2006 Liberty CRD

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Flea

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Hello all,

Obviously, I'm new here, but I've been lurking for a while and decided to post up.

I started with a humble 2006 CRD:
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It stayed that way for a long time until I got sideswiped.

A good friend of mine upgraded his 2005 Wrangler Rubicon and I got his old wheels and tires. I also took the opportunity to add a much less restrictive Magnaflow exhaust, and some inexpensive lights made it possible to see in reverse at night! Check below the bumper on either side.

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But the Jeep always sat too low for my taste.

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So I fixed it.

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2.5" RRO budget lift that has morphed into a kinda-sorta better lift -- added full coils in place of the rear spacers, better shocks, and MUCH stronger upper control arms with MOOG balljoints. I was pleasantly surprised by how well I was treated by Rocky Road considering all the stories I've read. :favorites68:

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Then I added a Detours USA winch mount and a tough new Smittybilt XRC-8 winch. The entire mount and winch shipped to my door was less than $600. A single line pull on second to last wrap will drag my heavy CRD uphill with all 4 tires locked.

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Then I realized my shackles were very *ahem* undersized (they were the biggest available locally at the time), so I ordered some proper ones, and added some roof lights. My cross bars are simple, cheap, and they work. They are galvanized conduit wrapped in black foam pipe insulation and bolted to the roof rack/bars. They're sturdy enough to hold the occasional ladder, which is all I plan to ask of them.

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I also envied interior winch controls like all the cool kids have, so I added some.

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Red arms the winch, while the toggle switch beside it is "up" for winching in and "down" for power out. The little green rocker switch controls the Hella driving and store-brand roof lights together. I don't drive with them on unless I'm in the middle of nowhere with no other cars and no street lights, so it made sense for me to just have all on one switch.

Since my last photo session, I have added courtesy lights in the front footwells, Firestone Destination A/T's in 245/75R16, a rear seat 12V outlet for the kids' DVD players/Ipods/etc., and I'm sure some other things I'm forgetting.

Anyways, this is my budget/moderate DD/fun build.
 
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Pippobug

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Welcome to the Forum!!
Very nice KJ CRD!!
I have the same color & my CRD is a 2.5 (i am in the UK).
My next up grade will be to fit a winch and I realy like the Detours USA winch mount. Let us know how it works out, i have read good reviews about it.
Fil
 

Flea

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Updated pics:

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RICE!
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How they work:
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Also, courtesy lights:
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Rear power outlets (under the driver's seat):
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Got rid of the dog cage and built a shelf:
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It just lifts out:
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And the light unplugs:
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Flea

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I haven't kept up this page as well as I have on some other forums I frequent, but I thought I would share my experience towing with my CRD:

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What you can see is a 2.5" lift, Firestone Destination A/T's (LT 245/75/16), Detours USA winch mount with an XRC8 winch. What you don't see is a set of Rocky Road Outfitters Upper Control Arms, Air Lift 1000 helper springs, Hayden 678 transmission cooler, Magnaflow 2.5" exhaust, and a DIY custom tune. The little tractor that could, well, did.

I have a large family - 3 children and a stepson to be exact. I also have a camper that can fit all of us - a 2005 Jayco Jay Feather 29Y bunkhouse. It is an ultra-lightweight (4950 dry and scales at 55-5800 fully loaded for me; I do not travel with water). Some of you can see where this is headed.

This past week, my family and I decided to take a trip to Myrtle Beach to enjoy a long weekend in the sun. Knowing that the family would hate 8+ hours in our Tahoe doing 60-65 the entire way, I decided (perhaps against good judgement) to use the CRD to haul our camper to the beach. My wife, the wonderful person she is, took all the children with her in our Honda Odyssey and followed a couple hours after I left.

We live in Tennessee; east Tennessee to be exact... the part known for its hills and mountains. I knew it would be a challenge, to say the least. To prepare for the trip, I changed out pads and rotors for a set of new PowerStop ceramic pads and extreme duty rotors. Coupled with the Tekonsha Voyager brake controller I have wired up, I had no qualms about stopping the combination.

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Now, the length of the trailer is what causes most people pause. Yes, I know that I am a couple hundred pounds over the factory towing capacity. But, if you use the factory GCWR (10,100), I am within the rated specs. Curiously, the factory rates the GCWR as 10,100 with a curb weight of 4300 lbs, give or take, for the CRD. That would actually place the rated towing capacity at 5800 lbs... hmm.... Also, as we all know, Europe got the same CRD, re-badged as the Cherokee, and got a 7400 lb tow rating. Double hmm....

I set up my spring bars, adjusted the sway control, added 15 lbs to the air lift springs and set out on the road. Within a couple miles, it was clear: This combination towed way better than I expected. To the lady in the Suburban who helped me perform an emergency braking test: Thanks, but get your head checked. Remember the braking I described above? It works.

