Well, Saturday ended up being really rainy and ugly here. We were about to cancel the VA Beach install/beach party, until Ugg decided to move his motorcycles out into the rain so we could use his 2-car garage for the install.
Hmmm, how to explain the day???
Ugg, SKIDOG, and UVALAX all gathered to help me put junk on my Jeep. What a great bunch of guys I have surrounding me!
We started working around...11ish I guess (can't remember). Anyway, we attacked the Jeep by starting with the Daystar 2" spacer lift (no new struts or full blown CRD Frankenlift...I just got married, no extra funds...just the spacers).
We started with the front driver's side. Pulled the battery and tray and all that little stuff around it. What a pain! That third little nut, you know the one I'm talking about if you've pulled the tray...it's waaaAAAAAAaaay down there. Have a ratchet extension if you're pulling the tray. Have someone that doesn't have big fat hands and arms like me if you're putting it back in. Thanks Richard...you' the man!
So we pull the front driver side all apart and go out to get the spring compressor. Got the last one they had for "rent" (you pay for it, but get your money back when you return it). Came back and...clank, clank, CLANK...arm won't fit in the CRD's spring. Spring too fat. Coils too close together. What to do? Head back out and find another spring compressor. Everyone rents the same one. Had to take the assembly INTO the store and show the guy...clank, clank, CLANK...arm won't fit. "Well," he says as he goes back behind the racks again, "we have this one." Opens a little box and, BANG, there's a spring compressor with thin arms that will fit into CRD spring. Only problem...that one's not for rent...only for sale.
$25 later we're heading back to Ugg’s garage. Compress the spring, figure out after some trial and error that the spacer goes on the BOTTOM…d’oh! Get it all put together and compress it a little further so the nut goes on the top and…squeak squeak squeak…put the nut back on. Can’t find a torque spec for that nut listed anywhere, so we ballpark it. But the torque-wrench keeps saying that it’s at 25lbs…? What’s up with that? Torque wrench broken. Who cares? Don’t know, put it back on the truck.
Get the bolts lined up at top and finger-tighten so the assembly is hanging there and…uh oh….hadn’t noticed that there’s a little tooth on the bottom of the strut that has to line up with the gap on the fork. Ummm, it’s not lined up. Not even close. Okay, remove the assembly and try this again. Ran into REAL problem when we went to remove everything and rotate top plate…
Long story short…stripped stupid brass nut at top of stock strut. Ugg and I pile into his truck and start the search around town for a replacement strut. Find one place that says they can get the nut off. Leave assembly with them and continue search for replacement strut(s).
Can’t get one at the local off-road shop. Oh, they carry Rancho…they just “Can’t get that one.” Nice. Other local off-road shop is closed. All parts stores look at us like we’re crazy…When we asked, “Do you have a strut for an oh-five Jeep Liberty?” we got a good range of responses along the lines of “Why do you need that…worn out already?” Started going into store with, “Do you have a strut for a Liberty? Don’t ask why.”
No one stocks a front strut. Don’t waste your time shopping.
While Ugg and I were shopping, SKIDOG and UVALAX put my skids on, so I still can’t claim to understand nutzerts. Fuel tank skid couldn’t go on because I backed over the trashcan and bent my rear muffler hanger. That will have to wait.
I was about to give up and resign myself to not having a car for a few days when it dawns on us all the SKIDOG just put a Frankenlift on his Renegade. That means he has two assemblies, WITH STOCK STRUTS, sitting at his house.
Go back to place that's taking the existing assembly apart and the guy goes, "We got it put together for you." Mike and I stand there for a moment, confused. Then he shows me that his tech got the stripped nut screwed down onto the strut good and tight.
But I wanted it off.
I thought you wanted it on...
Nope, pretty sure I need it off.
If I get it off, it won't go back on.
I know.
You're sure.
Yep.
bbZZZZZT!
You're sure you want me to leave it like that?
Yep.
Here ya go. No charge (shrug).
…time leap...
Front end gets done and now is part Renegade.
After that fiasco, we’re on a roll…it’s only taken 8 hours by this point, and I’ve only received three “where are you? Why is it taking so long?” calls from my wife…but who’s counting?
After we put the lifted assemblies back into/onto my truck, we go to put the engine bay back together. What a MESS! If you’ve never had the pleasure, the CRD engine bay is really fun to work around, let me tell you. Whew! Putting all the stuff back together on the passenger side was really fun. Let’s see, screw this here, jam this here…the airbox attaches to WHAT? Let’s go look at Ugg’s CRD bay and see how things are SUPPOSED to fit.
It’s getting late, so UVALAX heads back to Richmond. Ugg takes on the airbox while SKIDOG and I start working on the rear spacers.
Backs were easy. Lift it, jackstand it, lift axle, unbolt, lover axle, insert spacer...push down on axle and insert...okay, STAND on axle and insert...alright, two of us stand on axle and innnNNNSERT (boinnnNNNNnng) spacer, put everything back together. Done done and done. Time to go home…finally. 10PM. Whew! What a day.
Truck feels great at this height! More like a truck! I LOVE IT!!!
To finish off the day, I stop at grocery on the way home for dog food. Come back out, get in truck, start ‘er up and…CEL. Nothing feels or sounds strange, so I chug out to the road. Pull out on the road and punch it (one of my favorite things to do in the CRD) and……ummmm…how do I explain the sensation??? Well, I’ll put it this way…I now know EXACTLY what a KJ would perform like if it were powered by a 2.8liter diesel motor WITHOUT A TURBO.
Great.
Tired of working on it. Sunday was too beautiful and I live on the beach. I took it to Jeep service bay on Monday morning and said, “Here, fix it.” They took it in and gave me a Dodge 1500 crew cab to drive while they played with my KJ. Nice truck, same tranny as my CRD. As an interesting side note…I made THAT engine/tranny combination do the “studder” too. Funny. Hard acceleration and then back off to 1/4 throttle...chugga chugga chugga what gear am I supposed to be in???
Anyway, turns out that, according to the Jeep tech…
Boost pressure solenoid valve vacuum reservoir main vacuum connection hose pinched and the hose loom was routed under a bracket for the cruise control and caused the pinch. 2 codes in the ECM: P0100 MAF sensor signal and P0299 for boost pressure sensor positive deviation. Boost pressure code was active and the MAF sensor code was stored. Performed diagnostics on hoist using the DRB3 and the powertrain diagnostics for the code P0299 (attached to RO) and followed the instructions. I checked the entire vehicles connections for everything from vacuum to air intake connections and hoses and removed half of the air intake hoses to check hoses for leaks and or cracks and loose connections. I found during the inspection of the vacuum hoses that the boost pressure solenoid vacuum reservoir main vacuum in line was pinched downward by the way the hoses were routed. I removed the air filter housing assembly and turbo intake hoses and rerouted these vacuum lines. I cleared all codes and reinstalled all parts removed.
So, if you’re doing a lift on a CRD in your garage…take a bunch of pictures of the engine bay and make sure everything goes back together EXACTLY as it was before you started.
Got lucky...fixed under warranty. I love Halls Jeep in VA Beach! They didn't even say anything about the lift!
BTW, I love the lift!!! Woohoo!! Thanks for all the help Mike, Richard and Mike!! And, for anyone that needs a spring compressor that fits the CRD front spring, I’m going to start renting it out. Rental options are completely debatable and range from “Free” to “Front Strut From 05 Renegade” (let me know when you’re done Mike
).
I’ll post picts soon…hopefully.
From what I can see, lift looks mean 
...glad things worked out for you.
