Opinion: Start project or pass?

[JeeLibKJ]

My daughter has a 2006 Liberty with approx 90k miles. This is her first car, we got it from a family friend pretty cheap but it does have a salvage title. Car runs good and had low miles so we took the risk. so far no major issues except an AC leak.

unfortunatly she rear ended another car no too long ago and now has some front end damage. she is obviously not too happy with the look of the car at the moment and has put money in to get some of the parts replaced, i did all the work. There is still more to do but I tried to convince her not to spend her money on something we cant resell anyway. drive it till it dies and move on.

I recently updated the shocks, struts, and brakes. changed plugs and have always done a oil myself. the suspension still needs more work, seems to feel like it rolls into turns. when doing the suspension i kind of caught the bug and wished i bought the lift kit.

as i keep browsing im considering trading her with my 04 toyota and take this on as a project, which she hasnt agreed to yet. maybe i should just listen to my own advice and just maintain it until it dies.

how much would i look at spending for a lift kit?
can i still use the front stuts since i just replaced them or would they have to be replaced as well?
can i add larger tires to the stock rims?
if you could do it all over again would you even bother?
what do you think would be the basic upgrades to improve this jeep?

 

[tommudd]

My daughter has a 2006 Liberty with approx 90k miles. This is her first car, we got it from a family friend pretty cheap but it does have a salvage title. Car runs good and had low miles so we took the risk. so far no major issues except an AC leak.

unfortunatly she rear ended another car no too long ago and now has some front end damage. she is obviously not too happy with the look of the car at the moment and has put money in to get some of the parts replaced, i did all the work. There is still more to do but I tried to convince her not to spend her money on something we cant resell anyway. drive it till it dies and move on.

I recently updated the shocks, struts, and brakes. changed plugs and have always done a oil myself. the suspension still needs more work, seems to feel like it rolls into turns. when doing the suspension i kind of caught the bug and wished i bought the lift kit.

as i keep browsing im considering trading her with my 04 toyota and take this on as a project, which she hasnt agreed to yet. maybe i should just listen to my own advice and just maintain it until it dies.

how much would i look at spending for a lift kit?
OME coils 927 front and 948 rear plus either OME or Bilstein shocks will give 2.5 inches of lift over new stock height, check JeepinByAl but you are looking at 750-850 depending . Also need bumpstops teraflex front JBA has them, plus 2 hockey pucks per side bolted down to lower spring perch

can i still use the front stuts since i just replaced them or would they have to be replaced as well?
You could use the front shocks but I would advise against it unless you used either OME or Bilsteins, reason being , anything cheaper is not worth installing with new high quality springs
can i add larger tires to the stock rims?
Yes you can, with the 2.5 inch lift you could go to a 245-75-16, but be aware you will lose power and gas mileage unless you regear
if you could do it all over again would you even bother?
IMO I would , for example I bought an 03 couple years back , the lift I run on every KJ but one is a 2500 dollar adjustable coilover kit, cost half as much as I paid for the KJ ( low mileage one owner ) and worth every penny .
what do you think would be the basic upgrades to improve this jeep?
lift, tow points, good tires, and keep up the maintenance

Hope that helps a little
You can go higher , but going higher cost more money as well
for 3 inches add another 60-70 bucks, go 3.5 inches add about 450 due to needing JBA UCAs in front

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Any pics of the damage? If it's cosmetic I'd fab up a bumper or something. Otherwise if it has alignment problems I wouldn't try lifting it even. 90k miles is young for one of these though, so if you can fix the damage easily I'd definitely lift it.

 

[JeeLibKJ]

Hope that helps a little
You can go higher , but going higher cost more money as well
for 3 inches add another 60-70 bucks, go 3.5 inches add about 450 due to needing JBA UCAs in front

Thanks for the info. I'm definitely not interested going any higher than 2"

I'll start with the simple stuff till I raise the cash for the lift kit. Got an appt at dealer to recalibrate the speedo, seems to be about 10 mph faster than actual traveling. I'm also having them inspect the suspension because of the roll in corners but could be me just not used to the handling.





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[tommudd]

Thanks for the info. I'm definitely not interested going any higher than 2"

I'll start with the simple stuff till I raise the cash for the lift kit. Got an appt at dealer to recalibrate the speedo, seems to be about 10 mph faster than actual traveling. I'm also having them inspect the suspension because of the roll in corners but could be me just not used to the handling.





