Looks like I'll be sacrificing the Selec-Trac case and going with the standard Command-Trac. I've only seen two with the Sele-Trac and the one got a "Check Engine" light during the test drive while the other was a high mileage Liberty. Fortunately, I live close to the huge Manhiem Auto Auction and there are plenty of Liberty's in the used dealerships surrounding the Manhiem area. We will head there next weekend, and if all works out....drive home a Liberty.

Good luck man...hope you find the one you are looking for too!

I'm also in the search of a KJ in my area..it's time to buy a vehicle and I've decided the KJ will probably be my choice. Thanks for all the useful information guys..very helpful to first time buyers!

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02' Frankenlifted White Sport on 31" TrXus M/Ts

89' 2 Dr. Khaki XJ- Waggy 44's, 4.88s, 35's, 3-link on 5.5" coils.

On a side note...I think one of the funnest points to KJ shopping is hearing the sales pitch after you reject their available KJs. They try to sell you an Escape, a TrailBlazer, a Rav4, etc. I let them go through their justifcation of the "other" 4x4's, then politely tell them....."I'm a Jeep person. The others just aren't made for real offroad driving." Best part is I can deliver it with conviction because I actually believe it.

Thanks for all the support. I received my "pre-authorization" for financing and will receive my blank check soon. I'm away on business for the rest of the week, but looking forward to returning for the KJ Shopping Sprea on Saturday. I've identified about 30+ KJs in a 10-15 miles radius. My kids will be going nuts by the time we make the rounds.

Thanks Again!

If you plan to use the 4x4 on the pavement for snow etc. then I'd advise you to keep looking for the Selectrac case. It really is nice to be able to drive in 4x4 without worrying about binding and the like when road conditions are patchy. I personally like the '02 since it really seems to be a little more heavy duty than the others besides the drum rear brakes (OTOH drums are pretty much trouble free). Selectrac was available on '02s, I have one.

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Early '02 Limited, Steel Blue, White Guts

Mine is factory and leaks like a cheap aftermarket job. I would have never chosen one on purpose but it was the last Freedom in the area. Ahhh, I love my Jeep.

Happy shopping!

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Nanette

03 Freedom with some neat stuff done to it that I learned about here.

OK, I will pick up my 2003 Jeep Liberty Limited on Monday. I made the voyage up to a dealer that specializes in DaimlerChrysler pre-owned vehicles. They had over a dozen 2002-2005 Libertys to choose from. The desire for a Selec-Trac transfer case lead me to the 5-6 Limited models they had in stock. To make a long story short, I picked the 2003 Black Limited based on its great condition despite having the highest mileage (46K). It is one sweet Jeep. I was able to talk them into installing a Mopar factory trailer hitch/harness (for free) and knocking off an additional $200. Felt pretty good, especially since I was shopping alone (wife at ababy shower) with three young kids (5, 7, 9 yo). I have a few questions:

1) On both sides of the ceiling liner between the two doors, there is a plastic "SRS Airbag" badge. Does this mean the Jeep is equipped with side airbags?

2) It has the factory 17" 5-spoke rims/wheels. Is this a bad choice for finding a bit more aggressive on/off road tires?

3) How do you transfer the "powertrail extended warranty"? With 46K miles, it should have 3yrs/24K miles remaining on the warranty.

Thanks again for all you insight into the Jeep Liberty!

I'm glad your shopping trip was successful because on the other hand...mine wasn't!! Went to 5 dealers...test drove an 02 limited w/ really touchy brakes, saw a few sports w/ low milage but smelled like smoke (previously owned by a smoker!), found a nice silver limited w/ a way too high price, and never seen one single renegade (Not even new!!). For the local dealers in my area...I've seen many limiteds and sports but it's hard finding the other sport editions. I've found a few I liked on autotrader.com. I'm going to have to drive to find the ones I like!! I'm not giving up till I find the cleanest liberty w/ everything I want and a price that I like!! Hoping to be in one before halloween.

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02' Frankenlifted White Sport on 31" TrXus M/Ts

89' 2 Dr. Khaki XJ- Waggy 44's, 4.88s, 35's, 3-link on 5.5" coils.

1. plastic SRS are side airbags.....i think, almost positive

2. i also have the 17" bling bling on mine.... and no i don't think they're the best for offroad tires, its kinda hard to find tires for the 17" plus they're more expensive, and i personally don't like them. As soon as i can scramble up enough money i plan on trading them for some nice cragars, or american racing. they run about $60-$140 a piece for the rims.

3. not completely sure about this one

Have some fun in your jeep and be sure to take a couple pics!!!!

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Drop what your doin, and go drive your jeep!!!!
03 Jeep Liberty Limited
4X4

I did a little more research on 17" tires and they are harder to come by....especially without requiring additional lift for the KJ. I am planning on picking the KJ up tomorrow night...maybe I should see if the dealer will swap the 17"'ers with a set of 16" wheels he has on one of the other KJs. He has plenty!

