I Bought A New Car 11 Years And 190,000 Miles Ago. Here’s How I Got It Through Its ‘Midlife Crisis’ So It Feels New Again

Back in April of 2013, my family stretched a bit to buy our very first new car, a Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited. Sure, buying used is responsible, but with our Grand Cherokee I knew the car had a perfectly clean bill of health, and I was able to plan the last 11 years out to make sure I wrung every last penny from the machine. Just the other day the Grand Cherokee rolled over 187,000 miles. Here’s how I got there, and how I plan to keep the Jeep going for years to come.

Before we all start with the Just Empty Every Pocket silliness, allow me to assert that I am very satisfied. The Volvo S60s my Jeep replaced were constant money pits of novel and expensive failures, and I got tired of playing automotive whack-a-mole. 

So, yes, I like the WK2 Grand Cherokee; it’s been much less troublesome than the stereotype would have you believe. I have an obligation — one that is good for the planet and my pocketbook — to use this thing entirely up, and so far, that’s going quite well thanks to some hard work.

A Car’s Midlife Crisis

Automakers are exceptional at building vehicles that cover about 80,000-120,000 miles with mostly oil changes and inspections; I tend to think cars hit a mid-life crisis when all the wear items…wear out after about 7-10 years of driving, on average. And 7 years is conveniently about the duration of the average new car loan. (It’s not your imagination that problems start to pop up just after you pay off your car!)

With everything loose and rattling, many people give up. Covering a bunch of miles makes a car feel old, and fixing all the resulting wonky bits can add up to a few thousand bucks all at once. But you don’t have to hop on the merry-go-round for another spin at the dealership. Don’t you owe it to yourself to get every last penny of value out of the thing you just spent over half a decade paying for? 

[Ed Note: I agree that front-end work is the big-ticket item that wears out often about 10 years (or so) in. In fact, I bought two 2009 cars — a Nissan Versa and a Chevy HHR — and I knew that was the first thing I’d have to tackle on both cars. Fluids and belts and brakes are also in there, but it’s the front end that I consider the most significant in the way it affects the driving experience.

Once I did it on the Nissan/HHR, they both felt brand new. -DT]. 

How To Make Your Old Car Feel New

Yes, it’s about money and time. Adjust the proportion of one to reduce the other. I’ve already shared my Pentastar Tick repair, and, unsurprisingly, after more than 150,000 miles of supporting a 4700-pound vehicle, everything that moves in the front end began showing its age, too. (I was pleased it all made it to 150K).

So out to the Massachusetts driveway I went. In late November. With hand tools.  

Fixing loose steering and suspension bits isn’t actually that bad. With some labor and muscle, the WK2 suspension is pretty easy to service. This is ambitious for a beginner, but if you know your way around a bit, you don’t have to be frightened. Even if you’re not going to DIY, it’s good to know what a shop is going to do when you ask them to repair this stuff.

Peering beneath your car can be bewildering. There’s going to be lots of mentions of ball joints, bushings, control arms, and other words you may have heard, but may not be able to define. This old video from Jason Fenske’s Engineering Explained channel is a great starting point. [Ed Note: Our resident suspension engineer, Huibert, wrote a piece titled “How A Car Suspension Works: The Basics From The Man Who Designed The Tesla Model S And Ford GT Suspension (Me).” It is excellent. -DT]. 

The big failure points are tie rods, struts, springs, ball joints, and wheel bearings.

The tie rods connect the two front wheels together via the steering system— in this case a rack and pinion. There are inner tie rod ends, which are basically another form of a balljoint with a long rod attached. The outer tie rod ends screw onto that rod and have another balljoint that connects to the spindle/knuckle, which is an assembly that serves as the attachment point for the struts, suspension arms, and wheel hubs. A wheel attaches to that hub, which contains bearings and allows the drive system to provide power via the axle, which articulates through a range of motion thanks to its constant velocity (CV) joints. They extend and compress a certain amount as the suspension moves up and down through bumps.

There’s lots more to know about suspensions, but this info provides enough background for the ground we’re covering in this article. There will not be a quiz. 

