I need some help...

My Jeep was at the dealer about a week and a half ago because of a loss of power. They diagnosed and fixed the problem. It was a bad mass airflow sensor and a busted hose. They returned the Jeep and everything worked fine. Then, one and a half weeks later, my wife is driving it and the electrical all starts going out. Lights, radio, etc. She shuts it down and it won't start back up. She goes to get someone to jump her off, they open the hood and find out that the oil cap is not in place. Note that the hood had not been opened by myself or any other person since receiving it from the dealer. Since the oil cap was off, and the oil filler is located right next to the alternator, oil had been spraying all over the engine bay and into the alternator for all this time. This caused the alternator to go bad and in turn the battery to run dead. We had the Jeep towed to the dealership. The dealer confirmed that it was a dead alternator and battery. However, the dealer is refusing any responsiblity and wants us to pay the repairs.

As I was typing, the service manager called...

He says that the alternator is dead due to a bad bearing and that there was not any oil in the alternator. They want $417 for an alternator and $259 for the battery plus labor to install.

I have already called Jeep and they were of no help. They basically noted that I called and reported my issue and then told me to talk to the service manager, who I them informed them I had already spoken with, then they said to get in touch with the district manager but that I would have to call the dealer back to get his number.

Is there anything else I can do?

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2005 Liberty CRD Limited - SOLD
2004 Toyota 4Runner SR5
2000 Grand Prix GTP

What happen to your 7 years 70,000 miles warrenty? Can you prove that they left the oil cap off? Why would the battery be bad if it only went dead because of the alternator?

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2006 Black Jeep Liberty CRD Limited
K&N, Samco Hoses, Michelin 245/70-16 LTX A/T2, Fumoto F-102, V-Force Muffler, Mopar, Hitch, Trailer Wiring, Skid Plates, Slush Mats, Rear Shelf, Predator Stage 1, Transgo, ORM & CodeReader, Facet 40109 Pump
"IT'S A DIESEL THING, YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND"
Certified Services Auto & Truck Repair

The 7/70 is only powertrain.

There were two other people standing around when my wife opened the hood.

I've heard that those Optima batteries won't recharge if run down too far. The dealer hooked it up to their computer and it said to replace it, not to charge and retest.

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2005 Liberty CRD Limited - SOLD
2004 Toyota 4Runner SR5
2000 Grand Prix GTP

What BlackLiberty said. If they serviced it they broke it because they didn't replace the cap. If it failed on it's own then it was a warranty issue. I believe the RedTop is a 3 year unconditional warranty in any case so battery manufacture should replace it if the dealer will not.

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Dave

'06 CRD Limited, Lt. Khaki, MOPAR Slush Mats/Skids, DrawTite Front Hitch, Mag Lite, Yakima Bars, Thule Bike Rack, Fumoto, ORM, 245/70 Revo 2

Wish list: Lift, Boulder Bars, Something Bigger in the Front and Back, More Lights

Are you still within the 3 year 36,000 miles part of the warrenty?

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2006 Black Jeep Liberty CRD Limited
K&N, Samco Hoses, Michelin 245/70-16 LTX A/T2, Fumoto F-102, V-Force Muffler, Mopar, Hitch, Trailer Wiring, Skid Plates, Slush Mats, Rear Shelf, Predator Stage 1, Transgo, ORM & CodeReader, Facet 40109 Pump
"IT'S A DIESEL THING, YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND"
Certified Services Auto & Truck Repair

The dealer is saying The oil had nothing to do with the failure, So the Alt. just failed and had nothing to do with the missing oil cap regaurdless of who left it off right. That tells me the warrenty should cover it. Unless your warrenty is out, If so I wouldn't get one from the dealer, I would go the aftermarket route, Much cheaper.

The Battery should be fine if you don't leave it dead for a couple of weeks. And it is under a three year warrenty anyway.

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Curtis
Lost # 3914
2006 CRD Limited
Sp Diesel Module
Samco Boost Hoses
K&N Performance Air Filter
Straight Pipe (No muffler)
SEGR
Mopar Skids
Cummins In Tank Lift Pump
245/70R 16 Wild Country AT's

I am out of the 36,000 mile warranty. I am currently at 46,XXX.

I was looking at aftermarket and I can't seem to find one anywhere online? Where can I get one? Part number, price?

How to I go about getting the battery replaced since the 3 year warranty is from the manufacturer, not Jeep?

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2005 Liberty CRD Limited - SOLD
2004 Toyota 4Runner SR5
2000 Grand Prix GTP

http://c-comp.com/product_info.php?products_id=243

Heavy duty alternator

http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=22776&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=alternator

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2005 CRD "Ol' Blue"
Red Ryder carbine-action, two hundred shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time.
My build page- RL Komodo Rear and TJM Front Bumper, armored, lifted, JBA Steel D30, 4.10s and ARB air lockers.

As for the Optima battery, I would go to a store that sell them and ask how to get warrenty. Maybe they would be able to do it or give you or the number to the manafacture. I would try to see if it would take a charge first, I bet that it's still OK.

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2006 Black Jeep Liberty CRD Limited
K&N, Samco Hoses, Michelin 245/70-16 LTX A/T2, Fumoto F-102, V-Force Muffler, Mopar, Hitch, Trailer Wiring, Skid Plates, Slush Mats, Rear Shelf, Predator Stage 1, Transgo, ORM & CodeReader, Facet 40109 Pump
"IT'S A DIESEL THING, YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND"
Certified Services Auto & Truck Repair

I spoke with Optima, they said the dealer should replace the battery. So I am back to working with the dealer on this...