FastTRX - check out this website http://www.frontlinemotors.com/
This is where I'm buying my Jeep. He has PLENTY in stock. They are all lease returns and clean with average or less mileage for their age. Might be worth a plane ticket and roadtrip home...There is also the Manhiem Auto Auction in the same general area....plenty of KJs all over the place. Searching the internet, autotrader, etc....I found at least 40 KJs within a 25 mile radius of my house. FYI.

if u wanna push your luck, ask him if he will trade you some rims off a wrangler rubicon!!!

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Drop what your doin, and go drive your jeep!!!!
03 Jeep Liberty Limited
4X4

This would be a sweeeet move!!! Go fer it. See if you can get the tires too:)

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

Resolved my first "issue" with my new 2003 Liberty....when hitting bumps and rough road surfaces, there was a thumping sound coming from he back end of the vehicle. Root Cause: 2 of 3 lug nuts for the spare tire mount were missing. Lets hope that is it for short-term problems.

Can anyone enlighten me on the term "soft 8"? I've read that in several forum posts, but have no idea of the meaning.

The missing lugs on the spare is an easy fix. Hopefully you got a carfax report and everything checks out. As for Soft 8....its a type of steel rim made by Cragar. They look like this

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

The spare tire only has 3 lugs holding it on. Doesnt need all 5 just to hold a wheel and tire on.

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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
Lost #007082
http://www.cardomain.com/id/jeepjeepster

I think he was saying that there was only 1 lug holding the spare on. That would definitely cause some thumping noises! Glad you found the culprit without too much problem.

I thought about something else you should know about KJs while I was on my way to work this morning. The cloth seats reportedly stain REALLY easy. Most cloth owners suggest investing in some nice covers. wetokole.com makes some really nice ones. They're not cheap, but they're supposed to be nice.

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_______________________DogDomain_______________________

I spoiled myself regarding seats....my old Cherokee has leather. 16 years old and still looking new! So.............I got a KJ with leather. I like the dark grey leather in the Cherokee better, but I'll deal with the tan leather in the KJ, although I'm guessing it will show wear more than the others.

Thanks on the Soft 8's. I was sitting in a hotel last night looking through a couple Jeep parts catalogs and noticed the Cragar Soft 8 steelies. What's everyone's opinion on the 17" rims? I will not be doing any serious off-roading, mainly driving in snow to work and the obligatory off-road travels during hunting season. As such, I'm guessing that a good set of AT tires on the 17" rims will do for now. I'm hoping I can pigeon hole enough cash to lift the KJ in a couple years and then splurge on a new set of rims (16") and some more aggressive (bigger) AT tires. First priority is a roof rack and trailer hitch bike rack in preparation for next springs camping season with the family. There's nothing worse than pulling into a campground and driving a Windstar minivan down the rutted dirt roads to our tent site!!! I need to maximize cargo capacity so the KJ will serve as the camping vehicle. With three kids, a wife, and a dog.....there's not much room left inside the Jeep.

Good call in the leather. My tan leather doesn't show anything. It's amazingly resilient.

I guess you need to haul more than 2 bikes, considering it's your wife, 3 kids, and you. I have the Thule SpareMe (2-bike, spare tire mount) bike rack and I love it. I was going to suggest it because a hitch-mount bike carrier has two limitations on the KJ:

1. Most hitch-mount bike racks do not come out (parallel to the ground) from the hitch far enough before coming up (parallel to the rear window) to clear the spare tire. An extension can solve this problem though.

2. You can not open the swing-gate with the bike rack attached unless you get the highest-end model from Thule or Yakima that swings away to the side (the tilt-down ones don't tilt down far enough to clear the swing gate).

The 17" rims are just fine, but you are limited in your choices of tires (and the ones that you can find cost more). If you really wanted the 16" rims, you might think about posting a potential trade+ kinda deal in the "For Sale" and "Wanted" sections of LOST.

I don't have a roof-basket on my KJ. I carry canoes and kayaks up there too often, so I got the Yakima rails and kayak pads. For extra cargo up there I got a waterproof roof cargo bag that has worked well for me (and it was super cheap). But, since I don't have one, I'll let someone else point you to a roofbasket.

Good luck on your search.

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_______________________DogDomain_______________________

I know...there's a place for tire questions, but I already have a good clan answer a lot of questions for me here.

The KJ needs new shoes. Looking at the foolowing options for a more AT oriented tire with good road behavior:

Firestone Destination A/T
Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor
Cooper Discoverer ATR
Dunlop Radial Rover AT
Pirelli Scorpion A/T
Yokohama Geolandar A/T + II
Toyo Open Country AT

Any recommendations....while trying to keep costs within check?

Thanks

alot of people like the Firestone Destinations pretty well. I personally like BFG AT but thats just me, the only downside to BFG is that they know that alot of people like their tires and your basically paying more for the name. I've had some Cooper S/T's on my ranger and they were nice tires.

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Drop what your doin, and go drive your jeep!!!!
03 Jeep Liberty Limited
4X4

Take a look at the
General Grabber AT2
especially if you are like me and arent made of money.

I know the old general grabber at (without the 2) got a bad wrap, but this is a newer tire and is one I think is worth taking a look at.

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It may be that your only purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others.

06 CRD Sport
Built 5/11/06
Jeep Green
Rocklizard diff cover
V6 Airbox