Would you make this trade?

[pilotblake]

I have a 2000 grand cherokee 4.7 Limited fully loaded. I have added aftermarket halo lights, fog lights, tail lights in dash pioneer flip up dvd/nav. kick @$$ subs, new grabber at2 tires, that I have owned from 20,000 miles now having 118,000 miles for a stock 05 liberty sport with the the VM Italian turbo diesel and 78,000 miles? I know the history of my GC and know nothing really about the liberty. There is nothing fancy about the liberty outside of the good mechanically sounding diesel. So my question is...would you trade a plush loaded GC for a no frills cloth seat liberty for the diesel and potential of 30+ mpg? The liberty is in good mechanical condition from what I can tell.

 

[sinkrun]

My 2 cents, Never the grand is twice the Jeep.

[Pete M]

Go here and start reading. :D

 

http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/v ... d2be5941f6

 

05s suffered from most of the weird issues (like the torque converter), but be prepared that there are different regular maintenance items for the little diesel. The biggest on my mind is the timing belt is a 100k replacement and it is neither easy nor cheap. I'm waiting til it warms up before tackling it in our 06. parts can be hard to come by and those that you can find are expensive. Motor mounts and blown turbo hoses are common issues. Do your homework and find a competent diesel mechanic to take it to should the need arise. Don't just assume your local Jeep dealership can handle it. Be prepared that oil changes are expensive. top o' the line Mobil 1 stuff all around.

 

If you trade, look into the V6 air filter box swap. The diesel filter box just lets in all the crap on the road. Haven't needed a new filter since I did that mod. :D Oh, and get the bigger oil filter.

 

In my mind, fuel economy is not a good enough reason to take on a diesel. Diesel is more expensive and can be surprisingly hard to find sometimes when out on the road (especially late at night or out in the boonies).

[freakjeep93]

id keep the grand. no contest.

[pilotblake]

The only reason I would consider it, is that it would allow alittle better mileage and still have the ability to throw on a 2-3" lift and have the best of both. I am familiar with diesels, mainly mercedes but I know the added work they entail. And when you mention running out of gas in the boonies.........several years ago I took a road trip in my little 82 mercedes 240D that has about a 5-600 mile range on a tank of diesel, and found myself somewhere in south dakota at one in the morning and not finding a station with diesel or a card machine to save my life. I ended up just sleeping in the car, starting fresh in the morning. The car now has 275,000 miles and the only thing I have replaced is the injectors. It runs like it did when my dad bought it with 50,000 miles, and outside of having the get up and go of a 4cyl with 3.07 ratio and 35" tires I think it would go another 100,000.....or throw a rod through the side tomorrow :idea: . The kick in the side is that, the guy with the liberty will probably think he needs money on top of my trade :fs1: . I appreciate all the response, and I agree so far with your answers.