New Liberty opinions?

We're finally trading our POS VW Passat, and the wife wants a Liberty Sport. Jeep is offering some decent incentives, so from a money perspective, it seems like a good deal. What has everyone heard about the Liberty as far as reliability/quality? It's gonna be a Sport model with v-6, 5 speed and 231 x-fer case. Keep it basic and less can break - that's the philosophy that has got my '94 XJ up to 155K with no major problems (other than a motor that's ruining my driveway...), and still going strong.

Comments? Thanks -

Or, alternatively, if anyone knows of a good Liberty-based group similar to , that info would be much appreciated...

Andy

Don't know much about them but the two things I did learn at paragon last month was that they come standard with only an electric fan, you need to order the mechanical fan as an extra, then you get both which to me is a good idea the way that V6 is packed in there. You won't be doing much maintenance on it from up top thats for sure so better invest in good set of jackstands and a comfortable creeper...
Other than that you'll like it, specially if you wear ten gallon cowboy hats , they took the rear storge area the XJ has and added it to the headroom, or 87 trooper II had that kind of headroom but it also had the rear storage space too... It does have a lot of nice features that should have gone into the XJ but thats water over the dam.
The other thing I learned at paragon was they get stuck alot, specially around rocks, those big honking lower arms are just looking to try to trim them down a bit. On the road you will love it, handles better than the trooper did but can be a bit tippy compared to the XJ, even moreso than a TJ or even a YJ but being almost 7ft high thats to be expected. There is a growing aftermarket supply for them too, lift kits, bumpers, rocker protection, alot of frilly stuff too for bling bling. For the money though I would go with an unlimited TJ as soon as they make the 5 speed available... thats the best of both worlds to me...

Looking under the hood, I was a bit surprised that there was no mechanical fan. Since we're gonna be buying one off the lot, is the mechanical fan something that can be purchased over the parts counter? And while we're on the subject of the engine, are the spark plugs on the top side of the heads (intake side, instead of the exhaust side), next to the injectors?

Off roading won't be an issue for us right now since it's the baby-mobile, and the wife has specifically forbidden me from even bringing up lifts. Don't worry - I'll wear her down eventually!

I won't vote yay or nay on the liberty, but we met one on the trail in moab, and the driver was enthusiastic about the sport, even stock, being able to keep up with other vehicles. I'd say it's where the cherokee was when it came out..not considered a 'real' jeep..but will prove itself so, given time.

maybe you should wait for the deisel to come out :dunno: just a thought.

as far as liberty message boards, there's a libby section over on ju and i keep hearing a club called l.o.s.t.

yeah, its L.O.S.T. KJs, they have done some cool things with the KJs. BTW, if you get the tow package you get a clutch fan with the electric fan. Here is one of their rigs.



:cheers:

I'd love to get the diesel, but as it's the wife's car, she doesn't want an oil burner. (had we purchased a TDi Passat, we wouldn't be on our 3rd cylinder head in 80K miles, either...)

I'll keep my eyes peeled for a tow package model - thanx!

AndyS said:

Looking under the hood, I was a bit surprised that there was no mechanical fan. Since we're gonna be buying one off the lot, is the mechanical fan something that can be purchased over the parts counter? And while we're on the subject of the engine, are the spark plugs on the top side of the heads (intake side, instead of the exhaust side), next to the injectors?

Off roading won't be an issue for us right now since it's the baby-mobile, and the wife has specifically forbidden me from even bringing up lifts. Don't worry - I'll wear her down eventually!

Click to expand...

Like I said, you are gonna need a good creeper, plugs are under near the headers, above the front diff and control arms Not like the old days with the dauntless V6 where the plugs were inside the heads near the intake manifold, guess the designers never thought about it when they designed it 'from the ground up' cause thats the only way to work on it, from the ground up. Bout the only thing you do from the top is look at it, check the fluids and change the air cleaner. Changing headlight bulbs looks like it will be interesting too...
Kinda like a grandkid, cute to look at, fun to play with but glad that they take it home with them at the end of the day..

