Buying Advise

toddsby · **Joined:** Mon Feb 22, 2016 11:12 pm **Posts:** 12

Hey guys!

My wife and I are looking to purchase a second car, and we're currently looking at an 05 Jeep Liberty CRD. Any major issues I should be aware of and/or things I should look out for (transmission troubles, recalls, etc)?

I've looked at a few and have already noticed the seat upholstery seems to wear really poorly. (albeit a minor issue)

Really appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

-Drew

flash7210 · **Posted:** Tue Feb 23, 2016 6:31 am

1. Timing belt needs to be changed every 100,000 miles. Ask to see maintenance history.
2. Fuel filter assembly has a tendancy to leak, causing engine stalling and hard starting. A updated filter head will have a light blue electrical connector.
3. Factory front lower ball joints have a tendancy to wear out prematurely. These should be inspected.

toddsby · **Joined:** Mon Feb 22, 2016 11:12 pm **Posts:** 12

flash7210 wrote:

1. Timing belt needs to be changed every 100,000 miles. Ask to see maintenance history.
2. Fuel filter assembly has a tendancy to leak, causing engine stalling and hard starting. A updated filter head will have a light blue electrical connector.
3. Factory front lower ball joints have a tendancy to wear out prematurely. These should be inspected.

Great info!! Thank you. The owner mentioned he'd recently had the timing belt replaced, it has 120,000 miles. As far as the lower ball joints, could you point me to a picture of what I should be looking for?

Thanks man!

Mountainman · **Posted:** Tue Feb 23, 2016 10:11 pm

at 120k, you can most likely expect to spend almost $1k on new rockers and ARP head studs (if the head gasket isn't already leaking bad). Then another $1k on a new turbo. You don't even want to pay someone to do either of these, as the labor is really high, so if you can't do it yourself, then it may be a bad choice.
That $2k or more should cover the big ticket items, but I would expect to spend $3k+ on parts for everything that is worn out (bushings, shocks, springs), and then at least that much on the labor if you have to pay for it. That will produce a long term, reliable jeep. I put about $4k into mine, and it already had about $1k of goods installed from the previous owner.
Buy one from a Lost member that has already installed the necessary mods is the smartest route, or get a junker for cheap and restore it. Hopefully this saves your wallet :JEEPIN:

TURBO-DIESEL-FREAK · **Joined:** Sat Apr 17, 2010 3:29 pm **Posts:** 1167

The pollution control systems and the very bad engine thermostat assembly are universally the worst things about the CRD. Both of these cause a plethora of other problems.

The upside is the Liberty CRD is a very good vehicle, with bags of torque and good fuel economy IF you get all of the upgrades done. Fortunately for you, all of the proper upgrades have been thoroughly tested by now and there is little guesswork at what to do.

LOSTJEEPS.com is by far the best source of information anywhere on maintenance for the Liberty CRD.

geordi · **Posted:** Wed Feb 24, 2016 11:40 am

I disagree about needing to replace the turbo "just because" but the other maintenance and upgrades shouldn't be ignored. The rockers usually only suffer because of excessive EGR (especially when it fails open) but the ARP studs are a highly suggested upgrade around the 120k mile mark to prevent head gasket leaks from developing into coolant losses and potential damage.

The labor overlaps with the rockers, glow plugs, intake elbow (EGR delete) and timing kit, so that is why I do all that in one big service. The advantage is that it sets the CRD up for at least 100k of operations.

toddsby · **Joined:** Mon Feb 22, 2016 11:12 pm **Posts:** 12

Mountainman wrote:

at 120k, you can most likely expect to spend almost $1k on new rockers and ARP head studs (if the head gasket isn't already leaking bad). Then another $1k on a new turbo. You don't even want to pay someone to do either of these, as the labor is really high, so if you can't do it yourself, then it may be a bad choice.
That $2k or more should cover the big ticket items, but I would expect to spend $3k+ on parts for everything that is worn out (bushings, shocks, springs), and then at least that much on the labor if you have to pay for it. That will produce a long term, reliable jeep. I put about $4k into mine, and it already had about $1k of goods installed from the previous owner.
Buy one from a Lost member that has already installed the necessary mods is the smartest route, or get a junker for cheap and restore it. Hopefully this saves your wallet :JEEPIN:

Really helpful info. The current owner is a mechanic, so I can ask him about each of these specifically. Will help with negotiating the price if any of that is outstanding. Appreciate it!

toddsby · **Joined:** Mon Feb 22, 2016 11:12 pm **Posts:** 12

TURBO-DIESEL-FREAK wrote:

The pollution control systems and the very bad engine thermostat assembly are universally the worst things about the CRD. Both of these cause a plethora of other problems.

