Hi all,

I'm looking to pick up a KJ for my daughter, as she is ready to for a "new" vehicle. I own a 2010 KK, and I am very happy with it. My daugheter has caught the Jeep bug since I let her drive it for a week when I was working on her current vehicle.

She is interested KJs, (price and availability) and I was wondering what I should be looking for - either "must haves" or something to avoid.

This will be used as a daily driver for college, will never be off-road, but I like the stability, safety, and capability of the Jeep for her. And since we live in Michigan, the 4x4 is very nice with the winters we sometimes have.

Thanks for any advice.

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Tim
Bay City, MI
2010 Liberty Sport 4x4
Stock - for now
Other rides:
1987 Pontiac Fiero GT
2006 Pontiac Torrent
2004 Pontiac Grand Am

There are a few differences in the years, 02-early 03 had a better transmission , although later model owners have a ton of miles on theirs with no issues
Check bottoms of doors, around the upper rear brake light
Seems later 05,06,07 had window regulator issues, not so much on earlier ones
Of course different models , Sport, Limited, etc have a few differences as well
All springs are weak so look into that
After April 12,03 they would of been about 19 inches in front middle of the wheel to bottom of the flare.
I picked up an 03 one owner with 81,000 miles last month and its sagged over an inch , so it gets new everything underneath soon
Thats will give you a start
I have an 03 Sport , the one I just picked up with 83,000 now, 04 Kilimanjaro Edition bought new with 218,000 , and got my 88 year old Stepfather an 05 Limited with 79,000 on it last fall.
Great little Jeeps and they are my DDs as well

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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

Thank you. That's exactly the kind of info I'm looking for. Going to check out an 03 tomorrow....

_________________
Tim
Bay City, MI
2010 Liberty Sport 4x4
Stock - for now
Other rides:
1987 Pontiac Fiero GT
2006 Pontiac Torrent
2004 Pontiac Grand Am

Pay attn to which transfer case it has - does it have full-time (AWD which you can use all the time, dry road also) *and*& part-time (locked centre diff, will hop on dry roads, not good for it), or only part-time 4x4? Most people prefer the on road ease of use of the former (Selec Trac) vs. the latter (Command Trac).

Common trouble spots - OEM Rads can leak at the side tanks and front driveshaft CV head may be bad, but is about a $55 fix you can do yourself in about 20 mins. Also, front wheel bearings often go bad, should be replaced with Timken, SKF or Moog parts, others will fail much earlier and aren't worth the hassle unless you are short on cash.

Also, valve cover gaskets often leak - if you smell a burning birthday candle smell, it's likely seeping slowly onto the exhaust. Parts are about $100, and it's about a 1.5 hour job likely with some bloody knuckles.

Options to look for: overhead EVIC console, leather seats, sunroof (actually I'm not sure the sunroof was avail. that year)- not too much else.

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03 KJ Sport - black
4xGuard engine skid
235/85/16 Hankook ATM
OME 927/Ironman, 1/4" plate, 3-ring clevis 21.5"
OME 948/OME + 2 Iso's Rear 22"
JBA UCAs
Bumper and winch
2x5 rockers/steps
Dynomax Ultra-Flo Welded
Custom pinstriping
Custom rear interior shelf
SS drop table
Soon:
Rear bumper
WRX seats
All the skids