Rare Jeep diagnostic tool surfaces on Facebook, and it’s seriously cool

Someone on Facebook has unearthed this incredibly handy vintage Jeep diagnostic tool – and it’s seriously cool.

These days when there’s a fault with your vehicle, you can hop online and scroll through near-endless YouTube videos and internet searches to help get to the bottom of it. 

But back in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s – the internet didn’t exist and folks had to make do with a hefty manual. 

Or this incredibly handy little circular slide-rule that can help figure out what’s wrong with your Jeep’s transmission – smart, right?

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This little diagnostic tool is actually pretty smart

The Jeep automotive brand was launched all the way back in 1943, with the very first Jeep vehicle produced two years later. 

The vehicles have earned themselves a solid reputation for reliability and being able to handle just about anything that’s thrown at them – including climbing an almost vertical wall.

But even the hardiest of vehicles need a helping hand sometimes, and that’s where this vintage diagnostic tool comes in. 

The small cardboard circle is labeled: ‘Service Guide – Automatic Transmission’ and carries the Kaiser Jeep Corporation branding, meaning it most likely dates between 1953 and 1970. 

The tool tells technicians, or Jeep owners, to start off by ‘always’ making preliminary checks such as the fluid level, the engine idle, and the kick-down switch.

Jeep owners have praised its simplicity

If all of those checks have been carried out and the automatic transmission still isn’t playing ball, then you can simply rotate the small arrow at the top until it lines up with the problem in question, such as it being locked in gear, or overheating. 

When the arrow is in the correct position a small window in the inner circle will display a bunch of letters. 

Each of these letters is linked to a legend that denotes the required repairs – for example, if the window showed the letters KL it would mean that both the engine idle speed and vacuum control are in need of repair. 

The unusual diagnostic tool was shared on the CJWCR Club Jeep Willys Costa Rica 1994 Facebook page where Jeep owners were left impressed by its simplicity. 

“Awesome. Simple and direct,” one person commented. 

“It’d be awesome to reprint these for purchase,” someone else said. 

“I wish it was still like this, now you need a $6,000 computer or a dealer,” a third wrote. 

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