Jeep Liberty Driveline

siberia

Jezzabell,

Glad to hear that your ball joints are okay. When a power steering pump fails it either causes hard steering, leaks oil or makes noise - sometimes all three. Fascinates me how something that pumps oil for a living can wear out. Must have been some contamination during manufacture.

When a Liberty ball joint fails it can be catastrophic since the ball can actually pull out of the socket dropping the vehicle on the ground. Some owners who had this happen reported some warning before the actual event. They reported creaking and popping noises when steering, such as pulling into a parking place, right before the failure. One owner reported ending up out in a field (luckily right side up) after failure at highway speed. Stay safe.

jpdriver

I was having the symptomatic popping/knocking noise (under the rear) when steering full right some days ago, and brought it right into the dealer. Reportedly, the bushings in the control arms are suspected, a solution estimated at some 400$ and change. Thanks to the above posts, am having the lower ball joints looked into as well - if, in fact, they aren't the real problem to begin with.

willeypa

Have a 2002 Jeep Libety, about 60,000 miles on it. Use Liberty for road use only. No off-road use at all.

Within the last 12 months, had to have rear axle seals replaced TWICE (once in Sept 06 and once April 07).

One week ago I had a right rear flat tire, and was told by the garage that fixed the flat, that the rear axle seals are indeed leaking AGAIN. BUT, I just had them replaced TWICE within the last 12 months.

Any idea's why the rear axle seals keep leaking? This is getting to be quite a costly problem because it includes replacing brake pads, etc and labor costs. With parts and labor, I'm looking at $300-400 each time I get them fixed.

HELP!

arvman

you might want to check that your axle vent is not clogged.even with no off road they can gum up.should be a hose coming off the axle with a little cap at the top,move it around in a twisting motion till it moves freely...

xtec

arvman has a good place to start.If thats ok,check the axle shaft itself where the seal rides on.Check for a burr,or check the shaft for wear.

jim409

I have a 2004 Liberty 34,000 miles. In slow traffic when it shifts, it sounds like the rear end is falling out. It's a real loud clunk wheather shifting up or down. HELP.

tjb2

I have a 2002 Jeep Limited with an easy 39,000 miles on it, purchased certified pre-owned. As many forum users have stated, I experience odd noises coming from the rear. When making a tight turn into a parking space, the steering is fine, but I hear a "whirring" sound, followed by a grating noise, almost like a tire rubbing. Can it be the ball joints? Perhaps as one post mentioned, a joint on top of rear differential? Has anyone had a similar experience?

Thanks..

ross18

Help! I have had my differential bearings replaced 3 times in less than a year. It started off with rear end noise, then the noise seemed like it was coming from the tires and the tread. It got louder and louder. Just 2 weeks ago was the last time it was in the shop and I am once again hearing the noise. I think the whole differential unit should be replaced at this point. But I know nothing about cars. What should I do. I have 100,000 miles on my car and it has been kept up on maintenance. This is the only problem I have. I am sure they will tell it isn't covered under standard warranty. However, since I have this same problem so many times in such a short period of time I want the whole thing replaced. I don't feel safe in my car. What is my recourse? Thanks.

cmsitech

I purchased a 2002 Jeep Liberty about a year ago. In June the speed sensor on the rear differential failed causing the speedometer to quit working and transmission to stop shifting The dealer replaced the sensor for $300. Since June I have replaced the sensor my self three more times, about every 3 to 5k miles. The sensor when replaced has no physical damage, and the dealer ship states that there is know reason for the failure. Does anyone have any thoughts on this issue?

Chris

rpizzi

My 21 year old daughter was driving my 2006 Liberty on the Northern Parkway in Westbury, NY on January 2, 2008. The car was purchased in July 2006 and has approximately 15,500 miles on it. Suddenly and without warning the wheels locked up ripping out the transfer case and dropping the drive shaft on the highway. The car behind her was damaged as it ran over the drive train components. The driver of the damaged car saw flames coming out from under the Liberty and a cloud of black smoke. (Probably from the gear oil). Fortunately the Liberty veered into the breakdown lane and not into another travel and no one was injured.

The Liberty was towed to Westbury Jeep. Initially I met with the service manager and he indicated the repairs would be made under warranty. After 12 days he phone me and said “...either the car hit something or it was driven in 4WD low on the highway.” Neither of these occurred and Jeep does not acknowledge a problem with vehicle and will not cover the repairs under warranty. I phoned Chrysler and they won’t even send a rep to look at the vehicle. Chrysler contacted the dealer and repeated what the dealer said. The Chrysler customer service rep I spoke with on the phone would not provide another contact saying she was trained to handle these situations. She also said there are no TSBs or recalls for my Liberty which apply. I am frustrated by the stonewalling on the part of both Westbury Jeep and Chrysler.