I Pregamed

The job balloons quickly, because taking apart the front end presents a lot of “while you’re in there” items that are worth refreshing — that way, you only have to take it all apart and then pay for an alignment once. 

I liked the factory ride, so I ordered the OEM Mopar struts (made by Tockico). I didn’t want Bilsteins or Old Man Emu struts, which are a common swap, and I’m suspicious of Quickstruts or cheap alternatives, but you can save a little dough if that doesn’t bug you. 

Here’s what I had delivered: 

• Upper and lower ball joints (4 per car) 
• Lower control arms (bushings were shot; if equipped with a press, you could just do the bushings)
• Inner tie rod ends
• Outer tie rod ends
• Struts
• Swaybar links
• Upper strut mounts (the originals were actually okay, but I replaced them anyway)
• One upper control arm (discovered that the bushings were shot during the repair, common)

I did not get wheel hubs, though I should have, as they later failed.

A note about parts: 

As much as I like doing these kinds of jobs, it sucks to do it twice because you went with the absolute cheapest parts. Balljoints and swaybar links were from Moog with zerk fittings. Lower control arms were from Delphi. Tie rod ends were AC Delco Gold. Struts and upper strut mounts were genuine Mopar. All of the brands I used were not the least expensive, but I expect that that larger brands will have better quality, or at least a throat to choke if I need recompense. [Ed Note: I’m cheap, so I always use the least expensive parts I can find from a semi-reputable brand. It’s mostly worked out for me. Mostly. -DT].

And … a note about tools: 

My brother in law is an awesome DIY mechanic with a penchant for tools, so I borrowed his electric impact wrench, balljoint press, and accessory kit. These were crucial. The impact has a lot of wallop, but it’s chonky boi. There’s nothing exotic here, you just need the right sizes.

You’ll also need a floor jack, wheel chocks and jackstands for this job. Get a good-quality spring compressor! If I could change one thing about how I did my job, it would be to find a used Branick spring compressor unit before starting. They’re around for a few hundred bucks. The WK2 has a LOT of spring. They’re tall and strong, and compressed springs are dangerous AF. I actually broke my spring compressor when the threads pulled out and it released all the tension with a “bang.” Code brown.

I ultimately got it done with a new clamshell-style spring compressor of the same style backed up with a couple of “death sticks.” I hated that part of the job, and it’s worth the cash to get the beefier pro tool. Sell it again once you’re done, if you’re inclined. 

The Job Itself

I did one side at a time to minimize chaos. After getting the Jeep chocked and secured on jackstands, I removed the wheels.

Sticking a screwdriver in the circumferential brake rotor vents, and wedging it up against the brake caliper bracket to prevent the hub from spinning allowed me to loosen the axle nut. Having both front wheels high off the ground helped, because turning the wheels provides better access to the caliper bolts on the back side of the spindle. I wriggled the caliper assembly off and secured it out of the way. I’ve seen people let the calipers hang from the hose. That’s potentially damaging to the hose, and frankly sloppy. Don’t do that. Get some zip ties.

The impact is really handy to remove the nuts on the tie rod ends and ball joints. It can be hard to remove the nut from a balljoint that’s been in service for a while if you’re doing it by hand, because there aren’t always flats to place a wrench for counterholding. I slid the axle out of the hub with a combination of steering angle and swearing. It’s a little tricky because it only compresses/plunges so much. 

I started at the upper balljoint with a pickle fork (u-shaped too with a ramped profile to release balljoint studs from their taper-fit mounting holes.) You could also use a balljoint separator (a tool that attaches and forces the balljoint apart by driving a screw against the end of the balljoint stud to push it out) if you wanted to get it apart but didn’t need to replace the balljoint, they’re kind of a slow pain to use. Even just a couple of hammer shots against the upright with the joint still under tension will pop it loose without damaging the dust boot on the balljoint. 

