Lunes Off-Road

07/20/2026

Monday Morning Mechanic

Differential service is one of the most missed maintenance intervals we see.

Everybody remembers oil changes.

Almost nobody remembers the fluid inside the axles doing the dirty work every mile.

Your differentials are carrying bigger tires, added weight, trail shock, water crossings, mud, heat, towing, and off-road abuse. If the vehicle is modified or used hard, the factory service mindset is not enough.

Old gear oil breaks down.
Water contamination happens.
Metal debris happens.
Seals leak.
Bearings wear.
And the gears do not care that you “just had the oil changed.”

Differential service is also a good time to upgrade the weak factory stamped covers.

The stock covers are thin, flimsy, and not built for much more than keeping fluid inside on a stock vehicle. On a Jeep or truck that actually gets used, a heavy duty differential cover adds protection, strength, and peace of mind.

So while the fluid is out, that is the smart time to inspect the gears, check for contamination, reseal the cover, and upgrade the armor.

Bigger tires and off-road use mean bigger maintenance responsibility.

When was the last time your diff fluid was changed?

07/20/2026

Annie is back after a weekend of fun and got some advice!

07/18/2026

Failure Friday: Your Spare Tire Is Bending Your Tailgate

These are two JLU Wranglers running aftermarket wheels and tires.

The difference is what’s supporting the spare.

Jeep 1 — gray:
The larger, heavier spare is mounted on the factory carrier, which is attached to the aluminum tailgate. Over time, that extra weight pulls the tailgate away from the body.

Look at the bottom-left photo. The body lines no longer line up. The tailgate is beginning to separate from the Jeep.

Jeep 2 — yellow:
This Jeep uses a Teraflex Alpha Carrier. The carrier becomes load-bearing and transfers the spare-tire weight into the carrier and hinge structure—not the aluminum tailgate.

The body lines remain where they belong.

This is why “it fits” is not the same as “it’s properly supported.”

A factory spare carrier may hold the factory spare. That does not mean it is designed to carry a substantially larger aftermarket wheel and tire indefinitely.

The failure usually starts quietly:

* Tailgate and body lines stop matching
* The tire begins contacting the bumper or body
* Hinges and mounting points develop stress
* The tailgate becomes harder to close
* Cracks, deformation, or permanent damage follow

The tire is not the problem.

The problem is hanging more weight from a structure that was never designed to carry it. Most stock wheel & tire combo weigh about 55-60lbs. Most aftermarket wheel & tire combo weight start about 100lbs and go up in a lot of cases.

Build the support system for the tire you’re actually running—not the tire Jeep installed at the factory. This is why we endorse the Teraflex Alpha carrier as the only tire carrier we choose to install for the JL and JLU Wranglers.

LunesOffRoad JeepProblems DoItRightTheFirstTime

07/15/2026

BRONCO PEEPS WITH THE BIG MEATS.

Make sure your shop is offering up a trim package for those OE rock rails. No sense in listening to those tires rubbing when turning.

07/15/2026

What are we working on today, brought to you by RPM Steering 😍😍😍

Any guesses? It is Jeep related BUT may not be entirely what you think…

I’ll answer later today but curious what yall come up with… 🤔

07/15/2026

Ford Motor Company Ford Bronco came in for a suspension job and tires. RPG Off-Road spring perch collars on the FOX struts and 37” Nitto Tire U.S.A. Inc. . Finished with our in-house alignment and she’s off back to her stable.


THE Memphis Off-Road Shop

07/14/2026

TECH TUESDAY

Lift Height Is Not Suspension Travel

A three-inch lift does not give you three more inches of suspension travel.

Lift height changes where the vehicle sits. Travel is how far the suspension moves between full compression and full droop.

A spacer can raise a vehicle without adding any shock stroke. A longer strut can add travel—but only if the bump stops, control arms, steering, brake hoses, CV axles and other components allow it.

This is especially important with IFS. Fix one limitation, and another often becomes the next bottleneck.

Two vehicles can sit at the same height and perform completely differently.

A lift changes where it sits. Suspension design determines what it can do.

07/13/2026

MONDAY MORNING MECHANIC

A trouble code is not a diagnosis. It is the starting point of one.

A code scanner does not look inside your engine and identify the broken part. It reports what a control module detected—or what it failed to detect—inside a monitored circuit or system.

That distinction matters.

A P0305 does not automatically mean “replace the cylinder-five ignition coil.” It means the computer detected a misfire associated with cylinder five.

The cause could be:

A worn or fouled spark plug
A failed coil
A damaged injector or wiring
Low compression
A rocker, lifter, or camshaft failure
A vacuum or intake leak
A cooling-system problem allowing coolant into the cylinder

A P0456 does not say, “Replace the gas cap” Even though your dash says to. It indicates a very small EVAP-system leak. The gas cap is only one possible cause among hoses, seals, valves, fittings, wiring, and the leak-detection hardware.

A P0128 does not automatically condemn the thermostat. It tells us the engine failed to reach the expected operating temperature under the conditions monitored by the computer. Now we verify coolant level, actual temperature, sensor accuracy, wiring, warm-up behavior—and then the thermostat.

The code gives an experienced technician a system, circuit, cylinder, condition, or direction to investigate. From there, diagnosis may require scan-data analysis, visual inspection, circuit testing, smoke testing, fuel-pressure testing, compression or leak-down testing, and mechanical inspection.

Sometimes the obvious part is the problem.

Sometimes the part named in the code description is working perfectly and reporting a failure caused somewhere else.

That is why throwing parts at codes gets expensive. A parts-store printout, internet/AI search, or inexpensive scanner can tell you what the vehicle reported. It cannot consistently tell you why it happened.

And clearing the code does not repair anything. I WILL SAY IT AGAIN; clearing the code does not repair anything. It erases the evidence and resets the monitor until the vehicle detects the problem again.

Your code scanner found the door.

Diagnosis determines what is actually waiting behind it.

Stop asking, “What part fixes this code?”

Start asking, “What caused the vehicle to set it?”

07/12/2026

We are a direct dealer for Life Without Doors! This summer has been filled with many days of random pop up showers. Be prepared with cab covers and seat ponchos!

Because a little rain shouldn't stop you from having a lot of fun.

07/12/2026

Love the products from Excessive Industries, LLC!