Possibly looking at a KJ

[89 MJ]

I’m possibly going to look at a 06 KJ tomorrow with a 3.7. I have kept up with Jeff and Pete’s debacles with their KJs, but is there anything really major to keep an eye out for? I already know that this one needs a rear axle. I can think of watching for major rust and fuel and brake line rust off of the top of my head. 

[jdog]

Mileage and smoke from tailpipe, they are known for dropping valve seats iirc. Other then that my sis has one she's driving the wheels off atm

[eaglescout526]

3.7L isn’t the best Chrysler V6. If I recall it’s supposed to be a power tech to succeed the 4.0L. But that engine is the reason why the pentastar exists today. 

[89 MJ]

I’ve heard about them dripping valve seats. It is at about 200,000 miles, but is dirt cheap. Thanks guys!

[Smokeyyank]

Wife had a KJ and I hated it. Left us stranded twice. Once for an ignition switch that failed other for a fuel pump that took a dump. Sold it at 170k most of the service was done at the dealer as it was her mom's car before we got it. Dropped valve seats are a problem and the tranny is a piece of junk. Maintenance wise,  I replaced the brakes almost every 30k, thing just ate brakes like crazy, water pump, coils and a few other things beyond basic maintenance. After the fuel pump went out is when it started having a lot of problems and why we sold it. 

[Mossmj13]

Have had 3 never would I own one another trans problem an rearend are weak front drive shafts are prone 

[89 MJ]

3 hours ago, Smokeyyank said:

Wife had a KJ and I hated it. Left us stranded twice. Once for an ignition switch that failed other for a fuel pump that took a dump. Sold it at 170k most of the service was done at the dealer as it was her mom's car before we got it. Dropped valve seats are a problem and the tranny is a piece of junk. Maintenance wise,  I replaced the brakes almost every 30k, thing just ate brakes like crazy, water pump, coils and a few other things beyond basic maintenance. After the fuel pump went out is when it started having a lot of problems and why we sold it. 

Wow, you’d think it would have lasted longer than that. Thank you. 
 

 

32 minutes ago, Mossmj13 said:

Have had 3 never would I own one another trans problem an rearend are weak front drive shafts are prone 

Thank you. I always read that the 8.25 was a great axle. 

[mjeff87]

Small correction on the "trannys are junk"......yes, that's mostly true.  But very early 2002's (like mine) got the 45RFE trans installed.  Then they switched to the 42RE's for all the rest thru 2008.  2002's also all came with rear drum brakes, 2003+ switched all to discs.

 

OP, take a good look at the cooling system on that rig.  If it shows ANY signs of distress I would be wary.  Overheating a 3.7L, even once, is a death sentence for them.  The idiot gauge in the cluster should be sitting at just a tiny hair to the left of the center hash mark on the gauge face when fully warmed up.

 

Oh, and BTW....bleeding the cooling system is a royal PITA on these things.  You've been warned.

 

edit:  one other small thing.  Crawl underneath and eyeball the rear joint on the front driveshaft, where it bolts to the TC output.  If you see a ring of grease slung around the tranny tunnel, that joint is either dead or about to die.  Rebuild kits are available for a decent price.

[89 MJ]

36 minutes ago, mjeff87 said:

Small correction on the "trannys are junk"......yes, that's mostly true.  But very early 2002's (like mine) got the 45RFE trans installed.  Then they switched to the 42RE's for all the rest thru 2008.  2002's also all came with rear drum brakes, 2003+ switched all to discs.

 

OP, take a good look at the cooling system on that rig.  If it shows ANY signs of distress I would be wary.  Overheating a 3.7L, even once, is a death sentence for them.  The idiot gauge in the cluster should be sitting at just a tiny hair to the left of the center hash mark on the gauge face when fully warmed up.

 

Oh, and BTW....bleeding the cooling system is a royal PITA on these things.  You've been warned.

