OUCH! This is gonna' hurt.

MP Jeeper · **Posted:** Mon May 15, 2006 4:11 pm

Well, that squeaking noise i posted you all about couple days ago did in fact turn out to be my LBJ wich DID in fact just fail. :oops:

Fortunately i was doing about 5mph out of the service lot when it dropped. UNFORTUNATELY .. . . it bent the axle, broke the washer bottle and fog lamp bracket! ! ! The worst part of it all is the axle of course which i am quoted a price of over $1,000. :shock:

So the question is, anybody got a line on an extra axle??? Of course any help would be greatly appreciated. In the mean time i am searching the local salvage yards and the shop is going to see if the axle can be straightened. Thanx guys & let me know.

Oh yeah, as it turns out Chrysler recalled SOME of the Liberty's w/this problem but not all. They ran the VIN on mine and, of course, it wasn't covered in the recall. Anyone know the deal on this? i am confused as, to my understanding, the LBJ is the same part in every liberty regardless of year, make, model. Why recall some then and not all? Anybody???

dirtykj · **Posted:** Mon May 15, 2006 4:35 pm

Wait ... wait ... '04 Liberty, LBJ failed, it dropped JUST OUTSIDE of the service lot and they wanted money to fix this?

I don't think you should let them do this. If I were you I would raise all kinds of he11 about it. Something along the line of "OMG this could have KILLED me!".

Oh, and remember to file this incident with the NTSB.

mb818 · **Posted:** Mon May 15, 2006 4:36 pm

this is getting rediculous... chrysler is not fessing up to this LBJ issue and we're all suffering... i just checked mine the other day ('05 with 20,000 miles) and the driver's side LBJ has quite a bit of play... we're taking it to the dealer to get everything checked out and replaced ASAP.. i'm still well under warranty and hope they don't give me too much hassle... i'm not lifted yet, anyway, so they can't blame that... i'll be sure to file a complaint with the NTSB or whomever i need to to continue to attract attention to this issue.

you're lucky that you weren't going down the highway when it decided to give way... i'm constantly worried about my wife's daily commute now that all these LBJ failures are now cropping up in '04 and '05 models... even though there was no recall for these years 'cause they rolled out of the factory with the useless "heat shield" installed.

what we need is new steering knuckles and lower arms so the LBJ is not inverted and under so much stress.. i like how the new grand cherokee's IFS has it done correctly, but the liberty keeps getting produced with a crappy design... :roll:

i'm going to be pissed if i have to worry about my LBJ's every 20,000 miles or so until my warranty is up... we love the KJ, but if this issue isn't addressed, then when the payment book is used up, the KJ is gone.

mb818

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Mon May 15, 2006 5:22 pm

Time for MOOG's LBJ's,just did mine,lets see how long they last(since you can grease them they should outlast the vehicle).

raceinfan · **Posted:** Mon May 15, 2006 5:26 pm

I just had mine done 04 KJ also but they did it under my warrenty not the recall it's only got 28,000 mine was about to fail soon ALOT of play,now I have to have my wifes checked also,guess I got lucky,but if yours happend at the dealer lot I wouldn't pay for anything this is a known problem that has yet to be fixed I'd go in guns a blazen

ShadE · **Posted:** Mon May 15, 2006 6:10 pm

regardless of if it was recalled or not, DC has to replace everything that was damaged because your drivetrain is still under warrenty (unless you've put TONS of miles on it.. i think it expires at 70k or 3 years?)

AdamIsAdam · **Posted:** Mon May 15, 2006 8:47 pm

They should cover this. Complain up the DMX ladder until it is. Period!

Jeep didn't change the part still, and certainly not in 2004. All they did was add the heat shields. So they still fail and should still be covered under warranty.

MP Jeeper · **Posted:** Mon May 15, 2006 9:13 pm

dirtykj wrote:

Wait ... wait ... '04 Liberty, LBJ failed, it dropped JUST OUTSIDE of the service lot and they wanted money to fix this?

I don't think you should let them do this. If I were you I would raise all kinds of he11 about it. Something along the line of "OMG this could have KILLED me!".