I was worried about the ABS sensors, so I took my time with them. During a previous repair, I had broken the driver’s side ABS sensor and its harness connector, and I didn’t want to do that again. Since my WK2 has seen winter, that thing was fused in there with corrosion, and there was nothing I could do about it. On the passenger side, I gingerly released the connector that’s in the wheel well and removed the pigtail from all its rubber-isolated mounting points, leaving the sensor in the spindle assembly for the rest of the job. You have to be careful with the factory connectors; there’s a red tab you pull back to release, but be gentle or you’ll break it. There are replacements available from the big chain parts stores if you do; you’ll just have to splice it in. 

The pickle fork made quick work of the outer tie rod end. Free from all the balljoints and steering, I placed the spindle off to the side. Try not to bend up the backing plate for the brake rotor. I gave the hubs an exploratory spin, and both were stiff and notchy, so I will have to go back and replace those, an un-fun job.

With the spindle out of the way, there’s a little more room to work. The strut assembly was next. It attaches to the lower control arm with one large through-bolt that the electric impact shrugged off. I had to drive these bolts out of the lower arm with a drift. Putting the floor jack under the control arm and raising it just enough to take the load off the bolt made that easier.

At the top of the strut towers, in the engine compartment, I loosened the upper strut nut under the black plastic cap, but didn’t remove it just yet. It’s easier to loosen this way. Then I removed the three nuts that hold the assembly into the strut tower and lowered it out. Sounds easy now. Took swearing then. Things have to flex around a disconcerting amount to get the strut clear of the drive axle and the lower control arm. This might have been the point in the job where I removed the axle from the front differential. That pops out by getting the pickle fork behind it and giving the handle a sharp jolt. I wound up in a death match with the swaybar links until I mashed the old Vise Grips on the stud to hold it in place from spinning. 

The Rust Was Rough, So I Broke Out The Torch

When things get ornery, never underestimate the power of heat. I had a MAPP gas torch handy and melted the centers out of a couple Nylock nuts that needed to be tortured into cooperation. Quenching with penetrating oil (you probably have feelings about your favorite flavor. That’s cool) can help release the bonds of rust. 

The lower control arm itself is simply a matter of getting after it with the right size sockets and wrenches. Dropping the drip pan below the engine helped get a socket/impact combo on the control arm’s front bolt. There are two rear bolts, one horizontally oriented in a slotted opening that allows for alignment adjustment, and one vertically oriented. Even if you’re replacing control arms, like I did, it’s a good idea to mark the position of these bolt heads with a Sharpie or paint marker (like I didn’t). It will help you ballpark the alignment during reassembly. You’ll just have to transfer the marks manually from the old arms to the new ones. 

These things are heavy, and they fit snugly in their mounting locations. I used a piece of 2×4 and a 2.5-pound hammer to provide encouragement for removal. Now I had all the big stuff apart. 

To remove the tie rods, I turned the steering to full-lock for the side being worked on and removed destroyed the Oetiker clamp holding the rubber bellows to the rack body. There are apparently tools for those things, but it appears you’ll need a separate tool for removal and installation. With the boot released, I was able to fold it back and get a pipe wrench on the inner tie rod end and loosen it. I had wanted to leave the tie rod assemblies intact so I’d just have to match their lengths with the new stuff during reassembly to get to that ballpark alignment, but to get the boots off the inner tie rod end, I had to remove the outers. I marked the location of the locknut, but one of these was really stuck. My brother in law’s tool stash helped again with a “miniductor” to heat it significantly so it would come off. Unfortunately, metal conducts heat, and intense heat melts steering  boots. 

Replacements weren’t easy to find; the one source I located for these was 1A Auto, who had them from EMPI of all brands! EMPI, you see, is a brand better known in the U.S. for its air cooled Volkswagen parts. 

Front Struts…Assemble!

The old was out, so it was time to put the new in. I didn’t replace the springs, so I just had to swap them over from old to new struts. This meant the dreaded step of compressing the springs.  [Ed Note: This is the beauty of quickstruts — it all comes assembled!  -DT]. The way I did this, in grass of the backyard fumbling around with a combo of manual clamshell and individual hook-and-screw style compressors, really sucks. 

