2005 CRD worth buying?

tymrbojangles · **Joined:** Thu Nov 14, 2013 12:09 pm **Posts:** 3

Didn't want to do this, but after reading NOOB guide and a ton of other posts on here, I am kinda second guessing wether this thing is worth buying or not. Seems to me that the VM CRD is a good engine with an EGR that pretty much kills it's lifespan, and has quirks that need fixed. That said i need buyers advice.

Found a 2005 CRD with 142K on it. wants $7K, seems to be in pretty good shape. Timing belt changed at 92K. Guy is supposed to have a fleet of sprinter vans with these engines and a mechanic that maintains them. Should probably call his mechanic and talk to him, but had a few questions for the knowledgeable ppl on here first. I don't think it has an GDE eco, but i would put that on it.

Is the head gasket a given that is gonna fail, no matter what you do? Or can you put head studs in and be alright with stock gasket? I Plan on doing the let sit and start cold for 30 seconds trick i have seen on here to see if it has a slight leak.

Is there any trouble code reader available at a popular parts store such as oreilly's to read the MAF and tell rocker arm wear? I have an iphone so I don't know of an app similar to torque pro. Also i am going to look at it sunday so i don't have time to wait for one bought online. With this many miles is it worth just putting new rocker arms in, or pulling cover to see if they are in good shape (obviously after I bought it).

What is the best way to tell the condition of the auto tranny besides just pulling the dipstick for color and putting under load up a hill? He says he tows with it quite a bit on his little farm. I have seen the posts about the euro torque converter and would probably do that later on.

Any help or suggestions appreciated.

geordi · **Posted:** Thu Nov 14, 2013 7:21 pm

The Sprinter does NOT use the same engine as the Jeep Liberty CRD. The Sprinter uses a 5 cylinder Mercedes diesel, the same one (I believe) as the Jeep Grand Cherokee from 2007 or 2008.

The only USA vehicle that uses the VM Motori 4 cylinder diesel is the 2005/2006 Jeep Liberty CRD. There is a rumored GM diesel in the Chevy Cruze that may also be a VM engine, as it is described as an "Italian designed and German Built" engine. Any similarity to the VM engine in the CRD is unlikely however.

Be aware: there are less than 12k of these Jeep CRDs remaining on the road, as only about 15k were ever sold in the USA. Availability of parts are limited to several suppliers, dealer availability of parts or support is questionable at best.

I can answer your other questions a little later tonight when I get back to a computer. Short version: I would suggest the studs and rockers as a general upgrade. If it starts and runs reasonably smooth, the rockers are probably functional if not fabulous.
Torque converter problems are on the 2005 models, and should have presented long before this point. Stock engines do not retain a working EGR for longer than 20k miles ever (junk part) but GDE tunes solve the need for fixing this anyway.

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tymrbojangles · **Joined:** Thu Nov 14, 2013 12:09 pm **Posts:** 3

IC.

I'm starting to feel a little queezy about buying this little jeep. I love the idea of the fuel mileage and i have diesel trucks so have a diesel fuel tank at my house (i live in the country).

However, I did a search on autotrader and only found one crd jeep with over 200,000 miles and that was only one, the next highest was 155K. Do a search for a dodge diesel of this year and you find several with over 300K.

At this point, I'm leaning towards steering clear of the crd. 7000$ isn't a lot of money, but if i'm rolling the dice on this thing... Well i don't like to gamble that much, also its looking like a couple thousand anyway to make it reliable at this point, doing the work myself.

anybody else care to weigh in on this? Quick math says 25K a year times 8 is 200K so maybe a whole bunch with over 300,000 miles is outta line, but i drive a lot a year (50K or more) and know this would be an ideal 4x4 commuter car for most people. I would think there would be some out there if this is a reliable drivetrain.

geordi · **Posted:** Thu Nov 14, 2013 11:30 pm

Some more thoughts for your consideration. I am not advocating yay or nay on this, just laying out the information as I have it.

You and I are the outliers for how much people drive. I drive about 40k a year myself. Many of the people who own the CRD use it for commuting, and the yearly mileage is half that or lower. Looking for CRDs with over 200k miles, I'm not surprised that you only found one. Most of the CRDs are floating around 100k miles right now.

If you are buying the CRD as your only vehicle... Steer clear. This vehicle is not for you.
If you are incapable of doing repairs on your own (rather than visiting a dealer or independent mechanic) then this vehicle is not for you.
These are orphan vehicles, quite different from the VW TDI that at least has considerably larger sales numbers and *some* dealers that actually have a clue.

The vast majority of people visiting this forum will be those who have had a problem of some sort and are looking for a solution. Anyone with a perfect vehicle and no problems will be hard to locate here. They may exist, but the posts here might give an unfairly poor view of the reliability for the CRD.

That said - I owned a CRD and it blew 2 engines. The reasons for the failures are somewhat suspect, nothing conclusive. Unfortunately, this means that there could be a severe design defect with some engines. Others have experienced severe failures with the rockers, main bearings (my failure point on both engines), head studs / gaskets... For a vehicle with such a small amount of examples out on the road to have this many failure reports, it doesn't speak well of the engine.

Just some things to ponder.

thermorex · **Posted:** Thu Nov 14, 2013 11:32 pm

You may not like what I say, but if you want a tough cheap vehicle, get a Cherokee. Easy to work at them, parts on any corner, you can also mod it the way you want, gasoline prices are about a buck lower than dsl. Every second I work at crd can't stop thinking how easy would be to do same thing at the Cherokee...

Mike92104 · **Posted:** Fri Nov 15, 2013 12:14 am

thermorex wrote:

You may not like what I say, but if you want a tough cheap vehicle, get a Cherokee. Easy to work at them, parts on any corner, you can also mod it the way you want, gasoline prices are about a buck lower than dsl. Every second I work at crd can't stop thinking how easy would be to do same thing at the Cherokee...

Put a 4BT in it.

tymrbojangles · **Joined:** Thu Nov 14, 2013 12:09 pm **Posts:** 3

I've thought about a Cherokee, I know the inline 6 in the older models was super reliable, however for the fuel mileage they get, I'll drive a crew cab 1/2 ton (my opinion and not looking for input here).
A 4bt cummins would be much to heavy. A yanmar would be a far better option ( my opinion same as before) and I'm not looking for a project or money pit.

Thx for all your replies

thermorex · **Posted:** Fri Nov 15, 2013 11:50 pm

Yea, 4bt is heavy and too tall for cherocar. Not saying it's not worth, it's not the best. 4bt is good for wranglers. Mercedes om617 is better for cherocar. I hope this summer I'll start the swap... Once I'm done, I'll never need another car.

Mike92104 · **Posted:** Sat Nov 16, 2013 2:26 am

Isuzu 4bd1t would be another option. I've seen cherokees (on the internet anyways) with the 4bt. The mercedes option would not be a legal swap in CA due to its age, not sure about other states. Sorry to hijack, I'll shut up now.

2005 CRD worth buying?

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