Hey everyone, I am new to the forum but not a complete newb with diesels. We own 5 VW diesel's in my family so I have a craving for that clacking engine.

I've been on a hunt for a Jeep Cherokee CRD for a while but they are hard to come by and for a good price but recently I came across a 2006 Jeep Liberty CRD.

The add indicates:



Now I've come across the Noob thread in this section and also came across this fuel leak thread:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=54138

My main concern is the transmission and engine. The car is priced fairly low ($1000.00) and I would be interested in a light project to get her up and running good. Would be nice to have a small diesel SUV in the household.
I have searched to see what other common issues occur with these cars and saw posts regarding the windows, which doesn't seem to be a huge deal. If I were to go visit the car and check it out, are there any things I should keep an eye out?

Timing Belt status is unknown and coming from the diesel work, it would be a top priority to get done anyways.


Thanks!

Welcome, many of us are tempted to jump head first (off a bridge) after being faced with yet another issue with this vehicle .

....but seriously, $1000 is what I'd consider fair scrap value for a vehicle with issues unknown. The symptoms could be anything from a simple air in fuel problem to major internal engine damage but if it actually starts and drives many of the guys here would be all over it at that price. If you enjoy wrenching, learning the peculiarities of an oddball vehicle and wish to treat it as a fun project/hobby vehicle you can't go wrong with the CRD but I wouldn't/don't rely on it as a daily driver or only vehicle. If you're planning to pay someone to fix it up then I wouldn't touch it.

Worst case if you find it has major issues you should be able to part it out and recover the $1K you put into it.

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Welcome to the best site for KJ CRDS!

Where are you located...the fact that you call it a "Cherokee" would suggest somewhere outside of the USA

Manual or auto, RHD or LHD?

I love my 13 year old 2.5 Export CRD but if you are not prepared to get your hands dirty then rather stay away I am afraid!

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2002 Export CRD 2.5 Sport

they want $1000 for it?
that's all

does it run at all??
if so...buy it...
duh what a dumb question..

if not...
ok not so simple...
got a 3-5k to spend to get it running right??
even at 5k + 1k to buy..6k for great running jeep..hard to beat.
but you need to be willing to work on it..or pay someone to work on it..this is beyond the 5k..

-dkenny

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84 BB school bus, DD8.2L turbo ->the transmission died..too expensive to fix..it'll be heading to the scrap yard..4/11)..Bus gone to Scarp 8/23/11
06 Liberty CRD
'99 dodge ram 2500 quad cab, 4x4, 24v
all Biodiesel powered when its warm enough

Hey fellas...

Firstly, I am from London Ontario, Canada. Forgot to put that into the profile.

Between my fiance and I, we have 2 VW's, both MK4 Jetta's. I do most if not all of the wrenching on them when I can to save us some money so I've become a bit familiar with the diesel system.
The jeep is LHD, automatic transmission with 296,000 KM (183,926 Miles) on it.

I will try to view it this weekend to get a better idea of it. I'm more concerned with the automatic transmission on it. Volkswagen has a horrible reputation for their Automatic transmissions so I tend to stay far away from them.

This jeep with the 296,000km on it, I'm not as worried about the engine but the transmission.

At this distance it's hard to tell but:
1. look thru Sir Sam's NOOB guide for helpful hints and things to look for.
2. the automatic transmission is a 545RFE which is very common and used by DCJ on a variety of vehicles so parts and service and easy and not CRD specific. The weak link is the torque converter but replacement is not all the difficult or pricey.
3. at that price if it cranks, runs, and moves without significant banging/ticking noises it's fixable.
4. at that mileage and not running right I'd suspect it needs a timing belt and rockers. A decent weekends work and about $1,000 in parts even if you add in ARP studs. There are some "special" tools that are needed but they can be rented from https://shop.sasquatchparts.com/ .

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Sold to LOST member my 05 Ltd, GDE Stg II turbo + TCM tune, SunCoast TC w. Transgo kit, Steiger window regulators, Samcos, Fumoto valve, 2nd gen filter head with Lub. Spec. bleeder, Hayden clutch & 11 blade fan, inverted spare, P-1 battery, BF Goodrich Long Trail TAs, Etecno1 glow plugs, timing belt at 50K miles/8 yrs

Thank you for the reply,

I know the pain of these special tools. The VW 1.9 TDI engine requires them too and they are costly, good investment in the long run.
The transmission information is great then, if it's a common to source transmission then it's not a big issue at all. Torque converter, well like a clutch it can fail and wear down so not bad.

I'll try to record a quick video of the CRD when I view it.

Well they are not all that "special". The 2 cam holding pins can be made out of appropriate metric bolts (see viewtopic.php?f=98&t=72201); the flywheel pin can be a 6mm or 1/4" long shaft allen key (see 05 FSM for pictures); and since you work on VWs you likely already have the VW cam holding tool needed to keep stress off the cam pins while you undo the cam retaining nuts/bolts, I forget which

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Sold to LOST member my 05 Ltd, GDE Stg II turbo + TCM tune, SunCoast TC w. Transgo kit, Steiger window regulators, Samcos, Fumoto valve, 2nd gen filter head with Lub. Spec. bleeder, Hayden clutch & 11 blade fan, inverted spare, P-1 battery, BF Goodrich Long Trail TAs, Etecno1 glow plugs, timing belt at 50K miles/8 yrs

Welcome! to answer your question-
Known issues include but are not limited to:
-soot loading from EGR causes problems in factory stock motors, limiting engine life and causing excess wear to rockers and turbo.
-solutions include software mods to delete EGR, hardware mods, or improved filtration to lower soot load.
-Head bolts appear to have clamping force issues. Solution: ARP head studs.
-Factory t-stats fail rapidly and are expensive to replace. Solution: aftermarket custom Tstat housing, or inline t-stat.
-Alternators have a finite life span.
-Transmission torque converters can be troublesome.
-Various electrical components wearing out, as one would expect from a 10 year old car.

Others?

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Grid power- the one true essential

2005 Liberty CRD- ARP studs, Fumoto, Hayden FC, inline Tstat, ETechno 7v GP, Platinum P1, in-tank lift pump.
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1981 Volvo D24
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Kubota BX25 diesel