please help

mk38tech · **Joined:** Thu Dec 08, 2011 7:25 pm **Posts:** 72

i just now registered for this site. and i see no search option. i need help asap if i can get it. long story short i bought the crd about 3k miles back, maybe 4 weeks ago. a few days ago i felt the drive belt snap on my way home, opened hood, and ofcourse the accessory belt was shredded, due to a idler pulley meltdown. replacement pulley and belt ordered. tried to put in the new belt, no go. 40 deg outside. didnt think it would shrink that bad. couldnt get the tensioner to give enough slack to clear the idler pulley so torqued it a little more, not thinking that the idiots that designed this thing would actually use threads on a bolt, through a pulley tensioner. (use to my cummins and every other tensioner on the road that has a 3/8 drive slot) so of course i felt a small snap, and now i have no more threads for the SIZE 15 BOLT which should take atleast 150 FT LBS lol. the threads must be about 1/4 inch at the most. i cant see it cause i lost my mirror. my question is how hard is this thing to replace? because i dont see much on it in this service manual, and 2, would tapping this hole with a 1/4 npt tap work with another bolt if i found one? the wall housing on the back of the tensioner where this bolt "threads into" is very very weak. my truck is down because im waiting on parts, and this jeep is my so called reliable daily driver. i need to have a plan by tomorrow morning or im going to have to have geico tow this thing to the dealership and rape me on labor charges. please share advice. thanks yall

audiboy86 · **Posted:** Thu Dec 08, 2011 11:24 pm

Well first of all welcome and check out sam's noob guide in CRD tech section Sam's Noob Guide it has the full repair manual for the CRD. Also alot of easy mods that will keep your CRD in the road. But it is not a ussual thing for the Pulley to just melt down by itself. Most of the time either the alternator pulley goes with it or in a few case the compressor pulley usually before it causing the tensionor to fail. But if i am understanding you correctly if you can get the bolt out replacing it with another shouldn't be a problem. Also don't torque the bolt attached to the block move your wrench to the one in the center of the pulley it will allow the arm to move and the belt to be set on. I would suggest a breaker bar to do this with just one install it with one. Also when you get your new one install it and the belt before removing the little silve bar installed in it or you will be kicking yourself. Also check your e-mail the administrators on this site are sometimes alittle slow but ussually it to you in a few days.

mk38tech · **Joined:** Thu Dec 08, 2011 7:25 pm **Posts:** 72

what your explaining is what i did. the 15mm bolt through the tensioner pulley, has no where to thread into. i torqued it with a breaker bar and i was about a half inch away from getting the belt over the last pulley and i felt a snap on the bolt. there's (what use to be) what looks like about 2 or 3 MM worth of threads in the back of the tensioner arm where the bolt threaded into. its probably soft aluminum. the only choice i would have is to take my 1/4 inch npt tap and re-thread the hole, but if its made out of some horrible soft aluminum then there's no room for improvement, because the new bolt would be even bigger. im going to have to call a tow truck and have them take it to chrystler and let them put a new one on. which im hoping will be a different, more durable tensioner. i work on all my own vehicles, so i can see this problem happening again with a new tensioner. i need to find out whats behind the tensioner and how hard it is to replace. if i can get it out easily, i can attempt to put some filler in the bolt hole and thread me a stronger bolt hole with a bigger bolt. i would be willing to pay serious money for a tensioner with a 3/8 drive slot like the other libertys have. ill have to keep looking at the service manual and decide within a few hours so chrystler can order the part if need be

Squeeto · **Posted:** Fri Dec 09, 2011 12:09 pm

mk38tech wrote:

i torqued it with a breaker bar and i was about a half inch away from getting the belt over the last pulley and i felt a snap on the bolt.

It shouldn't require that much force to replace the accessory belt.

I see that you finished on a pulley but I find the best way is to feed the belt through its entire route skipping the idler at the top center. The 15 mm goes on the left bottom tensioner (idler) and the tool pulled toward the battery. Finally slip the belt over the last idler.

