New to me Aspen
 

Howdy all. In a few weeks I am picking up a 2009 Chrysler Apsen from my parents, who decided they wanted to downsize to a smaller SUV, which works out well for me as me and my family of 4 have been considering purchasing a larger SUV with a 3rd row. I decided to join up and read\learn about this Aspen. I've driven it a few times when visiting my parents, who live in FL. We've taken it on trips from their house to Disney World, etc, and it seems like a really nice SUV. Lotta power with that Hemi! My daily driver is a 2015 Ram 1500 4x4 with the Hemi that I bought new in June of 2015, so I'm somewhat familiar with Mopar now.

Anyway, here are the specs that I know of for the Aspen. I'm already reading threads about checking the shocks, the Hemi in this generation requires 30k plug changes, etc. I'll post some pics up in a few weeks once I bring er' home!

- 2009 Chrysler Aspen (Limited?)
- 5.7 Hemi
- 2wd (sucks for MD winters, hopefully it has a LSD!?! But we have my 4x4 RAM for snow).
- Cool Vanilla color
- 8 seats (bench seat in the middle)
- Navigation system, but no rear media center
- Right around 50k miles.
- Surprisingly no tow package? Again, have my truck for towing, but would be nice to pop in a bike rack to take the Aspen on trips.

Welcome to the Aspen family. It is a small niche family as you will soon find out. This site is where I have found most of my info on it but even it is VERY limited. Theirs just not enough people who own one (since it was only produced for three years) or are on forums like this to talk about it. I've also found a Chrysler Aspen Club on Facebook but it too is limited on the talk. Many questions posted are left unanswered due to no one knowing an answer other than see the dealer. Other times, questions that get suggestions from others who have had similar situations are then left with out a response from the one who posted the question to know if the suggestion worked or not. How rude?

If you are the type who likes to modify or upgrade certain features of your vehicles, you will find this difficult as well since very few aftermarket products are produced for the Aspen. Some of the aftermarket Durango parts will crossover, but not very many.

First thread I would recommend to you is this one: https://www.chryslerforum.com/forum/...houghts-19953/

Although it originally started as a discussion on the 08 Aspen, it has turned in to a build sheet request. Simply supply your VIN for member ChryslerCares and you will soon find out all the info on your Aspen and more. Very helpful for future services. It will tell you if it is a "Limited" or not.

As for LSD, when servicing the rear end on my 08', I had to add 4 oz of Limited Slip Additive so I take that as a yes. Then again, I've got 4WD, 3.92 axle ratio with 8.25 ring gear. I'm not sure if the 3.55 axle ration or the 9.25 ring gear differ on this.

Thanks for the reply, and great point. I keep forgetting they only made the Aspen for 3 model years. I think we can thank the C.A.F.E initiative for that? I don't plan to do any power train mods to this vehicle, but I am very meticulous with my maintenance and like to have an overall knowledge of my vehicles. This will be the wife's DD and of course hauling our family around. I'll check out that thread you linked and request a build sheet off of my Aspen once I get the VIN. I have the 3.92 gears in my 2015 Ram, it would be nice to have them in this Aspen as well. But I would settle with 3.55's, just hope it has an LSD at least. Thanks again!

You're welcome. Their is some post on here about maintenance. Again, limited. I recommend getting a maintenance manual. Sadly, Haynes (or anyone else for that matter) does not have one specific to the Aspen. So you need to look for the Durango 2004-2009 manual at your local parts store. It's the closest match for us. It will provide you with the most information needed for working on the Aspen. Also, I have a post on here for a parts manual. It's really used by body shops so it is limited on some things, but it does contain a lot of useful part numbers. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Hopefully someone can help. :)