2002 Liberty engine fail

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I was a passenger last weekend during a 2002 Liberty engine fail. 188k miles. started hearing tapping noises going uphill pulling a boat. owner said "it's a heat shield". sure didn't sound like it. he said it made noise "on the trip up". within a few miles I surmised that we were not going to make it to our destination. the noise got louder and more constant; then it stopped completely. pulled over. smoke everywhere. oil everywhere on the right side of the engine compartment. dipstick showed about 1 quart overfilled; coolant reservoir was low; oil smelled a little odd.

apparently a rod wanted out of the engine. I'm thinking that maybe some coolant was mixing into the oil, contributing to bearing wear.
amsoil for the first 80k of its life; dino after that.

Owner just ordered a Jasper replacement engine.
 
Originally Posted By: tomcat27


Owner just ordered a Jasper replacement engine.


Looks like the replacement will only last about 15k miles.
grin.gif


With the over filled oil and low coolant, my guess is a head gasket failure. The Jeep 4.0's that had the head cracking problem would usually fail the same way. It would overheat, cylinder head would crack, coolant would get in the oil, and before long the bearings were shot and the oil pressure would get low at hot idle. A few months later and a rod would come through the block.
 
It was 12K short of 200K that a pretty good life for a jeep engine. replace or get it rebuilt and call it good.
 
Originally Posted By: Killer223
cummins repower.

You know I was really tempted to say that too.
Then you could buy the factory diesel badging for a liberty and show your diesel pride.
 
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My sister had a 02 Liberty 3.7L. Failed same way , overheated and then head gasket blew. Unfortunately, I was two states away and couldnt help her out.
 
I'd pass on the Jasper engine. There are better choices, some of which might cost more but IMO if the vehicle is still good would be well worth it.
 
Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: tomcat27
Owner just ordered a Jasper replacement engine.


Not a good idea.

Jasper Never Again Thread


A sample of one means nothing. Stinks to be the guy with the bad engine but 1 data point isn't a valid way to make a decision.


Read the entire thread. More than one, including me.
 
02s did have that issue, more so than the 03+ 3.7s. I'd bet money he wasn't running HOAT coolant too.

Pretty common to see well over 200k+ from newer ones, or even 300k.
 
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Originally Posted By: Killer223
cummins repower.


4BT turbo?

No offense, but if the owner was confident enough to keep going yet couldn't tell a loose heat shield from rod knock, well, I have little sympathy...
 
Originally Posted By: Alex_V
Originally Posted By: Killer223
cummins repower.


4BT turbo?

No offense, but if the owner was confident enough to keep going yet couldn't tell a loose heat shield from rod knock, well, I have little sympathy...
4BT? That would be good, I can see all the plastic parts rattling off at idle already! An old Mercedes diesel would be better.
 
Originally Posted By: Alex_V
Originally Posted By: Killer223
cummins repower.


4BT turbo?

No offense, but if the owner was confident enough to keep going yet couldn't tell a loose heat shield from rod knock, well, I have little sympathy...


+1; me either.
 
Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
Originally Posted By: Alex_V
Originally Posted By: Killer223
cummins repower.


4BT turbo?

No offense, but if the owner was confident enough to keep going yet couldn't tell a loose heat shield from rod knock, well, I have little sympathy...
4BT? That would be good, I can see all the plastic parts rattling off at idle already! An old Mercedes diesel would be better.


...and either would be an easy and practical swap. Knock it out in a weekend, no sweat.
The Mercedes might actually be more practical, since aside from being a better engine in every way except power, it's fully mechanical and wouldn't need to mate up with any of the car's electronics.
I suppose you could rig a rod and knob to the emergency stop, which was how one stopped a Benz diesel before they got around to the vacuum solenoid shutoff.
Of course, you'd have to fab up some adapters for the engine mounts and I'm not too sure how much trouble it would be to mate it up to the tranny, but stranger things have been done.
 
Benz would be nice, but I think even the bigger diesels of an era to be fully mechanical wouldn't be overly powerful in the Liberty.

Oh, but the shaking of the 4BT vs. Chrysler's composites engineering would be such fun to observe.
laugh.gif
 
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