Well my newly purchased 05 CRD had been put through the ringer this month.

It had four pages of recalls and warranty work done last week and it was running great.

Then "something" happen. The front end sounded like it broke a half shaft and it felt like the whole motor was about to fly out @35mph.

So far it is the front ring&pinion and the Tcase... From what they said, the front diff is on back order(two weeks) and the Tcase is in route.

Are there any upgrades that should be done while they have these apart?
Also are there any brake upgrades or does everyone leave these alone?

Almost 40 views and nada....

Has anyone broken the TC or the front Diff?
Does anyone know about the Front Diff being on backorder?

They are telling me it could have been the brakes, "the front calipers are tight and it is hard to move the wheels" ( DCM tech)
I am sure the reason he can not move the tire is because of the Diff being F'ed.... just my opinion!
But incase it is not and it needs new brakes I would like to know my options.

Thanks in advance!!!

There has been quite a few front diffs break. But the only ones I have read about have been when offroad and getting front wheel spin then suddenly getting traction. Try a search on dana30A.

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2003 KJ Renegade, 5 speed, frankenlifted,Al's a Arms 4.5,Moabs 245/75/16 BFG KM2's, custom rock rails, full Mopar skids, Hella ff220 lights,Hd cooling,Front DTT,Riddler diff cover,Rola safari rack,Cobra 29 peaked & tuned.

Pastafari Alum, Pink shovel recipient

Unfortunately a number of folks have broken front Diff's - the stories are over in the 4x4 section - the standard scenario is climbing a hill and the front end bounces - spins the tires - when they land the front pinion tries to climb through the case and splits it.

The only known fix is to swap the front end for a solid front axle instead of the independent suspension.

however you're the only case I've heard of - where it breaks driving on road
It might have been as simple (and irritating) as the previous owner not maintaining it.

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2005 CRD
stuff
Skeptic quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur

Thanks for the responses

I am usually the guy that goes into the dealer with something broken and they say.... "this is the first time we had this part break"

Glad to hear that it is not just me.... I will expand on the break down and the repair after the warranty takes care of it!

How about front brakes?

Actually I replaced all 4 corners at ~60K and the fronts were only about 1/2 gone
(that's not what the dealer had said so I already had parts)

I just used Napa Ceramics and replacement rotors.

the only real 'upgrades' I've seen are the slotted rotors and that really depends on how you drive - i.e. if you're running autocross or towing a trailer - then the extra cooling helps - however if you going to/from work - it should be worse because the slot reduces the contact area of the brake pads.

I haven't seen any posts or ad's about larger Rotors or 4 piston calipers ect, ect.

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2005 CRD
stuff
Skeptic quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur

Sounds like the previous owner , just put fuel into it and drove it I don't know for sure, but maybe they never put it,into 4wd, those gears in the tcase need to be engaged now and then, just to keep things lubed.
The front diff would have been turning, regardless, maybe they had a teenage kid? These things happen when you don't know the history.

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JEEP naked it adds color to your cheeks.

I just pad slapped a set of ceramics on all 4 wheels with very little left to go. Got good service for they went 85,000 miles and didn't tear up the rotors.

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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 broke my front diff just as I was sneaking up on a rock and just starting to put the juice to it.
Ugly, just ugly.
Bought a used unit from some on the board and it works fine.

Put on the cermic pads and everything is working great.

Interesting you have good results with ceramic pads. I tried them once on a '98 Subaru Outback, and they sucked. Stopping ability seemed impaired; I put organics back on and had good bite again. It may be you need to replace the rotors with the pads as the ceramic is so hard it may take a long time to bed in.

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'05 Liberty CRD B100, SEGR - SOLD

'01 Beetle TDi B100, EGR delete
'83 Mercedes 240D B100, no EGR

--- SEGR Builder ---

Your KJ left the assembly line with ceramic pads on it already.

No kidding? That's great; it certainly explains how we've put 40k on our CRD and have never had to service the brakes. But it is about time to do an inspection, and if the pads don't need replacement, I should replace the fluid.

