montana105

Smitty-agree with you on all aspects except only one time in the 3 years i've been back have I really needed AWD or 4Wd with the Jeep when the roads iced up with rain from the night before,i'm not arguing at all as we like to get away from town when possible and both the subie and the Jeep are great when you get onto some of the roads around here especially around the Thompson lakes and up by Polebridge at times,I was more looking at if you were searching for something smaller then the Barbie to get you back and forth in your county travels.Don't see you anymore though bud,i'm up at the store on reserve and 93 in front of Home depot if you want to stop by. John

Was this a DIY project or did you have someone do the work? I don't ask to question your ability if you did it yourself, more that maybe you could describe what you did in detail if you did it yourself (specifically the brakes) but the pump could be as simple as using a non OEM part (such as Checker or Advanced auto parts).

Smitty-you just curious or are thinking of something smaller than Barbie Jeep?

I'd also like to ask if when you turn the key are you getting all other functions such as power to the radio and idiot lights and bells chiming? Or is this a delay in power going to the starter symptom? Just curious.

I never saw a 300M with a hemi,it was called the 300C. Like Smitty said you're comparing two different classes of cars and it's up to you to decide what features you are looking for more. A couple of my current employees drive the Aveo and they seem decent enough but they don't handle hard driving. The 300 M is a nice car other then the wierd sight lines out the windows.the biggest problem I remember with them was in brakes/rotors and some fuel injector issues easily overcome if it hasn't been already which I think with that kind of mileage would be.

Hopefully it is only plugs and wires,there are tests to check your coil pack wires and plugs,and maybe it's something as simple as a rotten boot. Just for reference did you ever notice a definite pop or loss of power while pulling a hill,and maybe a generous stream of dark smoke while pulling the hill,exactly what happened to me and discovered burnt valve. Investigate the searches and ask questions and be sure to let us know what you find.

Had me scared there for a minute,I can't wait for the snow.It's been a little rainy here the past few days and can see snow up on the peaks,can't wait any longer.Better get them ice skates changed out soon

Missed that the first time around

Maybe check with the booster seat manie and see if they have some ind of kit otherwise you may be stuck having one of the kids in one of those seaters that have the arms that cross their mid section,basically an overgrown car seat.Maybe a double harness kit like racers use?

So are you gonna replace the belt or just drive it around unfixed?

Guess theory prevails over practical experience.I'm out.

Justice was served one time but I still can't understand how people can destroy anothers property. 5 years ago my friend and i entered our 68 Chevell in a car show that was sponsored by the dealership we both worked for,so the show was on the dealerships parking lot.Another guy had his Boss Mustang in the same class as ours.We spent 15000.00 making this car what we wanted,a wannabe dragger but definite show car. The other guy decided to lessen the competition by appearing to check out our car but as he did it he ungracefully ran his car keys down our perfect Pearl white paint job all the way around the car.The funny thing is that he did it right in front of security lot cameras.The guy now has another felony on his record, 5000.00 worth of damage,but he did sell his car by order of the judge and pay us for the damage. Nice to get justice but does nothing for my concioness regarding people and their total disregard for others property or space.

And if after replacing radiator cap you notice loss again take it back to dealer and have them specify levels before and after,do not pay the bill until they have accomplished this and you are satisfied that you have protected your behind for the future.If you have to-when you drop car off in full view of everyone snap a picture of the reservoir and then explain that you want it noted on the RO that the reservoir is low and how much fluid was needed to bring it up to level.

Sparky,don't know how serious jamal was but I was just kinda of kidding you,glad to hear she won't be driving at the same time. I think the thing to consider here is that if she is gonna be on the computer for extended times you may want to look at other avenues as has been mentioned numerous times here these cars do not maintain a battery at idle with just convenience items running much less a computer and printer,if it's only a couple minutes at at a time I see no problem, but you need to get real time readings on what your alternator is doing at various rpms( i'm assuming since you mentioned a/c and such the car will be running which also drains power just to provide spark and maintain vehicle computers which also causes additional drain on the electrical system at idle,not to mention if it has daytime running lights)

I'm hoping she's not gonna be reading her computer and printing while she's driving,but if she is I'm glad she's in Ohio and I'm up here in Montana.but seriously it would help to hav a better description of the uses of the computer and printer(how long and how frequently,car running or not- is she printing invoices or what?) we have numerous times been watching tv in a friends rv with one deep cell battery for a couple hours at a time with no effect on pumps and such but they have no relation to the starting system.I'm with Nipper here,a true volt meter for precise readings. My thinking is if she is just printing occassionally she should be alright

I would think his quote that "after the belt change the car turned over smoothly but didn't pop" would indicate the timing is off.Recheck the marks,subes are very unforgiving as you can't turn the distributor to compensate for one tooth.

Holy bat guano,I know where one of these players is.further details to follow if the guy still has the car.

Not to be rude-but since it is under xted warranty why are you messing with this?The service facility has an obligation to diagnose the problem under varying conditions if they choose to accept warranty work,don't allow them to keep bringing you back for the 25.00 shop fee each time,they are also billing your extended warranty company each time.If you need to leave the car over night then figure a way to do that.

Can you tell us what the price is? And any more details on recent maintenence? 10 years ago we bought our 93 Leg wagon with 125000 miles on it,it was only 4 years old but the owner maintained it impeccably and had the receipts to prove it.We've only put 50000 miles on it since as we have other vehicles but it has proven very reliable especially against most of our other vehicles in the winter and the gas mileage is great on road trips.We did have a receiver hitch installed to pull some jet skis and I wasn't impressed with that aspect,underpowered.but I don't see a vw being any better.

