2004 Jeep Liberty (current: Engine Swap)

[cpufreak101]

Well another update, checked information with my mechanic relative, and it turns out there were many bits of information I was missing. There's info on the emissions label (photo later, too big to send from my phone) that is crucial to getting the right cats. It turns out the Jeep is a Factory California spec vehicle that applies to Tier 2 standards. As it's the info on the sticker it has to match to avoid a $10,000 fine as the mechanic said. The issue is the specific cats required in that case is now over $500 a side (for the universals!), and just going out of state to buy federal spec ones will not work due to it being factory California emissions. *Really* hoping he's able to weld the y pipe back together now else it'll be off the road another year.

 

[daves06lrenegade]

Were all the Jeep Libertys sold in NY state "California" cars? ... If so you may be able to find a used pipe at a local yard... The odds are probably not good though as you live in the salt belt and NY cars usually don't last over 10 years...
Dave

 

[cpufreak101]

Were all the Jeep Libertys sold in NY state "California" cars? ... If so you may be able to find a used pipe at a local yard... The odds are probably not good though as you live in the salt belt and NY cars usually don't last over 10 years...
Dave

I am not 100% sure, i know we switched to CARB emissions a while back but I don't remember when, plus I am unsure of where the Jeep was originally sold. and yeah, bad cats are a common reason for cars to get junked here so pull a part yard probably wouldn't be a good idea.

 

[cpufreak101]

and another day update: Bellhousing bolt are all off along with the torque converter bolts, the Engine is only held in by the Engine mounts now and a few clips the wiring harness is attached to. Sunday hopefully we can get it pulled out. Regarding the Y pipe, at this point the plan is to continue forward with the swap, and once the engine is in we can determine the condition of the cats from there and decide what we're going to do at that point. for now though, continuing the swap. for the "new" engine I also went ahead and bought a couple things. Valve cover gaskets (oily spark plug was a giveaway it needed them) and a Thermostat (since it's easy to change while the engine is out).

 

[uss2defiant]

I think the steering rack bushing might be a good thing to change out too while the engine is out.

 

[daves06lrenegade]

Our PAP yards in Ohio cut out the CATs and also the air bags (tears up a perfectly good dash...)
so salvage yards are out... Try Craigslist for "Owner selling car parts"... Replace them and don't tell the inspectors anything about them being replaced... Our Government getting involved and making our lives harder...
Dave

 

[cpufreak101]

well I'm sorry to up and vanish for a few weeks, life got busy and I was spending much of my free time on the Jeep. TLDR since last post

old engine was pulled

new engine went in

and now, $271 Junkyard engine is a runner. first start is on video.

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only ran it for that brief moment as absolutely nothing is hooked up rn (and this was recorded at 10:30PM, didn't want to wake the whole neighborhood up), just the minimum needed for a runner (still missing a ground, likely source of the cranking issue if not the bad positive battery terminal). only real issue with it now is I somehow lost two coil pack bolts, but if that's the only issue so far I'm doing fairly well!