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Comments
Haven't put my finger on it precisely, but there is now a difference in how and when the tranny shifts. Smoother overall. I think I'm going to like it. Thankfully there have been no more hard shifts.
I'll give the dealership and technician credit for perseverance and finally getting it done. The part shipment delays may not have been their fault - but 5 days in the shop did try my patience a bit.
Been there - Used to own a VW Beetle with poor heat exchangers. I drove with one hand on the steering wheel and the other hand had a scraper in hand clearing my frozen breath from the windshield.
I normally drive slow and don't accelerate or decelerate very quickly. However, yesterday I got a bit childish. Another Jeep with a trailer was looking to pass me on a two lane road. I figured I'd speed up to keep him behind and keep my forward visibility. I put the pedal to the metal and zoomed ahead. I gave the other Jeep a big puff of black smoke to breathe.
Is this normal for a diesel to occaisonally belch some black smoke? I used to see the big trucks do that and was told their injectors are off. Is this a sign of injector problems or maybe bad fuel? It was kind of fun to give the other driver the smoke.
I'm buying my 10 PPM in Switzerland because I work there. There are two types of clean diesel fuels, one that is ULS and the second ULS B5. I bought the B5 type this winter and it was fine. I can only find ULS now, and my mileage figures are not stable anymore. This may have to do with with refineries that can't provide even quality. So I'm back to the standard 350 PPM (or less) with the stock air-filter, and my mileage meets the specs! I don't know the recepie to use ULS plus canola oil. It may not be worth the try. Nevertheless the engine always ran very well.
Someone posted info about potential problems when using B20 fuel. I can confirm this: on the MB 2.7L CRD some fuel return line o-rings leak. We don't have these o-rings on the VM 2.8L but the doubt remains.
I'm seeing worse in town and better on the highway. My overall mileage since new (7,500 miles) is 24.5 MPG. Town mileage is 19-20 MPG. Driving at 65 MPH on the highway the average mileage of 4 trips of 700 miles each is 29.1 MPG.
My odometer reads under by 2.1% so the mileage is adjusted for odometer error.
Gear ratio is 3.73. Tires are 225 75R 16s. I calculate that when the tires are about worn out the odometer will be pretty close.
If the odometer error is consistent across vehicles with the same specs you might be getting a little better than you are calculating.
I have had no experience with the silicone/ptfe wipers. They are quite expensive, about $20 per blade. I use the higher end Trico or Anco wipers. They work quite well and generally last about eight months. I use rubber covered (winter) wipers during the winter. We get more ice than snow here so rubber covered wipers are mandatory, at least for me.
I wrote to VM Motori about the oil change intervals and they said two things. 1. Follow the recommendations in the owner's manual. or 2. Doing oil changes more frequently is good for the engine.
It is real easy to do. You will need an eight millimeter hex (end looks like an Allen Key wrench) but this one is mounted in a three-eighths inch socket. You will also need to get a copper gasket for the oil plug, and of course an oil filter. Mobil 1 0W-40 is readily available as is Mobil 1 5W-40. You will need to purchase seven quarts as the engine takes six quarts plus 13 ounces from the seventh quart (32 * .4 = 12.8).
Be prepared to use a fair amount of muscle to remove the plug.
Typically get 20-22 in town and get anywhere from 25.5 to 28.5 on the open freeway. We got one tank that was 18.5 (the worst so far) but that involved city gridlock, seven 20 mile trips up hills with a trailer loaded with 2500 pounds of gravel and rocks and many freeway mergings.
Smokey.
Since many years I took the habit of lifting my wipers every time I park my vehicles during winter. This is a simple way to make them last them longer. Other people pull a thick plastic film over the windshield and don't need to clean it when they go. It's just a bit of organisation. Next time I come over I'll bring back a few sets of Trico blades in my luggage. I'm using Bosch wipers now but they are not quite as well built as the asian ones. By the way, I found a nice canadian made plastic shovel to remove the snow off the windshield without risking to scratch it. It's quite a job to get rid of thick snow due to the height of the Jeep!
The oil plug was indeed difficult to break loose on the first and second oil change even though I did not put it on that tight. I put a small amount of antiseize on the drain plug for the next oil change. If you use antiseize on your plug, use it sparingly. I do not think you want any of it in the engine oil.
The engine used a little less than a quart of oil during the first 1,300 miles and stopped using oil after that.
For snow removal, I have a broom with soft bristles on it. I had a Dodge Dakota pickup prior to owning this Jeep and it was quite tall, especially the cap.
I do have a suggestion for you. I suggest you bring a wiper arm with you. It could be possible that the attachment point design in Europe is different enough that blades sold here may not be attachable.
Well, as I said, the drain plug was difficult to remove at 2k and 6k.
You definitely do not want to use oil or antiseize on lug nuts! Lug nuts and wheel studs should be clean and dry to hold safely and not over torque when installed.
I find it interesting that the oil drain plug would bind up like that. Could you be over-torquing it?
What brand/type of tires do you have on your CRD? I got rid of my Goodyears in the first 110 miles. They were terrible.
So do I and no I am not over-torquing it. I had to use a breaker bar the first time. The second time I didn’t need a breaker bar but it was still too tight even though I installed it with an 8 mm bent wrench with one hand.
