I bought a tow-car! 2003 Grand Cherokee CRD

[seiben]

This might be a short-lived RR thread, given it’s not exactly standard PH fodder, but given my watch-list has everything from a 1.0 Citroen AX to a 1924 Bentley 3 litre I figured there’s a following out there for everything. Right?

Around this time last year, having recently swapped out my trusty Impreza for a (then) less-trusty E39 M5, having a spare car to rock round in seemed a wise idea. I found a lovely, naily old Volvo V70 that I bought as a winter hack and found myself keeping – along with the M5, my OH drives an Alfa so inevitably the third car became something of a necessity

This has done us very well for the last year or so, but I’ve always been conscious on relying on a friend of mine to perform tow duties for our shared sprint car and I’ve finally got my arse in gear and taken my B+E test. What followed was a few weeks of eBay browsing, review reading and general procrastination in an area I really knew nothing about – tow cars! Working as I was with a limited budget, I had a few criteria to start with…

• Not completely agricultural (I’ve tried a 90’s Pajero, it’s not for me)
• Sub £2k
• Will tow our 2300kg-rated trailer (actual weight around 1800kg) without dropping to a crawling pace every time we reach a hill
• Comfy enough as a winter daily the OH is happy to drive
• Not too many horrendous scare stories about reliability (tricky in this sector!)

A lot of potentials were ruled out based on the above (X5, XC90, various Discos, pickups, even later Shoguns had a suspicious number of ‘spares or repairs ads). I’m not convinced my final choice will be much better, but we’ll see how that turns out!

I wasn’t fussed about petrol or diesel – the additional potential repair costs of one are likely to offset the fuel consumption of the other – so whittled down a set of potential candidates and got cracking. Eventually I plucked up the courage to throw a bid on a 2003 CRD WJ down in Dover – an OK ad, decent MOT history but poor photographs, it was a bit of a punt at 130k miles . A long few days followed as the auction counted down, and – amazingly? predictably? – no one else bid!

A few days later I was on the train down to meet my buddy Pete who took me down to assess what my 1500 quid had actually bought me. I was relieved to find a car in much better condition than the pics suggested – and a bit of investigation shows it’s had a new alternator, HP fuel pump, injectors cleaned, new battery, some light suspension work, glow plugs and a comprehensive set of stamps in the service book. It also looks to have had a replacement turbo in the not-too-distant past. It has already been used as a tow-car (a good thing in my eyes, it’s used to it!) and was only being sold as the owner had bought some behemoth of a horse trailer that required a V10 Toureg to tow

So we headed on our way, and got back to Pete’s for a decent look around. First impressions are that it’s very gold, and very American! Great big squishy seats, fake wood, chunky controls and two giant cupholders in the centre console. Drives as well as can be expected for a 2-and-a-bit-ton truck – the engine has a nice slug of torque, the gearbox is smooth, brakes nice and firm and steering predictably vague





Next up was to give it a good test with the trailer to see how it copes. We had a good hour-lung trundle around taking in a mix of steep hills and motorway work to put the old bus through its paces, and I’m pleased to report it tows beautifully. Won’t be rushed up the steeper hills, but it’ll plod along at 60mph on the motorway and you’d be forgiven for forgetting the trailer is there!





Satisfied, we turned our attention to sorting the track car out in preparation for an outing at Donington next weekend, then I reset the OBC and headed home.



I wasn’t expecting that from the 130-mile trip back! (and yes I know it’s probably not accurate)

So, what needs doing? There’s a very minor oil leak coming from somewhere and dripping off the sump. One of the rear tyres is knackered (getting replaced as a pair tomorrow to match the Goodyear Wranglers on the front), and I briefly had what looked like a diesel drip coming from the engine bay that I haven’t been able to spot or replicate since…

With any luck we’ll be using this to haul the trailer up to Donington on Saturday, so I’ll be interested to see how it does. It’s oddly refreshing to drive something so big, tall and lazy so I imagine I’ll be putting a few miles on it over winter as well!

[eltax91]

I’ve had my eyes on one of these. I too drive a shed estate far too much when I should be in my 996. I too could do with the extra towing capacity to tow said 996. I too need to get my act together and sort my B + E

Watching with interest

[seiben]

If you're anywhere near Surrey, I'll happily recommend a towing instructor

I had a 4-hour course, passed my test (clean sheet, no less!) and was home for a late lunch

Edited by seiben on Tuesday 6th November 19:36

[eltax91]

seiben said:

If you're anywhere near Surrey, I'll happily recommend a towing instructor

I had a 4-hour course, passed my test (clean sheet, no less!) and was home for a late lunch

Edited by seiben on Tuesday 6th November 19:36

Leicestershire unfortunately. However, i met a great one through here who offered me a PH discount. I just need to stop being so busy and get it booked!

