05 Limited CRD Rebuild

03black · **Posted:** Mon Dec 21, 2020 2:00 pm

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to everyone,

Just a small update, installed a carter in-tank fuel pump and took 2 wires from the 05 gas harness and transplanted them into my CRD harness. I had to extend the wires about 5" in length to have ever wire in the harness the same length. Put the additional length of wire on the in-cab side of the connector (solder them and heat shrink) to keep them out of the elements. While i was at it, fixed and extended the rear diff mounted speed sensor (for the eventual lift) and the cracked connector. Cleaned up the whole harness and replaced any missing wire loom.

For the pump, I got a new Ram diesel pump that had a broken sending sensor for $50! So I just dissected my old sending unit and sensor and de-pinned the wires at the connector, and transplanted it into the new unit. Made sure that the contacts were cleaned at both the pins and the sensor resisting board. Put in the CRD float arm and installed unit into the tank with a new o-ring. As with everyone else, I cut off a portion of the index tab so that I could align the pump in same orientation as the original.

Turned the key to on and the pump ran for 30secs and I checked for leaks. None were found so raised the tank and installed the straps. Turned the key and allowed pump to run, bleed the air out fuel system at the filter head and she started right up.

You can barley hear the pump running inside the cab, it is noticeable outside the cab before starting though so a good indication if the pump ever fails. But jeeps runs a bit smoother and best of all no more air in the system!

Next up on the docket, tackle the oil leak/trans leak. Tired of having to put cardboard down to keep the driveway clean uggg :cry:

WWDiesel · **Posted:** Mon Dec 21, 2020 2:50 pm

Good Job! Your Jeep will love you for the intank fuel pump! Lots of benefits. :BANANA:

Now you can add a 2 micron secondary fuel filter if you desire. I got the kit if you need one.

03black · **Posted:** Mon Dec 21, 2020 3:49 pm

WWDiesel wrote:

Good Job! Your Jeep will love you for the intank fuel pump! Lots of benefits. :BANANA:

Now you can add a 2 micron secondary fuel filter if you desire. I got the kit if you need one.

Thanks WW, I might do the upgrade, when other funds allow. Almost complete with completing the little annoying things on this tractor. Hopefully when those are all knocked out, I can start the real modifications!

03black · **Posted:** Tue Jan 19, 2021 7:47 pm

Ok, so New Year, new fixes.

I'll will tell you, anyone that is looking at doing a rear main seal change on a CRD is in for a real treat...NOT!

My saga...took out the transmission, and looked at the T50 Flex plate bolts, seemed pretty easy to remove but once I started I ended up breaking who knows how many T50 bits. In the end, I could not get 1 of them out and I ended up using a cut off wheel to split the head and then use a hammer and cold chisel to get the dam bolt off. Of course this meant that I accidently cut into (not all the way) the flex plate so ended up ordering a new one of those as well as a new bolt.

Next came the flex plate hub adapter. 6 of the 8 bolts came out. The other 2, the heads stripped off and I ended up having to get a set of bolt extractor sockets and hammer the socket onto the bolts and then they finally came out with a breaker bar...ordered 2 new bolts

Took off the rear main bearing support plate (was covered in oil and grime) and found the o-ring was stretched out and not a very good fit. Oh and the top 2 bolts were not tight. I would say they were finger tight at best. Might explain why the o-ring...idk

Other than those 2 problems, the seal change was uneventful. Changed the main seal and the 2 each o-rings (1 on the rear main bearing support plate, blue in color, 1 in between the thrust washers before the rear main seal went on, black in color).

Put the rear bearing support plate back on and torqued the 3 of the 5 bolts to 27ft lbs with orange lock tight (orange lock tight has the holding power of red, but the faster removal of blue) for good insurance. The other 2 would not torque so I ended up replacing them with new grade 10.9 bolts from the hardware store. New bolts got the same treatment as the other 3.

Installed new RMS and then used the hub adapter to "seat" it in place using the bolts by alternating the tightening sequence in a star pattern. Once seated, torqued all bolts to the initial torqued (37ft lbs if I recall correctly) and then 1 by 1 backed them out and torqued to 19lbs plus 60 degrees. Well at least I think it was 60 degrees, I didn't have an angle indicated device. Ended up torque them to 70ft lbs with orange lock tight.

Installed new flex plate and installed bolts to the prescribed torque with orange lock tight. Installed transmission/transfer case and since I was already under there, dropped the pan for inspection and changed the filters with 2 new Mopar filters, sealed up transmission pan with Permatex gasket maker and let it sit over night. Filled with new ATF+4 trans fluid the next day to just a bit over full on the hot side mark of the dipstick.

