03' Jeep Liberty Woes

[JakeC]

I've been here a while, lurking and was wondering if some of you may be able to help me on my recently acquired 2003 Jeep Liberty Sport. To start off the story, I originally thought that this particular liberty was a 2004 Sport. I included the brief history because I may end up asking more questions.

My cousins liberty wouldn't stay running, her father checked the fuel pump and all was good, he thought it may be the CPS sensor.
My cousin recruited my help in changing her CPS sensor. She lived in South Dakota for a while, and somehow she managed to NEVER wash her Jeep. I ended up breaking the CPS sensor off in the engine and gave up sadly. A week later my cousin was planning on getting a new car and ended up offering me her 2003' Jeep Liberty for $1000.

My uncle returned from a business trip and took a look at what I had managed to damage and noticed that under the rear of the vehicle there were some frayed wires dangling a bit. Upon further inspection it turned out to be some apparent that some creature(s) were chewing on the wires that run from the wiring harness beneath the drivers side rear seat, through a grommet in the floor, to the speed sensor, and fuel pump. (Probably the original reason the car was not running aye?) After a tray of decon, which was all consumed, followed by a bit of dessert on some more of the wiring, my brother and I got some time to work on the vehicle some more this past weekend.

We managed to get the CPS sensor out after a rough battle with the MANY rusted bolts, exhaust removal, and of course the sensor. That fiasco solved, we took to the wiring harness. I removed the entire rear section of the harness from the Jeep and jotted down the part number.

03' Liberty Fuel Module Wiring
(P)56010096AE
http://www.moparpartsoverstock.com/p/__/WIRING-Fuel-Module/6770073/56010096AF.html

Apparently a replacement from an online source is around the $200-$300 price range.

I paid a visit to my local salvage yard and found an 04' Liberty (which I thought that I owned) and decided on pulling and purchasing the piece of the wiring harness.

04' Liberty Fuel Module Wiring
(P)56010598AC A
http://www.moparpartsoverstock.com/p/__/WIRING-Fuel-Module/6757272/56010598AC.html

A replacement of this part online costs about $40

What is the difference between the two parts? One says a "rear speed sensor" is included. Could the harnesses be spliced together to work?

Thanks,
Jake

 

[JDaPP]

I didn't think there were any differences until 2005, but I would try:
http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/
or
http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/

to see if the have an answer

 

[JakeC]

Thanks a lot!

 

[JakeC]

After a full 10 hours wrenching on the Jeep, I managed to correct the problem.

If anyone is interested, I made a 2004 fuel module wiring harness work on a 2003 Liberty Sport. I ended up cutting the 2004 connector that attaches to the leak detection pump (finally found the name of it) off of the new harness, and soldering on the old connector matching and tracing wires that plug into the rest of the vehicle harness underneath the rear drivers side seat.

After installing the harness, we kept blowing the injector fuse underneath the hood. Turns out that the new 2004 harness had two grounds that connected together further down the harness. We pulled the harness from the Jeep again, cutting back some of the shielding and we found out where the wires were connected. We separated the harness, and re-soldered the wires and viola.

Amazingly enough, on the internet, the 2003 fuel module wiring harness costs about $280. I believe this is because it includes the speed sensor.
The 2004 fuel module wiring harness costs about $40, and does not include the sensor.

The Jeep finally runs again!

 

[phxtoad]

Way to troubleshoot that one! Congrats.

Todd

 

[JakeC]

Thanks, it took quite a bit of work total. About 20 hours total, because we had to remove everything.

I'm really enjoying the KJ, even though it isn't mine exactly. It belongs to my brother, though I do get the pleasures (HA) of working on it.

I do have a few concerns though,

1. Part time light is on, when in 2 wheel drive. When shifted into 4HI it will go out. I've googled it and have read a few statements of people with the same problem. Most say that it is a sensor on the transfer case, and sometime if you cycle through the transfer case gears, or drive in reverse for 30-50 feet, that the light will go out.

Mainly i'm concerned, will this light being on cause harm to my transfer case or drive train? Or is it just a light, whose sensor has malfunctioned.

2. The Jeep, out of first gear, shudders a bit. There is a definite slight vibration. I asked my cousin if it had always done so, and she replied that she thought it had, but she couldn't remember.

The engine runs fairly strong, and the transmission shifts through all other gears fine. My thoughts is that the transfer case might not be shifted entirely into 2wd, but i think the results of that might be far more negative?

3. Not really a concern, but what have some people used the space underneath the seats for? In comparison to my 97 ZJ, there is a ton of room underneath there. Just curious what creative uses that people have come up with.

If anyone has any information or advice, i'd love to hear it.

Thanks,
Jake

 

[mwhite]

You can ignore the part time light or replace the sensor on the transfer case. It won't hurt anything. I drove around for about a year before I fixed mine.

I don't know about the shudder. The 42rle will shudder in reverse but not typically going forward.

I just cram loose stuff under the seats.

 

[phxtoad]

Check the motor mounts (2) and tranny mount (1). I just had mine replaced at 141,000 miles. So much smoother.

Todd