[edc]

I had a 52 plate one a few years ago. The roll on these is comical and if you along it in to a corner fast enough you really have to hang onto the wheel or you could slide right out almost of the seat Everything worked. Not premium at all in feel, interior or switch gear but to some extent more honest for it.

[AppleJuice]

2.7 Mercedes 5-cylinder?

[seiben]

Yep, 5 pot Merc engine.

EDC - you're not wrong about the seats

[InitialDave]

I had a V8 Overland, great car, though they do have a few very common minor niggles.

Heater blend doors fail so you can't adjust temperature - the motors are too strong for the plastic components and snap them, you can get metal ones, and they're able to be fitted without removing the dash, keyhole surgery through the glove box.

Similarly, the heater fan can cut out, it draws more current full blast than the plug on it can handle and it melts. Easily fixed/bodged back together.

Plastic clip that's the linchpin in the electric window mechanism snaps and you end up with the window dropping down uselessly. If you don't keep trying to work the switch and get the cables all knotted up, you can just repair it (I think you can get aftermarket metal ones) but I replaced mine with a good used one.

Driver's door opening and closing can introduce intermittent electric gremlins in the cable running between body and door. Mine only played up with the door open so I just ignored it.

[seiben]

Thanks Dave - the door wiring looms and blender doors have already been done. I might order up a couple of spare window mechs just in case...!

[K50 DEL]

InitialDave said:

I had a V8 Overland, great car, though they do have a few very common minor niggles.

Heater blend doors fail so you can't adjust temperature - the motors are too strong for the plastic components and snap them, you can get metal ones, and they're able to be fitted without removing the dash, keyhole surgery through the glove box.

Similarly, the heater fan can cut out, it draws more current full blast than the plug on it can handle and it melts. Easily fixed/bodged back together.

Plastic clip that's the linchpin in the electric window mechanism snaps and you end up with the window dropping down uselessly. If you don't keep trying to work the switch and get the cables all knotted up, you can just repair it (I think you can get aftermarket metal ones) but I replaced mine with a good used one.

Driver's door opening and closing can introduce intermittent electric gremlins in the cable running between body and door. Mine only played up with the door open so I just ignored it.

Yep... I ran a 4.7 V8 in the UK for 5 years and a selection of Overlands in the UAE for a few years as well...

All of these issues cropped up in that time, but nothing that was show-stopping and compared to the Cayenne Turbo that I got a bit later the WJ range was bullet-proof....

I'm seriously considering another, though the ave. 17mpg that I used to get from my 4.7 here means it's right on the cusp of being too pricey for a daily I think.

[InitialDave]

I managed to get mine down to about 10 on occasion! Fun though, the quadradrive was great with the proper oil in the diffs etc.

Saying that, the lack of drain plugs on the axles and gearbox was somewhat irritating.

Oh, OP, I think yours has the same Dana 44 rear axle - be aware you're not meant to jack the rear end up from the diff casing, it's an aluminium centre casting with the axle tubes pressed into it, and there's a risk of damaging the axle doing that.

[magooagain]

That looks tidy for the money and seems we have the same trailor.
Common fault on the 2.7 is the injectors popping out. Keep an eye out for that,or maybe it's happened allready and repaired.

[gman88667733]

Any interior pictures? I've sat in one of these before and the seats were probably the most comfy seats I have ever sat in! When the time comes to swap our Kia Sorento, I'd be very tempted by one of these.
I've heard a few things about them not being very reliable, but I'd assume any big 4x4 of that age will needs bits and bobs doing to it from time to time...

I'd be interested in a full tank mpg reading, as our Sorento gets up about 25-27mpg on reasonably short runs (automatic version)

[seiben]

gman88667733 said:

Any interior pictures? I've sat in one of these before and the seats were probably the most comfy seats I have ever sat in! When the time comes to swap our Kia Sorento, I'd be very tempted by one of these.
I've heard a few things about them not being very reliable, but I'd assume any big 4x4 of that age will needs bits and bobs doing to it from time to time...

I'd be interested in a full tank mpg reading, as our Sorento gets up about 25-27mpg on reasonably short runs (automatic version)

Thanks - yes, the seats are like giant squishy armchairs! I was worried about long-term comfort as they don't feel very supportive, but I was fine after a 2-3 hour drive home. No pics of the interior yet, I'll try and grab some when it's not dark.

I'll try and do an MPG calculation when I fill it up. OBC is saying somewhere in the high 30s now I've used it to commute for a few days, which would give a useful 500-mile range for a tank of diesel.