Been driving it around the last few days and the trans is shifting fine and there are no unusual noises from the bell housing area..so must mean I did something right.

Does not seem to be leaking any more oil or trans fluid which is good but I am now noticing a bit of diesel fuel dripping from the rear left corner of the trans pan...WTF Not much just a few drips....Anyone have an idea were to look for a possible leak in that area?

Onto the next adventure....

03black · **Posted:** Tue Jan 19, 2021 10:47 pm

Ok, found the diesel leak....its the #4 Injector leaking around the housing and then running down the onto the bell housing then down the transmission. :banghead:

Anyone have an good injector their willing to part with or know if it can be rebuilt?

thesameguy · **Joined:** Sat Oct 01, 2016 8:24 pm **Posts:** 652

Very interesting experience... Very closely mimics mine, with stretched out oring, loose carrier bolts, and carrier bolts that wouldn't tighten. Hopefully yours end up in better shape than mine all said and done!

03black · **Posted:** Wed Jan 20, 2021 12:01 am

thesameguy wrote:

Very interesting experience... Very closely mimics mine, with stretched out oring, loose carrier bolts, and carrier bolts that wouldn't tighten. Hopefully yours end up in better shape than mine all said and done!

Yeah I've been watching your thread progress and I must say, your doing a way better job with your engine with a pretty much a rebuilt engine and all. So I think yours will be in better shape...good job to you sir!

thesameguy · **Joined:** Sat Oct 01, 2016 8:24 pm **Posts:** 652

Based on the initial test drive I'm not so certain it will, but hope springs eternal.

03black · **Posted:** Mon Mar 01, 2021 2:11 pm

so have an update(s) for everyone

Finally got the jeep off the stands and running around again. Rear main seal still seems to be holding well, but I had oil coming out of the block off plate I made at the FCV. So took off the v-band clamp/block off plate and used RTV gasket maker and re-clamped it. Hopefully this will seal this up and prevent oil dripping down the starter. On another note, guess my provent filter is not filtering out the oil as it should, I'll have to reexamine that again.

As for the fuel leak on the #4 injector, I found the fuel hardline adapter at the injector was not very tight when I took out the injector, so I took it off, cleaned it up real good and applied some thread sealant and then tighten it back down making sure the small washer was in before tightening down the adapter and a new copper crush washer at the tip. Reinstalled the injector and it seem to be holding well, no fuel leaks. I'll drive it around and monitor it.

Next...the lift kit

03black · **Posted:** Mon Mar 01, 2021 2:13 pm

Lift...

With all that done, I wanted to get the lift kit transferred from the gas liberty over to the diesel liberty with some slight differences. I have the JBA adjust-a-strut (coilovers) with their own clevis forks and CRD rated springs. I wanted to see if I could prevent/mitigate any potential clevis fork and CV joint contact and minimize joint binding. So I had a machine shop mill down some clevis fork adapters to screw onto the bottom of the shock out of 3” steel round stock. Basically looks like a big metal plug with a lip so it doesn’t slip through the clevis and threaded tap hole for the shock to screw into.

Took off the JBA clevis fork, screwed on the adapters with some thread locker and then mounted them to some cast KK clevis fork I had laying around. I did have to grind out about 1/8” on the bottom leg ends to where it mounts/bolts to the lower control arm clevis bushing. Installation was the same as any strut/shock assembly.

Next, I read up a lot on cradle drops and since I had the front end torn apart already to install a set of 4:10 front diff gears, thought I would give this try too. Fabbed up a some 1/2” x 2”W x 10”L plates to drop the front cradle down by 1/2”. Install was pretty much straight forward, hold engine up with a jack and rubber pad, mark the cradle to frame for reference marks, loosen all 4 bolts and one side at time remove the bolts and install the plates (1 plate for the front, 1 plate for the rear). Tighten/torqued all 4 cradle bolts back down. I did not have to mess with the steering linkage or the bolts.

In addition, I wanted to offset the motor dropping down by the 1/2” so I fabbed up a couple of 1/4" x 1.5”W x2”L steel plate to go between the motor mount and engine mount bracket. Drilled two holes (1 for the thread stud and 1 for the anti-rotation pin). Worked out pretty good, raised the motor back up by 1/4”” and the nut still has 2 threads protruding through but I put lock tight on it just in case.

So since I dropped the cradle down by 1/2”, I need to drop the transmission and transfer case down by as much to eliminate any driveline vibrations. So fabbed up some more 1/2” x 5”w x 6”L plates to go between the trans cross members and body mount.

