AMC Eagle Den Forum

The Shop => Axle / Differential => Topic started by: derf on August 13, 2019, 02:37:38 PM

Title: Crazy weird question. Jeep Liberty differential under the Eagle?
Post by: derf on August 13, 2019, 02:37:38 PM
So I did a cursory search and didn't see much on this idea.

The discussion of lockers in the front diff got me thinking.  How hard would it be to use the differential out of a Jeep Liberty in place of the factory front diff?

Has anyone even thought about it?  Anyone tried it?  Any big show stoppers to keep me from even starting to look?

What about doing an entire powertrain swap from the Liberty to the AMC?  A 2.8 CRD with the trans, np242, front 30 and rear 8.25 would be pretty slick in an Eagle...

Anyway, it was just a random thought.
Title: Re: Crazy weird question. Jeep Liberty differential under the Eagle?
Post by: Taylor on August 14, 2019, 06:21:04 PM
I think that conversion would work. Not sure about the front diff. Engine, trans and transfer case would be a nice little upgrade. I need another Eagle to try that one on.
I believe that 2.8 that Jeep was using was made by a Fiat division in Italy.
Title: Re: Crazy weird question. Jeep Liberty differential under the Eagle?
Post by: derf on August 15, 2019, 10:36:55 AM
Yeah, it's a VM Motori built engine.  Interesting tidbit, that engine is now the 2.8 Duramax that's offered in the Chevy Colorado.  It's been upgraded a bit in the last 15 years but it's the same platform.

My thinking is that if I wanted to use the Liberty CRD, it's best if I grab the whole powertrain.  It's a highly integrated setup.  It uses the ABS sensors at all 4 corners to do a lot of control of the transmission.  The rear axle is easy.  Just cut off the brackets for the Liberty suspension on the Chrysler 8.25 and weld on some spring perches and shock mounts.  The front is a whole different animal.  It's IFS and probably a very complicated swap.  I half expect that the best route would be a fully custom set of brackets to accept the liberty control arms and such.  Maybe even swapping over a whole chunk of the subframe and then figuring out how to mount the body panels of the Eagle to it.



But even if I kept the Eagle mostly stock with a 4.2 and just grabbed the diff from a Liberty, I wonder if that would work.  I know that the stub shafts have a spring loaded clip on the shaft that holds it in.  All you have to do is push it in until it clicks.  And since the retaining ring is in the housing, it uses stock D30 differentials.  That means any locker/limited slip is a bolt in.  But I imagine the brackets on the housing are very different.  So there would be some fabrication there.

Interesting to speculate about the possibilities at least.
Title: Re: Crazy weird question. Jeep Liberty differential under the Eagle?
Post by: The Dark Side of Will on March 13, 2020, 12:31:18 PM
I didn't realize that was the same engine as the Colorado/Canyon. I thought it was an Isuzu engine since those chassis are shared with Isuzu.

The Chevy version might be an easier swap than the Jeep version in terms of electronics and controls.

I don't think swapping the Liberty suspension would be either necessary or feasible. Maybe the anti-lock aspect would be satisfied by installing the Libery hubs (and outer CV's?) in the Eagle knuckles.

What ratios did the Liberty have? The idea of a lock-capable front diff is certainly appealing.