shawn Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 with a d30 swap of some kind. some even had 6 spd standards. i did a quick google search and didn't even find one that was modified to be actually suitable for off-road. so here's a random. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987Comanche Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 In a word: TIPM (Totally Integrated Power Module). These are the bane of most Nardelli era Chryslers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbulliwagen Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Not sure where you're going with this but the Nitro is the same platform as the Liberty and in Europe the Liberty is called the Cherokee therefore it is a Cherokee. Search for solid axle modded Libby's and you'll get some hits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepsOLot Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 I always thought, every since they came out, that it would be cool to take the plastic fender flares off, and put some big flat fenders on, giving it a old school Power Wagon look. One thing about these, and I assume the KK Libs are the same way, is, to get any decent tire under it, you have to jack it to the sky because of the tight wheel well opening, and, for structural and floor board issues, you can't just cut the well out. Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incommando Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 It is true: The KJ Liberty was the direct descendant of the XJ Cherokee. They were re-named Liberty for the home market to cash in on the patriotic fervor of the time. They remained the Cherokee everywhere but N. America. You could order factory Euro or Aussie-spec name-plates that replace " Liberty" with "Cherokee" . A stock KJ Liberty would do anything a stock XJ would do. I have wheeled stock and modded liberties and XJ's. If someone else with personal experience can refute that have at it. If you haven't had the experience well.... I have no personal experience but I understand the KKLiberty/Nitro twins are harder to lift and have other issues. Without a SFA swap 31-32" is about the max. tire the aluminum front diff housing can handle. There is a company or two that makes a replacement steel diff housing. The problem is the same with all IFS: suspension travel and joint angles. To go much more than 3" of lift you have to lower the front diff cradle which kind of defeats the purpose of the lift to some degree. Look at those obnoxiously lifted IFS pick-ups and notice how low the suspension/front drivetrain remains despite the ridiculous lifts. I sold my '05 in '12. It had 120,000 miles on it. I replaced a radiator as far as the only repair I had to do. it was lifted 2.5" and I had 31" MT/R's on it. It was the 3.7 V6, a six-speed NSG370, and a ( yes, you are reading this right) a NP241J transfer case. Only the 6-speeds got this transfer case. With the 5.0 1st gear of the Dodge P.Up/Liberty version of the NSG370 ( the TJ was 4.0) my liberty had a crawl ratio of 48:1 even with 3.55 gears. That is the same as an automatic TJ Rubicon. A 5-speed XJ has a 31:1 crawl ratio on 31's. It was also 4-wheel disc and I had an Aussie in the 8.25 rear. I 'wheeled it in many different parks including badlands. There were 4 of us that took our KJ's many places. The best had a 4" lift and 32" tires with a locker in the back and a truetrac in the front. The pics are all taken on the same rocks in Badlands. The green XJ has 4.5" of lift and 32's. I do not have the front or side angle pics for my KJ so I am including the XJ shots to show the rest of it. Steepest hill at badlands. Not everyone who tries it makes it... Baddest jeep ever? Nope. But it could be used as a jeep. Maybe the biggest improvement to the KJ ( and the reason it weighed 700#'s more than an XJ) was the much more sturdy structure. We have all seen pics of rolled XJ's. The fold like paper. Here is a friends KJ after rolling sideways 2.5 times down a 25' or so embankment. It landed upside down in a small river/large creek . The integrity of the KJ saved his life. The roof remained up and that kept his head above the water until we could get to him and cut him out of the seat belt. Having personally seen an XJ roll and having seen pics of others I think he would have been at least severely hurt if he did not drown had he been in an XJ. As it was he suffered only bruising from the seat belt. The manner in which this jeep held up to the rolls is amazing to me. It didn't even pop out the windows. I used to laugh at how the "jeep people" hailed the then new Patriot as the 2nd coming of the XJ because it was boxy. It took awhile for the news that it was a re-bodied Caliber to get out.... :rotf: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebvance Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Very nice real life advice and information to add to this topic incommando! :thumbsup: Very interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggcnash Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Although I've never done any wheeling in my wife's nitro 4x4 it has always surprised me in different situations and runs good too has the 4.0 R/T package. Great info Incommando Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dscowell Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 I've wheeled a stock Liberty (KJ) and it did very well. Most people bash on them (myself included) they actually are very capable vehicles. Nitros I'd assume are similar I just don't think you seem any modded cause no one really makes aftermarket parts for them. Its kinda like Durangos and Dakotas. I've only seen one of each of those modified and have always wondered why more people haven't done it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggcnash Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 I've wheeled a stock Liberty (KJ) and it did very well. Most people bash on them (myself included) they actually are very capable vehicles. Nitros I'd assume are similar I just don't think you seem any modded cause no one really makes aftermarket parts for them. Its kinda like Durangos and Dakotas. I've only seen one of each of those modified and have always wondered why more people haven't done it.All the parts are same on nitro and liberty for the most part except for a few body panels they are the same car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggcnash Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Kk liberty, sorry I see u referred to KJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbulliwagen Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 I read something on allpar.com that there is something done to the Nitro unibody that allows it to accept the 4.0 v6 that isn't present on the same year liberty thus limiting the liberty to the 3.7 only. Seems weird that they would do that but I'm also not surprised. The 3.5 and 4.0 v6's are decent engines with more power than the 3.7. That option would have woke the Libby up in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incommando Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 A large diet would have woke the Liberty up.... :rotf: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawn Posted March 14, 2015 Author Share Posted March 14, 2015 research tells me that the only (kind of) practical way to get a 2-speed transfer case into one would be to totally install the liberty engine (3.7). what a shame that the electronics won't allow a tranny/tc to work with the motor that comes with. otherwise it would be a bolt-on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incommando Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 I thought that the Nitro's, at least the 4.0's, were single speed AWD but didn't know for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggcnash Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 Wife's: 2010 detonator 4.0 4x4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggcnash Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 I guess it is single speed? The knob has two position 2wd and 4wd lock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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