The rear of the lift is your standard OME 948 springs with a total of 3 upper iso pads but I added WJ rear lower adjustable control arms. Adjusted them to be 1/2" longer than stock to better center the rear wheels in the wheel well. I also put the WJ upper adjustable control arm and WW custom mount to dial in the pinion angle just right.

When all said and done, I was able to get 4” lift (hub to fender is 23”) and the CV angles look good and the CV boot does not touch the clevis fork. Took it to the alignment shop and it drives just like it was stock albeit a bit higher.

Next wheel and tires....

03black · **Posted:** Mon Mar 01, 2021 2:14 pm

Wheels and tires...

I have 16x8 wheels with 5” backspace so I put on some 265/75/16 Falken Wildpeak A/T3W for 32” tires and I have no rubbing in the front steering lock to lock. I did pound the rear pinch weld, heated and flatten the plastic fender liner.

Also, I picked up a used ARB bumper, Rock Lizards sliders and Rock Lizards roof rack from someone parting out their liberty. So I after I cleaned up, sandblasted and repowder coated the bumper, I installed it, trimmed out the fender liner in the front per the instructions.

As for the fore mention 4:10 gears, they are the factory gear sets from out of a 2.4L liberty I was lucky to find at a pick-n-pull yard. But I also installed a set of ARB front and rear air lockers.

Now that this is all done, I’ll need to find a place around here that I could drive up onto to check how the front flexes. Speedo is off by about 5mph. I am actually going 5mph faster than indicated speed. I’ll have to find a DRB III to do a pinion reset to correct that. The dealers around here have no idea how to do, besides they want $150 just to try…no thanks

Wondering why I’m doing all of this? Well I’m trying to get ready for the 2021 Easter Jeep Safari at Moab this year. Hopefully, I can make it. Still lots to do, like install the rock sliders, fab up a trans skid plate, install B&M fan control trans cooler, a flow through muffler to lower EGT temps and anything else I need for reliability.

And just wanted to say sorry for the long posts and a shout out to LOSTJEEPS for all the information on here. Couldn’t have done some of these mods with out it. More to come

thesameguy · **Joined:** Sat Oct 01, 2016 8:24 pm **Posts:** 652

These are huge accomplishments! I was happy to just to get to running again ... it'll be a long while before I have even the slightest inclination to take tools to it again!

03black · **Posted:** Tue Mar 02, 2021 12:45 pm

Thanks, yeah it was a big push to get it this far and I still have a bit more to go and less than 4 weekends left to get the little tractor ready for Moab. Plus I still need/want to take it on a trial run at home before I make the trip. Last thing I want is to break down on the trail knowing I probably could have prevented it in the first place.

And my back and knees are defiantly paying the price... :cry:

thesameguy · **Joined:** Sat Oct 01, 2016 8:24 pm **Posts:** 652

I've never done anything even remotely this ambitious. Usually my hairbrained automotive schemes that involve driving questionable cars over long distances stay on paved roads, and there's usually cell service.

I miss my reckless youth, when my back never hurt... probably that was because "is there oil in it?" was about as much worry or as much troubleshooting that I was capable of. Once you begin to understand all the things that *can* go wrong, your back starts to hurt.

CATCRD · **Posted:** Tue Mar 02, 2021 10:44 pm

03black wrote:

Thanks, yeah it was a big push to get it this far and I still have a bit more to go and less than 4 weekends left to get the little tractor ready for Moab. Plus I still need/want to take it on a trial run at home before I make the trip. Last thing I want is to break down on the trail knowing I probably could have prevented it in the first place.

And my back and knees are defiantly paying the price... :cry:

Many thanks for all the details of your cradle drop. When I had the front axle out I was pondering just such a thing. Do you think you could actually fit 33s under there? I have 3" lift and run 31.7" tires with no rubbing. All the standard pinch weld and washer fluid res stuff is done. When I wear out these tires I may go your route.

Was there enough slack in the power steering hoses to go to a 1" cradle drop? You could lift the engine back up by 1/2" I think, with a 1/4" spacer under the engine mount and another on top.

03black · **Posted:** Tue Mar 02, 2021 11:41 pm

CATCRD wrote:

Many thanks for all the details of your cradle drop. When I had the front axle out I was pondering just such a thing. Do you think you could actually fit 33s under there? I have 3" lift and run 31.7" tires with no rubbing. All the standard pinch weld and washer fluid res stuff is done. When I wear out these tires I may go your route.

Was there enough slack in the power steering hoses to go to a 1" cradle drop? You could lift the engine back up by 1/2" I think, with a 1/4" spacer under the engine mount and another on top.

