New owner of 2006 WH CRD
 

Hi Jeep peoples,

I’m the happy new owner of a 2006 Grand Cherokee 3L CRD. Just purchased for $7500, pretty stoked. Intended use is for towing a caravan. Upgrading from a Suzuki XL-7 that I kitted out for rooftop tent style camping. Realised we want more luxury and a hard floor, so the Suzuki will be sold to make room for Jeep.

• 96k on engine (put in by Poly 4x4 under a year ago)
• 273k on body
• Built-in GPS, tow kit, reverse camera, light bar, roof racks, darkest legal tint
• Drives great, smooth idle, powers up hills like nobody’s business (wow! Never driven a car this powerful!)

In preparation for purchasing a WH GC, I did quite a bit of research. I’m not a car person but I think I did a pretty good job with the inspection. Things I checked:

• Not written off
• Recalls completed: P41, N23/P73, G40
• QD2, and 4LO works fine
• No clunking from the front diff bushings, visually inspected the two that are easier to see and they look fine.
• No oil leaking that I can see
• Exhaust is a bit sooty, hasn’t mostly been driven around the city in the past year, it got a good 3 hours drive last night at 100kph+ so I will assume the DPF system is happy now
• No door sag, underbody in what appears to be perfect condition, clean under the bonnet, <1yo battery
• Interior pretty good, the driver side seat adjustment plastic covering is a bit loose, maybe missing some little bracket? Seats need a wash
• Exterior looks great, a couple tiny dings

Jscan:
https://i.imgur.com/ZdYnmVv.jpg

• Had a red battery light and TPMS light recently, but haven’t come back. 2x “stored” generator performance related codes and 4x “unknown” TPMS codes. Checked voltage of battery after a night of rest and alternator when running, both are great. Not sure what the lights were on for but I’m not worried about them. If I do need to swap the alternator it looks like its a pain to DIY without a hydraulic lift and some perseverance - would take to mechanic.
• Slightly slow cold start - Glow plugs 1, 2 and 4 need replacing - ordering a set of 6 Bosch plugs to swap, easy
• P2010 (Swirl), P0046 and P0048 (turbocharger boost control) - think I will do the resistor mod…
• U1408 - implausible brake signal, huh? It was stored, I think it just means the brakes and gas were depressed at the same time? I think not a worry
• I had the red lightning bolt after connecting my OBD2 scanner. Previous owner had never seen this light (though he only owned the vehicle for under year). I turned the car off and back on after disconnecting the scanner and it disappeared. This is the only thing that concerns me, but it strangely it seems like it may be related to the scanner? Or just a coincidence? No codes though.

It needs a bit of a clean - luckily my partner’s mum just bought a car upholstery cleaner thingy :D

My concerns and questions:

• Should I do the swirl motor resistor mod now or wait?
• Anything to be really worried about with the red lightning bolt coming on as described?
• Is there a way to update the GPS system? I haven’t looked into this yet as it is low priority. While driving it home I did notice it was about 5kph slower than the speedometer on the dash, that’s kinda weird but I wonder if it was just calculating my speed via GPS or is it from the ECU?
• Only one key! Ahh! I have read some threads on this forum but they were a few years old. I think I will need a dealer to program the immobiliser on the key (or is it on the vehicle?)… appreciate guidance on the most affordable route to get 1 or 2 additional keys.

Thank you in advance for any advice!

Some shots of the vehicle (not yet cleaned):
https://i.imgur.com/ezhRyqY.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/uFqg7fg.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/r8GGfte.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Qf9wNJ3.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/0eY2Ux3.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/nmXwGpl.jpg

Congrats on the GC.
Yours sounds very similar to mine. Mine is the 2005/06 navigator Laredo with the CRD.
I asked a lot of questions too.
That particular GPS cannot be updated anymore. You can fit a newer style in the housing, or just use your phone.

I would do the swirl motor mod, but also look at your elephant hose and perhaps a catch can.

