Liberty CRD Advice

Thanks for the advice, Al. Of course, I will read the manual before doing any fluid changes. I was really interested more in the tranny and diffs. I just thought it was odd for a diesel to have 10w-30 in it.

Was that a "real" diesel or one of GM's failed attempts at converting a gasser?

Craig C.

Careful with "all" and "never." Some Diesels do not use 15W-40. The old GM

6.2 was one. Use what the manufacturer recommends.

Al

as does mine..I'll give you a warning though, 5,000 and its time for a fuel filter. those aren't cheap! $50 (give or take) is what our local dealer wants for them and last i checked, aftermarket parts houses hadn't picked them up yet.

OUCH!!!!!

haven't done mine yet, but its a 545rfe trans so it should be the same gasket, transfer case should be a drain plug and I'd suspect the rear diff to use RTV like most of the other Chrysler axles i've worked on.

nor have i on diff/axle/transfer case interval recommendations i was going to go with the standard 30K interval myself.

the fuel filter is a screw on canister, has a water in fuel sensor that screws into the bottom. not easiest to get to but i've done much worse. its really cramped under that hood. you'll find your fuel filter next to the brake booster. just remember what i said about the price SHEESH!

i run rotella 15w40 in mine. buy it the same time as i do the stuff for the big truck.

congratulations on the liberty dude. its a fun little truck with a surprising amount of power. i used it to move my farm tractor one time it done better than i expected as far as getting the tractor moving. but that being i think the heaviest thing I'm going to stick behind it again is the boat.

Hey! I wonder if I can buy one in FL. Remember last year I was looking at them in MA and the diesel wasn't compliant? Well time will have changed big time by this time next year.

I'm sure you can.

Very OUCH! I just called the Jeep dealer. $36.85. WIX shows that they make it (part # 33647), but none of the auto-part stores carry it.

Parts guy said silicone on the diffs. Damn it! Those reusable gaskets are great.

Normally I would as well, but being used I'm a bit freaked out about waiting any longer.

I think I am just going to use the same oil that I use in my Cummins. Valvoline Premium Blue Synthetic 5w-40. The manual says to use 0w-40 and if unavailable, 5w-40 "is acceptable".

I don't think I've ever seen 0w-40, but then I've never looked either.

It does have a surprising amount of "staying" power on the highway. The best part though: on the way back from Ft. Worth to Dallas going down I-20, 70 mph ... we got 30.1 mpg. That's awesome.

Craig C.

I know you can buy a wider selection of handguns here. I'm slling all my MA compliant guns when i get back. All but the sig 239. I like it tooo much.

Roy

0W-40 is required in the 6.1 in my Charger. I went through 1/2 quart on the way down here, bought a quart at wally world.

How big a fuel tank do they have?

According to the manual 20.5 U.S. gallons.

Craig C.

yes we see 30+ on trips keeping her round 65 to 70

we reliably see 23 mpg city and my wife lets it idle a lot

you'll have about a 350 mile range or so without getting down into the 1/4 tank range (the usual buffer i like to leave)

More on the Liberty tranny.

Interestingly, according to the parts guy at the Jeep dealership, the Liberty has a "multi-speed" transmission and actually has two tranny filters. A flat filter, like I'm use to seeing, and a spin on, cylinder shaped filter. Both of which are inside the pan.

Sounded weird to me. Can anyone else confirm this extra filter and give an explanation why it is needed?

I'll take some pictures of the tranny and diffs as I change them and post them to my website.

TIA, Craig C.

the spin on filter goes to the torque converter (iirc) and the flat filter is the transmission filter. it has the 545rfe trans.

True - though that has nothing to do with the fact that it's a multi-speed transmission (heck, aren't ALL transmissions multi-speed? :) What he was probably trying to say was that it had two 2nd gear ratios - one used for the 1-2 upshift, and the other used for the 3-2 downshift.... but again, nothing to do with the fact that there's two filters.

The flat filter sits on the end of the suction line of the pump. It's screen sits in the pan, and sucks fluid in. The spin-on filter filters out the fluid as it's returning to the pan from the cooler. They probably did this so they could use a wider, more free-flowing "filter" in the pickup, and a finer filter on the return. It's usually easier to push fluid through a filter medium than to pull it. Plus, this way, you keep all the metal slag (normal wear of clutch steels) out of the pan, and keep people from freaking out that their transmission is eating itself.

If it's not too much trouble, could you give me a quick set of instructions on changing the fuel filter. It's not at all like the Cummins ...

Regards, Craig C.

First you get a BIG hammer! Next you get a BIG pry bar!

you should just unplug the sensor on the bottom of the filter then unscrew it. i've got one on order through our local napa and should be in monday if needed ill get ya a few pics and more detailed instructions when i do mine later next week (ive got to work nightshift monday and tuesday)

I purchased two fuel filters for it today. One from Napa and one from the Jeep dealer. I always like to keep an extra fuel filter around. While I was at the Jeep dealer, I asked them to print out the service procedure for changing the filter. They did and I'd be glad to send it to you if you need it.

Tomorrow is going to busy. Diffs, tranny, transfer case, motor oil and fuel filter changes in both the Liberty and the Ram.

They gave me two different kinds of RTV for the Liberty. Two orange colored, I'm assuming for the diffs and one black silicone which I'm guessing is for the tranny pan.

Craig C.

yea if ya don't mind since ya have it there. you can email me directly by removing the -obvious *grin*