I probably could fit 33's in but i would not have much up articulation in both the front and rear wheel wells unless you took off the fender flairs. Which for me would take away the everyday look of the Liberty. If I had a 16x7" wheel with 5" backspace I might have gone with 255/85/16 and still be able to stuff the tires and not rub up front but I didn't want to chance it.

In addition, the front differentials is made of aluminium and not very strong it would be a real bear to turn that much rolling mass especially with only 3:73 gears. I got lucky and have 4:10's installed but again I still wouldn't chance it.

The other part that increases the chance of cracking the diff housing if you dont have a true locker up front. If that one free spinning wheel catches on a rock with that additional mass tire...CRACK, diff fluid on the ground.

You could raise the engine another 1/4" by putting additional spacers on TOP of the motor mount but you'll have to be carefully that 1) the space has enough "footprint" on the motor mount to spread the load weight equally so the motor mount does its job and 2) that you get enough thread engagement so the nut doesn't back off. Theses motors shake a lot!

As for the power steering hose, it appears to have enough room but the steering linkage with the u joint does not have enough surface area for the "clamp" to effectively stay on the shaft....just something to think about.

03black · **Posted:** Wed Apr 21, 2021 12:46 am

So as a final note to this build thread I wanted to recap and show you guys what has transpired, and of course who doesn't like pictures

So picked up this CRD that was already torn apart and it needed a new cyclider head. Only armed with info from this site and the FSM, I was able to put it back together.
Here is what it looked like when I got it home:

Parts laid out:

Engine bay and what I started out with:

In the garage:

After it was up and running, it was time start the "upgrade" mods
Decided to make mine a bit different in color scheme, so went with white with action green accents. Everything was stripped and powder coated myself. When all said and done, installed:
4:10 gears
JBA upper control arms
QA1 coilover shocks with 500lbs Eibach springs/custom milled lower clevis mounts on KK clevis
WW diesel rear upper control arm mount on WK tri-link
W/K rear lower adjustable control arms
1/2" cradle drop to offset CV angles
ARB lockers
ARB gen 1 air compressor plumbed with air fitting to also air up tires
ARB front bumper(used)- (media blasted and powder coated white)
Self made transmission/transfer case skid plate (1/8" steel plate)
Beefed up factory engine plate (cut up 1/8" plate and welded to factory skid)
Factory gas tank skid
Rock lizard super sliders (used)
Rock lizard roof rack (I welded a light mount hoop for later)
Flowmaster FX 2.5" flow through muffler
HID projector retro fitted into headlight housing (Good light output with cutoff to not blind oncoming traffic)
16x8 5" back spacing wheels wrapped in Falken Wildpeak AT3 32" tires
Final product:

All this was to get it ready for the 2021 Easter Jeep Safari. With these mods completed I was able to tackle level 6 trails. So out of my group I was the only liberty in a sea of wranglers. Took on Fins N' Things; Top of the World; and Elephant Hill (all Jeep Badge of Honor trails) and a few others. Jeep performed flawlessly. Even was able to climb a 27° hill climb without even a tire spin! Great articulation and was even on 3 wheel on some of the rock obstacles.
Pics:

So for anyone that has doubts about these rigs, all I can say is if you build it right, wheel it right, you can make this a very capable jeep to run around in. This little diesel jeep impressed everyone that saw it perform and at first thought was that I would need to be winch through the trail. Not once did I get stuck and I did not take any bypass trails. It performed the way I wanted it too with the way I built it. I still have a few small things that I need to sort out but overall its complete and its still my daily driver getting around 24MPG mixed driving....can't complain.

Happy wheeling

flash7210 · **Posted:** Wed Apr 21, 2021 1:02 pm

Next up, Rubicon Trail!

03black · **Posted:** Wed Apr 21, 2021 1:16 pm

flash7210 wrote:

Next up, Rubicon Trail!

Yep, on my bucket list :BANANA:

krb · **Posted:** Mon Apr 26, 2021 6:23 am

thesameguy wrote:

... Once you begin to understand all the things that *can* go wrong, your back starts to hurt.

I suffer from this condition. I marvel at friends that just jump in their 20 year old vehicle with 250K miles and take off to drive halfway across the country when I can tell by just looking they don't even have all four tires properly aired to the same psi... I, on the other hand, am paralyzed by knowing that a certain part is due to be replaced or by that odd noise I'd been hearing but can't quit narrow down...

03Black - thanks for giving us a follow-up and glad to hear that not only did it perform but that your wheeling experience exceeded your expectations! Good work and keep us updated with future escapades.

05 Limited CRD Rebuild

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