Jeep Liberty KK is a go

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Dirty Ape

Dirty Ape

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Enthusiast III

2,296
Springboro, Ohio, United States
First Name
Nick
Last Name
Wilson
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7732

After exclusively wheeling only Land Rovers forever, I have the good wife's blessing to hit some dirt in her truck - a 2008 Jeep Liberty. Don't feel like punishing my light-wheeler Evoque and so I've been fairly street bound.

Been researching mild upgrades, looking at the Old Man Emu 1.5" (advertised) lift + the only sliders I'm really finding are the ATH ones, and they seem respectable. Looks like Rocky Road is sketchy which is too bad - I have the sky slider roof and would love the option for a roof bar/rack system that clears it.

Have a baby due next month, so likely won't be hitting any trails until late Summer/Fall, so no real rush to cobble anything together.

Anybody with a Jeep Liberty KK that would like to share builds, advice, or a beer - chime in!

Thanks
 
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Stu

Rank I

Contributor III

154
Long Island, NY
Liberty is extremely under rated. Very capable vehicle, but small. I've got a 2012 latitude edition. OME 1.5" springs and shocks netted me ~2.5" of lift and much better ride. Also running 255/60R18 Hankook Dynapro AT/M tires. Mostly use on the soft sand beaches here on Long Island, NY, and it's perfect. Here's a pic post lift, before the new tires:20160710_145935.jpg
 
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Dirty Ape

Dirty Ape

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Enthusiast III

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Springboro, Ohio, United States
First Name
Nick
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Wilson
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MY wife bought it near new, been flawless (even Skyslider roof) and nearing 140,000 miles. Your truck looks good, don't see that color very often...Always respected OME suspension parts - used them on Rovers in the past. How are the Hankooks? Always thought they looked good....Been looking at the new Continental TerrainContacts.
 
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Pick Teej

Pick Teej

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1,825
Smethport, Pennsylvania
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I absolutely LOVE MY JEEP LIBERTY. 2011 OME lift. the 1.5" lift offered actually gives you 2.5" because the stock spring on the libby sag pretty fast. i added a top plate as well to get a 3" lift total. I run 31.5' duratracs on 17" method wheels. ATH roof rack, ditch light mounts, front shackles. I've put it though some hairy stuff and it has not let me down yet. also have yet to be stuck... i bought this because i couldnt afford a wrangler, now I love competing with wranglers. the goal would to put a locker on the rear at least someday.

Lostjeeps.com has everything you'll ever want to know about the KK
 

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Pick Teej

Pick Teej

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Smethport, Pennsylvania
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Stu said:
Liberty is extremely under rated. Very capable vehicle, but small. I've got a 2012 latitude edition. OME 1.5" springs and shocks netted me ~2.5" of lift and much better ride. Also running 255/60R18 Hankook Dynapro AT/M tires. Mostly use on the soft sand beaches here on Long Island, NY, and it's perfect. Here's a pic post lift, before the new tires:View attachment 57602
Click to expand...
love this color
 
Dirty Ape

Dirty Ape

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Springboro, Ohio, United States
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Nick
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Wilson
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Looks good! Yeah, I've been poking around on LostJeeps, lots of good info there...Been looking at the ATH site - shame the sliders don't come powder coated...never had to have that done, any idea what the cost would be?


Pick Teej said:
I absolutely LOVE MY JEEP LIBERTY. 2011 OME lift. the 1.5" lift offered actually gives you 2.5" because the stock spring on the libby sag pretty fast. i added a top plate as well to get a 3" lift total. I run 31.5' duratracs on 17" method wheels. ATH roof rack, ditch light mounts, front shackles. I've put it though some hairy stuff and it has not let me down yet. also have yet to be stuck... i bought this because i couldnt afford a wrangler, now I love competing with wranglers. the goal would to put a locker on the rear at least someday.

Lostjeeps.com has everything you'll ever want to know about the KK
Click to expand...
 
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Pick Teej

Pick Teej

Rank V
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Traveler III

1,825
Smethport, Pennsylvania
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I got the roof rack powder coated and it was $100? I remember it wasn't a bad price really. powder is cheap, the labor is what the majority of the cost was. a roof rack and those sliders are pretty comparable with the amount of surface to cover. plus the rack was 11 different pieces. sliders are 2 pieces.

anything ATH does comes in raw steel, some people prefer spray paint so it can be fixed easily, some powder coat, some bed liner. plus it keeps his costs down which in-turn keeps our costs down.

I also prefer it because i can use Silver Vein powder to match the Jeep. Check out that powder. really cool stuff.
 
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Pick Teej

Pick Teej

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Smethport, Pennsylvania
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s2themach said:
Nice setup! I have ambitions and a 2011 KK.

With the lift and tires, have you had any issues with the traction control?

Also, were you able to calibrate the speedometer?
Click to expand...
Yes JBA, i have old man emu suspension with a .25" top plate to level it. total of 3 inch lift. JBA upper control arms, 31" duratracs, no real traction control issues, offroad it likes to kick on a bit premature if you ask me but it could just be my preference. i was able to calibrate the speedo to one of the biggest stock tire sizes, but not the exact size of my tires. check out Lostjeeps forum. good info on the KK there. dont let all the "i have a problem with my KK" posts scare you. haha
 
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s2themach

Rank 0

Traveler I

60
Allendale
dimMk3, thanks for the referral. I've worked with jba to start pricing out components, but haven't had much luck with the ESP and Speedometer questions.
 
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s2themach

Rank 0

Traveler I

60
Allendale
Thanks for all of the info. I did get worried about the "I have a problem with my KK" posts as I need this to get to work!

My friends and I have goals to make it to Moab in 2020, so I need to start saving some pennies to get everything ready.
 
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Pick Teej

Pick Teej

Rank V
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Traveler III

1,825
Smethport, Pennsylvania
Member #

7175

s2themach said:
Thanks for all of the info. I did get worried about the "I have a problem with my KK" posts as I need this to get to work!

My friends and I have goals to make it to Moab in 2020, so I need to start saving some pennies to get everything ready.
Click to expand...
the 3.7 is been a time tested engine. pretty reliable. for me, the only issues i had were overheating the transmission a few times, but the HD mechanical fan really helped that a lot. in the hills of PA i can crawl all day and now worry anymore. about $120 all in.
 
Dirty Ape

Dirty Ape

Rank V
Launch Member

Enthusiast III

2,296
Springboro, Ohio, United States
First Name
Nick
Last Name
Wilson
Member #

7732

Our Liberty has about 140,000 miles on it, has never needed anything but wear items. I had a 91 Wrangler that was constantly broken....Been crazy happy with reliability.
 
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s2themach

Rank 0

Traveler I

60
Allendale
Great information, thanks again! I *think* there is an exhaust leak at the header as there is an incessant ticking when cold, but it disappears once warm. I'll add the HD cooling to my build sheet as this seems like a good investment for driveline reliability.
 
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thinhduc

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Contributor I

60
Glendale, AZ, USA
First Name
Thinh
Last Name
Tran
I have question for post #5 by Pick TeeJ...Did you have to regear to run 31.5" Duratrac? My current setup is 245/75r16 but I would like to upgrade to 31.5" and I keep hearing that I would need to regear for that. Thanks
 
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