Hello LOSTJeepers,
Ive been lurking as a nonmember for more then a few years now ... ever since buying my well loved and occasionally hated
, but also lightly used and gently cared for, 2005 Jeep Liberty KJ LTD CRD back in 2015. MOST of my not so free time is spent on TDR and Cumminsforum discussing the finer points of maintaining and modifying the mighty Cummins ISB CTD along with the requisite Mopar parts and frame that it is attached too.
That said, I bought my 2005 KJ CRD (who I've named "Giddyup") from a Mopar diesel mechanic in So Cal who had purchased her from a startled customer when she was brought into the dealership at 135k with a "no start" condition. Though while it is true that, with hindsight from this incident, we can estimate the charmed and extended lifespan of an ignored OEM timing belt on an otherwise well maintained CRD, when the customer received the $4k repair estimate for the broken timing belt and all associated parts, they balked and simply bought another new vehicle from the same dealership. Mr Mechanic bought the CRD for salvage from his boss, fixed her up with all new Mopar engine parts as needed, and ended up with another Jeep in his growing car collection. That said, within a year he needed to thin his herd and thats when I bought her for $7500 in decent cosmetic and excellent running shape with 142k on her
I have done mostly only maintenance repairs since, like brake replacement and suspension work, but by now having put on close to another 100k, it's time for the half monte TB install, including half a water pump. Unfortunately, and upon removing the IC/hoses, I found substantial oil in them and upon checking the turbo, I found excessive axial play ...necessitating a Sasquatch turbo install as well more money spent on more Silicone hoses. Oh yeah, 2 of the OEM 7v ceramic glow plugs had thrown a DTC and I found broken tips upon replacing the set with Bosch 5v plugs.
In for a penny, in for a pound... and after more searching here to gain insightful techniques into fixing some of my problems, I also decided to do DieselJeepLuvr's modded thermostat upgrade and then also a 3.7 V6 11 blade fan install to keep the radiator running cooler while the engine gets to run a little hotter
Anyhows, that's where I'm at... with about 75% of the work complete, with the remainder ONLY on the "FINALLY put it all back together side!!!" instead of mostly on the "dammit gotta tear it down more" side.
MUCH appreciate the helpful attitudes and quick replies that Ive gotten on this forum so far and am looking to contribute a but more as I get my Jeep AND my health back.