Has anyone had any similar problems?

siberia

That's incredible! How could you hit something big enough to rip out the transfer case without damaging the front of the vehicle? My guess is that the transfer case bolts were not tight from the factory and they eventually worked lose allowing the TC to just fall off. If the TC was ripped off halves of the broken bolts should still be in the transmission where the TC mated up or the threads should be ripped out. Make a surprise visit to the dealership and look for yourself or have them show you the broken ends of the bolts. If this is what happened, halves of the bolts are still out on the highway. If my guess is right whole bolts are still out on the highway. Is there a 4wd or transmission specialty shop in your area that could go look at it for you? What is their physical evidence that you hit something?

rpizzi

They have no physical evidence that the car hit anything. I'm still being stonewalled by Chrysler. Unfortunately the car is about 200 miles away from home but I plan on dropping in to see the dealer very soon.

I like the idea of getting an independent transmission "expert" to look at the car on my behalf. Thanks for the advice. I'll keep you posted.

xtec

From what your said,it sounds like to me in my opinion,is the U-joint(CV)locked(froze)up and stopped turning and tore out the rear housing from thr transfer case.If you daughter was driving on the highway in 4wd low,they would also be putting in a new engine.The gear is so low in 4wd low that the top speed is about 25mph.If you were on the highway,the engine would rev up and would be screaming then blow.So I dont think it was in 4wd low.I hope this helps.

rpizzi

The more I question my daughter about all of the events, the more I learn. She tells me that when the tow truck driver loaded the Liberty onto the platform, the car had to be dragged up the ramp because the rear wheels were locked-up. Yet when I looked at the car in the dealers shop a few hours later, (remember....the drive shaft was laying on the side of the road four miles away from the dealer shop) the car rolled freely even though it was in park.

siberia

My brother tells a story about going down the highway in a 60's Dodge Polara with a friend, the friend's dad and his friend's little brother. His friend was in the front seat horsing around with his little brother and the gearshift got shoved into park. His dad instinctively hit the brakes and locked up the rear wheels enough for the parking paul to engage. :surprise: The rear wheels were locked up and hopping on the pavement at 60 mph before his friend's dad could get the thing out of park. :mad: The car was unhurt and driven many years after that. Doesn't really help with this issue, but it is kinda funny.

xtec

You have a very interesting problem.Unless the rear end locked up,and they didn't change the rear end why would it move at the dealer.The dealer had to do something to get the rear end to move.I would try to get more answers from the tow truck driver,and the dealer.If this was mine and its still under warranty,I would fight this.I think Chrysler right now is trying hard to save money,I'm sure that includes warranty work.Good Luck.

siberia

Generally, u-joints lack the ability to stop turning. Being driven by both the engine/transmission and the differential, a u-joint that has bearings in the cups seizing up generally disintegrates the bearings becoming very loose, noisy and out of balance before complete failure. Given the corners that Jeep has cut on the Liberty it seems unlikely that the u-joints are spectacularly strong.

There are/were two-piece drive shafts in some trucks where the central u-joint ran in a hanger with a bearing. In that case the bearing could seize up and something would have to give. There would be lots of racket and warning for a while before this would happen.

xtec

We still don't know what happened yet.I know what your saying about the U-joint,I seen that before.I'm talking about a U-joint that seized up, when you take off the shaft hit the joint with a hammer and it doesnt move.I had many of these happen before.Plus I think the joint behind the transfer case is a C/V joint,which I replaced the most on 4WD.It could also be the shaft in the transfer case broke,I had that happen before.That doesn't happen to often.What ever it is,I hope rpizzi can get it fixed under warranty.

bas1124

I've had a 2002 Liberty that I purchased brand new. Have had the speed sensor replaced at least 5 times. Wait till you try to trade in without a working speedometer... I've had to at least 4 different repair shops and they've been on the phone with Jeep corporate and no one can figure it out... Very frustrating!!!

caribou1

My dealer told me there was an issue with the routing of the speed sensor cable. It gets caught between the rear suspension arms and the hand brake cable. You can see it (above the differential housing) when you crawl underneath the rear end of the truck.

arvman

Does anyone know if there is an oversize rear diff cover for the libby...

emljeep

In doing research on Error Code #P0733 I found suggestions that it could be as simple as the part noted above - EXCEPT, I can find no part numbers or locations for this item anywhere- Any thoughts appreciated.