Jobs so far -
Rear axle bushes (PITA I had to completely take the back axle off the car to do them)
>> Mine went too. Got a garage to do mine since I knew it was going to be a PITA. Garage charged me £200 and complained it was a PITA..
One rear brake caliper changed - original totally seized and definitely not doing any braking. ( I did manage to free it off but it then leaked)
>> I changed both of mine as they were too weak. I found some very cheap refurbished ones on fleabay that someone had fitted for an MOT ... but failed on a whole load of other stuff, which was uneconomic to fix. I still have the old ones, in case I ever feel like repairing them.
[/QUOTE]
EGR valve clogged - this is probably why the engine light was on. This now been cleaned and then an EGR blanking plate fitted.
>> Mine was the same. Also the MAP sensor (bolted to the back of the inlet manifold) was full of soot. I replaced that one.
Oil trap on bottom of air filter smashed allowing unfiltered air to enter engine/turbo - now sorted.
Air filter housing loose and hanging down - refixed
>> Mine was the same. I tried to glue the beast together but it wasn't having it/too oily to glue. I repaired the broken pieces with second-hand bits and strapped the oil trap to something immovable with cable ties. Proper job!
Full service filters oil etc ( looking at the oil I think the last oil change was done while Pontius was still a pilot)
>> Mine was the same. An overfilled sump meant that oil was being blown into the inlet via the breather.. which was a bit choked. Oil was getting into the EGR and the MAP sensor.. Cleaned the whole lot out and now only fill the oil to 80%..
I now have my own parking space at the breakers and some think I actually work there. I must be on their Christmas card list!! but at least there is a healthy supply of STILOs there.
>> My Fiat dealer's computer thought I was a Trader and started giving me an automatic 10% discount before they noticed and put a stop to it..
I had most of the parts and pieces I needed by then though..
Dealer staff all know who I am when I phone up.. and when I asked the new car sales guy how much he could sell me a new Jeep Renegade for, he refused since it would knacker the dealership's parts sales..
Despite all of the above I quite like the car and I am looking forward to driving it (so is my son). Does this mean that I am losing the plot !!
No.. the JTD is a good old bus. I like it that nobody knows what it is and even though mine (5 door) rolls like a tea-clipper around corners and bashes every speed hump (I found and fitted an engine undertray which is as high as it can be...) .. Gerrard is "queen of the motorways" and returns a regular 55mpg.
I'm still not 100% on the diesel clatter but I've bolted and strapped down anything that can vibrate, deadened anything that can be muffled.. and clipped or re-clipped anything that has escaped it's OE restraints. I also stick some 2-EthylHexyl Nitrate in every tank to smooth out the general diesel-ness..
Next car will probably be petrol, despite all this..
but in a few years Euro-III diesels will be outlawed from everywhere and so someone will scrap the old beast without a second thought... so I'm using it before it becomes a renegade (or even a Renegade, if the dealer will relent and sell me a new motor..
)
Maybe a timing belt and water pump to do sometime soon -- Now going to hide in a dark room.
If you have the pukka cam-lock (c.£30) it is a piece of cake... just fiddly rather than difficult. One of the water pump bolts needs gasket/silicone round it, since it opens into a water channel. I missed that the first time and had to re-do it..
Ralf S.
