Mark's Jeep Journal

[Rasfetch]

I bought this 2006 Jeep Liberty with 163,000 miles in September 2020. It's now got 171k miles on it. This is my daily driver, but I also take her out to the woods and desert for some light offroading. This weekend, I'm replacing the spark plugs, serpentine belt, and the power steering fluid. The freon is currently leaking, and once it runs low again, I'll take it in to have the AC fixed. I live in Arizona so AC is a must especially during the summer.

I put new control arms when I bought it along with new bushings. I should probably check out the ball joints too. The Jeep is sagging quite a bit so I ordered OME springs and shocks. The rear springs are super delayed due to a certain virus, but I should be getting them in August or September (I ordered them in May). I cannot wait to put the new springs and shocks on and experience the nicer ride quality.

I'll be making a list of other upgrades and maintenance items that I need to do later, but I gotta get to the store and get this stuff done before it starts raining again!

 

[Rasfetch]

Quick question, but first some context. I have OME 2926 front springs, front Bilstein Shocks, and OME 60069 rear shocks. I ordered the OME 2947 rear springs, and they were supposed to be here by this month. I called the shop I ordered them from, and they can no longer give me a time frame of when the springs will come in due to a global backorder. I know the 2926 springs should give me about 1" of lift in the front. My front springs are sagging about 2 to 2.5 inches and the ride ***** so I'm very impatient now and want to get the new suspension on. The question is, can I use the Iron Man rear springs in place of the 2947 springs with the 2926 front springs? I obviously don't want the Jeep to have a dramatic front nose dip if the Iron Man rear springs are too tall.

Iron Man Rear Springs

 

[tommudd]

Ironman are not too tall , and you'll be replacing in a year or so anyways, plus work better with the stock length rear shocks you bought

 

[Rasfetch]

Ironman are not too tall , and you'll be replacing in a year or so anyways, plus work better with the stock length rear shocks you bought

I appreciate the response! Why would I be replacing them in year or so? Do the Iron Man's really not hold up that long?

 

[Rasfetch]

Thanks to everyone on this forum for all the help! Anyway, below are some updates on the Jeep.

If you're new and reading this, USE that search bar! I got the AC fixed. One shop wanted to replace the AC evaporator, but I took it to another shop, and they just replaced the AC pressure switch which fixed the problem and was much less expensive than the AC evaporator.

I also blew a tire on the highway. This especially ***** because I had two bad tires and two good tires, and of course, it was one of the good tires so I had to buy 4 new tires. I got the Kumho Roadventures, and they are quieter and ride nicer than the Iron Mans I had on.

This weekend I changed the rear differential fluid with Dino 80w-90 since that's what everyone here was recommending, and the car seems to accelerate from a stop much better now. Beforehand, the car would lurch forward very harshly when accelerating from a stop, but now that seems to be gone. The gears inside the diff looked great! No noticeable signs of wear or chips in the teeth.

I also drained and refilled the transfer case fluid. The fluid was essentially black, and it looks like it was never changed before. I have never really worked on cars before, but it feels good to learn more about my vehicle and work on it.

Next month, I need an oil change, front differential fluid replacement, and will look at installing my new springs and shocks. I'll probably do the rear spring and shocks myself to save some money on the install and have a shop do the front suspension. I will also buy some new coil spring isolators for the front and back since mine are worn out.


Miles: 174,500.

 

[Rasfetch]

I had the lift kit installed last month along with an alignment, and the Jeep is back in the shop because I'm having steering issues. When I take my foot off the accelerator, my Jeep jerks to the right, and when I accelerate again, my Jeep jerks back to left. The mechanic said it could be the front bushings and control arms, and they had told me that they were looking worn about 3 months ago. I'm hoping its not the bushings and control arms and just needs an alignment because I've already put a lot of money into the suspension already, and I want to be done with repairs!! Also, the front suspension makes a squeaking noise when I drive over a speed bump. Does anyone else have thoughts or ideas on what could be the issue? Has anyone else had this problem?

I had the OME 2926 with Bilstein's in the front, and the Iron Man springs and OME 9009s in the back. I had new mounts installed with the lift kit too, and the mechanic did an alignment too.

 

[duderz7]

Rear lower control arms, almost positive, have you checked for recall.

 

[Rasfetch]

Yes, I checked the recall site today, and the recall was completed on this Jeep. I'm almost positive that I had the rear lower control arms changed last year when I bought the Jeep, but will need to confirm with the old mechanic. Any other ideas?

 

[Rasfetch]

Rear lower control arms, almost positive, have you checked for recall.

Yes, I checked the recall site today, and the recall was completed on this Jeep. I'm almost positive that I had the rear lower control arms changed last year when I bought the Jeep, but will need to confirm with the old mechanic. Any other ideas?

