anyone know of a good mechanic familiar with the VM powered cars near sacramento Ca?
I have what i believe to be lemon.. its my second liberty CRD and has never been 'right'.. i have over 40 yrs experience in motor trade.. but my work is now limited to pre '67 vehicles..this current CRD has approx 155k miles.. I've owned and driven diesels as a preference for the past 30 years .
some of the symptoms :-engine check light has been on most of the time iv'e owned it.. code says 'mas airflow sensor'..put a new one in..no change ..same code comes up... upper end noise from engine when above 2,200 rpms under load.. (sounds like bad lifters but only does it under load)
lower end pronounced knock ..not all the time..only when engine is fully up to operating temp ( after about 15mins of running) diagnosed it to # 3 cylinder.. replaced the injector with new one .. zero difference ..its sounds like a rod knock ..its BAD .. sounds like it about to throw a rod..but sounds ok when cold ..no excessive blow by when oil filler cap is removed etc. (heard a similar noise on several posted on 'you tube'.. NO ONE has an answer as to what the cause is however)..
sometimes it also smokes badly..
current mechanic suggested i get the ecu re-programmed by GDE.. he thinks the egr system is choked up..but refuses to clean it as he says its 5 hour job and he's too busy ( translation :- I'm not going to work on that pile of crap again..period)
the fuel economy has never bettered 24 mpg average.. normal is around 20-22 .(my last land rover TDI never did worse than 26mpg.. and it NEVER broke or gave single 'problem' .. gave it away to a friend @ 280k miles..its still running 5 years later..)
basically..i dont trust this car at all.. which is good reason to ditch it.. but Ive sunk about $5k into repairs during the past 12 months with it.. on top of initial purchase cost .. Ive done about 23k miles in it to date ..
there is also the issue of a number of annoying harmonic rattles/vibration from front exhaust system.. especially when idling ( last one did this too ) that last one had a GDE tune and weeks intake.. it had VERY annoying loud whistle under light load..just where one would like to cruise comfortably.. its also had a bad (juddering) torque converter.. but got totalled before i could fix it.. regret not buying it back from ins company..primary reason for NOT doing so was hard frontal impact that damaged the front of the engine and they wanted $2,200 for it..
please.. dont give advice unless you are sure of what you are talking about.. I prefer not to have guesses.. seeking expert opinion from someone who actually knows..and hope to find it here.. thank you..in great frustration, Tim..

PS..seems to me these cars are prone to all manner of engine issues.. most of which seem to happen around 150k ..and are very costly to fix.. making mockery of any savings via the already lackluster fuel economy. BTW..i did timing belt/tensioners/ water pump/ hoses /tires /brakes when i lfirst purchased the car last year.. I have come to really dislike this car and it may well be my last diesel ever.. definitely no more chrysler products for me.

Best guess is that your engine needs new rocker arms.
Can't really know for sure until the top of the motor is opened up.

You may want to contact Geordi. He might be willing to travel to you and work on your engine.

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U.S. Army Retired

How long has the egr been active?

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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

Wow... Sadly, this is not an uncommon tale of a person buying one of these that has been mistreated in the past.

I was actually out in the Bay Area a few months ago, and could certainly work up a plan to go back, but I think we need a plan of action first.

Can you record a video of the engine idling both when cold and again when warmed up and making these noises you want to point out? Please do it from the center of the bumper aiming at the engine - but stand at least 1 step back from the bumper so that the wind from the fan doesn't cause rumble in the microphone. I'm specifically interested in the sound of the engine.

You can email them to me or post a link here, to the file in your Dropbox Public Folder. If you don't have Dropbox, you can use this link to sign up for free and we both get bonus space: https://db.tt/QGC2eH5G

When you sign up and install the program, it will create a special synchronized folder on your computer. One of them is called "Public" and any file in it has a special link (found when right-clicking on the file) that you can copy and paste in forums like this. (Fun tip: This is the easiest way to post images too)

Anyway, hopefully the damage is not as bad as you think. In my experience, as long as the CRD is able to move under its own power for any decent length of time, everything else is fixable. These things don't put up with problems for very long OR very politely.

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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 225 CRDs currently driving with my valves, timing belt, rockers, or ARP Studs.
Bad noises = REALLY bad things.