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Crappy weak springs, worn out shocks as well, at 90,000 miles way over due
Good OME kit will have it driving much better
My 04 had less than 20,000 miles (5 months old ) when I replaced the whole suspension . Could take turns 10-15 MPH faster after install and handled way better on the highway

 

[towpro]

before doing any lifting, you need to make sure the foundation is still good.
what is the crash damage like?

 

[JeeLibKJ]

Crappy weak springs, worn out shocks as well, at 90,000 miles way over due
Good OME kit will have it driving much better
My 04 had less than 20,000 miles (5 months old ) when I replaced the whole suspension . Could take turns 10-15 MPH faster after install and handled way better on the highway

Wish I knew, i wasnt even thinking about lifting when I did all the suspension work, my goal was just to get my daughter back on the road and safely.

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[JeeLibKJ]

before doing any lifting, you need to make sure the foundation is still good.
what is the crash damage like?

Here are some pictures...

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[HoosierJeeper]

How is the gap between the passenger fender and door?

 

[JeeLibKJ]

How is the gap between the passenger fender and door?

Not bad, not an issue.

Most damage is to the front end, hood, bumper, grille and crash bar pushed in.

Air bag was deployed so had to get a new one and seat belt retractor was stuck in engage, that needed replacement also.

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[JasonJ]

Put a hood and grille on it and drive it.

Drive it until it dies? Only 90,000 miles... that's gonna be a while if you take care of it.

I put 245-70-16 tires on my stock wheels, same wheels as yours, only corroded and peeling clearcoat look like crap- and I only noticed a slight loss of power when taking off- but I also have a light gas pedal foot, so if I drove it like normal people it'd be a non-issue. I did lose about 1-2mpg at the highest... mostly not noticeable as I don't daily drive the roads and speeds that would see those higher mpg's anyhow- I get 19.8mpg for mixed city/55mph cruise control rural roads 5 days per week.

I'd work with what you have, as other than the front end damage, it seems a very nice KJ.

 

[JeeLibKJ]

Put a hood and grille on it and drive it.

Drive it until it dies? Only 90,000 miles... that's gonna be a while if you take care of it.

I put 245-70-16 tires on my stock wheels, same wheels as yours, only corroded and peeling clearcoat look like crap- and I only noticed a slight loss of power when taking off- but I also have a light gas pedal foot, so if I drove it like normal people it'd be a non-issue. I did lose about 1-2mpg at the highest... mostly not noticeable as I don't daily drive the roads and speeds that would see those higher mpg's anyhow- I get 19.8mpg for mixed city/55mph cruise control rural roads 5 days per week.

I'd work with what you have, as other than the front end damage, it seems a very nice KJ.

Did you lift it with those tires?

Can you share a picture.

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[JasonJ]

Did you lift it with those tires?

Can you share a picture.

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No lift- shockingly no rubbing either, even with worn suspension. I'm sagged about 1" all around, 1.25" in front left corner. I think I may have a touch of rubbing at full lock- but it's been a non-issue. I'm installing a full OME lift with top plates in the spring- aiming for a 3" lift over stock, which would put me about +4" over where I'm at now. It's hard to visualize that much lift for me at this point!

Here is 2 years ago or so:

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And the preceeding summer, with less snow and mess, right after a full clay bar and wax detailing:

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And before Tom says anything, I am fully aware that my KJ is SILVER. lol .

 

[tommudd]

Did you lift it with those tires?

Can you share a picture.

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IF, and the big word here is if your springs have not sagged any and at 19 inches then minimal rub when back up and wheels cut with 245-70-16s

 

[tommudd]

No lift- shockingly no rubbing either, even with worn suspension. I'm sagged about 1" all around, 1.25" in front left corner. I think I may have a touch of rubbing at full lock- but it's been a non-issue. I'm installing a full OME lift with top plates in the spring- aiming for a 3" lift over stock, which would put me about +4" over where I'm at now. It's hard to visualize that much lift for me at this point!

Here is 2 years ago or so:

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And the preceeding summer, with less snow and mess, right after a full clay bar and wax detailing:

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And before Tom says anything, I am fully aware that my KJ is SILVER. lol .

:Bye::Bye::happy175::happy175:

 

[JeeLibKJ]

Well that idea was short lived, daughter just wrecked the kj.

Damage is bad and since it's already a salvage title it's not worth fixing.

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[HoosierJeeper]

That does look bad. Hope she is ok.

 

[JeeLibKJ]

That does look bad. Hope she is ok.

Yea, She's fine. Don't know if I'd say the same if she were in a lesser car.

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