Tips: 

• You have to compress the spring a lot
• Make sure you grease the screws on the compressors
• Leverage helps, like a ratcheting breaker bar
• Position yourself to the side of the spring as much as possible to minimize getting hit if a sudden decompression happens
• The electric impact helped, but the amount of vibration could get things out of alignment, and it just felt gnarly. 

I hate compressing springs. They’re basically live grenades.

Getting the old springs on the new struts with the coil ends in the proper orientation took diligence. You also have to keep in mind how the upper mount studs are oriented in relation to the lower strut mount. Get it wrong, and things won’t point in the right direction once they’re back in the car. 

I breathed a little easier once I got the upper strut mount nut back on, and I hit it with the impact to tighten. Some say not to do this because the vibration might damage the internal valving of the shock, but I don’t think it’s any worse than what it has to deal with over a rough patch of pavement, and loose strut mounts rattle and knock so your car feels cheap and broken.

The final pain in the ass with the springs turned out to be getting the compressors off. The hooks got stuck under the rubber of the upper mount and had to be wrestled free.

Ball joints

Removing and replacing the ball joints is a significant subtask for this job. This was my first time using a ball joint press, which is like a large C-clamp that, together with the properly sized cup, pushes the press-fit balloint out. You position it on the joint with one of the cups, so that when you tighten the screw on the opposite side, it pushes the balljoint into the cup. The whole shebang flips around for installation, and I had to be careful to select the right-sized cup to engage with the body of the balljoint and drive it in straight. I didn’t want to bend or distort anything. 

An indoor shop with a vise and a workbench would have been nice. The additional pieces in the service kit gave me all the sizes I needed to get the old joints out and install the new ones without nicking the dust boots (tear one of those and you’ll probably have to buy a new joint, or lose a lot of time to trying to source a new dust boot and then install it). My brother-in-law’s tip was that this tool works best with the impact, and boy was he right. I wouldn’t want to do this job without it.

The upper ball joints stay in the upper control arms, so that was a little easier, actually. I just had to pull down on the upper control arm and tie it off with some clothesline, otherwise it kept twisting out of sight because of the pre-load in its bushings. On some other cars, getting chunky tools into a tight spot would make this more challenging. On the passenger side, I found the bad bushings on the upper control arm, which caused a delay, as I had to order a new part that took a couple of days to get here. 

Control Arms

Removing the upper control arm requires some engine bay access to the fasteners. Luckily, this one was on the passenger side, so I tucked some electrical components out of the way for more room to work, but I probably could have done it with them in place. On the driver’s side, there’s more stuff in the way, including the brake master cylinder and steering shaft, so it may be trickier to get at things. 

Either way, getting at the rear bolt for the upper control arm means you’re mostly working blind and you don’t have a lot of range to swing a wrench.If you have fancy fine-tooth ratchets, this is one area where they might be helpful. The impact wrench did not fit back here, obviously. This was strictly a hand-tool affair. 

There are upper and lower ball joints on both sides, so four removals, and four installations took a while. Since these ball joints have grease fittings, it was important to install the zerks and then pump grease into all the joints, slowly, until it started to bleed out of the dust boot. There are sealed-for-life ball joints that come pre-greased, but I specifically went for the greaseable joints in the hopes of getting more service life out of them. I check them every other oil change. 

The Reverse Of Removal

The rest of this job is bolting new stuff in place of the old stuff. Assembled struts are easy to slide back into place and then reach up to the top of the shock tower and hand-tighten the nuts on the studs. The drive axle snaps back into the differential with a push. Because the lower control arms are heavy, I lifted them into place with my floor jack. Fastening them to their mounting points first, at least loosely, made it easier to then get the strut bolted to it. 

It would have been helpful if I had marked the rear mounting points of the lower control arms for alignment purposes. I’m sure I would have had to pull, lever, or even use a ratchet strap to get things lined up, but it would have been worth it, as we’ll see. With things hand-tight, it’s important to torque the suspension in a loaded state, as the car would sit on level ground. I approximated this by lifting beneath the control arm. When the car *just* began to lift off its jack stand on that side, it signaled that the suspension had been compressed roughly the same amount as it would be when sitting on its wheels. For the passenger side, I repeated this method and also torqued the replacement upper control arm.

