For a couple months I have had a constant lose of antifreeze. I have a lot of pressure under the cap even after the engine has been off for 15 hours. I replaced the cap but still leaking from top around cap somewhere. Dash light will go on. Also thermostat never reaches half way mark.

Yeah, you've got a head gasket leak and if you've been driving it around in this state for a couple of months you've probably warped the head also. If you continue and it ends up pushing coolant back into one of the cylinders you could end up hydrolocking it

My first piece of advice would be - Stop driving it until you've got it fixed

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That's what I was afraid of. Now trying.to find a mechanic to do the work in jersey might be hard.

shadow I'd suggest you pm geordi who may be planning a trip to the NE and also goes to the New York City area on occasion.

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Sold to LOST member my 05 Ltd, GDE Stg II turbo + TCM tune, SunCoast TC w. Transgo kit, Steiger window regulators, Samcos, Fumoto valve, 2nd gen filter head with Lub. Spec. bleeder, Hayden clutch & 11 blade fan, inverted spare, P-1 battery, BF Goodrich Long Trail TAs, Etecno1 glow plugs, timing belt at 50K miles/8 yrs

Any suggestions about parts and upgrades I should do. Any idea of a roundabout. Cost $

Head gasket-~100 from gde(I think he still sells them separately)
Arp studs-370 from idparts
Valve cover gasket
4 cooper washers and O rings for injectors

You never mentioned mileage so possibly a timing belt kit-400 id parts
Rockers?-370 id parts

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2005 Crd Silver Limited- arps, rockers, 7v etechno's, egr deleted, v6 airbox, metal cac's. Yeti's stage 2 tune. Euro TC, Ram tcm, pml transmission pan, facet lift pump

and get head tested by a reputable machine shop. If it's bad, it's going to get expensive. Don't skip the rockers if EGR has been active unless you want to waste about $2k in labor twice, and that's cheap! And the same goes for ARP studs.

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05 CRD: H.D.S2 stat,WW Ironrock trilink&LCA's, OX rear,ARB front, 4.10's, ARB bumper, Suncoast,OME 3.5, JBA UCA,rock rails, Moabs&265/75 Duratracs, GDE tunes ,FFD fan,ARP's, 2 micron fuel, new valves,sasquatch battery tray & grid heater, tensioner relocated
Mech fan, VH & AC delete

Head gasket is only $130 from IDparts, and just junk the bolts. They are C.R.A.P.
Arp studs are what you want, $370 from idparts
Valve cover gasket kit is *possibly* not needed, it doesn't hold against pressure or coolant. Just an oil seal. $40 from IDparts.
4 injector copper crush washers and O rings, $32 for all 4 ($8 each) from IDparts.
Timing belt WILL NEED TO BE REPLACED - You cannot re-use it, might as well do the full kit since you are in there, and then that will set you up for another 100k miles. $400, IDparts.

Strongly suggested:
Rockers, since you are already in there, and 90% of the labor will need to be re-done if they fail out later. $370 from IDparts.
Intake elbow kit makes the reassembly a LOT easier and cleans up the engine bay, $250 (IIRC) from Sasquatchmotorsports.com
Glow plugs - If they aren't coding out, then they aren't broke... But if you still have the ceramics from the factory... Consider the Etechno 7v metal replacements. $100 from IDparts.

Would-Be-Nice list:
Boost hoses - Samcos are great, IDparts, I think they are like $250.
GDE Tune if you don't already have one, this turns off the EGR (mostly) but it eliminates the error light if you are getting the elbow kit.

Finally... Labor - If you haven't ever done this before, it isn't a small job. I've done it and can do it in 2 solid days. For a first-timer, you are probably looking at the better part of 4 days, longer if you have weather delays or a life.

I'm still planning a trip to the NE in the near future, and nobody has confirmed yet, so the schedule is up to you at the moment. We can talk via PM, but the labor for this would be a steal compared to a shop, and I know what I'm doing on these engines. Doubtful that anyone else can honestly say that.

Better to get it fixed now, before it does any real damage to the rest of the engine when the weather gets hot. Thankfully, these engines run cold anyway, so you aren't at much risk of warping the head - But hydrolocking is a VERY real possibility. Just keep it full of water and don't drive it unless you have no other choice.

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Proud supporting vendor of LOST Jeeps
TRAVELING CRD TECH. I come to you!
Need help? Just ask! I've taken it apart more than most.
Email jeep [at] maincomputer [dot] com - BOARD MESSAGING IS BROKEN
Over 125 CRDs currently driving with my timing belt, rockers, or ARP Studs.
Bad noises = REALLY bad things.

Thanks all. @ Geordi I will be Contacting you. If you travel to work where do you preform the work? I live 15 minutes off of 95 by Philadelphia. I had the timing belt kit done 45k ago I do have the gde eco tune and the Samco hoses. I'm also in the process of getting the elbow kit from seth. I gave him my old intercooler so he can fabricate an aluminum one for us to buy.

