Libby the 2004 Liberty

[Ventsan]

Hi guys, about time I post my build thread here.


It all started in the summer of 2015, I was looking for a new 4x4 vehicle to replace my dearly departed '98 Ranger. I wanted an SUV that was good on the road, but could still be made to handle rough terrain.

Suddenly, I found her.View attachment 39229


2004 Jeep Liberty. 104000 Miles. SOLD.





I brought her home and drove her around for a few weeks stock, but obviously I could not help but upgrade
her.







First thing was A CB and A light bar (Past Me, you were an idiot for this one.)
View attachment 39232
View attachment 39233
Here I am doing a little shakedown run in the Pine Barrens. (Why did i put the light bar there? WHY?)






Also in this time frame was some new tires, Firestone Destination A/Ts.






Next up I wanted to fix the extreme fading on the plastic trims.
View attachment 39234 View attachment 39235 View attachment 39236
I also Plasti-Dipped the rims while I was at it. I like the way this turned out.






Later on, I finally fixed my idiotic light bar placement. Using some chevy silverado brackets modified to work with a 42" curved light bar, I arrived at this:


View attachment 39237
Much better!.






From there, I got a new set of tires the next year, after I lifted the jeep using a budget spacer lift.
She is now on Dick Cepek Extreme country 31"s.



View attachment 39238
You may notice I had to trim the front bumper for clearance.







View attachment 39239

And also relocate that pesky gooseneck washer bottle.

I went from this:




View attachment 39240







To This:
View attachment 39241 View attachment 39242

Much better tucked away safely.





Now we are basically caught up to current day, yesterday I built a rack to enhance my very limited storage in the rear.
View attachment 39243

Next up is a roof rack, and in the spring I am lifting her to 3.5" in the front and 4" in the back, perfect for heavy overlanding loads.



Here are some more fun shots:
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I ran without a spare carrier for a little bit.

View attachment 39244


TO BE CONTINUED!

 

[Wayward Overland]

Dude, that’s an awesome rig. Well done on the mods. Definitely looks the way the good Lord intended.


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[Ventsan]

Dude, that’s an awesome rig. Well done on the mods. Definitely looks the way the good Lord intended.

Thanks a bunch!


In the 5 minutes since I posted the tread, I remembered several other mods I do not have pictures of.

-Installed Scangauge for temp/voltage info

-Installed Factory tow hooks in the front

-Installed factory skid plates, including a modified 2005 liberty transmission skid. (Why there wasnt a transmission skid on 2002-04 beats me)

-built a hi lift mount incorporated into the spare tire carrier - I will be moving it to the roof rack, when I get one, that is.

-Installed a tablet mount so I can use my Nexus 7 tablet with a gps module for navigation.



I'm sure I will think of a bunch more things as the night goes on. Pics of these mods will be coming!

PS: For those who like that sort of thing, she is now at 135000 Miles. That's 31k in a little over two years. Wow!

 

[mylilpwny]

Looking good. I have always wanted a diesel liberty. Fills my love of diesel and jeeps in one vehicle (both i am without now)

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[365_Overland]

Very cool love seeing people build these up

 

[longshanks]

Nice to see somebody taking on something a bit different. Great job!

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[Ventsan]

Finally got a roof rack! I bought A Curt roof rack on Amazon, as well as Apex Rage Crossbars on Amazon.
View attachment 40067




I then put my knockoff maxtrax up on the rack with some cargo straps until I figure out a better mount.
View attachment 40068




In other mounting news, I am looking for a source for Square U-bolts to attach my homebrew hi lift mounts. There is another name for them, but I cannot remember it, and my local Lowes did not have any. If anyone has a source for some, I would appreciate it!


View attachment 40069

 

[Vadim]

Great progress on your jeep. Ive always liked the compactness of the Liberty. I think I would consider the CRD diesel option once prices get down into my range.

 

[Ventsan]

Great progress on your jeep. Ive always liked the compactness of the Liberty. I think I would consider the CRD diesel option once prices get down into my range.

The crd has quite a few issues with it. It takes about a half dozen mods to get it to run reliably for overlanding. I wouldn't recommend it lol.

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[Ventsan]

Soi installed some LED lighting to make up for the disgustingly poor lighting the stock lights provide.

They are powered off of an inverter + power brick right now but I plan on wiring them into the 12v port with a switch.

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[Ventsan]

Oh yeah, I also built this:

As you can see I have all of the wiring taped up until I get a proper backing material.

I had to put studs into my tailgate to attach a flat aluminum angle because the tailgate is not flat.

I will be replacing the Paracord with steel cable soon, but I was too excited to get the shelf up to wait.

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[Ventsan]

Got my Hi Lift mounted up on the rack now. I previously made some mounts that integrated into the spare tire carrier, but I wasn't really thrilled with the location.
I was able to re-purpose those brackets (just some galvanized steel strips) and attach them with u-bolts to the crossbar. It is super solid.

View attachment 40229 View attachment 40231 View attachment 40232



You may notice my ghetto handle holder, im too cheap to buy a $12 plastic one, so gorilla tape works for now!

 

[thehellboundfox]

Awesome build!, i recently had to sell my o4 Libby to the insurance company but i own a 2005 now and Im slowly building it back up. Despite what people say about the liberty jeeps they are great little rigs

 

[Taz.beast]

Nice looking rig, I have a 2005 Libby.

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