I went to look at one tonite. Its a two year only unicorn that seems like a pretty good mix of economy and practicality. tows 5000 pounds. Common rail diesel, mid twenties for mpg, seats five. anyone have any real world long term experience with one? there aren't many to choose from around here but they go from $6000 to $10000 or so for a decent driver.
Curmudgeon used to deride these as complex and maint heavy ( he was a service writer at a jeep dealer).
That's about all I got.
Fueled by Caffeine wrote: Curmudgeon used to deride these as complex and maint heavy ( he was a service writer at a keep dealer). That's about all I got.
And they weren't much better to work on. When they break, you spend thousands of dollars just in parts....
Too much engine for the transmission. They were popping transmissions, so Jeep did a preemptive software upgrade via TSB that neutered the poor trucks. If, in test driving, you find some seem to have far less power than others, that may be the cause.
I remember being VERY underwhelmed driving my father-in-laws. And I've always been a fan of Diesel's.
I've heard (here) that the Liberty is built like a tank so a Diesel sounds right. I'm not sure that the reality is as good as the theory.
I feel like they had water pump issues? it does have a timing belt that needs to be done regularly but I do not know the service interval
Mike wrote: Too much engine for the transmission. They were popping transmissions, so Jeep did a preemptive software upgrade via TSB that neutered the poor trucks. If, in test driving, you find some seem to have far less power than others, that may be the cause.
Most companies of that era limit their diesels toruque in first and second gear. Cummins did it for years on the ram to let the trans live.
I know there were multiple major issues that prevented me from looking at them, from EGR failures to trans issues before even 100k miles. Most owners seemed to be unhappy with parts availability for the VM engines as well. It would have been perfect for me on paper, but I gave it a pass.
lostjeeps.com has the best info.
save for the diesel part, the 05-15 xTerra does the same things listed around the same price.
Mike wrote: Too much engine for the transmission. They were popping transmissions, so Jeep did a preemptive software upgrade via TSB that neutered the poor trucks. If, in test driving, you find some seem to have far less power than others, that may be the cause.
The 545RFE trans those use isn't particularly weak (and has been used behind the smaller HEMIs for years). Turn up the line pressure a bit and maybe toss in a shift kit and it'll hold up fine. Although if it's like other Chrysler trannies of that era, I'd blame the failures more on the owners and insufficient cooling than the trans itself.
My Neighbor had one.
The Cam timing jumped at 95K and took out some valves. It was in great shape beside that. He would given it to me, but after researching, it was not worth the trouble. I really wanted to like it.
rslifkin wrote:Mike wrote: Too much engine for the transmission. They were popping transmissions, so Jeep did a preemptive software upgrade via TSB that neutered the poor trucks. If, in test driving, you find some seem to have far less power than others, that may be the cause.The 545RFE trans those use isn't particularly weak (and has been used behind the smaller HEMIs for years). Turn up the line pressure a bit and maybe toss in a shift kit and it'll hold up fine. Although if it's like other Chrysler trannies of that era, I'd blame the failures more on the owners and insufficient cooling than the trans itself.
That's not what was failing. The torque converters couldn't tolerate the large torque fluctuations/spikes from a low RPM high torque four cylinder. Notice the new Ram Diesels are V6, not fours.
My experience with the CRD Liberty is minimal, but it felt a little slower than a regular 3.7 Liberty only it shook a lot more. I can see why only a real Diesel diehard would want one.
Didn't they fix the diesel issues with the Grand Cherokee? Good luck finding one of those for Liberty money, though.
Diesel with a timing belt? No thanks
Completely different diesel motor in the Grand Cherokee. Guy in my race group had a diesel Liberty, it was a gigantic pile of crap.
The motor popped on him, he replaced it with a used motor and sold it ASAP.
Thank you for the input. Interestingly, long term experience seems to be good per other reviews I have read, although that doesn't seem to be the case here. I still kind of like it, but to keep my options open I am going to start my very first what car thread to discuss alternatives. Tomorrow.
For the same money I would rather get a $2500 JDM Trooper diesel engine with manual transmission and the nicest Trooper, Rodeo, or Amigo on your local Craigslist. You would probably have enough left over for new tires and an exhaust system.
maschinenbau wrote: Diesel with a timing belt? No thanks
VW didn't seem to have any problems with the millions of Diesels that they built over the years, belt-wise. BMWs were belt drive too, no?
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