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'05 Liberty CRD B100, SEGR - SOLD

'01 Beetle TDi B100, EGR delete
'83 Mercedes 240D B100, no EGR

--- SEGR Builder ---

Brake upgrade on my KJ as I drive it fast and hard and tow.

DBA Rotors 4000 series, best price was NOPI in GA $132 ea I think it was.

EPC Yellow stuff pads, forgot where but were like $142 a set.

Properly bedded in they work great and hold up to my style of hard driving.

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No longer a CRD or Jeep owner. Selling everything I have, needs to go as I need the room for a project.

Status UPDATE!!!

My Jeep is still in the shop. They are waiting on the front ring/pinion and half shafts.... Keep in mind that the Jeep was taken in on the Fourth.... JANUARY 4th. The part is on back order, How could it take three months to build or find this part?

I am on my fourth Jeep now and this is the first time I feel violated..

The ETA .... just for the part is March 22nd. Completion date... Your guess is as good as mine.

Last year about this time.......Valentines Day to be exact. I also busted my front diff in half. Went into the shop on the 15th and was told the exact same thing as you. Service rep says it happens every winter with the Liberty front diffs and gets worse towards the end of the season. He said Chrysler should know this before hand and get a surplus of parts ready for winter (only time of year when most KJ/KK owners actually use 4x4) as they are fully aware of the problem and don't even ask questions anymore if it's under warranty. Mine didn't get finished until March 20th.

What you also have to be aware of is that the individual parts that make up the front end are not the problem.......it's the aluminum center section/axle housing. And even then they usually just wait until a complete assembled unit ready to bolt in comes available, to make it easier for their inept mechanics. Mine only took a month, cause the service dept I took it to knew their sh*t and just ordered each seperate part and assembled it in house at the dealership.

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2005 Black CRD KJ____Full GDE turbo kit, EHM, 6.5L GMCTD lift pump, euro tq conv, 31" Duratracs on 15x7 Procomps w/3.75"bs
2.5" lift, full skids, Super Skink Sliders, front JBA Steel Diff w/True-Trac___Powertax "No-Slip" locker rear
Tow Rig: 2003 Silver 2wd Dodge 2500 reg. cab 5.9 Cummins (highly modded with 550hp/1200tq+)

UNREAL!! I am not sure what they are waiting on. All I could get out of them is "front axle" I am ready to buy a used one. I drove this thing for less then two weeks. UGH!!!!

With two CRDs, I bought a spare front diff when I found one on craigslist for cheap. I have it stashed in a safe location.

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05CRD: GDE Hot ECU & TCM tunes, Provent, Cat filter, Facet lift pump, TransGo kit, Florida TC, Samcos, stainless brake lines, HDS thermostat, Renegade light bar,
RL super sliders, Bilstein adjustables, Al's Gen 4.5 Arms, 235/85-16 Duratracs, DTT rear, Elocker front, EVIC+TPMS, Turbo timer, McNally pillar gauges, Weeks Stage II kit.

I am looking up your IP right now... Have it out front for me!!

Dana/Spicer makes the front diff(per Chrysler's specs) along with the R&P sets.The contract for the D30A has expired so it takes some time to get a order big enough to send to Dana/Spicer for replacement parts which if not ordered in large #'s they will not make due to the high cost of re-tooling a section of there company to make 1 or 2 sets(or diffs),it just is not cost effective.No matter what you think almost all places run the same way and no amount of bitching will change that.If you owned one of those company's you would understand the high cost of re-tooling,you can't run a company that way if your just going to loose money all the time.

I own two business so I get P/L. What I don't get is that the liberty is the most popular small SUV. How when they are down to 10 in the country do they not say... Make me 100 more. Or why these are not sitting on the shelf for back up.. They must know they will need them in the future, so while it is tooled up and ready to cut up some D30a's make a few extra. We are not dealing with a one off Foose custom...
They should buy totaled jeeps and re-man the parts to resell. Three months without a vehicle would screw the average person. They are lucky I have business trucks at my disposal. They finally coughed up a rental.

Don't get me wrong I understand the issue they are having and I have been more then understanding with Chrysler and the Dealership. I still feel they have the best product out of the big three.