I’m a lurker here after we “inherited” my deceased FIL’s 2012 KK this past summer…it only had 89k and the undercarriage is relatively immaculate for a quazi-salt belt vehicle (spent a lot of time in NJ & PA). I had to do a little surface rust repair on the rear most floorpan…nothing remotely close to rotting through (
now she’s completely covered with fluid film…rockers are packed with it).
He only owned it for a short while before he passed away; he only drove it a handful of times.
So she’s a creampuff in my eyes…long list of things that I/we love about it; she’s definitely a keeper.
Despite the carfax history which shows somewhat regular “service” intervals, she has a laundry list of issues due to
overlooked preventative maintenance.
From major to minor:
The transmission (42RLE) is toast.
* One of the 1st things I did was drop the pan b/c I could see seeping and the pan itself was bubbling.
* I was not expecting to find the horror show inside…severely burnt fluid, ton of metal in the pan with bubbling/flaking paint INSIDE of the pan. The filter was packed with metal...mostly aluminum.
* I've done 3 pan drops with 1k on fully cycled fluid (
through the trans cooler output) and each time the pan & filter were filled with debris (Aluminum, clutch, steel, etc.) and now it’s throwing codes <P0740(TC clutch) and now P0869(pressure)>
* It would be great if you can get it on a scanner & check the TC lockup (mine isn’t) & CVI tests to estimate how much life is left (my OD clutch is non-existent.)
* At a minimum, check the fluid color/level…in a pinch you can use the engine oil dipstick…but if you’re going to own a KK, you’ll want a dipstick with the ruler; target is around 45mm @ 195F fluid temp (I monitor temp with a ScanGauge 2)
* Check service interval to see if it’s had Trans service in the 30-45k range.
* Needless to say, our rig is parked until the replacement ****** with TC arrives.
Front hubs / axle nut corrosion:
* Pull the front wheels and see if there’s severe corrosion there.
* Mine are horrible…the nut and protruding axle threads are unrecognizable.
* I figure I’ll be replacing both front axles very soon.
* Regular tire rotations obviously were ignored.
* It seem like the KJ's are not prone to this issue.
Cold "Lifter" Tick (
? I’m not 100% sure it’s lifter(s)...stethoscope suggests that its coming from that area)
* I’ve been on a 1k mile OCI (with MMO + 10w30) and it seems to be getting better.
Engine Oil Pan:
* Completely covered with surface rust with some areas starting to pit esp around contours.
Spark Plugs:
* Easy job but a lot of folks are conditioned to change plugs at ~100k (i.e. iridium) when these have a 30k service interval.
* Ours still had the original plugs and the gaps were about 2x spec. J It was beginning to have problems starting and this is probably why.
Leaking rear pinion seal
* It wasn’t too bad yet…a drip or 2 overnight so I changed that out.
* relatively easy job; I made witness marks & measured the rotation torque to achieve the same pinion preload when I reinstalled the yoke.
E-brake:
* I’ve replaced the ebrake shoes, taken up all of the slack yet still struggling to find that happy medium of stoppability (on a hill) and not rubbing while underway.
Brakes:
* The fluid in our reservoir looked like coke a cola and all 4 calipers had at least 1 slide pin that was rust seized.
* The dealer that sold the vehicle to my FIL should be ashamed…they even did a pad swap and didn’t even bother to pull the slide pins or flush out that **** fluid.
