Somethings gotta change

[TomO]

We took Nancy, the new-to us '04 Liberty Renegade, out for her first tests at climbing hills and maneuvering through ruts and rocks.

She did much better than some of the other vehicles we saw on the nastiest parts of the hill climb which required lots of suspension flex and a fair amount of clearance. Several places where any given wheel may be 8 - 12 inches off the ground. She hardly slipped a wheel at all.

But, there was lots of scraping hard parts on the bottom and the constant worry of slamming plastic parts into the ground.

I was also surprised at how much she tends to run away in 2nd and 3rd gear / hi range. Most of my other 4wd's can keep the rpms down below 1000 when pointed down a grade. She'd tach up to and above 3K! She did hold her ground in lo range 1st gear for the really interesting parts though. The places there where I thought she may run away turned out to be just the tires sliding downhill, and not rolling faster.

All in all, I think I need to remove all of the plastic from the front, ( Why would Chrysler even think of putting plastic on a Jeep anywhere? ) and get her saggy old springs replaced.

But, we had a good time.

 

[badkittystt]

Pics?

 

[TomO]

We didn't take any, unfortunately. The other part of this mission ( read: SWMBO's reason ) was to get pictures of the various wildflowers in bloom to use as advertising photos for her business.

So we just packed up the two of us, threw the dogs in the back, and headed off. Lots of flower pictures and a few of Nancy parked in a meadow, but we never did stop other than to let another vehicle or two clear the rough parts before taking them on.

Sometime this week, I will line up my 4wd vehicles and try to get a picture of them all together. I still think it's silly that the KJ is the only one with plastic down low - out in front of the tires. All the others lead the way with steel.

 

[TomO]

A quick web search didn't find any pics from someone else either.

We picnicked at the top at N40 14.976' W105 24.336'

The hill is 1/4 mi NW of there.

 

[Jo6pak]

The front lower part of my bumper shroud shows a bit of trail rash. But apart form one hole below the left fog light, it's held up pretty well.

I think this may be one reason that the front bumper was changed in 05'

Sooner of later someone will tell you to swap in an ARB bumper:smokin:

 

[TomO]

I guess I'm just a bit miffed at Chrysler for how they built this thing. She's joining the stable of 4wd cars as the youngest, prettiest, softest ride, quietest, and most fragile. At least in factory stock configuration.

Come to think of it, all my 4wd cars are still sitting on original suspensions. The KJ has the least clearance of them all!

The family she joined is:

1977 Jeep CJ-7 "The Jeep" 258cid 4-speed ( 3 speed with Granny really) ~325,000 miles
1987 Isuzu Trooper II "Eric the Red" 2.3L i4 5 speed ~197,000 miles
1988 Ford F250 "Mona" 7.3L International Diesel V8 5-speed ( 4 with Granny ) ~350,000 miles
1994 Toyota 4Runner "Li'l Blue" 3.slow 4-speed auto ( SWMBO's car ) ~285,000 miles
2004 Jeep KJ "Nancy" 3.7L V6 5-speed Hardly used at all with ~115,000 miles

"Nancy" is easily the most grocery-getter-ish one in the lot. She's going to need a bunch of aftermarket enhancements to keep up with the rest of her new family.

 

[badkittystt]

I love your descriptions of the family! I get made fun of all the time for naming my vehicles but they really do have personalities and are parts of the family. I have Mr. Darcy Ninja Superstar- 2006 KJ, and Mr. Creep- 2000 Toyota Echo. Also in the family we have Brick- the weather station, and Cecil- iRobot Roomba. Cecil is in a coma right now, he had an accident, say a prayer for him as he sits in a priority mail box in his favorite nook under the tv.

 

[Ry' N Jen]

You would be surprised at how resilient the front and rear bumpers really are!
Sure, an ARB bumper up front and a Rock Lizard in the rear would be the ultimate.
But I know from first hand experience that the front plastic one holds up pretty good!
Ya, I've blown out some of the plastic retaining clips between the drivers side of the bumper and the front fender flare, but I was being cheap and reused the factory fitted ones after removing and re-installing the bumper after fitting the Backbone...
The new ones on the front passenger side held.
Even after nose diving very hard going through a 5 foot deep ditch!

When we finally do rip the front bumper off while wheeling, then it will be time for the
ambiguous ARB unit!
Same goes for the rear skin.

 

[TomO]

@badkittystt: Perhaps Cecil is just suffering from furballs? I hope he can find his way out the nook soon.

