I am an engineer at an aftermarket intake manufacturer. I have been working on the development of an intake kit for the Jeep Liberty CRD for many months now. It has been a long process partially because the CRD is not sold in California and I am located in the Los Angeles area. Recently I have been held up due to the prototype fitted vehicle experiencing problems.

When I first began the intake design process I was very weary of the amount of oil coming through the crankcase ventilation. The stock intake had oil all the way through it up to the airbox. Having a lot of experience with the intricacies of MAF sensors I was worried about the potential of MAF sensor failure due to oil contamination. I was especially worried about this with the prototype intake design I made because the breather hose attachment point and the MAF sensor adaptor were in closer proximity than in stock form. I pondered adding an oil catch can of sorts to the intake kit, but that would significantly increase the cost. I see many owners have installed the Mann-Provent filter which is something I agree the car greatly needs.

For this reason I left a prototype on a CRD for long term testing. The Liberty I used is in Northern California and unfortunately I cannot check on it in person very easily. I am relying on feedback from the owner. For about 3 or 4 months there were no issues with the Liberty. However more recently the owner began experiencing limp mode, it would not go above 3,000 rpm. As far as I am aware there have been no check engine lights. I am trying to determine whether the issue might stem from a failing MAF sensor, the EGR valve going bad, or something else. The car has been taken to a dealership. The dealership merely recommended removing the prototype intake. This is also a California dealership so they do not have CRD experience.

I would love to know if any CRD owners have had problems with MAF sensor failure due to the oil blowby with their stock system. I would also love to hear if the problem with the prototype Liberty might fit in with the symptoms of a bad EGR. I have searched through many forums. I have noticed on the TDIForums that many VW owners have had similar issues.

Also if anyone happens to have a Jeep Liberty CRD in the Southern California area I am in great need of a volunteer vehicle for more extensive prototype testing. Any help will no go unrewarded.

Thanks,
Merritt Johnson
mjohnson@aempower.com

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91 MB 300D 2.5L Turbo. Her's

05 MB E320 CDI. Mine

Since you know that the crd, v6, and v8's use the same air filter, will aem be providing a washable nano fiber drop in replacement?

Who is making the filter?

Might help if you could get a few more specifics on the symptoms/failure mode. Otherwise we're just as in the dark as you. With just the symptoms you described, no check engine light and not wanting to go above 3000 rpm, sounds suspicously like a fuel filter beginning to clog, had a similar occurrence when mine started to clog bad. Engine would only accelerate to around 2000 rpm, any accelerator movement past that point had no effect. Changing out the fuel filter solved the problem.

Need any more beat testers?

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Mitchell Oates
'87 MB 300D Diamond Blue Metallic
'87 MB 300D - R.I.P. 12/08
'05 Sport CRD Stone White
Provent CCV Filter/AT2525 Muffler
Stanadyne 30 u/Cat 2 u Fuel Filters
Fumoto Drain/Fleetguard LF3487 Oil filter
V6 Airbox/Amsoil EAA Air Filter
Suncoast TC/Shift Kit/Aux Cooler
Kennedy Lift Pump/Return Fuel Cooler

Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!!! Put me on a list for purchase or notification for this. I must have missed it in another thread. Thanks.

Nope you haven't missed anything in another thread, myself and another member will be testing the unit for fitting and when everything checks out the notice will co up here. Hope they are not upset with me letting the cat out of the bag.

A fellow member here and I got together with his sons who have the skills & shop to mfg the the device. I doubt they will be for sale before 1 april, but it could be later. I guess it depends on testing and fittings trials. The only reason I am posting this is to save someone else the time and R&D when ours is about ready for market.

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91 MB 300D 2.5L Turbo. Her's

05 MB E320 CDI. Mine

I want a write up and price, sure would be nice to get that big provent out from uner the hood.

Wes

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2006 Jeep Liberty Sport (KJ4DIW) Ham / Warn 9500ti

http://www.cardomain.com/id/wesbronco

I have started a seperate thread for everyone to keep up with and not hijack this thread any further.

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91 MB 300D 2.5L Turbo. Her's

05 MB E320 CDI. Mine

To the Original poster...

How much HP/TQ have you seen roughly with this prototype intake on the CRD's. And does the air filter draw in heat from the engine bay?

I would think that with the turbo sitting in the intake stream and the low revving characteristics of this motor that HP/TQ gains would be very minimal..
I certainly could be wrong tho...

The intake will utilize AEM's new dry flow filter. The filter never requires oiling. The kit will also come with a filter cleaning kit. For diesels we have a new large filter design, but unfortunately the contraints within the engine bay of the Liberty will not allow use of that filter. The Liberty kit will use a 5" wide mouth filter.

The kit will also include a heat shield which surrounds the filter in the engine bay. The steel heat shield maintains temperatures around the filter that are as low to lower than stock.

As for performance gains the power and torque curves show gains over the whole power band with the maximums occuring at 2600 rpms. The max power gain is 3 hp and the max torque gain is 5 ft-lb. With the intake you can really hear the turbo spool.

I appreciate what everyone has had to say. We are still determining the feasibility of this project. I have invested a good bit of time into the development of this intake so I would like to see it get produced. Without extensive access to a vehicle this project might not have much more of a chance.The intake will utilize AEM's new dry flow filter. The filter never requires oiling. The kit will also come with a filter cleaning kit. For diesels we have a new large filter design, but unfortunately the constraints within the engine bay of the Liberty will not allow use of that filter. The Liberty kit will use a 5" wide mouth filter.

The kit will also include a heat shield which surrounds the filter in the engine bay. The steel heat shield maintains temperatures around the filter that are as low to lower than stock.

As for performance gains the power and torque curves show gains over the whole power band with the maximums occurring at 2600 rpms. The max power gain is 3 hp and the max torque gain is 5 ft-lb. With the intake you can really hear the turbo spool.

I appreciate what everyone has had to say. We are still determining the feasibility of this project. I have invested a good bit of time into the development of this intake so I would like to see it get produced. Without extensive access to a vehicle this project might not have much more of a chance though.

Is the new air filter a sponge type? I know the k&n style filter and the older AEM filters flowed a good deal more air, but also let it alot more dirt. The newer sponge style filter starting to show up seem to have cured the dirt issue. And I think they are even better than the stock paper units as far as filtration....

The reason I ask is 3hp/5tq doesn't sound all that good unless there is some other reason to upgrade to this type of system? It would seem more susceptable to water getting sucked it etc...

I'm glad you are honest with the HP/TQ gains, Some folks try to talk up their products to the point of making themselves sound silly.

I'm not trying to sound like a jerk at all, I'm just wondering as to the benifits and trying to carry on a good discussion, Its not often I talk with an engineer that works with the products directly, and I like learning....