The upside is the Liberty CRD is a very good vehicle, with bags of torque and good fuel economy IF you get all of the upgrades done. Fortunately for you, all of the proper upgrades have been thoroughly tested by now and there is little guesswork at what to do.

LOSTJEEPS.com is by far the best source of information anywhere on maintenance for the Liberty CRD.

I've been doing research for a while. I stumbled upon this forum and have been reading through the different threads. Have only purchased used for my last two vehicles and have gotten the most bang for my buck so far. Not a professional mechanic by any stretch but have built a decent collection of equipment and skills over the years. Would another 10 years of use be unreasonable for an 05 Liberty CRD?

jws84_02 · **Posted:** Wed Feb 24, 2016 1:07 pm

toddsby wrote:

TURBO-DIESEL-FREAK wrote:

The pollution control systems and the very bad engine thermostat assembly are universally the worst things about the CRD. Both of these cause a plethora of other problems.

The upside is the Liberty CRD is a very good vehicle, with bags of torque and good fuel economy IF you get all of the upgrades done. Fortunately for you, all of the proper upgrades have been thoroughly tested by now and there is little guesswork at what to do.

LOSTJEEPS.com is by far the best source of information anywhere on maintenance for the Liberty CRD.

I've been doing research for a while. I stumbled upon this forum and have been reading through the different threads. Have only purchased used for my last two vehicles and have gotten the most bang for my buck so far. Not a professional mechanic by any stretch but have built a decent collection of equipment and skills over the years. Would another 10 years of use be unreasonable for an 05 Liberty CRD?

With all the necessary mods, I would think 10 years is very reasonable

TURBO-DIESEL-FREAK · **Joined:** Sat Apr 17, 2010 3:29 pm **Posts:** 1167

jws84_02 wrote:

toddsby wrote:

TURBO-DIESEL-FREAK wrote:

The pollution control systems and the very bad engine thermostat assembly are universally the worst things about the CRD. Both of these cause a plethora of other problems.

The upside is the Liberty CRD is a very good vehicle, with bags of torque and good fuel economy IF you get all of the upgrades done. Fortunately for you, all of the proper upgrades have been thoroughly tested by now and there is little guesswork at what to do.

LOSTJEEPS.com is by far the best source of information anywhere on maintenance for the Liberty CRD.

I've been doing research for a while. I stumbled upon this forum and have been reading through the different threads. Have only purchased used for my last two vehicles and have gotten the most bang for my buck so far. Not a professional mechanic by any stretch but have built a decent collection of equipment and skills over the years. Would another 10 years of use be unreasonable for an 05 Liberty CRD?

With all the necessary mods, I would think 10 years is very reasonable

Agreed... there is lots of potential with the Liberty CRD. Call me up when you want a new thermostat...

PLEASE NOTE: THIS PHOTO IS OF THE THIRD PRODUCTION RUN... ALL OF THESE HAVE BEEN SHIPPED IN LATE NOVEMBER - EARLY DECEMBER 2015.

jws84_02 · **Posted:** Wed Feb 24, 2016 4:39 pm

Really?? You can't let any thread go now a days.

Mountainman · **Posted:** Wed Feb 24, 2016 8:34 pm

geordi wrote:

I disagree about needing to replace the turbo "just because" but the other maintenance and upgrades shouldn't be ignored. The rockers usually only suffer because of excessive EGR (especially when it fails open) but the ARP studs are a highly suggested upgrade around the 120k mile mark to prevent head gasket leaks from developing into coolant losses and potential damage.

The labor overlaps with the rockers, glow plugs, intake elbow (EGR delete) and timing kit, so that is why I do all that in one big service. The advantage is that it sets the CRD up for at least 100k of operations.

Well, I'm just painting a worst case scenario picture, and from what I've seen, about half of the turbos past 100k are toast. But, that's probably just from previous owners being unaware or careless about the cool down, or maybe infrequent oil changes...?

The turbo is easy to check though, so you know if there's an extra $1000 cost in the near future.

I would also add $500 for THE quality thermostat. Sorry Josh :goink:

TURBO-DIESEL-FREAK · **Joined:** Sat Apr 17, 2010 3:29 pm **Posts:** 1167

jws84_02 wrote:

Really?? You can't let any thread go now a days.

In your signature is written the following...

"2005 CRD Gold Sport- parting out, let me know what you need"

Is it not rather hypocritical for you to say the above, when EVERY comment you post has your signature with this in it?