I just need a driveway or relatively flat place for the CRD to sit, I bring everything else to do the work. Of course a garage space would be nice, but it isn't a requirement - I usually have a tent with me that I can deploy if the weather is bad. I also have a nice new diesel-fired blast heater that does a GREAT job of creating a toasty warm zone out of the cold.

At geordi can you inbox me your number and your availability. Bill

Shadow, just curious, but how often do you have to fill your reservoir?

Correct me if I'm wrong but don't most cooling systems maintain some pressure, even after the engine cools? Isn't the suggested method of testing for headgasket failure here on LOST to start the engine cold, run for 30 seconds, turn engine off, and check for pressure at the reservoir cap?

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sold...05 CRD Limited, GDE Hot Tune, Euro TC, ARP Head Studs, Intake Elbow Kit, Samco CAC Hoses, Etecno 7v glow plugs, OME 790 and Bilstein 916 up front, OME 948 and OME N132L rear, JBA Upper A-Arms, 245/75/16 Duratracs on Moabs, Renegade roof lights, Curt Front Hitch, BTF Kryptonite Diff Cover, JCR Stage 2 Rock Rails, Skid Row Skid Plates

It runs low to like the bottom of the reservoir a couple times a day if in driving around a lot, probably a gallon has to be filled. It leaks from the top either the hose to the cap area or around the cap. I did replace the cap. And I also put in head gasket sealer

Sheesh, with it bleeding that badly, if you run the engine with the cap off, can you see it bubbling with the exhaust gasses? That sounds like a really severe leak for sure.

I would advise against driving it until it can be fixed, unless you absolutely have to.

Cool engine should have no pressure, and if the rad cap did not have a vacuum release it would have negative pressure. I never did the 30 second test. Hear is my test.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Go4FC0riQs

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2006 LTD Bright Silver loaded with all the needed mods, CCV intact.
Proudly supporting CRD vendors, and their development of quality parts and accessories.
Equipped with HDS thermostat, plenty of heat, faster warm-ups, increased fuel mileage.

Well, it's starting to look like it's my turn to have to replace the head gasket. A bummer no matter what, but even more so since I did the timing belt just last summer (engine has 122,000 miles on it) . It's not leaking bad right now, but bad news doesn't get better with age....

I'm gonna try and get out in front of it all now, with hopes to hold off doing it until spring. That said:

1. I admittedly haven't done a search here, but has anyone posted an in-depth link about doing this work (similar to the ones about replacing the timing belt)? I've got the manual, but the links I've found on here over the years are most helpful too.

2. In light of my engine's miles, what other work would be best to get done now? Recon the head (springs/seals/valve job)? Rockers? I am gonna install the ARP studs.

3. Are there better cams available in the aftermarket for this engine? I don't need any more power, but maybe there's some out there that would improve mileage?

Seeing as how I've already installed the Weeks elbow (GREAT product!), I'd also appreciate if somebody would attach a link here for how to totally remove the EGR system.

Any advice/links/etc would be greatly appreciated!

Steve

Bumping this back to the top. Would appreciate any replies/advice/links/etc anybody can give.

Further, found this link which (among other aspects) mentions head alignment pins: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=80939&start=20

How important is it to have those pins to re-install the head. What tips does anybody have if they're not used?

Also, is there a way to tell which version of head gasket is needed before taking the engine apart?

Again, any input will be greatly appreciated!

Steve

The pins are already in the block, they do not come out unless you want them to.

If you get an endoscope off of Ebay or Amazon for $15 to $20 you can look at the tab of the gasket near the EGR and count how many holes are in the gasket. Maybe a couple of crap shots with a cell phone camera might work too?

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2006 LTD Bright Silver loaded with all the needed mods, CCV intact.
Proudly supporting CRD vendors, and their development of quality parts and accessories.
Equipped with HDS thermostat, plenty of heat, faster warm-ups, increased fuel mileage.

Getting a cellphone in there will be tough, but you are looking for the tab that is on the driver's side between cylinders 2 and 3, just (of course) under the intake elbow area.

Looking at it from the top and the front, you *might* be able to read the part number to know you are in the right spot, and the holes (if any) should be toward the front end IIRC. It could have 0, 1, or 2 holes.

Where are you located? I might be able to do the work for you, if you aren't confident in doing this much yourself.

_________________
Proud supporting vendor of LOST Jeeps
TRAVELING CRD TECH. I come to you!
Need help? Just ask! I've taken it apart more than most.
Email jeep [at] maincomputer [dot] com - BOARD MESSAGING IS BROKEN
Over 125 CRDs currently driving with my timing belt, rockers, or ARP Studs.
Bad noises = REALLY bad things.