Excuse me if you know most of this. I sometimes write for others that may find this later.

mk38tech · **Joined:** Thu Dec 08, 2011 7:25 pm **Posts:** 72

yeah thats what the service manual here says. i tried both that and using the alternator as the last pulley which is how i do it on the cummins. but like i said it was 40 deg outside which shouldnt make that big of a difference. but i finished, trying to get the steering pump pulley off(the one that has 3 10mm bolts) and i couldnt get it off to remove the tensioner that i had already freed up. just didnt want to come out without bending something. so i called the tow truck and they took it off. they originally quoted me 50 dollars for labor. not bad. i was kind of happy. then when they got the jeep up there i called them again and the service guy was like yeah its going to be 260 something. apparently the idiot from before didnt read the big letters on his computer screen that said 2.8L DIESEL!!! pos. anyway, when the mechanic shows up on monday to do the work hes going to be pretty excited to see EVERYthing already done. all he will have to do is remove the last 10mm bolt that i couldnt get lose and pop a new tensioner in. thats the part that pisses me off the most lol :banghead:

audiboy86 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 10, 2011 2:36 am

Yeah well don't give up on the CRD like alot do they are wonderful little complicated machines. But when they run good they are wonderful and why better then any gasser. Also mk38tech where are you located there aren't alot of CRDs out there but there is atleast a few in every state. Most of us are more then willing to help and have atleast alittle more experience with this motor. Also if anything we can point you to mechanics that we trust that understand these italian deisels.

mk38tech · **Joined:** Thu Dec 08, 2011 7:25 pm **Posts:** 72

i am in pensacola florida. im as far west as u can get in the state. yeah the cummins forum has a map where u can locate people near u and i have made some friends around here because of it. but this site seems to be alot different so ill have to keep searching around. and hey... i paid over 16 grand for this 05 liberty. trust me. it aint going anywhere except down the highway getting 34 mpg and up, as well as crawling up hills and mountains. i took it up to georgia for thanksgiving and i drove around in the hills in 2wd and i had to try to get the tires to spin with wet grass. this service manual is on dvd and i cant see anything on it yet till i get my new computer but the way it handled im guessing it has a locker in the rear

audiboy86 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 10, 2011 3:24 pm

Unless it has and aftermarket it just has a posi-trac rear end in it all i can say is just be glad you have and 05 no interferring esp like alot of the 06's have. And we do have some support in flordia http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=75 here is there offical forum for flordia. There should be a few members in your area or close that should be more then a few members willing to give you some technical support.

papaindigo · **Posted:** Sun Dec 11, 2011 2:41 pm

mk38tech - as you can see by my signature I'm not that far east of you. The site search function is a link just below the banner an on the right side of the screen. If you use that function be sure to limit your search for CRD specific stuff to this forum not the entire LOST world. A better option for searching is to use the Google advanced search and target this forum.

As to the FSM the 2005 version lacks the diagnostic sections as they were published separately in 2005. I can send you PDF versions if you shoot me an email. Alternatively you can download a 2006 FSM from Sams NOOB link as the diagnostic sections were included in the 2006 FSM.

Hoosier CRD · **Posted:** Tue Dec 13, 2011 8:35 am

[quote="mk38tech"] "yeah the cummins forum has a map where u can locate people near u and i have made some friends around here because of it. but this site seems to be alot different so ill have to keep searching around."

Well, mk38tech, leave if you wish, but I think that it would be a big mistake. Liberty CRDs are rare enough as to garner few websites like this one. Personally, I have found this site to be a braintrust with information in abundance if one takes the time to read it. Many, many people here have alot of experience with this model of Jeep, diesels in general and even with the Dodge Ram w/Cummins engines.

Recall your original post (OP): It is quite likely that while you had a specific problem and described it well, no one had encountered the issue previously, therefore nothing of any worth to offer. Given that you posted at 7:45PM and were looking for an action plan from us that night (about a nanosecond in web forum terms) it is quite likely you set a litmus test for this site, and the members on it, that was rather impossible to pass.

Granted, many of the members here post often and well into the evening, (speaking only from my perspective) we are not rabid posters who eat, live and breathe the Jeep Liberty CRD and everything that it entails.

Personally, I find that many a Dodge/Cummins guy can get very in depth with their truck and have alot of hands-on experience. That description can be quite unlike that of a Liberty CRD owner. However, I have also read of examples where owners have helped each other with problems, timing belt changes, etc. and many other topics and have often driven to each others house in order to do so.

Too, many a Cummins guy has little if any experience with the CRD. Many have never heard of it, let alone ever seen one up close. I work in the diesel industry and speak to techs every day. I drive my Liberty CRD for the job.

In short, don't be so fast to write us off. In my opinion, it is highly unlikely that you will find a better group of Liberty CRD owners on the web.

For what it's worth,

Hoosier CRD

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