Have you shown her an unlimited yet ????

lastara plain and simple

plain and simple

Click to expand...

...thanks, that's real helpfull....


Rich, I was going to try to push her in the direction of an Unlimited, until I found that they are only offered with slushboxes for now. I don't understand THAT decision at all....

The plugs are under the manifolds?? Yikes, what a PITA....

AndyS said:

...thanks, that's real helpfull....


Rich, I was going to try to push her in the direction of an Unlimited, until I found that they are only offered with slushboxes for now. I don't understand THAT decision at all....

The plugs are under the manifolds?? Yikes, what a PITA....

Click to expand...

Actually there is nothing wrong with the autos in the wranglers, just not to my liking but alot of people that have them like them. They even work well on rock crawling. I've been told that aug is when the 5 speed becomes available officially but they may take orders sooner.

there are 2 liberty boards i have them bookmarked on the puter at work i'll post in the morning.

Correct; auto's will work well off road (and I have one in my XJ, so I can't complain TOO loudly...), but IMHO they do not belong in a CJ/TJ/YJ etc of any kind....kinda sacreligious...

Thanks in advance for the links!

At least you get to use the proven 4.0L in the Unlimited, and not a high-revvin' new V6...

One of the Big issues people were having with the Libertys it that the balljoints were wearing out extremely fast, and often. They have no grease fittings and the packed in grease was getting cooked by heat. Jeep was supposed to be working on a remedy for this via a heatshield or something but I don't know if it they have solved it yet I would check out someplace like http://www.kjjeep.com/ they seem to know the KJ very well.

Actually, that sounds exactly like one of the myriad problems we had with the Passat - ball joints were sealed, and they came under-lubricated, so after 40K or so, they groan and squeak like crazy. Rather than spend $250 each for new control arms (times eight - four ball joints per side), I drilled out the ball joints and used zerk fittings to lube them myself. Cost about 15 bucks for the fittings and two drill bits, and took most of the afternoon to do, but it sure beats 2 grand just for parts....

Just to chime in here, as a dealer tech I have some real experience with KJs. They are a well built, reliable vehicle. They will do fine if all you want is a daily driver with some occasional light duty wheeling. The aftermarket is somewhat behind in designing lift kits for them. I have only seen spacer lifts that send the front axle shafts into some extreme angles and they don't seem to last long in that position. The spark plugs are indeed on the top of the engine between the intake manifold and valve covers and are easy to change. The engine uses a coil on plug ignition system with 6 coils mounted directly above the spark plugs themselves. The new 42rle auto transmission is a big improvement over the 45rfe as far as acceleration and gas mileage goes. The 45rfe is a much stronger tranny, but was designed for the 4.7l V8 in the WJ and is an exteremly heavy transmission. The 03 and up KJ rear disk brakes have some problems associated with noise, but overall the brakes are very strong. I have seen and repaired a few lower engine problems. Mostly knocking noises from the pistons that required new short blocks, but overall we have had very few engine problems. The balljoints are an issue, so much that Chrysler has recalled all the KJs for either ball joint replacement, inspection for possible replacement, and all get heat shields installed between the lower ball joints and the brake rotors.

Like them or not, they are here to stay for now. I do like them, I even wanted to buy one when they first came out. I wound up buying a WJ instead based mostly on lack of storage behind the rear seat. I might suggest looking into getting a WJ due to the fact Chrysler is set to release the WK in September and they are eager to move the remaining WJs off of the lots. Base model WJs are priced close to a KJ too. Just a thought anyway.

Good luck with your decision.

Bryan

http://www.libertyowners.com/forums/index.php?sid=1ff3e007577d0491f734dc2580bd2166
http://p087.ezboard.com/bkjjeep

Just a thought... the sealed balljoint thing is a problem on many newer vehicles including the Gen III Dakota / Durango. My dad owns a small town shop and the replace those things all the time in all brands. Don't blame Chrysler for this, it is a problem everwhere. :soapbox:

eace:
Travis