On the alternator, I spoke with Advance Auto Parts and they informed me that it is a dealer only part. I would like to order the aftermarket Mean Green one, but I am a bit short on funds right now. Heck, I just send five hundred something less than two weeks ago on this Jeep. So, I tracked down a used one by using [url]car-part.com[/url]. They are right here in town and will have the part tomorrow for $200 with a 1 year warranty.

Anyway, it looks like I may get out of this for only a few hundred bucks!

Thank you to everyone for the fast and helpful replies. This forum is really kick stupid. Unfortunately, I am seriously considering selling this Jeep now... I really really love the vehicle and so does my wife, but I just can't deal with have to spend this much money fixing it all the time. Plus, looking on AutoTrader, it seems that I could get a few dollars more than I owe on it.

Thanks again!

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2005 Liberty CRD Limited - SOLD
2004 Toyota 4Runner SR5
2000 Grand Prix GTP

You could always get the alternator rebuilt?

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Ryan
2006 Ford F-250 PSD CC FX4
**GONE**
2005 Jeep Liberty CRD
SAMCO Hoses//GDE Tune//PML Trans Pan//TransGo HD Shift Kit//MBRP Exhaust

1986 2R Mustang SVO

Don't let the dealer keep the old alternator, it is yours and could be rebuilt in the future. The dealer would use the core for profit and not tell you anything about it.

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2006 Black Jeep Liberty CRD Limited
K&N, Samco Hoses, Michelin 245/70-16 LTX A/T2, Fumoto F-102, V-Force Muffler, Mopar, Hitch, Trailer Wiring, Skid Plates, Slush Mats, Rear Shelf, Predator Stage 1, Transgo, ORM & CodeReader, Facet 40109 Pump
"IT'S A DIESEL THING, YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND"
Certified Services Auto & Truck Repair

Awesome, thank you for the advice. How much does it cost to rebuild an alternator? What kind of shop would do the work?

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2005 Liberty CRD Limited - SOLD
2004 Toyota 4Runner SR5
2000 Grand Prix GTP

Big 2nd on this.

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http://www.Colorado4Wheel.com
"Its not about what you can DO with your Jeep, its about where you can GO with your Jeep."
Knowledgeable - But Caustic

There is a few local alternators and starters shops that make big money rebuilding both. Small trucks and cars not much money is made, but larger trucks and equipment it is a gold mine. They usally cost half the cost of a new one and some even give very good warrenty. You can check your local yellow pages under automotive or truck parts and supplies.

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2006 Black Jeep Liberty CRD Limited
K&N, Samco Hoses, Michelin 245/70-16 LTX A/T2, Fumoto F-102, V-Force Muffler, Mopar, Hitch, Trailer Wiring, Skid Plates, Slush Mats, Rear Shelf, Predator Stage 1, Transgo, ORM & CodeReader, Facet 40109 Pump
"IT'S A DIESEL THING, YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND"
Certified Services Auto & Truck Repair

The last time I got a alternator there was a core charge (for my wife's car) It was a bit, can't recall, that I would have to pay if I wanted to keep the old one.
Yuo better chech into that one...

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05 CRD Owner. Diesel good. Gas bad.

If the Optima battery is completely dead, it will take at min. a 7 amp charging rate to recharge it.

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08 Elantra SE daily driver
2001 F-250 powerstroke

I still can't figure out why we have a different Alt. on our CRD's then the gasser jeeps. The Amp output is close enough, and the Rpm difference doesn't mean anything ethier. A simple change of the pulley on the Alt. will get the Rpm's where they need to be. It a simple matter of working out the Needed ratio.

When mine fails that will be my plan of attack.

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Curtis
Lost # 3914
2006 CRD Limited
Sp Diesel Module
Samco Boost Hoses
K&N Performance Air Filter
Straight Pipe (No muffler)
SEGR
Mopar Skids
Cummins In Tank Lift Pump
245/70R 16 Wild Country AT's

I talked to an alternator rebuild shop here in town that does great work at reasonable prices. He said if its just bad bearings that would cost aprox $65. He said it's highly possible the oil bath has destroyed internal parts in the alternator, he's seen it before and he said if thats the case your looking at about $200.

I don't no where you live but if your near Cape Girardeau MO they are very honest people to deal with.

AS I've mentioned elsewhere in the forum. The idler pulley arm had, for lack of a better vocabulary, a detent in its travel; meaning that the pressure it provided to the belt was not uniformly increasing or decreasing as you pushed or pulled it through its travel arc. This caused a vibration, ate the bearings in the alternator and wore the serpentine belt. The only way it could be diagnosed was by putting the alternator under FULL load.

As for why a different alternator. I bet our little rig has a higher current demand. I don't know about the fuel rail but the fuel heater that stays on until 85F ambient temperature would increase the overall amp-pull on the system. The glow plugs stay on even while running if they need to. I better our computer and diagnostic system pulls a little more too. I don't know if the 3.7's have the electric fan we have for our AC either. Anyway, the gasser probably does not have the need for our alternator.

Hope this helps,
Boiler

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2005 CRD Sport - "Blackie"
Tow Package
Trac Loc
GDE EcoTune w/ unl torque
Goodyear Wrangler SilentArmor Tires
over 192,000+ miles
100k mile service performed
5V Glow Plugs Installed and ECM updated