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Who moved from XJ to a Liberty

devildog0

NAXJA Forum User
I'm looking to get back into a Jeep and have been hunting for anotherXJ. I also recently added the KJ to my list as well as there are tons of clean examples around here for a decent price.

I'm mainly worried about making the move from XJ to KJ and being disappointed.

Ive done some web searching and found a mixed bag of posts. From tons of people who say they hated the KJ and it turned them away from Jeep to tons of people who say they loved it maybe even more than their previous XJ.

Mechanical reliability also worries me. I know XJs front and back along with the 4.0. Obviously the KJ is a different vehicle and again I find mixed info on the V6.


Thanks for any help yall.

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Wife has a KJ.....I fn hate it. Gutless turd. Reliabilty wise its been decent. Its only left us stranded once because of something with the ignition. Eats up brakes like nothing I've ever had. Yes, my wife is absolutley obnoxious with slamming the brakes. But it been once a year I need to replace rotors because they get so warped. Fairly easy to work on but aftermarket sucks. Personally I would stick with a XJ over a KJ any day.
 
3.7 v6 is ok, but it will not forgive any over heating. Same as any aluminum head engine.
The 4.0 xj is a tough engine that can take abuse, 3.7 is a good engine if taken care of.

Never driven a kJ but in the Commander the V6 is decent. Although that heavy body really wants a v8. Still the 3.7 is powerful enough to move it well.



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I wound up with another XJ. Thanks for the replies guys. :)

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I agree about the 3.7 not able to take any abuse. Once you overheat it one time, its done. They will warp heads and drop valve seats. But again, if cared for they are ok. Its getting harder to find any that have been cared for though. They did make a 2.4 gas manual trans version and a diesel version of them. Im sure the gas version would be easilly converted to an SRT4 setup. They are very rare though.
 
The KJ is great if you only want to do mild wheeling and not go larger than a 32" tire. If you want to go larger than that you'll need to do a sas as the front diff is a d30a and only JBAOffroad sells a steel d30 but at $1500 for just the housing it's a little ridiculous to spend that much on a d30.


I had 3 KJs and 1 KK. One of my favorite daily drivers. Got ride of mine to buy a F350 to tow the XJ around.
 
I have just (like 1/2-hr ago) "won" a KJ on Fleabay but keeping the XJ's. The reason is that it's London Ultra Low Emission Zone compliant - & my house is now a few hundred yards inside the recently extended zone. I did flirt with a WJ but the least said about that the better. Bizarrely, a 2001 XJ would be compliant, but they have their own issues - & now go for at least twice what I have to pay for the KJ!

As an urban Jeep the KJ should be fine, probably suit my 2 centre lifestyle & I shouldn't be afraid to take it down country lanes - which is more than could be said for the WJ, with it's oh so vulnerable radiator.

Wish me luck.
 
I wouldn't be prepared to spend that sort of money (like 1/2 the purchase price of the vehicle) on a WJ.

Funny thing is I mentioned this rad issue from time-to-time on another WJ forum & only response I ever got was the suggestion of a particular recovery point set-up, which I thought worth considering but the Covid induced travel restrictions outlived the WJ.
 
So, yesterday I set off on a 7 1/2 hr train journey (which took 9 1/2) to drive the KJ 300-odd miles back to Devon (where I'm spending Christmas) although, as explained I got it to use in London.

So far, so good, a few little niggles but no real issues, although only now have I learned of this trans. having a mind of its own when asked to climb a hill at any sort of speed. I've had several lower powered manuals that would climb anything - at their own speed, so if that's the worst of it, I can adjust.

Got back to find the (only running) XJ outside which I wasn't expecting to be returned 'til today. Having glass replaced tomorrow, so happy about that. Have the KJ for a longish run on Christmas Day & the XJ to go out & play in on Boxing Day.
 
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