As mentioned in my previous post,car owners today do not take care of their cars.Sure they change the oil,but they do not maintain their cars. As VIC/Se mentions-60000 miles and all that's been done is oil changes.Would you want to buy his car when it hasn't had any antifreeze flushes/changes-tranny fluid flushed or changed,tires rotated at the least? How about a reputable shop checking axles,joints and brakes? I don't call that maintenance and it's impossible to determine from used car owners who believe they've maintained their cars because they will lie about it and except for extreme cases you can't prove it.Can you tell I've been burned before? Remember people,you buy a used car you can't blame most malfunctions on the US manufacturer,it's on the previous owner,of course the courts don't recognize this. By the way my dad has the new 4 door rubicon,only 3000 miles and so far he loves it.Maybe the domestic's should provide more indept upkeep intervals to the unknowing but it isn't required and that leaves it up to the mannie to decide if the car was kept up,don't you cringe when in the service bay and the writer asks when you had your last flush or when you take it in for a no start and get stuck with a 150.00 bill for a new battery,when you could've replaced the battery yourself for 90.00(great battery) plus two wrenches.the only point I'm trying to make is that most vehicle owners don't actually maintain their vehicles,they do the minimum,and you the buyer deal with it later as i'm sure the original poster dealt with with his Liberty.

Jeeps are not maintenance free,I own one,and it is definitely more involved then just changing oil and filters even though i don't use mine for much more then highway pulling the boat and around town.i am at 170000 miles and on my second tranny(besides the original) and first transfer case(it's a 96 Grand Cherokee).Throwing a fuel pump or sensor to it is a walk in the park cost wise and for my comfort on the road compared to my Subie,in other words I gladly spend the money because I enjoy and my back really appreciates the comfort of the Jeep on long trips.Having worked at a Chrysler/Jeep dealership as a tech I can't say much about the Liberty,but when I worked there the Liberty was fairly new and the rail diesel was something to avoid in a mechanics wallet sense.The way people treat their cars these days really suggests buyer beware if buying used,but it is also buyer beware with any new car if the kinks haven't been worked out,the 300 M was a powerful and nice car but there were quirks I won't discuss by now those who own them know what they were,but I would buy a used one with average mileage that looked presentable.

I can't think of any modern era car,less then 30 years old, that doesn't cycle the a/c compressor when either the defrost is on or you are using the a/c. On my 93 Leg wagon I can definitely feel it when the compressor kicks on and the engine does compensate for it when idling.I really feel it when cruising at highway speed,I can feel it kicking on and off,and it really drains engine power when pulling a hill or pass.I can see how it could drain down your electrical reserves at idle as my radiator fan kicks on at the same time,and the compensation the engine makes only is about 200 rpm,nowhere near the 2000 rpm needed for full alt output.So lets say it's hot out-you're running the a/c,plus the fan motor plus the radiator fan any media sources,and not to mention I've noticed lots of vehicles that have daytime running lights required or not and you're sitting at a stop light at maybe 800 rpm.total battery power. as far as your trip why not just replace your battery,it's overdue and not one of those things you want to have go bad out in the boondocks?

Just my .02. I used to sell Craftsman tools and having been an ASE master mechanic in the past (no longer turning wrenches for a living) I think I can add some perspective here.I sold Craftsman for 6 years,and at the time the individual stores did repairs on repairable warranty tools.The one thing we never did was calibrate torque wrenches,but we would replace the ratcheting guts on the inside.All calibrating was done through the service department who sent it to a center in SLC,Utah. I never saw a great abundance of issues with Craftsman tools and if you have a local store in town it was very convenient to just walk in and get a replacement. On the professional front of turning wrenches I've had and still have my original set of all Craftsman tools,sure some have been replaced, especially screwdrivers,and some sockets that were used in appropriately but Sears still replaced them no question.I have also numerous Snap on and Mac tools,and my main contention with them was always the amount of time I had to wait for 1)the local dealer to show up at the shop and 2) the wait while they sent it in for confirmation and replacement and/or repair.I'm not questioning the quality of any of the tools,I don't personally find any difference in quality,I like convenience and I'm hard on tools,so choose to maintain my stock of Craftsman.As far as quality the three I've mentioned are all good tools,Snap on is rather pricey for the average home mechanic and the dealers do not respond very well to home calls,same with MAC.Of course Craftsman doesn't make house calls at all,but not a problem if you've got a local store.Well I'm to long winded here,I'll check back later.

This almost sounds like a classic fuel pump/heat related problem.Your car has lots of mileage in a short time.Does the symptoms appear in warmer weather on hotter roads? Or does it matter the conditions? In hotter weather with my American cars with higher mileage where the road surface is very hot I have experienced intermittent fuel pump pressure irregularities,on one car it was to the point where on a hot summer day,hot pavement the fuel pump would cut out car would die and I'd coast it to the side of the road,had to wait 30 + minutes for the fuel in the tank to cool down,car would fire up and run great for an hour.Managed to limp it into the dealership and cough up 500.00 for a new pump + labor. This isn't just an isolated incident and not just American cars,I've had it happen to both American and Imports,it is a definite problem with high mileage fuel pumps in tank,at least with passenger cars as their tanks sit close to the pavement/asphalt and cause the fuel to boil,swelling the venturies of the pump.Don't get me wrong as the in take pumps last a lot longer then then old style mechanical pumps.But it is very hard for a mechanic to check fuel pressure on a pump that only acts up under stress and after sitting all night.

I'm assuming the 1/2 virgin was invented in Virginia:)