It is a steel drain plug in an aluminum pan, just like steel spark plugs in an aluminum head which also seize.
I did a little research and I found that car manufacturers have very specific instructions on how to apply antiseize to spark plugs so as not to get the material into the combustion chamber. So there is a concern there also.
I also found where antiseize reduces the required torque on the wrench by 30 to 70% in order to get the same pull on the threads. There is a definite danger in pulling threads or warping brake disks if you use antiseize on good threads and use the full torque recommended on the wrench for good dry threads.
Rusty threads and good threads are apples and oranges. Maybe between the rust and the antiseize you achieved a harmonic balance with the universe.
I used a small amount of antiseize on my drain plug. I’m not worried in the slightest. If you or anyone else have any misgivings about applying it correctly, just don’t do it.
I think balance is a local phenomenon!
tidester, host
I just love my Liberty. Quiet ,and smooth !.
I have been getting 30 mi/Canadian gallon and I love this vehicle.It's the best thing since sliced bread for us Canucks.
Here we are experiencing extremely high fuel prices.
Average$ 4.00/gallon of gas,thats why I turned to Diesel.
Diesel is averaging $3.50/gallon but our gallon is a bit bigger than a U.S. gallon
U.S. gallon 3.8 Litres- Canadian gallon 4.5 Litres.
I am glad finally Chrysler has developed a competitive product.
It is very comfortable to travel in and I can tow a trail with this thing,even in the winter.
Can't do that with a Jetta...
Plus the diesel option and tow package was about $1000.
Not bad considering some of the prices of an import diesel.
Plus if I have to get something fixed or oil changes ,there are plenty of Chrysler dealerships around.Besides I get free oil changes .That deal came with the Jeep .Neat ! especially if your paying $8 a bottle for the best synthetic on the market
At least I don't have to go to an econo -box now.
It's what all jeep lovers have been waiting for.The Jeep somehow was made into a sport toy when originally was meant for being a practicle family vehicle.
I also have a 94 ' Gr. Cherrokee 4.0L gas engine going on 250,000 miles,can't kill this thing.I'd like to see a toyota 4 runner 10 years old.Hmmm ... I don't see any around here on road I wonder why??..
Peace ..
1. Software/controller problem. You may need to have a software update or controller repair.
2. Rotten fuel. Just because you buy at a Citgo station does not necessarily mean you are getting Citgo fuel. There are stations that will sell name brand gasolene but sell a no-name brand of diesel. Did you fill up when the tanks were being refilled? You need to be careful about that. I have used their gasolene without problems, but not their diesel. I generally purchase Shell/Texaco or Chevron.
3. Component failure (injectors, pump) but very unlikely.
YES they are!! IMO Consumer Reports does a disservice to the car buying public. If a magazine wants to give their opinion on cars or underwear that is fine. CR has gotten people to believe they know what they are talking about. When that is far from the truth. They are no more objective now than they were 40 years ago.
It's also nice to test drive second hand vehicles: you know ahead of time what you will get.
I read many reviews in automobile magazines but people seem to want the milk, butter and cream for the same price. (locals say: marry the farmer's daughter at the same time)
darn!
Today I did about a 150 on a wet corner in North Texas following a FWD car that just drove away. The CRD has Trak-loc, but that means nothing I guess with goodyears. I'm tire shopping. 7,500 on the odometer. I'm leaning toward Kumho Venture HT since we had a great experience with Kumho replacements for the rsa's (except for tire life). We'll sacrifice tire life anytime for good traction.
Caribou, I think you're running BFG A/T .
I think we want to stay with a highway tire, stock size.
Any help here will be appreciated.
The CRD has the tire pressure monitor valve stems. Are these permanent? What happens when tires are replaced? Any special care needed by the tire changers?
I towed a 2000 lbs trailer like nothing 500 miles,no problems.It seems the diesel was hardly working.
But I don't blame you to going to a Diesel Ram .It sounds like your a traveler with a big load.
Peace ...
traded it in for a Prius,that sucks !.
At least a diesel Liberty can pull a load ,tackle a hill,go anywhere do anything vehicle,and still get half decent mileage.
Besides wait till you have to do the brakes on that thing,or when the battry dies,have you priced one lately,they are close to $6000.00 on a prius .
Reliability goes along way ,and I know I can go to any Chrysler dealership and get it fixed affordably,and in a days time too,not weeks waiting for a part.
And if you think that it won't break ,because they are an imported JAPANESE product your wrong ! .
This is coming from a 94' Gr.Cherrokee owner with 250,000 miles on her ,and can kill her ,now I'd like to see a toyota after 10 years ,Hmmm...No ? can't think of one on the road ,I wonder why??
peace...
the dealer called me last night and said i could pick up my jeep liberty CRD
This is my first time with Bridgestones and so far I am real pleased. Found out something interesting. I am running the tires at 35 - 36 psi instead of the 33 psi that is called for. The ride is a bit firmer but the steering response to inputs is much quicker. Let me see how these do in the snow this winter (if we get any). I usually would have replaced the OEM tires with Pirelli, but there was a real good deal on these. I like Pirelli as they do everything they are suppose to do so very well, except their tread life is so -so no matter how well you take care of them. I avoid Michelin for two reasons, cost and they are very allergic to water.