Maybe I'm too worried about all the plastic on Chrysler's idea of what a Jeep should be. None of my other 4wd cars, both past and present, had plastic trim pieces down low and out in front of the wheels. Are they building these things for wheelin' or for grocery store runs on the weekend?

Chrysler. Leading the way with plastic.

Give the Jeeps back to Kaiser, I say.

 

[tommudd]

As long as you call all 4 wheel drives "cars" they'll have plastic on them
Besides real 4 wheel drives are built not bought
so start building:shrug:

 

[Ry' N Jen]

:happy175:

 

[TomO]

Cars is just easier to type than automobiles or vehicles.

If you mean Sport Utility Vehicles, none of them are good for any sport that I know of, and with the exception of my F250, none are very utilitarian either. Just try to load a ton of rock into any of them.

In my book, they're all cars, just with varying body styles.

My wife is always trying to call her 4Runner a 'truck'. She just doesn't buy it when I correct her and tell her that it is a 'station wagon'. I guess she misses her F-350. That one threw a rod coming down from Glacier Ridge with a heavy camper mounted in the bed. She hasn't been the same since.

 

[badkittystt]

She hasn't been the same since.

The truck or the wife?

 

[Jo6pak]

My 04 KJ has seen the same action as my old 96 XJ, and has handled it just as well, if not better, even with all the "plastic".

I'll bet if you look at the newwer models of the Trooper or 4-runner, you'll see just as much plastic.

 

[TomO]

I believe that's true.

My theory is that the manufacturers were striving to find a way to make their 4wd vehicles more appealing to a larger and more diverse set of people. In order to sell more vehicles, they needed to eliminate some of the things that made those vehicles better for off-road use ( and lousy as family cars primarily used on the road ) and make them more comfortable, smoother and appealing to those people who have no intention of venturing off into a rock field or mud hole anytime.

I still think it's a shame that I have to replace or eliminate so many parts on the KJ to make it as friendly off-road as my CJ. As an everyday driver with just limited off-road use on weekends and such, she'll be just fine once I replace the saggy springs. The CJ is pretty much worthless on the road, but it's a whole lot easier to lose the top and doors when it comes time for wheelin'.

edit: There, I didn't say 'car' once.
edit2: oops. Yes I did.

 

[TomO]

The truck or the wife?

The wife. She always gets that far-away look in her eyes when we see a late 80's, early 90's F-350 4x4.

She kinda likes "Mona" my '88 F-250 but she complains that the clutch return springs are too strong. Says it hurts her knee. I think it could launch a smaller person right out the rear window if they're not belted in.

 

[Ry' N Jen]

The wife. She always gets that far-away look in her eyes when we see a late 80's, early 90's F-350 4x4.

She kinda likes "Mona" my '88 F-250 but she complains that the clutch return springs are too strong. Says it hurts her knee. I think it could launch a smaller person right out the rear window if they're not belted in.

That's funny!
A good "Ejector seat"!

 

[rockymountain]

Once you get an OME lift on there you'll change your tune. I'm sure of it.

I still have all the plastic on mine and have never hit or broke anything on the front or rear bumper due to the awesome approach angles. I have now knocked off the plastic "rail" along the pinch seem under the doors. that can be taken care of with sliders.

(hey marlon, got any fasteners for that?)

A stock KJ is really nothing to write home about with the cheap springs and shocks. Lot's of people think the KJ ***** because they have only seen it stock and unfortunately never see one with a nice setup. For me my KJ is the most versatile vehicle I can think of. I can wheel all day doing some crazy stuff and then enjoy a nice smooth ride home on the highway. In the city I can take turns like no tomorrow. The handling is superb.

So get a good OME setup and then report back on what you think. I'd look forward to that!! :smokin:

 

[TomO]

Sounds like OME is in my future. Is that a much stiffer suspension than the squishy factory ride?

BTW: It is the need to add all of those aftermarket parts that is my primary beef with Chrysler. If they're going to build Jeeps and other off-road vehicles, why don't they do it well? What possible use could I have for AC and power windows in a Jeep? Why should I need to replace thousands of dollars of crappy parts just to turn it into a good 4x4?

 

[tommudd]

I started building 4 wheel drives ( Jeeps/ early broncos etc ) back in 1972, I have yet to buy one and NOT replace crappy parts. Not sure why you think that it has changed any over the years. Yes used to be there was no plastic, no AC etc but it sure makes the ride to the trails a lot of fun compared to the way it used to be!