In 13 months my father in law will be giving us his 06 CRD KJ after he buys out my mother in laws 2010 Ram 1500 Lease. Hes giving the KJ to my wife since she is the only person in the family to still be driving their first car. (a 2002 dodge stratus 2.4 4 cyl ugh) Though its been a trusty car its starting to cost as much to keep it running every month as it did when she was making payments on it. LOL

So we will be getting a silver 06 CRD KJ. I dont know anything about diesels i just know that you need to wait for the glow plugs to heat up before starting LOL. The jeep has not been the most reliable vehicle unfortunately but i think they finally got it running right. Since he bought the jeep new its had a CEL on. He brought it back to the dealership (Bob Mariano Jeep) right away and they did some stuff and said it was fine. 6 months later its back on. This went back and forth for the entire time he owned it. Instead of making a huge fuss and ditching it he was very patient and still loved the jeep. They eventually blamed it on a faulty EGR and Mixer. That fixed things for a year or so until it finally died again. Practically no power and chugged to the side of the road.

At this point its out of warranty. It goes to the dealership and they have no idea whats wrong. He takes it home (trying another jeep dealership) and stops at a Valvoline instant oil change to get his state inspection done. The guys said it failed for emissions due to a dead turbo. He calls the original dealership and makes them feel like idiots that some kit at valvoline figured out whats wrong and that he will be going to a different dealership (Bonneville and Son Jeep). They came to the same conclusion and he dropped it off for repair. At this point he had to get Chrysler Customer Care to research everything and all his troubles. They ended up covering all the cost of the repair. So, Now its got a new turbo and mixer and EGR. About a year later the EGR needed to be replaced again. Its been fine ever since. Knock on wood. It has about 50 something thousand miles on it now and by the time we get it it will have just over 60k.

I know a major issue with the 3.0 in the WK is the oil blow by trashing the turbo and gaskets etc. Most people have bought a Provent or Racor setup to fix this. From what i read its pretty much just a catch can right? Is this why the turbo went on the 2.8 VM? What kind of trouble am i getting myself in to? Im pretty good with auto repairs im just new to diesels.

Also i want to add an engine block heater, for some reason it never came with one, yet my 4.0 I6 XJ did and i thought most diesels came with block heaters. i can find Engine block heaters for every jeep engine out there but not the diesels. WTF.

BTW if noone here knows about it http://www.justforjeeps.com is a great place to buy discounted OEM jeep parts. If its not listed they can still most likely get it.

What do i need to do to this KJ once its in my possession to make sure that this thing is Reliable? Its going to be my Wifes DD and family vehicle when i have my jeep. I dont want her and my son stranded on the side of the road.

The most work this jeep has ever done is pull a small utility trailer with yard equipment or very small log splitter. I also plan to remove the unnecessarily huge drop tow bar my father in law uses. No need for it to be that low LOL. (see second picture) The trailer actually dips down a few inches. Ouch.

I know the first thing im going to do is ditch the poopy as heel Goodyear Wrangler ST tires and get some nice new tires. Since its a DD but with some dirt road use i am going with a mild all terrain. im going to get the Cooper Discoverer ATP tires for it. They are made specifically for Discount Tire and are a combination of the Discoverer AT3 and the Zeon LTZ. They look great and are a very nice price with Free shipping. My friend will mount them up for me.

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direc ... lse&cs=225

Then i plan to get some Studded Snows in a 235/75/15 to put on a set of XJ 15x7 5 spoke steelies i have. When it comes to my family and safety i am always going to go the best route and i am a huge advocate for studded snow tires even on 4x4s. With the NE winters we have they make a huge difference in icy and snow conditions. Going with Studded Hancook I Pikes in a P235/75/15 for snows. No need for LT rated tires for this thing since its just a DD with not rugged use in its future.

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direc ... lse&cs=235

Here is a pic of the KJ, you can see my WK and my father in laws future Ram in the background. LOL

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2005 WK Dark Khaki Limited 4.7L V8, 2010 "S" Limited front end conversion. More "S" Limited parts to come. Custom Exhaust and other goodies.

Soon to be proud owner of an 06 KJ CRD!

Welcome to the forum. Some thoughts to which I am sure others will add:
1. read Sam's NOOB guide if you have not already done so. Download copies of BOTH the 05 and 06 factory service manuals (05 has illustration keys but lacks diesel cooling system data and diagnostic codes while 06 is the reverse)
2. The EGR saga continues I see. To cut to the chase the EGR starts to clog up as soon as the key was turned on a new CRD and the dealer automatically leaps to replace the EGR anytime there is a CEL. Solutions 1) GDE EcoTune for $450 minimizes EGR function and clears the related CEL and does lots of other beneficial things; 2) SEGR kills the EGR function; 3) elephant hose mode or Provent minimize oil and hence soot in EGR; 4) don't overfill crankcase oil (6.3qts with stock oil filter 7qts with oversize regardless of what oil dipstick says; or 5) the pipe to the EGR can accidently fall of and plugs appear at both ends where it connects.
3. Glad it's got a new turbo although I'll bet the real problem was split(s) in the turbo>intercooler>engine hose but since it cost your father-in-law nothing no harm. If the vehicle does not have Samco hoses or 2n gen OEM it needs them.
4. Oil mist did not "kill" your turbo assuming for discussion that the turbo died, see above, but it sure can rot hoses including the air box to turbo hose right down by the turbo which can lead to direct injection of unfiltered ambient air into the turbo which can kill a turbo.
5. I strongly doubt you need a block heater as I'm pretty sure all KJ CRDs for US delivery came with one BUT they did a wonderful job of hiding that fact that most/many dealers don't know about. Open the hood; pop the plastic engine cover; carefully look down along the oil dip stick tube for a bundle of wire wire tied to the tube; if you find same remove wire tie and there is your block heater plug; route along wiring harness to vicinity of power distribution center in front of battery; enjoy. While doing so inspect insulation on that wiring as it tends to crack if left all tied up too long. OEM replacement costs like $25 and is an easy DIY replacement but it is handy to have 2 people-1 working under the vehicle and 1 up top routing stuff. If you, in fact, don't have the block heater I imagine one can be installed but I'm not sure of the process.

Reliability thoughts:
1. Make sure all the fluids are correct, likely are if dealer serviced but... Antifreeze=HOAT only (Xerex G-05 or Mopar or Motor Craft Premium Gold); transmission fluid=ATF+4 only; oil=0-40 or 5-40 diesel rated full synthetic only (Shell Rotella T-6 is a good option but others exist).
2. If it still has the original red top OEM battery it's nearing the end of it's life. Good but pricey replacement Sears Group 34 Platinum P1 - almost as good not as pricey Interstate Mega-Tron Plus 85 mo (MTP-34) - other options any good Group 34 battery with 800 or better CCA where the terminals fit (may have to be mounted "backwards" as techically our battery is a 34R) but be warned some places can be "sticky" about mounting a perfectly good battery that their "book" doesn't say is suitable.
3. check those turbo hoses - replace/upgrade as needed.
4.take a serious look at that GDE tune.
5. don't fail to replace the timing belt at or near 100K miles. Broken/slipped timing belt = big bucks repair; same for any diesel engine

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Sold to LOST member my 05 Ltd, GDE Stg II turbo + TCM tune, SunCoast TC w. Transgo kit, Steiger window regulators, Samcos, Fumoto valve, 2nd gen filter head with Lub. Spec. bleeder, Hayden clutch & 11 blade fan, inverted spare, P-1 battery, BF Goodrich Long Trail TAs, Etecno1 glow plugs, timing belt at 50K miles/8 yrs