Getting a 2004 KJ

My ex-wife is finally getting rid of OUR 2004 Jeep Liberty Limited and giving it back to me. It has 200K+ miles on it, needs a paint job, needs an oil leak fixed, needs a door seal replaced, needs new tires. But other than that she said it still runs ok. I decided to take it as I need a 4WD vehicle for my winter visits up to extreme northern NY & NH to visit family. To me at least, it's worth putting money into it instead of buying a new or used truck/SUV with 4WD. I really liked that KJ when I drove it.

My plans are to not only make it 100% road-worthy and reliable (which may include a rebuilt engine & ******), but upgrade it with the following wish list:

ARB Bull bar front bumper with winch
ARB air lockers front & rear
Rockfather II lift
Bigger tires with spacers installed for clearance
Steel roof rails with a cargo basket. LED lights installed on the front of the basket
K& N intake & filter
Rocky Road Rock Sliders on each side

Suggestions? Comments?

Ahhh, where to start
No mention of regearing which you will need with larger tires
Forget spacers, just get wheels that have the right width and backspacing, like 7 inches wide and 4 inches of backspacing
K&N filter is a backwards way to get anything, good paper filter in the stock box flows way better long term
With a ARB and winch up front I would go with OME 790s in front, will hold up better ( speaking from experience )
RRO sliders bend easily look good until you actually need them
RRO Rockfather II , ah well I'll try and keep quiet but better ways to lift than using their parts

That's why I here...always open to suggestions. My ex-wife has had this vehicle since we bought it so it will be new to me and never modified before. I'll keep exploring the forum gathering info before any purchase.

EX-WIFE giving you a KJ
Most of my Ex-Wives just cost me money, never got anything from them

tommudd said:

EX-WIFE giving you a KJ
Most of my Ex-Wives just cost me money, never got anything from them

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I bought the KJ for her when we were married and we departed on good terms. Recently when she asked me to sign the title over (my name was still on it) I asked if I could have it instead of her unloading it and she said sure! So now I will have a 200K+ miles KJ as a project to fix & modify as a second vehicle for my snow trips up north. It worked out great!

That's great
I have one Ex like that, we even went on a two week vacation the day the judge granted our divorce
But another kept my dog and my banjo, and then another forged my name on a title and got a 65 Buick Rivi all done and gone through
So it's great you have a good relationship yet
Lots you can do to a KJ but its not as easy as building a cookie cutter Wrangler where you just point to a part and pass over your credit card

tommudd said:

That's great
I have one Ex like that, we even went on a two week vacation the day the judge granted our divorce
But another kept my dog and my banjo, and then another forged my name on a title and got a 65 Buick Rivi all done and gone through
So it's great you have a good relationship yet
Lots you can do to a KJ but its not as easy as building a cookie cutter Wrangler where you just point to a part and pass over your credit card

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My first car was a '65 Buick Electra (same body i believe) sooo nice, still miss it.

tommudd said:

That's great
I have one Ex like that, we even went on a two week vacation the day the judge granted our divorce
But another kept my dog and my banjo, and then another forged my name on a title and got a 65 Buick Rivi all done and gone through
So it's great you have a good relationship yet
Lots you can do to a KJ but its not as easy as building a cookie cutter Wrangler where you just point to a part and pass over your credit card

Click to expand...

The KJ came stock with 17" wheels & tires (235/65R17's) and the usual 3.73 gears. So now I'm looking at the OME suspension and will probably stick with the 17's I have now. I created a task list on what I need to do to the KJ.....$$$! But not too bad or over the tipping point that it isn't worth doing. I trailered it to SC a couple days ago and #1 on the task list is to stop the water leak(s) that are flooding the passenger side front & rear. Then look for & fix any rust under the carpet & then eventually new carpet & padding. The list goes on & on...

Limiteds came stock with 17s, hate them, choice of god tires in bigger sizes is very limited
my 05 came with 17s uuuugggghhh

tommudd said:

Limiteds came stock with 17s, hate them, choice of god tires in bigger sizes is very limited
my 05 came with 17s uuuugggghhh

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Seeing how the PRIMARY purpose of this KJ will be for my winter trips to NY/NH/VT, I'll probably get something that is all-season but have a Severe Snow Service rating. Secondary purpose will be trail riding somewhere, so I'll have to try to balance what could possibly accommodate both....but snow is #1. And all-season instead of a winter tire because I do live in SC and that will be the location of most of it's mileage time.

I know I can't have it all, but will try to make the best of the entire situation.

Mine also came with the 235/65/17 tires and I remember not being able to find much that would fit. Seems like there was a decent selection of 245/65/17 options though. Been many years since Ive looked.

Slugger103 said:

Seeing how the PRIMARY purpose of this KJ will be for my winter trips to NY/NH/VT, I'll probably get something that is all-season but have a Severe Snow Service rating. Secondary purpose will be trail riding somewhere, so I'll have to try to balance what could possibly accommodate both....but snow is #1. And all-season instead of a winter tire because I do live in SC and that will be the location of most of it's mileage time.

I know I can't have it all, but will try to make the best of the entire situation.

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Many tires out there now do both fairly well
Goodyear Duratracs are great tires for example, ran a set for over 95,000 miles on the 04 in 265-75-16s, just keep them rotated well