Once I was done torquing the lower control arms to their proper values with an actual torque wrench, I settled the car back down on the jack stands and reinstalled the spindle. The floor jack once again came in handy to push on the swaybar via a block of 2×4, so I could align the new links. These links also required greasing like the ball joints. 

Inner tie rods just screw into the steering rack. Once tightened, there’s a notch in the rack itself that’s used to lock the tie rod end in. What you do is hit the area just ahead of that notch, on the tie rod end (not the rack), with a hardened punch, which will deform slightly into that notch. I installed the replacement boot and then tried to roughly match the length of the original tie rod assembly to determine the placement of the outer tie rod end, which just locks in place with a jam nut being tightened against it as you counter-hold the outer tie rod end with a wrench on the flats that are designed into its body. Instead of Oetiker clamps, I secured the steering boot with zip ties. I don’t love this. 

One nice thing about all the replacement Moog hardware is that there were wrench flats and counterholds built into the balljoints and the joints on the swaybar links so I could properly torque the retainer nuts. 

Off To The Alignment Shop

The very night I finished, it snowed. Good thing, because I had an alignment to get to, and the front end was very far out of whack. My quick shakedown cruise down the block and back showed some very spooky behavior. When one side had less traction than the other, the car would slide and lurch a bit unpredictably because the wheels wanted to go in different directions. I had planned ahead to use the alignment shop that’s a half mile from the house, so it wasn’t a big deal, but the low traction surface was helpful getting there. 

It freaked out the stability control, actually, and I thought I might have to replace or recalibrate something else, but the folks at the shop had seen it before. I dropped it off in the evening, and by 2 p.m. the next day, it was all set.

Satisfaction

This Jeep has got a worn-in feel like the best gear does. There’s still some work left to do, but there are few things more satisfying than making an old car feel new. And while it was a bit of effort, and I got delayed by finding additional problems and a bout of COVID, I was lucky enough that the project could just sit till I could get back to it. 

And, now that this Jeep is through this part of its midlife crisis, it’s money in the bank. Cars don’t accrue value like real estate, but keeping up the asset delivers trustworthy utility, which is worth a lot. 

Everything else that’s wrong

Rear Shocks

The “feels like new” sensation was short-lived, and I knew it would be, because I have a little more work to do. It’s time to do the same refreshment for the rear axle. In bumpy corners, the back end of this thing does its best impression of a solid axle, skittering off course and requiring steering correction. The job isn’t that hard.

• Shocks $112 ea ($224 total) 
• Shock mounts $37 ea ($74 total) 
• Swaybar links $22 ea ($44 total)

Oil Cooler

The Pentastar V6 has been known to spring leaks at its oil cooler. This assembly is inconveniently located below the intake manifold and leaks into the cylinder valley before eventually dribbling out onto the ground. The fix, once and for all, is this all-metal part made by Dorman. It’s a bit of labor to get in there, and it looks like I need to replace the seals on the cam phaser actuators, as well. They appear to be leaking, though the rest of the valve cover gasket looks like it’s sealing ok. 

• Dorman Oil Cooler $310 
• Cam Phaser O-Rings $17 (2-pack) 

Battery 

The original absorbed glass mat (AGM) battery is getting pretty tired. On cold morinings, it spins the engine over  s l o w l y . Almost 12 years is a pretty good run, and though it’s expensive, I can expect the same decade-plus out of the replacement. Its mounting spot beneath the front passenger seat probably helps it live such a long life, but I’m going to thank this one for its service and send it off to the recycler soon. 

• Battery $259

Radiator

The radiator seems to be a problem for these vehicles. The original sprang a leak before 100,000 miles at the junction of the side tank and core. The official replacement method includes recovering the AC refrigerant and removing the condenser and a lot of other stuff from the front end. My method slid the radiator in without disturbing as many items. But although I used a Denso replacement, a well-known OEM supplier, it, too, has been weeping for a while. Another fun thing is that this year of WK2 uses DexCool, which makes a complete mess. It’s a good time to flush it, though, when I repeat my replacement technique for a second time. I should probably do the serpentine belt while I have extra room, too.  