[gman88667733]

How much does it cost to fill? Our Sorento costs £80 at about 134.5p per litre and we get 330 miles to a tank...

[seiben]

OBC is a little optimistic

I’ve just filled up, so...

375 miles
58.2 litres (£78.51 @ 1.349)
= 29.2MPG

I still had a third of a tank left on the gauge, but it’ll be towing this weekend so wanted to fill it up before-hand.

I might go and check for leaks again

ETA: couple of other jobs done today. The mismatched rear tyres have been swapped with a pair of Goodyear Wrangler HPs to match the existing fronts. I’ve also got rid of the stupid American flat door mirror glass in favour of a convex unit, so I can actually see what’s behind and to the side of me...

Edited by seiben on Wednesday 7th November 21:07

[gman88667733]

29mpg from a big auto 4x4 is not too shabby! The best we have achieved is 30mpg on a long run

[seiben]

gman88667733 said:

29mpg from a big auto 4x4 is not too shabby! The best we have achieved is 30mpg on a long run

Yeah, it’s about what I expected. I’ll be interested to see how it performs this weekend! I’ll endeavour to take some interior pics while I’m at it

[seiben]

Bit later than intended, but the Jeep has done some sterling service so far. First up was our track-day at Donington a week or so back – Pete had already brought the trailer and track car up from Kent, but we swapped over to the Jeep and set off from Oxford on a cold, wet Friday evening having loaded it up with spares, wheels, tools and all other general detritus needed. It took everything in its stride, bar a tendency to tramline a tad (although, weirdly, it’s more prone to this when not towing), so I made a note to have a closer look at the steering play I’d previously noticed.

The obligatory “all the spaces at the Premier Inn” shot:



And one of the track car, just because



Overall I was very happy with it. It did around 200 miles of towing, and I still got over 400 miles from the tank when I came to fill it up!

A bit of research suggested a few potential areas to investigate with the wandering steering. The most obvious place to start was with the steering play – they’re an old fashioned steering box, and there was around an inch of play at the steering wheel which didn’t help when trying to keep it in a straight line. I’ve also picked up a replacement steering damper (for a whopping £29) as the one on the car looks original.

As you’d expect there’s a plethora of online content for these things, most of it US-based, so it was easy enough to find a helpful YouTube tutorial on taking out some of the slack. Fortunately it’s pretty straightforward (although it took longer than I’d care to admit to work out the retaining nut and adjuster are left-hand threads, which seems to vary from model to model ), so after cracking off the retaining nut and screwing in the adjuster half a turn the steering is nice and tight. I’ve left about a quarter-inch play at the wheel as I don’t want to over-tighten the box, and a quick test-drive showed a vast improvement. It still wants to follow the road a bit (I’m hoping the steering damper will help with this when I change it, along with an alignment) but reducing the steering play means it’s much easier to keep it on track. Unfortunately I’ve also noticed the inevitable oil leak dripping off the sump, so I need to work out where that’s coming from.

Terrible pic of the top of the steering box:



…and a few pics of the interior as previously requested (ignore all the straps!):

[seiben]

Well we’re a month in, and everything is largely as you’d expect in cheap Jeep world – that is to say, stuff is broken

First up – remember that steering play? All was well (or at least, less bad) for a while, until the power steering abruptly stopped working one morning half a mile from my house. With no time to investigate, I man-handled it home, abandoned it on the side of the road and jumped in the M5 instead. Later investigation revealed a fairly obvious problem…



Yep, that’s the (frankly enormous) serpentine belt. Why’s it hanging under the front of the car, I hear you ask? Well, it’s possible that someone might have over-tightened the steering box a tad, meaning the P/S pump was working overtime, and the belt slipped, and…. You get the picture. So I’ve backed off the steering box, got the front up in the air to make sure it all moves freely (yes, yes, I should’ve done that before…) and spent a glorious hour or so trying to get the bd belt back on!

Still, all back together and happy trucking, for a while…

I used it to transport me up to Cadwell Park for a trackday a couple of weeks later, and on the way home noticed my MPG reading was dropping every time I got onto a motorway/dual carriageway stretch, before gradually increasing as I cruised along. Putting it down to a foible of the useless American OBC I largely ignored it, until yesterday – heading home from our annual Christmas-tree collection, I was greeted with the unmistakeable smell of burning brakes. Yep, the driver’s side caliper is seized on. Brilliant.

It now sits. Lurks. Mocking me from afar….



And yes, there’s still play in the steering. The alignment is spot on which means there’s something else causing it’s unwillingness to go in a straight line – either play somewhere (not evident, according to the indy who did the alignment check), or it needs a new steering box. Brilliant.

fking piece of st