New guy with a somewhat-neglected '04!

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TomB985

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Good morning everyone,

Over the long weekend I picked up an '04 Limited with 133K miles. It's had a somewhat rough history, but it runs well with no CEL, and for $2K I figured it was worth a shot. My intention was to get something good in the snow for the winter, as I traded my AWD Escape on a minivan last spring.

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I've already learned a lot from searching and lurking here over the last few days, and I'd like to say thanks to the community for building such a great resource. I've gone through it pretty well, and I think I've got a handle on its needs.

First up was front brakes...the previous owner purchased front pads but didn't find the time to put them on. The right front was completely worn to the backing plate, so I drove it home with a really awful grinding noise that will haunt me for years. New pads and rotor and she stops well. Next up were spark plugs and fluid changes...the plugs looked all original, so I replaced with Autolite platinums and she seems to run noticeably smoother. I also changed the front and rear diffs, transfer case, engine oil, and coolant. I'm quite surprised the previous owner bothered to change the transmission fluid, as he neglected just about everything else but oil changes. I'm fairly sure all of the fluids I changed were original.

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On the way home with my boys yesterday the front passenger window fell down. I took the door apart to discover the regulator gave up the ghost. I've got a new one on order, and in the meantime I drilled the regulator and pinned the window shut with a screw. :favorites68:

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I've got a few other things on my list. I'm getting a ratchet-like sound whenever the wheels are turned in 4WD, as well as a driveshaft-ish noise at highway speeds that's worse in 4WD. I think one of the front driveshaft CV joints is failing, so that'll be coming down to check in the next few days. Both front speakers are blown, and I've got a speaker repair kit from Amazon.com on the way...I figure it's better to fix than mess around replacing the OEM Infinity speakers and their attached amplifiers. One of the rear defroster tabs has broken off the windshield, so I've also ordered some adhesive that should hopefully get that working again.

I get some gear whine from the rear differential above 65 MPH that quieted down a bit after the new fluid. I get a similar noise from the front end at 55 MPH in 4WD, but at this point I'm not worried about either. Both pinion shafts look tight, and the oil didn't have any noticeable shavings, so without further cause for concern I'll just continue to monitor.

I'm a bit disappointed with fuel economy, but otherwise it seems to run well for a 13-year-old car. I'm looking forward to learning more and getting her in shape for the winter!
 

tommudd

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Pull those nasty spark plugs and get some good ones in there
NGK coppers ONLY
Also only HOAT coolant in case you didn't know

55 in 4WD, ....why ??
What transfer case do you have
 

TomB985

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Pull those nasty spark plugs and get some good ones in there
NGK coppers ONLY

Why's that? Seems to run great with the Autolite platinums.

55 in 4WD, ....why ??
What transfer case do you have

Because I'm trying to find problems before they find me. It's got the Selec-Trac transfer case, and I did this in full-time mode. The fact that the noise was significantly worse in 4WD makes me glad I did, because I think that isolates it to the front driveline. From what I've read, the rearward CV joint seems to be the likely culprit.

We'll see tomorrow night when I pull the shaft, I didn't have time this evening.

Thanks for the reply, BTW...I'm pretty good as amateur wrenches go, but very new to the KJ platform. Most of my experience has been on Fords for the last fifteen years.
 

Kaden

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It Doesn’t matter what brand of plugs you put in just as long as they meet factory spec. My 03 says it needs platinum plugs in the manual so I run autolite platinum by choice. From my experiences NGK plugs are junk. Everything I own has autolite plugs with zero problems.
 

tommudd

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It Doesn’t matter what brand of plugs you put in just as long as they meet factory spec. My 03 says it needs platinum plugs in the manual so I run autolite platinum by choice. From my experiences NGK plugs are junk. Everything I own has autolite plugs with zero problems.

Please post that up that it needs platinum plugs :happy175:
I have an 03 as well in my stable
 

TomB985

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I think Tom is technically correct, here. Platinum and iridium plugs have been around for decades, and I remember Chrysler products back in the '90s that had 100K maintenance intervals with their factory platinum plugs. There's gotta be a reason of some sort that the recommended plugs in a Liberty are copper with a 30K maintenance interval.

I'm happy with how she runs, so I'm gonna let it ride for the moment. My next priority is one more coolant drain and fill as well as front driveshaft inspection. I'm honestly enjoying the heck out of this...I'm not happy with all the things that are broken, but this is the easiest thing I've ever owned to work on. I forgot how much I enjoyed time in the garage.
 

TomB985

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Last night I pulled the front driveshaft to take a look.

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Yep, that explains the noise!

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Gotta new one on order from an eBay vendor. I normally don't do cheap parts, but at 1/6th the cost of a reputable brand, I figure it's worth a shot.
 

tommudd

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Last night I pulled the front driveshaft to take a look.

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Yep, that explains the noise!

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Gotta new one on order from an eBay vendor. I normally don't do cheap parts, but at 1/6th the cost of a reputable brand, I figure it's worth a shot.

Rebuild it for 35-40 bucks
 

TomB985

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Rebuild it for 35-40 bucks

Yep, the part I ordered was $30 shipped from an eBay vendor. I’m hoping the quality is decent, they seem to have good feedback.

https://m.ebay.com/itm/2002-2007-Jeep-Liberty-Front-Drive-Shaft-rear-CV-Joint-Replacement-Kit-ME807-/182610969421?txnId=1863671855008
 

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