Jeep JL Wrangler Order & Production Information

bthomas said:
My father in law recently retired after 50+ years the auto body business, he was saying how happy he was to get out before the aluminum body vehicles started coming in. He was telling me the same, different tools, different techniques. He also thought that there may be a lot more panel replacement versus repair also.
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Exactly!! Which translates to higher repair costs, which means higher insurance premiums. The JK premiums for collision coverage were very low, being the numerous straight panels. You can bet the a typical 2018 JL door will be very pricey.

I sure hope this doesn't give rise to increased theft.
 
You know they've been building cars out of aluminium in Europe for like 20 years. What's the big deal? The bigger issue for body shops is the use of high strength steel as you must do complete panel replacement
 
The more I read about aluminum in the doors, it seems to be only the inside part. So I wonder if the outer skin of the door will still be steel.
 
killthebunnys said:
The more I read about aluminum in the doors, it seems to be only the inside part. So I wonder if the outer skin of the door will still be steel.
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Welding aluminum to steel is very difficult, if not impossible. You would be talking about bolting the outer door skin the inner door frame.

Where are you reading this? Is there a discussion as to why?
 
NevadaZielmeister said:
Welding aluminum to steel is very difficult, if not impossible. You would be talking about bolting the outer door skin the inner door frame.

Where are you reading this? Is there a discussion as to why?
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You can not weld aluminum to steel. Door skins on aluminum body OTR trucks are riveted on to the frame.
 
Jeep JL Wrangler Order & Production Information

I kinda got a little chuckle when I started to read it, because I haven't heard that name since reading an old history article about World War II.
Here is an old add I thought was funny.
ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1474265832.894036.jpg
 
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Aluminium doorskin sate normally glued on with only a couple of rivets to stop it from moving until the glue dries. That how they make most buses. Steel frame aluminium or fibreglass skin
 
Aluminium is a total stinker in the body shop departement: It's hard to paint durably, gouges easily, breaks, has a very short service life before weakening. Ok it's light and 'can' be made stronger but still steel is real. If light is desired why not go carbon fiber, or some aramid mix.
 
frenchjk said:
Aluminium is a total stinker in the body shop departement: It's hard to paint durably, gouges easily, breaks, has a very short service life before weakening. Ok it's light and 'can' be made stronger but still steel is real. If light is desired why not go carbon fiber, or some aramid mix.
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Anodizing would help hide scratches. I bet some body shops make some pretty pennies equipping themselves to anodize the doors and hood.
 
ttfhell said:
3.0 diesel has 420lbs torque. That's worth getting excited about.
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Remember it's a turbo diesel....the Grand Cherokee guys are getting 600+ with a tune. Should make running 37s feel like 22s with that much twisting power. They also already have the DEF bypass kits as well.
 
I wonder if we can easily retrofit the headunit into earlier JK's.... would love to have android auto.
 
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