2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited 89k Miles....advice? offers?

NBFNJ · **Joined:** Mon Feb 11, 2013 2:02 pm **Posts:** 2

Well the other day while out on the turnpike to pick some things up with my dad in his 2005 Liberty CRD Limited we had smelled the distinct smell of gear oil. after stopping i noticed the underside covered in oil but we did not hear any grinding so we limped the jeep home and this morning he took it to the dealership.....they called to inform us the internals of the front differential apparently exploded, which in turn cracked the housing spraying the gear oil everywhere. Not sure what initially caused this but at this point they estimate it to be roughly $3,000 to repair and thats a hefty bill that my dad isnt sure he wants to take on. I know many diesel enthusiasts might be interested in the vehicle, and am looking to find out for him what it might be worth to someone, has a GDE eco tune (gets a nice AVERAGE of 27mpg, thats a mix of highway and city), 89,000 miles, full leather interior, sunroof, heated seats, 6-disc changer, just about every option available from the factory was installed, also has a blue ox tow plate for if you plan to town behind a Motorhome or anything else. Absolutely gorgeous jeep, and its a shame to even have to ask what its value might be to someone else but thats what we are looking for. has not had its timing belt done just for those who are curious. there are pictures available, just ask and i can email them. so if anyone could help with what you think the value of this is around if anyone was looking to buy just about amint fully loaded CRD? everything was all up to date on service and this happened....offers? if you want pictures pm me your email

arengant · **Posted:** Mon Feb 11, 2013 6:03 pm

100 dollars for parts plus shipping, if you can install it yourself (a member on jeepkj.com is selling a whole front diff)

KEEP THE JEEP!

ATXKJ · **Posted:** Mon Feb 11, 2013 8:43 pm

pull the front driveshaft and CV's - run it in 2wd until you're ready to fix it
(a couple of folks have done that for months while they collect pieces)

as noted above - lightly used parts are available for a reasonable price
(same front Diff is used in all 02-07 Liberty's - although the 4cy gas had 4.10 instead of 3.73)

thermorex · **Posted:** Mon Feb 11, 2013 9:49 pm

I agree with the fellows that advice you to fix it yourself, not worth to sell it, especially if the engine runs good. If the dealer asks for 3k in repair, than the parts brand new cant be more than max 1000. Just keep in mind that the gasser kj has a slight different front diff (crd's is aluminum and a bit shorter due to engine size). But I think that diff case is intact, isn't it? Or worse case go to a different shop and ask for a quote, any average joe can fix a diff if is qualified and not retarded.

jamesdart · **Joined:** Wed Oct 06, 2010 4:41 pm **Posts:** 53

pm sent

racertracer · **Posted:** Mon Feb 11, 2013 10:53 pm

where is this Jeep Located?

arengant · **Posted:** Mon Feb 11, 2013 11:29 pm

thermorex wrote:

I agree with the fellows that advice you to fix it yourself, not worth to sell it, especially if the engine runs good. If the dealer asks for 3k in repair, than the parts brand new cant be more than max 1000. Just keep in mind that the gasser kj has a slight different front diff (crd's is aluminum and a bit shorter due to engine size). But I think that diff case is intact, isn't it? Or worse case go to a different shop and ask for a quote, any average joe can fix a diff if is qualified and not retarded.

I thought they were the same, just the cradle was different....

thermorex · **Posted:** Tue Feb 12, 2013 12:18 am

When I looked at it, a while ago, maybe 2 years or so, when changing the front diff oil, I have noticed it is aluminum. I said what the heck, then I start google-ing. From what I remember (but I'll admit, I was wrong before, lol) it is shorter than the gasser, that is made from steel, like a normal diff. They (jeep) made it from aluminum because the engine is too tall compared with the gas v6 and the steel diff wouldn't clear the engine. There are some steel brackets/reinforcements at the end of the diff, where the axles get in, to reinforce the weak aluminum.

When I was looking into this, I remember people posting solutions like lift kits (think something like 6 inch) with a drop for diff, so you can use the gasser differential, but since liberty is not a stellar offroad anyways, unless you start axle conversions, transfer case, etc, I dropped the idea.

jamesdart · **Joined:** Wed Oct 06, 2010 4:41 pm **Posts:** 53

The housing should be specific to the crd if it has 1 cv axle that is specific to the crd liberty. the other side is the same length as a gasser

arengant · **Posted:** Tue Feb 12, 2013 12:40 am

jamesdart wrote:

The housing should be specific to the crd if it has 1 cv axle that is specific to the crd liberty. the other side is the same length as a gasser

i always thought the housings are the same (basically) the CV's are different because the axle is lower and to the drivers side. Thus creating disctances to the knuckles that are different from the CRD and gasser. The CRADLE is different for 100% sure... Of course I haven't seen them side by side so an expert should be along soon, I do know that JBA makes a unit that fits both types of KJ

NBFNJ · **Joined:** Mon Feb 11, 2013 2:02 pm **Posts:** 2

sorry for not getting back to everyone faster but I work 2nd shift and just got home. my dad called me later on in the day while I was at work and told the shop to do the job and change the differential out. the price came out to just over $2k because there was a whole bunch of other stuff that "they wanted to change" in their original quote. something like do full flushes on all fluids, change out the whole fuel filter/water separator assembly and sensors (mainly because we know the water sensor is starting to act up, but they want to change out entire assembly) so he told them only the differential with cv's...anyways, he said he was still somewhat interested in selling just because whenever something goes on the jeep it puts him minimum $2500 in the hole. the jeep is by no means a lemon (lets admit these crd's have their quirks) but it always ends up being something fairly expensive and as him and my mom get closer to retirement he wants a smaller vehicle to tow behind the RV and something that gets much much better fuel mileage. pictures will be coming soon. I wish I was able to buy it cuz its so much nicer than my own. i'll keep updating. located in central nj, Middlesex county.

arengant · **Posted:** Tue Feb 12, 2013 3:15 am

NBFNJ wrote:

sorry for not getting back to everyone faster but I work 2nd shift and just got home. my dad called me later on in the day while I was at work and told the shop to do the job and change the differential out. the price came out to just over $2k because there was a whole bunch of other stuff that "they wanted to change" in their original quote. something like do full flushes on all fluids, change out the whole fuel filter/water separator assembly and sensors (mainly because we know the water sensor is starting to act up, but they want to change out entire assembly) so he told them only the differential with cv's...anyways, he said he was still somewhat interested in selling just because whenever something goes on the jeep it puts him minimum $2500 in the hole. the jeep is by no means a lemon (lets admit these crd's have their quirks) but it always ends up being something fairly expensive and as him and my mom get closer to retirement he wants a smaller vehicle to tow behind the RV and something that gets much much better fuel mileage. pictures will be coming soon. I wish I was able to buy it cuz its so much nicer than my own. i'll keep updating. located in central nj, Middlesex county.

Good luck with the sale!

These CRD's are only worth owning if you can do the work yourself, or know of a GOOD shop that is NOT a dealership.

2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited 89k Miles....advice? offers?

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