Hi all,

My 05 CRD just recently started acting up. It's hard to describe exactly what's going on, but here's what I notice:

Excessive body roll when cornering
Back end 'skips' if I hit a bump while cornering
Torque steer
Feels like the body of the Jeep moves ahead of the frame when turning

I examined the shocks and struts and didn't see any leaking oil (but they could still be dead, right?). I looked at the sway bars and the bushings and they looked okay. I looked at everything I thought could be part of the problem on the suspension and I didn't see anything that stuck out. Some of the rubber bushings on the 'wishbones' seemed a bit old, but were still holding together.

Any thoughts?

thanks

What kind of mileage do you have on it? Are all the suspension components original? Have you had the LBJ (lower ball joints) replacement performed and how long ago?

Dan

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2005 Silver CRD Limited
245/75R16 GoodYear Duratracs
Fumoto drain | ProVent CCV Filter
Stanadyne FM100 filter | Cummins fuel pump
GDE Eco | SEGR | BoulderBars | FrankenLift | Frankenskids

I get 18 - 20mpg if I'm lucky. This is a pretty good drop from a year or so ago. The jeep has 77,000 on the clock. Everything on the suspension is original including the lower ball joints.

thx
. . .Shawn

Okay, I found the topic to test my lower ball joints. I'll give that a shot and confirm what's going on. I also found that I can get the Moog K3199 replacements from Amazon for a pretty good price. Is replacement pretty straight forward? Press out, press in, grease up?

Thanks.

There was a recall on them. Although the MOOG joints are better, the factory replacements may be fine for you. I'd give a call to your local dealer with your VIN to see if you are eligible for the replacement.

Replacement isn't hard, but you do need to partially disassemble the steering knuckle and the strut mount is on the bottom arm, so it's not trivial either...

Dna

_________________

2005 Silver CRD Limited
245/75R16 GoodYear Duratracs
Fumoto drain | ProVent CCV Filter
Stanadyne FM100 filter | Cummins fuel pump
GDE Eco | SEGR | BoulderBars | FrankenLift | Frankenskids

I did the test on the LBJ: raised the control arm with my floor jack, levered the wheel with a long 2x4. I saw NO play on either ball joint on the front wheels.

It feels to me like the issue is on the rear wheels. What else should I look at?

Thanks!

Check the lower controls arms in the rear and also the rear tri-link, the ball joint above the diff on the tri-link goes bad.
The bushings on the rear LCAs can go bad as well and cause it to feel loose in the rear

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MUDD'S MOTORSPORT'S We do IFS lift installs ,
03 OVERLAND EDITION /Kilby-Skidrow-Mopar-4XGuard skids/ 2.5 inch TOTAL CONTROL JBA coilovers -JBA Arms/MOABS-31 FALKEN WILDPEAK AT3W / 4.10's etc, 04 Kilimanjaro Edition loaded, plus 05 KJ limited

Awesome. Thanks. Is the checking process the same as the front? Or do I just need to do a visual inspection for broken/leaky parts?

This may help. Just had mine done ride feels so much more stable with less roll.


From USAToday:

Chrysler is recalling 2004-05 Jeep Liberties because the lower control arms that keep the rear wheels in place may break, says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The 209,724 Liberties were built from July 3, 2003 through July 14, 2005 and were originally bought in and now are registered in Salt Belt states, defined by NHTSA as Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshedire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C. You can find the build date on the plate by the drive door.

The problem is that some are fitted with rear lower control arms that can rust through and break, causing a loss of control of the vehicle and a potential crash.

Chrysler says in its documents that it has 83 complaints of control arm fractures, but that it knows of no accidents or injuries.

Chrysler will notify owners starting by the end of April and replace the arms. You can call Chrysler for more information at 800-853-1403 or call NHTSA's safety hotline at 888-327-4236.

How did you go with the rear control arms.With what you described it sounded like the problems i had with mine. My control bushes were absolutely shot. All good now after replacing them.

Okay, no real love to be had. I crawled under the Jeep and looked at the rear end. I don't see any broken bushings, control arms, ball joints. I don't see how I can determine where the problem is without pulling stuff off.

Thoughts? Are there ways to test the ball joint on the upper arm?

thx

Jack the front wheels of the ground,the wheels must be at full droop.Remove the wheels and use a very large pair of pliers to try and pinch the upper balljoint and knuckle.Any play and there bad.

Being a '05 I'd be think front and rear shocks and rear LCA bushings and no your not covered under the recall for the rear LCA's being in CO.

Thanks, I'll give that a try tonight. Anything I can do to test the rear? What should I look for on the shocks? I don't see any leakage from them.

If your over 50k for mileage the front and rear shocks are more then shot.

Awesome. Then I'll start there. I'm at 77,000. Any good recommendations on stock-type replacements? This is my daily driver so it doesn't really need to be ready for off road.

Our KJ started having wobbly/handling problems a few thousand miles ago.

We solved the problem completely by trading it in on a new KK this past Saturday!

I just saw our old KJ on the dealer's lot. Only has 51k on it.

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2012 Liberty Latitude Edition,
Brilliant Black Pearl, Moonroof.

2013 Wrangler Sport

Uhh, thanks. That's not quite the solution I was looking for. (:

I have an OME suspension set coming. After that's installed, I'll let you all know if the problem got fixed.

thx

We did have it planned out to replace the shocks and perhaps the springs as well. As most others shared already...good chances your shocks are whipped.

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2012 Liberty Latitude Edition,
Brilliant Black Pearl, Moonroof.

2013 Wrangler Sport