And the fuel tank hangs below the frame rails...

OK... they got this backasswards wrong.

I see (as did Mike) the front driveshaft above the exhaust. Lifts are going to be a headache.

It looks to me like the oil pan is as low as the bottom of the front axle. Not good.

Overall it looks to me like a nice evolution over the TJ. Suitable for mall crawing and light trail duty (which is probably what 99% of the Jeeps will do). Modifications will be difficult, it might be a while before more hard core TKs are built up.

Almost looks like there is a flex joint just above the exhaust on the front driveshaft, so it might not actually be in the way.

Man, that oil pan is nuts though. What were they thinking with that.

Looks like a HP 44 to me upfront also.

Jason

To be fair. Here is a picture of a Stock TJ Rubicon. If you look closly below the axle you can see the oil pan. Looks like it hangs almost as low stock also.

Might be why I see so many posts on my local boards and ROF about banged up oil pans

Jason

Well, they replaced the belly pan that they were using as a shovel. Now the gas tank serves that purpose.

Hard to tell about that front drive shaft. I kinda like the rear bump stops. I think.

Someone will have a lift for it by June of '07. If it takes that long.

I just checked the grille. Seems to be plastic. May be Fiberglass, but it's pretty thin. Most-likely plastic. Also just took a lot more photos from underneath. hehehe If you see pics in magazines and there are only legs and feet sticking out, you'll know who they belong to! I'll post these tonite.

I also just picked up video of the reveal which I hope to get online later tonite.

At this point I'm ready for dinner and a beer or five.

Do you have any photos of the rear upper control arms? I don't seem to see them in any photos.

Way to go Mike! Great pics. You rock.

matt, check out this pic, the rear uppers are boxed and mount outboard on the frame.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: txxj,

Thanks, couldn't find tha in any photos anywhere. Wow that tank hangs way low!!

I like it, but the frontend is god awful looking. The bumper is ugly, the fenders are ugly, and the grill looks like crap.
The drivetrain looks nice on the rubicon especially the HP 44 front. The control arms look beefy and long enough to handle a lift without causing weird handling caracteristics. The steering looks pretty tough too. I could not see a clear picture of the knucles on the frontend. I wonder if they were upgraded too. I cant wait to see one with a aftermarket bumpers and some other type front fender on it. But all that plastic crap on the front just makes me want to puke. Maybe time will make it look better to me. After all I did not like the TJ's look when it came out and now its my favorite.

According to this website http://jpmagazine.com/featuredvehicles/154_0601_07jk/# , the driveshafts have no slip in them, and use CV joints. Any lift and the driveshafts will have to be changed.

no, they said no slip yokes meaning the rear is a fixed yoke, just like on the current Rubicon. the driveshafts still have a slip joint on them though.

I have more photos coming tonite. FYI, on the Rubicon, anyway, 3 of the 4 shaft ends are C/V

past 3 days ive been saying," god i want this 07. do i really need it though?" " i do the math, sell my tj for 10k, buy a new one for 25k, minus about 7k for a down, minus 3k for lift, lockers, and tires= 25k financed. thats about 450 plus or minus dollars for 5 yrs... man i dont like the payment game.....

good side: NEW everything, and that everything is very much NICE..

bad side: to **** pretty to 4x the way ive been doing lately with my 97 tj... plus i'd have to put about 8k in it to make it the way my tj is offroad wise........ man im torn!!!!!

I think that new one will cost you more like 35k! Your going to want the 4 door so you can get the Hemi (if it's true). And it comes with lockers and 32's, so all you need right away is just the Jeep or maybe some lift and tires. I guess that's still 3k (once the lift becomes available).

"buy a new one for 25K" ... an 07 for 25K? Must be refering to the X package? The 06 Rubicons are still stickered at 29k to 30k here in FL. Maybe the guys in Detroit have heard a price for the 07's but the local Jeep dealers seem to think the Rubi's will be around 32K depending on supply/demand.

quote:

Originally posted by brokenUjoint:
past 3 days ive been saying," god i want this 07. do i really need it though?" " i do the math, sell my tj for 10k, buy a new one for 25k, minus about 7k for a down, minus 3k for lift, lockers, and tires= 25k financed. thats about 450 plus or minus dollars for 5 yrs... man i dont like the payment game.....

good side: NEW everything, and that everything is very much NICE..

bad side: to **** pretty to 4x the way ive been doing lately with my 97 tj... plus i'd have to put about 8k in it to make it the way my tj is offroad wise........ man im torn!!!!!

Broke,
I don't care how cool your 1997 is, you know as well as I do that getting 10k for one will be next to impossible.
I think I actually NEED both. When are they taking orders?

Jason

I'll likely just go with getting the base model, optioned with the auto tranny (for wife) and AC since we live in Oklahoma. Other than that, I'll go it the old school way and gradually build it up. Since I refrain from doing hardcore wheeling, the base model with the options mentioned should fit our needs just fine.

Looking at Jeep.com website and the full specs pdf page... they make mention of the Unlimited model with regards to the rear split seats.

Jeeps specs

I didn't realize that they were going to offer the Unlimited with the eventual intro of a 4 door. Interesting.

for some reason I'm thinking they're talking about the 4-dr when the specs talk about the 60/40 split rear seat in the "Unlimited". But I dunno...