I took my new CRD to a friend's country place this weekend to test its stock four-wheeling abilities. The results were both good and bad.
First of all the good-
For a stock vehicle with bad tires, this thing has a lot of traction. It just chugs along some pretty deep sand and mud almost effortlessly. The CRD seems to be barely trying and the traction management in 4LO will kick in like a limited slip once the wheels start to spin. I was able to make it through everything without getting stuck until forced to tow out a stuck 4X4 tractor that left me frame deep in a drained pond bed.
Now for the bad-
This thing is low, too low. Other than the obvious limitations on performance, the lack of body clearance resulted in some damage to the vehicle. After going through some steep sections, the left front wheel well lining was ripped from its mounts, getting caught under the tire and left as road kill. It also must have caught the front section of plastic lower door trim because it was missing as well. While a few more inches of clearance would probably have avoided this, it seems as though a trail rated Jeep shouldn't be losing body parts. At least not without hitting something solid.

Just think of it this way.... That's less stuff you'll need to trim when you get lifted and put some 31 inch mudders on

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'03 Sport 4x4 140k miles. Yeah, she's had some work done

Ive never heard of the wheel well lining getting caught under the tire? I have 255/70 generals and have never had something like this happen? The libby is way to low like you said, a good 1.5-2.5in lift makes a world of difference. What the heck were you doing in a pond pulling out a tractor

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LOST KJ'S
Where are you going???
Current Jeep: 2004 Jeep Liberty
-Atlantic Blue
-Air Ride Rear Suspension ; OME/Rustys Lift ; Powertrax Locker ; Moog Lower Ball-Joints ; 245/70/16 Yokohama Geolander A/T-S's on MOABS ; Flowmaster 50 SUV
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http://www.cardomain.com/id/jeepjeepster

I dont know about the CRD cause I dont have one but I can speak for the V6
IMO 4low is perfect for the stock tire size ,I am a low gear freak
I do think that a 1.5-2" lift would be perfect but stock hight does fine on the trails we run with it
as far as loosing parts I cant see how you did that with stock tires we seem to spend a lot of time on 3 wheels and have never even tuched the fender liner
I have seen sticks do some crazy damage to fenders and lights so that may be what got you but I dont think that the tire rubbed it that hard if so then you must have lost your bumpstop
But we have a few "rubs" on the lower door area that to us will happen if you dont have rocker protection we also have a rub from a tree and that will happen if you turn to sharp just ask my wife

Well just hink of it this way. Was a factory vehicle mad eto go through what you put it through the other day? I mean yeah it has been tested vastly but evry vehicle will have its limits and I think you found yours.

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LIBERTY or DEATH

2005 Sport with "STUFF"

Now that the well liner is gone, I'm wondering if I even want/need to replace it? I don't mind the exposed, semi-painted well, but am I asking for trouble if I leave it off? The only sensitive parts I see exposed w/o it are the parking light wiring and the horn.
I do intend to lift it and add some 245/75's.
Has anyone gone ahead and just removed the whole liner?

Yeah, some folks here have removed the liner and spray the area with rust-o-leum or some such. Supposedly the liner keeps mud / dirt trapped between it and the body ...

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DIRTY KJ :: flickr photostream
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