Diesel CRD Buy or not to buy

I'm new to the Liberty world; this site has been very insightful, thank you.

I was really excited when I found they made a diesel version. We do a lot of driving towing a 5X12 enclosed single axle trailer to different balloon events; the liberty and trailer are a great fit together. The down side I've noticed is the poor fuel economy w/ or w/o the trailer, so the diesel sounded better.

I've done some homework, but have a lot of questions about them before I commit to buying one. So hopefully there are folks on here that can help me.

A friend of mine has one so I got to drive it and look it all over, my questions are:

It's claimed to have a 5 speed auto, but no matter how many times I started from a stop, I can only count 4 speeds and a converter locking. When I pushed the O/D off button it runs the same RPM as my 3.7 does at 70. His is a 2005, is there a difference between 05 and 06? Are they really 5 speeds? My main concern is that with the overdrive off it's turning 3200 RPM when you tow.

Who makes the engine? I looked and couldn't find a manufacture name stamped anywhere. What's the longevity on those? Are they a cheaply built high maintenance? Any pump or injector problems?
I heard they have a timing belt issues and parts are big $$$$$ and hard to get. Is that true?

I guess I'm looking for peoples opinion if it will work for what I will primarily use it for, towing a small trailer.

I have a 2002 2.5 CRD (Export) and am very happy with it.
The best place to get opinions on the CRDs is in the CRD section at L.O.S.T Jeeps Offical Web Site - For Jeep Owners.
You definitely need to be able and willing to get your hands dirty to keep the CRD going well as the dealers are generally clueless when it comes to diesels!

Mr. Mopar, Like stated, the CRD's are not for the timid or un-inclined. To be truly happy with your CRD you must learn it inside and out. I have used mine for towing a home built trailer for my Polaris Ranger and I think the load must be in excess of 4000#. I'm going to the rock yard scale soon to verify. But the main issues are not the timing chain/belt it's the egr system. A dealer charges in excess of 700.00 for the change out. I pulled mine and bead blasted it for 30 or so minutes and re-installed. It took the computer 2 days to re-set and turn off the cel. Lots of opinions about this little Italian Diesel, now owned fully or in part by Detroit Diesel. V.M is a world renown marine/automotive diesel manufacturer.

http://www.dieselpowermag.com/tech/general/0811dp_jeep_diesel_engine_swap/index.html
http://www.dieselpowermag.com/features/0604dp_jeep_liberty_2_8l_vm_motori_turbodiesel/index.html
http://www.ausjeepoffroad.com/forum/showthread.php?t=67074

You need to be a Diesel Lover to want to own one. If you go to LOST and see my sig, that is most of my mods I have done to improve performance and longevity.
LOST has a lot of good information and some not so good information.
When you do your research note some of the members mods they brag about and then complain about the bad luck they have that is never the fault of their mods, their maintenance, or the way they drive. Look for a lot of the older posts in the CRD Tech section and read up. Beware of those selling Fairy Dust that promises more than the Laws of Physics can deliver.
The VM 2.8L Common Rail Turbo charged Intercooled Diesel is a good engine, but there are those who don't know how to drive it with out tearing it up.
Good luck.

BTW DD sold out and VM is now owned by FIAT & GM in a joint venture.

Mods:
2006 Pearl Green CRD
Magnaflow 2 1/2" Cat Back
KJ Extra Leg Room Brackets, Carter Lift Pump, V6 Airbox, ORM
Fuel cooler, Oil Separator, Progard 7 air filter
Gauges EGT Boost Trans Temp, and Oil Pressure
Cooper ATR 215 85 R16
7,000# Draw Tight hitch, PML 11039 X Deep Trans Pan
Centrifuge, SunCoast, Transgo, NonF37 TCM, InMotion Stage 2
V6 Fan Hayden Fan Clutch Trans cooler

I had a CRD for many trouble free miles. The key is to ignore much of what the experts on forums tell you is necessary.

Love my CRD. I factory ordered in 2005 and 114,000 so far. Didn't know a thing about diesels before I bought my KJ. Be glad to answer any questions.

The biggest difference between 2005 and 2006, IMHO is the 2006 has traction control, and the 2005 does not. I am glad mine is the 2005.

There are 5 speeds. Third gear is 1:1, fourth and fifth are both overdrives. Depending on whether it has had the F37 update or not, it will not shift into fifth gear until around 62 mph (?) (F37 update) or 58 mph (non-F37).

To improve fuel economy, consider having the ECU reprogrammed by Green Diesel Engineering.

For maintenance, check out Sir Sam's noob guide on the L.O.S.T. forum mentioned above. Pretty much all you need.

I love my CRD.

I bought an 06 CRD about 6 months ago, and have done a tonne of reading through this site, and LOST Jeeps, which is VERY helpful!! I put a lot of miles on my vehicle due to a 1.5 hour to and from work daily and my Jeep is awesome for this. I also do a lot of camping and have towed my tent trailer a few times with no problems whatsoever, it seems to tow it fairly effortlessly. You definately have to be a Diesel lover, and I am not mehanically inclined but have figured out the issues that have come up so far... the EGR!

I love my CRD.

The egr problems are not only limited to chrysler, ford, Gm and the big diesels, detroit and mercedes are all having tremendous problems resolving this thorny issue. In fact it may be one of the main reasons diesels will not gain much traction outside of Europe. Pity, as a Diesel in a very narrow range has an advantage over gas mainly towing. There are some suppliers that make a bypass for the egr, after warranty of course.

Green Diesel Engineering (GDE) tuning

The GDE update significantly addresses the EGR issues in the CRD. No more black smoke when you romp on it, too.

I have lots of experience with diesels; we farm full time and I've wrenched on the big 3 for a living (Cat, Cummins, and Detroit, not GM, Ford, and Chrysler). I was a little leery about a foreign diesel. We had a skid loader with a Japanese (Issourima sp?) diesel that came apart on us and parts were non-existent. We ended up having to order a reman engine from the dealer for big $$$ :favorites68: and I didn't want that experience with a vehicle.

Can you get the TCM reprogrammed to only shift out of the first over-drive for towing?

I have an '05 and I LOVE it! I have a suncoast TC and a GDE cpu hot tune and trans tune. I recently took a trip from Seattle to Phoenix. Driving with the cruise at 58mph I got 36.5 mpg!

user113 said:

The GDE update significantly addresses the EGR issues in the CRD. No more black smoke when you romp on it, too.

Click to expand...

But i lika me some black smoke!!! It is a diesel ya know lol...atriot: So my question is does it take care of EGR issues if you should decide to straight pipe the little beast?? :disgust:

I'm a diesel nut, but in spite of that I did not buy a diesel Liberty.

Diesel Liberties sell for about $8000 more than a comparable gasser. (Say $14,000 instead of $6000). How long is it going to take to save $8000 in fuel?

The Liberty uses so much fuel (the gas or diesel one) that I actually have a second vehicle, a VW Golf TDI, for my every day driving. I only use the Jeep if I'm likely to go off-road. Even with the cost of insuring another car, it's still worth it, due to the obscene fuel consumption of the Liberty (and all SUV's...the Liberty is no worse than others).

Don't let me talk you out of it. As a diesel nut myself, I understand the need for a diesel engine under the hood. Just don't do it if you think it's saving you money. You'll be dissapointed. Get a CRD because diesel is just better...but you'll pay for it.

As a new vehicle, the CRD would be a no-brainer for me. The $1500 or whatever extra is well worth it. On the used market, the price difference is HUGE, so not worth it purely based on numbers. You just have to like diesel.