Drewd · **Joined:** Mon Feb 06, 2006 12:24 pm **Posts:** 902

Buying Advice: DON"T unless you found a KJ CRD owned by a 90 year old who drove it 100 miles a year.

If you buy it, you will lose a lot of weight in the wallet area.

If you insist on a diesel SUV, find a low mileage Grand Cherokee CRD 07-08 model. A 5 minute resister mod and that motor's main weakness, the swirl motor, is remedied. Get a hot tune and you'll be very happy. 90k miles on my wife's 07 and swirl motor mod, 1 bad glow plug, and a $70 regulator on the CP3 is all that has gone bad. The GC CRD is a more robust and reliable engine.

jws84_02 · **Posted:** Sun Feb 28, 2016 8:55 am

TURBO-DIESEL-FREAK wrote:

jws84_02 wrote:

Really?? You can't let any thread go now a days.

In your signature is written the following...

"2005 CRD Gold Sport- parting out, let me know what you need"

Is it not rather hypocritical for you to say the above, when EVERY comment you post has your signature with this in it?

Lol Whatever man, you never asked the history of that jeep so I guess I'll respond to another one of your condescending comments. Feel better??

mass-hole · **Posted:** Sun Feb 28, 2016 3:14 pm

Yeah, so there is pretty much something wrong with most parts of the drivetrain. Its to be expected. I would assume that whatever jeep you buy has a few of the issues that are common but if you are willing to put some wrench time in you can make it run really well. My jeep runs absolutely beautiful but I've(and most others here) put a lot more time into it than anyone should have to put into a car.

Rixram · **Posted:** Thu Mar 03, 2016 3:16 pm

Mountainman wrote:

at 120k, you can most likely expect to spend almost $1k on new rockers and ARP head studs (if the head gasket isn't already leaking bad). Then another $1k on a new turbo. You don't even want to pay someone to do either of these, as the labor is really high, so if you can't do it yourself, then it may be a bad choice.
That $2k or more should cover the big ticket items, but I would expect to spend $3k+ on parts for everything that is worn out (bushings, shocks, springs), and then at least that much on the labor if you have to pay for it. That will produce a long term, reliable jeep. I put about $4k into mine, and it already had about $1k of goods installed from the previous owner.
Buy one from a Lost member that has already installed the necessary mods is the smartest route, or get a junker for cheap and restore it. Hopefully this saves your wallet :JEEPIN:

Mountainman,

I'm not attempting to start a flame war, when I say the following:
Your post may be somewhat misleading. I say this as my 2006 CRD has 170K miles on it.
-Original Head Bolts
-Original Turbo
-Original head gasket, and no leaks
-Original rockers with no malfunction

My $.02 is that if you drive it "Diesel Correctly" (slow warm-up, don't drive it like a gasser (no throttle mashing), proper cool-down), you'll go a lot farther on the original setup.
Or maybe I just got absurdly lucky with my '06 Sport.

TURBO-DIESEL-FREAK · **Joined:** Sat Apr 17, 2010 3:29 pm **Posts:** 1167

jws84_02 wrote:

TURBO-DIESEL-FREAK wrote:

jws84_02 wrote:

Really?? You can't let any thread go now a days.

In your signature is written the following...

"2005 CRD Gold Sport- parting out, let me know what you need"

Is it not rather hypocritical for you to say the above, when EVERY comment you post has your signature with this in it?

Lol Whatever man, you never asked the history of that jeep so I guess I'll respond to another one of your condescending comments. Feel better??

THE POINT IS... YOU ARE SELLING SOMETHING JUST AS I AM SELLING SOMETHING.... STOP BEING HYPOCRITICAL.

The condition and/or history of your wrecker Liberty has absolutely no bearing on the matter whatsoever. Your claim that it somehow does makes a difference shows your bias an intolerance of others. YOU do not know MY history either.

jws84_02 · **Posted:** Thu Mar 03, 2016 9:46 pm

THE POINT IS... YOU ARE SELLING SOMETHING JUST AS I AM SELLING SOMETHING.... STOP BEING HYPOCRITICAL. [/quote]

Ah that's what you mean by hypocritical. Please by all means show me all the threads that I dumped this said jeep on?

Sorry op for trashing your thread

TURBO-DIESEL-FREAK · **Joined:** Sat Apr 17, 2010 3:29 pm **Posts:** 1167

jws84_02 wrote:

THE POINT IS... YOU ARE SELLING SOMETHING JUST AS I AM SELLING SOMETHING.... STOP BEING HYPOCRITICAL.

Ah that's what you mean by hypocritical. Please by all means show me all the threads that I dumped this said jeep on?

Sorry op for trashing your thread[/quote]

Really, Dude? It's in your signature.

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