I believe our year CRD’s do not have a DPF.
Thank god! I went to a mates house today and his newish Triton DPF is setting him back thousands. They are just a pain in the arse.

I got 6 Bosch glow plugs too. The controller can also play up, but Clarky put me on to a YouTube vid that fixes it for free.

ABS sensors can play up, but Rockauto has them for $20.

Your lucky with your diff etc. I paid 8k for mine, but have to do the diff bushes and front drive shaft CV.

Wonder if your tyres are different size? This is adjustable in JScan apparently, as well as turning off TPMS.

Clarky is the resident expert on our model, and has set me straight on a few things. Worth reading my thread about buying my daughter a Grand Cherokee. Mentions a lot of useful info for a first time owner.

Yours looks to be a beauty...good luck!

Cheers,

Thanks Alex, yes I read through your thread while investigating this mode of keep, lots of great info in there, thanks!

I’ll get the resistor after Xmas from Jaycar, maybe that’ll sort the lightning bolt. Came on again just now, hmm. Turned off engine and back on - off now. Hmm.

A catch can is planned forgot to mention that. That’s one of the definitely-gonna-do-ASAP things.

I’ll look at the elephant hose and see if any leaks at the seal. Haven’t checked if it’s the orange one yet.

Thanks for answering my questions and the advice. I’ve just given the beast a thorough clean inside and out. Looking great.

Yep the tire size was wrong. Fixed in JScan, sweet thanks!

I just checked the elephant hose. Has orange seal. There is a bit of oil under it, like a fine layer of gloss kinda. I see where to do the resistor mod now, I’ll get on that ASAP.

Any way to be sure about the DPF? Is it visible somewhere? I thought it was mandatory but didn’t look too deep.

My partner drove the jeep home while I drove something else. She liked it. I think she’s a keeper. The jeep I mean :D

No DPF
Piss off the orange seal and fit the silicon hose mod.

Your lightning bolt is probably the Turbo Actuator (gut feeling) they can be rebuilt or replaced (don't get the Chinese copy)

Clear all the codes and take it for a run down the HWY in 4th gear, get it nice and hot, drive it like you stole it! These engines are meant to run hot (just under 100°C), baby them and they gum up.

Clean quality oil and frequent oil changes is the key to longevity with the om642 engine. Change oil every 10,000 or less. You can run full zinc with no DPF.

Drop the oil pan and replace the filter, measure the oil drained and put the same back in. Easiest way without a dip stick.

Haha thanks Clarky. So wait is the elephant hose mod a cheaper equivalent to installing a catch can? If I understand correctly the elephant hose mod can result in some fumes entering the interior of the vehicle, but a catch can routes the exhaust back into the engine. Is that right? sorry, I am a total novice when it comes to cars, but enjoy getting my hands dirty and technical.

I see a post from a bloke in Melbourne who repairs the actuators, I've emailed him to enquire. My plan is to do the swirl motor bypass + catch can, then see how things run. If lightning bolt persists and especially if I get limp mode, then look more seriously at the turbo actuator. Reasonable plan?

The elephant hose is a common name of the turbo intake pipe, there is my (stolen) mod in the how to page that eliminates any possible leak onto the swirl motor (the cause of the swirl motor failure).

Their is also an old USA mod known as the Elephant Hose Mod that rout's the crank case vapor's out of the engine, under the jeep to vent to the environment. I don't recommend this mod.

If you want to eliminate most of the oil vapor from the intake use a catch can. place it between the crank case valve and the intake hose, in theory it will trap and condense the oil vapor back into a liquid preventing it from entering the intake manifold. You will need to empty the captured oil in the catch can on a regular basis, how often depends on your engine as some require more frequent draining then others.
On a side note a catch can has no effect on exhaust vapor, the EGR valve controls exhaust fumes entering the intake and it's the combination of oil vapor and exhaust from the EGR that gum up the intake.

Just for reference I still have the original (not bypassed) swirl motor and no catch can at 296,000km. (Touch Wood).