. Aside from the aforementioned improvements, the new
to do so every time you get behind the wheel. The fix? An aftermarket Dana axles are fit with a new-style electronic selectable locker in Rubicon applications and a gearset
programmer or in-line module is what you need. There’s also a workaround that’s designed to apply more contact between the ring and pinion. So far, we’ve seen the Rubicon JL
of disengaging one of the hood-latch sensors, but you’ll end up with a axles hold up to a 37-inch-tall tire without failure. We’ve even seen some pushing the limits of the Rubi
warning light on the dash. axles with 40s! Not something we would advise. Time will tell how they will hold, but after seeing the
Rubicon JLs get punished off-road, we’re pretty impressed out of the gate.
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