 

edit:  one other small thing.  Crawl underneath and eyeball the rear joint on the front driveshaft, where it bolts to the TC output.  If you see a ring of grease slung around the tranny tunnel, that joint is either dead or about to die.  Rebuild kits are available for a decent price.

Sounds good. Thank you. I’m hopefully looking at it tonight. 

[Pete M]

Most all of them for sale are high mileage rigs that were neglected by their previous owners. The drivetrain does NOT like to be ignored. Expect to do some repairs before heading to school.  Especially the cooling system and ball joints.

 

I have a love/hate relationship with mine, but it's mostly love.  and I can't imagine life without her.

[mjeff87]

Oh yeah.....forgot about the ball joints.  Check them also.

 

Aside from crappy transmissions, anemic (at best) performance and mileage of the 3.7L, fragile aluminum cylinder heads that like to drop valve seats and/or keepers, and warp with mild overheating, cheap ball joints, and the typical Chryco electrical gremlins (my dome light likes to come on randomly and/or blink in time with the turn signals among other things)......they really aren't a bad vehicle.  

 

I'm with Pete though.  I like mine too much to get rid of it.

[87MJTIM]

1 hour ago, mjeff87 said:

Oh yeah.....forgot about the ball joints.  Check them also.

 

Aside from crappy transmissions, anemic (at best) performance and mileage of the 3.7L, fragile aluminum cylinder heads that like to drop valve seats and/or keepers, and warp with mild overheating, cheap ball joints, and the typical Chryco electrical gremlins (my dome light likes to come on randomly and/or blink in time with the turn signals among other things)......they really aren't a bad vehicle.  

 

Reminds me of Monty Python's Life of Brian.

 

 

[mjeff87]

^^^^

 

One other random thought, since you mentioned this one needs a new rear axle.  The upper control arm(s) on the rear are actually a one piece design called a tri-link (lowers are typical individual CA's).  The tri-link attaches to the rear axle housing via a balljoint type pivot that has a tendency to wear out.  If you do get it, and swap a new axle in, I would think about proactively replacing that arm (or you can buy the individual joint and press it in but it's a bit of a PITA).  Might think about new LCA bushings too, just since you're in there already.  Like Pete says, most of them on the road have not been well maintained.

[Smokeyyank]

3 hours ago, mjeff87 said:

Small correction on the "trannys are junk"......yes, that's mostly true.  But very early 2002's (like mine) got the 45RFE trans installed.  Then they switched to the 42RE's for all the rest thru 2008. 

 

True. Hers was an 07 so had the 42re. Thing constantly hunted for gears whenever going up a hill. Never downshifted when you wanted. Have the pedal mashed to the floor and it wouldn't down shift. Finally just started manually selecting gears to get it to go. It also developed a shudder that was annoying AF. Would just be driving and all of a sudden would feel like you're driving over a cattle grate. Need the solenoid and something else done. That was really early like 100kish.  

[89 MJ]

Well, it looks like it already sold, so I don't have to worry about that anymore.

[dante2]

20 hours ago, mjeff87 said:

Oh yeah.....forgot about the ball joints.  Check them also.

 

Aside from crappy transmissions, anemic (at best) performance and mileage of the 3.7L, fragile aluminum cylinder heads that like to drop valve seats and/or keepers, and warp with mild overheating, cheap ball joints, and the typical Chryco electrical gremlins (my dome light likes to come on randomly and/or blink in time with the turn signals among other things)......they really aren't a bad vehicle.  

 

I'm with Pete though.  I like mine too much to get rid of it.

 

mjeff87 sounds like the turn signal rheostat might be going out. The wife's 04 dome light would come on randomly driving me crazy with a drained battery. Did some searching and found that the dial switch on the left stalk wears out and cause the dome light to randomly come on. Replaced the turn signal assembly and the issue went away.

[mjeff87]

Yeah, it's the "multifunction" switch assembly.  I keep looking in the junkyard for a good used one, but all of the ones I've found either don't have the fog light switch or are cosmetically damaged too much for my liking.  I'll probably eventually break down and buy a new one at some point.