 

[Rasfetch]

Rear lower control arms, almost positive, have you checked for recall.

Well I checked my old mechanic's maintenance site, and it looks like the rear control arms weren't changed. I had the front upper control arms changed in 2020, so it could be the rear lower control arms. I'll let the mechanic know when he calls.

 

[duderz7]

When mine were replaced one of the bolts was not tightened and I got the same behavior. Worn bushings will act that way, and if they are original, they're probably in bad shape.

 

[tommudd]

Yes rear lower control arms
had a girl in Toledo that talked to me one day about what her KJ was doing
Drove it maybe two miles and told her it was the rear LCAs
She said her Dad changed them
I had a used set , slapped them on for her to try and took care of it
Got the biggest hug and kiss out of that LOL
Well and 20 bucks

 

[Rasfetch]

When mine were replaced one of the bolts was not tightened and I got the same behavior. Worn bushings will act that way, and if they are original, they're probably in bad shape.

Yes rear lower control arms
had a girl in Toledo that talked to me one day about what her KJ was doing
Drove it maybe two miles and told her it was the rear LCAs
She said her Dad changed them
I had a used set , slapped them on for her to try and took care of it
Got the biggest hug and kiss out of that LOL
Well and 20 bucks

Y'all were right, and thanks for the feedback from both of you. The mechanic told me that it was the rear control arms. The upper and lower control arms were in really bad shape, so they're all getting replaced. They're using Moog parts which I've heard are some of the best parts for the KJ suspension, but I'm not looking forward to paying the bill. It's $1,200 bucks for the parts alone, and $450 for labor. Doesn't include taxes or environmental BS fees either. I would've done it myself except I'm driving to California tomorrow for Christmas. Fingers crossed I have no other large repairs or expenses on this thing for a while since I've put almost $4k of repairs into it this year alone.

 

[tommudd]

Y'all were right, and thanks for the feedback from both of you. The mechanic told me that it was the rear control arms. The upper and lower control arms were in really bad shape, so they're all getting replaced. They're using Moog parts which I've heard are some of the best parts for the KJ suspension, but I'm not looking forward to paying the bill. It's $1,200 bucks for the parts alone, and $450 for labor. Doesn't include taxes or environmental BS fees either. I would've done it myself except I'm driving to California tomorrow for Christmas. Fingers crossed I have no other large repairs or expenses on this thing for a while since I've put almost $4k of repairs into it this year alone.

1200 for only parts and even at that Moog ? WHOA !!

 

[duderz7]

Holy p00 nuggets, did you look into the recall?

 

[Rasfetch]

1200 for only parts and even at that Moog ? WHOA !!

Yeah, talk about some real part markups and punishment for not doing my own research. I'm going back in the morning to ask why the large markup on parts, and the alignment needs to be adjusted too.

 

[Rasfetch]

Holy p00 nuggets, did you look into the recall?

Yes, I looked into the recall, and the recall was already completed on the lower control arms At the end of the day, I had to have the repair done before tomorrow so I can travel to California for Christmas. At least, that's what I'll tell myself to justify throwing this much money on the control arms.

 

[Rasfetch]

So, I have to take the car back in tomorrow morning, because the car's alignment is still slightly off, and they said that they'll fix it. I'm going to discuss the part prices with them since they charge 2x to 3x what I've found the parts to be online. I know that some mechanics will charge a small premium on parts, but 2x to 3x is more than a small premium. I've done some digging, and the only explanation I can give is maybe they put on C or CK series control arms since those are considered premium parts. Everywhere I've seen online only sells the RK series which is the lower priced part. If they did use the RK series, then I'm going to approach them and see if they'd decrease the markdown. It may or not work, but I'm gonna try.

 

[duderz7]

If you're spending that much on control arms check out the one's available from core 4x4 or iron rock ... although they may not work with your time frame you seem to be in. Best of luck.

 

[Rasfetch]

Quick question about towing and differential fluid for y'all: I just purchased a home, and I'm looking to rent a small U-Haul trailer to move all my stuff from my apartment to my house. The house is only about 20 miles away from my apartment, so I wouldn't be towing for a long distance, and my Jeep has the tow package. Now, I recently changed the rear differential fluid with 80w-90, and it's to my understanding that you need 75w-140 in order to tow. Is this correct? Would I damage my rear differential if I towed with the 80w-90 fluid in the differential? Also, I occasionally some light off-roading, so is 75w-140 required for that too? I also never tow anything in my Jeep, so would changing the differential fluid to 75w-140 cause damage or extra wear and tear if I'm not off-roading or towing often?