Oh, and remember to file this incident with the NTSB.

Just 2 clarify, it happened not at the dealer service lot, rather the NAPA service where i WAS getting new treads. Still, my baby's only got 40K on it w/plenty warranty left so believe me i am barking up the DC chain. In the mean time though, i am trying to explore other options as i am aware DC may very well leave me hanging. They'll probably use the 2 weeks installed Frankenlift as an excuse but i'll still file a complaint w/NTSB.

Bottom line here, DC needs to step up to the plate and FIX the problem rather than give us a band aid for a heart attack.

i'll keep ya's posted!

2003KJ · **Posted:** Mon May 15, 2006 10:34 pm

definately DO NOT pay ANYTHING for repairs. If they continue to try and charge you, or refuse to do the work untill they get a payment, they walk right into a law suit. According to DC, the 2nd half of 03's, all 04's, 05's, and 06's are supposedly not affected....but apparently they're seriously wrong.

I hate to say it, but it looks like somebody is gonna have to die before they step up and really solve the problem. Checking mine closer and closer every time I see a new one of these threads pop up.

kickit_in4wheel · **Posted:** Tue May 16, 2006 1:07 am

Hey man, sorry to hear about the LBJ drama. You didn't really say which axle is messed up, maybe this will help Spare Passenger Side CV shaft assembly $75

Rick

Wasatch15 · **Joined:** Wed Jul 13, 2005 7:52 am **Posts:** 242

Hey, about Jeep covering everything under the power train warranty. The local dealer recently diagnosed my Liberty with a bad left front bearing and low and behold the service manager said it wasn't covered under the warranty. I only have 19960 miles on this thing. I'm wondering what the he!! IS covered. He sure noticed my lift, that was the first thing out of his mouth. I STILL HATE THE DEALERSHIPS!!!

Eddo · **Joined:** Thu Jul 07, 2005 7:01 pm **Posts:** 1214

Sorry to hear about that. For 1000 dollars in repairs I would take it up and complain to the highest level, write letters, and such. Maybe then they would cover it.

I had DC refused to replace my LBJs even having the recall preformed too.

To make a long story short. I noticed play in the LBJs. Called the dealer and told them I was out of warranty, but I had them replace under recall. They said to come in and they will re-open the recall and replace them at not charge to me. Took it in and they said they LBJs where just fine. I had to go out there and show them the play in the LBJs. They where a little dumbfounded but said something to the effect "We assumed since they where replaced under recall 29k ago they would be fine" Anyways after I showed them the play they said they will be un-able to replaced them because of it being a lifted liberty and "It is clear to us that lift has caused the LBJ failure" They said they would try to be 'helpful' and call DC for me and ask. I don't know if they did or not, but the dealership said DC has denied your claim.

On top of that the dealership still wanted to charge me 100 dollars just to look at it, even though I was the one that went out into the shop and showed them the play in the LBJs. Anyways, I got my Jeep back threw a little trickery and then refused to pay. After that they told me that i am no longer welcomed at their dealership and they will report me to DC as an unpaying customer.

I'm sure I could have tried another couple dealership and one of them would have done it. But I just eneded up putting in a set of MOOG's myself and now I know I don't need to go back to the dealer even 30k just to get new ball joints.

lilblkblt04 · **Posted:** Fri May 19, 2006 10:16 am

Sorry for the stupid question but, can someone post a picture of the lower ball joint?

My dad has an 04' Liberty Sport and its lifted. We have put it through some rough stuff and I want to make sure that they arent about to fail.

Thanks

lilblkblt04 · **Posted:** Fri May 19, 2006 10:25 am

Sorry for the stupid question I just realized that there is a whole thread on that!!

Sorry

libertynewyork · **Posted:** Sat May 20, 2006 11:06 am

place jack under control arm and get front tire off the ground and place a crow bar under tire and lift up you will feel and maybe hear it clunk. This ball joints are a real pain I don’t under stand why jeep has such a problem when everyone else makes IFS and I don’t know any other company having these problems

OUCH! This is gonna' hurt.

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