Once out on I-26 and in the open, I set my sights on 62 mph and let the truck eat. The Jeep had no problem maintaining speed, loping along at a lazy 1900 rpms and 62-63 mph in 4th (O/D). Most hills weren't a problem, and O/D would hold down to 52 mph. By that point, I crested most of the smaller hills, and I simply downshifted from O/D to direct (3rd) lockup to climb the larger hills. I had to be careful to keep speed below 65, or the transmission would shift into 5th (double O/D). It would still maintain speed, but I would get some bad converter shudder while climbing even the slightest hill.

The torture test came in the form of Sam's Gap and Buckner Gap. As I climbed east coming from Unicoi County, TN, the winding portion of I-26 climbs a 6-7% grade up to 3,370 ft over about 4-5 miles. Fortunately, I was blessed with cool temperatures (60's) and light traffic. I set the Jeep at 70 at the base of the mountain and climbed in 3rd (direct) lockup for most of the way. At the 3/4 mark, I had dropped to 50 mph, and the temperature gauge was starting to climb. Although it hit the 3/4 mark on the gauge, I never got a warning light (234*), and the fuel curve was never pulled back (225*). That indicated to me that coolant temperature never hit the 230 mark. To be on the safe side, I turned the heater on high, dropped the windows and downshifted to second. Transmission temperatures stayed below 210-215, thanks to the large Hayden cooler that I have in series with the factory in-radiator heat exchanger. I'm sure the large obstruction in the form of a winch, solenoid box and two driving lights didn't help with radiator air flow. Since getting home, I have thought about rigging a manual switch in parallel for the pusher electric fan so that I can turn it on separate of the A/C.

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At the crest of the hill, all was well, and I was on to Myrtle Beach! The gauge never rose again, and there were no signs that any damage had occurred as a result of the rising coolant temperatures. In fact, while descending the other side of the grade, I cut the A/C on high to try to get heat back into the cooling stack, as the temperature gauge rapidly plummeted. When I reached the bottom of the grade, coasting in O/D had caused the engine temperature gauge to drop to the 3/8 position!

Edit to add: Once out of 2nd/unlocked T/C, the transmission went back to lockup and temperatures dropped and remained around the 170-180 mark.

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The rest of the trip was remarkably uneventful. The Jeep pulled smooth and steady the entire trip, and the combination was limited by tire speed (ST 205's on the trailer speed limited to 65 mph), although I doubt I would want to travel much faster than about 65.

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This is what it's all about (my girls chose the awning LED colors this night):
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Did I mention the combination averaged a hand-calculated 15.3 MPG? :shock: That's better than my Tahoe usually does unloaded! And that was with the A/C running for most of the way (save cresting the gap).

The tires never got more than slightly warm to the touch each time I stopped, and bearings stayed at or near ambient temperatures. The trailer brakes are relatively new, and stop well.
 

BDEE

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That is awesome that it pulled that trailer okay! I've only towed one thing with mine (V6) and that was my 96 Accord on a dolly for about 5hrs or so when I moved to Ohio. I ballpark the weight to be somewhere around 3500lbs or so, and my biggest issue was definitely braking. It was a monsoon with high winds too, which didn't help traction at all, but it towed alright and was able to maintain speed pretty well.
 

Flea

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The powerstop brake pads and rotors I got through Rock Auto did the trick. They stop well with very little dust. Time will tell how long they last-- I only have about 2k miles so far. Definitely far less brake dust than before with Autozone in-house brand heavy-duty stuff.
 

featherlight

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Wow.. this one post made me rethink my stance on a winch. I think I NEED one.....
 

renegade 04

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The transmission should never go above 200, if you have high transmission temperatures your transmission will first start shifting funny and you are also doing internal damage to the transmission. Also running the A/C while towing so much is not a good idea. If I were you I would add a puller fan to the transmission cooler you added. Also you should have gotten the largest transmission cooler available, also do you have a transmission temperature gauge.
 

Flea

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I'm not worried about the transmission hitting 210 or so in second gear (unlocked) during a climb. The Hayden 678 is fairly large and about the biggest one can fit behind the grille without extensive modification. I still have the factory heat exchanger in the radiator before the line goes through the cooler in a bottom-fed configuration.

Average temperatures while towing in lockup with this combination is 170-180*. While unladen, I can drive around all day in the Tennessee heat and the transmission cooler is still cool enough to grab a hold of.

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Dave

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Nice Jeep and an awesome thread, Flea.


Dave
 

Flea

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Also, just to add, Chrysler considers 80-240* the "normal" temperature range for the 545RFE. Above 240 will trigger the "trans temp" light and send the transmission in to limp mode, locking the torque converter while in any gear and above 25 mph.
 

Skippy

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Great thread. I'll be adding my RRO budget lift in as soon as it gets here and replacing the ball joints, struts and coils
 

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