• Radiator $158
• Coolant $7.11 ea ($30-ish for 4)
• Serpentine belt $15.25
• Tensioner $120 

Nav Maps

This is going to be a total pain. The UConnect 4 with Nav worked pretty well, though its maps got out of date with all the road construction that’s gone on in the last decade. I bought an update from Here Technologies, the official provider, and a glitch with that release wiped out any existing map data and failed to load new ones. This is another known issue that others have solved with dogged determination. I have the SD card and forum threads and will try again, but I’ll check first with Here to see if they will admit their mistakes and give me something that works, or assistance in getting this thing un-bricked. 

Right Rear Stoplight

This self-inflicted wound happened when one of the newer drivers in my household backed into the trash bin. The replacement from eBay looked great, and I have a rule about not using cheap knockoff replacements for lighting. Marvin and Tammy said it best. Unfortunately, this OEM unit leaks. So I will either reseal it some way and dry it out, or replace it again with another salvage unit. 

• Tail light (used) $65-ish

Front Hubs

These are the one thing I didn’t refresh during my front-end rebuild. I’d already done the driver’s side in Spring 2023. Unfortunately, it didn’t live long, and by the fall of that year, when I had the rest of the suspension apart, I noticed that it was already stiff and notchy, just like the passenger side hub, that’s original. I hoped that I’d get a little more life out of the bearings, but they’re now very loud and I can feel play, so I’m not using the car for long trips until this is done. It’s not a fun job. It was an absolute bastard getting the hub out of the spindle the first time. Road salt welds this stuff together so hard that I had to take the spindle off and use a press to get it out. It took a lot of force before finally letting go with a bang. Don’t believe the how-to videos out there that show it just falling out once you remove the bolts. Maybe in Arizona. 

I expect that the already-replaced hub will cooperate; we coated it with anti-seize before re-installing. And for the passenger side, I’ll give this tool that O’Reilly rents out a shot. It’s expensive to buy, so I’m glad that companies like O’Reilly support DIY with rentals (and sponsorships of automotive creators). 

• Hubs $66 ea $132 total
• Tool Rental $370 

Brake Fluid

Take a look at your stop juice. Is it black? Then you should replace it. You see, brake fluid is hygroscopic; it absorbs moisture from the air. And it should look clear and light, like Karo syrup. Some fancy grades will have different colors. Replacing it is easy enough; siphon most (but not all!) of the fluid out of the reservoir with a turkey baster, you want to leave a little in there so you don’t create an air bubble. Then refill with new fluid and start bleeding the brakes at the furthest point from the master cylinder. Bleed and refill the reservoir until you’re getting new fluid from that location, and then move on to repeat the process at all four wheels. It takes a while. But once fresh fluid is flowing from all the bleeders, the waterlogged corrosive stuff is gone, and the braking system will be capable of absorbing heat when you need it most. 

• Brake fluid $25/gallon

I’m Milking Every Last Dime Out Of This New Car

That’s about it. I just replaced the spark plugs this past weekend. I found the misfire – there was a cracked insulator on one of the plugs. Lots of center electrode erosion, as well. The misfire codes are cleared and haven’t come back yet, and the engine runs a lot more smoothly and flexibly. I expect my fuel economy to improve. The tires are pretty new and I will be switching to the winter tires shortly, so that will extend the life of the all-seasons. The brakes are good. The factory exhaust is hanging on. I might look at the motor and transmission mounts for giggles, and there are some areas of surface rust that need to be treated with a rust converter and I should apply Fluid Film to protect the undercarriage from the brine they use on the roads here in the winter. 

All told these costs will be less than most down payments I see quoted. The labor time, of course, will be hours I can’t use for something else, like writing my great American Novel, but I find this therapeutic, like a puzzle to solve. And I can always let my thoughts drift to that white whale as I heat rusty fasteners to glowing red and swear a lot. This is what it takes to stay on the road. This is what it takes to get the most out of my new car purchase.