Well,

I will post the threads below where I have asked for help putting new head gasket on, full egr delete and rockers. I did not replace the head because the machine shop said it "pressure tested" ok....

Here is the issue, When I put her all back together, she sputtered and ran, but with the same smoke that lead to the head gasket replacement. Except now, she eats, and I mean eats coolant! It does not leak, I think it is getting sucked into the cylinders.

The family was and is so fatigued by the ordeal that I parked her right after I found that issue and haven't touched her since. With fall approaching here in Eastern NC, she was blocking a garage bay that is needed for my wife's car. So, I charged up the battery and attempted to move her over in the driveway.

She sputtered at first (hadn't been run in months!) but then she came to life! Still with the same smoke. I drove her around the block and the little tractor has lots of guts even with problems remaining. I parked her out of the way. The A/C still blows wicked cold!

Here is where I need advice. The family wants to dump her, tired of all the quirks the CRD comes with. There is still an issue with the head/gasket.

Anyone here want to buy her as is? PM me if you do. I am serious. 2" lift done right. New tires X5 Michelins

Should I dump more money into her and get her running right? I absolutely love the way she looks! But, should I cut my losses and run?

As they say in baseball, "Play me or trade me."

Here are links to the threads:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=84462

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=83956

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=84362

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=84344

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2006 4X4 CRD Limited Dark Khaki Build Date 03/06 - Her daily driver

Yes I'm old enough to know better

Dude, I had exactly the same thing happen to me!
Thought it was head gasket, tore down the motor, and sent the head to a machine shop to have it checked for cracks.
Seriously, this guy did an amazing jop. He checked the head surface, replaced the valve guide seals, cleaned it up and made it look brand new.
But whatever testing he did for cracks didnt work

After reinstalling and finding that I still had coolant steaming out the exhaust, I did my own test and confirmed that the head was cracked.

Anyway, its your call.
Its more work and time spent as a lawn ornament but I felt it was worth it.
And its easier to sell a vehicle thats in good running condition than one that isnt.

I got a good used replacment head shipped from england for under $600.
So, if you decide to stick with it, contact VMspecialists.
Just be advised, you gotta be patient with them. Not only are they in a differnet country (thankfully english speaking) but their working hours are different.
In the end, I was very pleased.

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U.S. Army Retired

Yeah that sounds like a cracked head. Is the smoke coming out the exhaust a whitish color? I'd suggest you tear it back down and fix it. You won't get near what it's worth with it not running right.

If you do decide to fix again. I have a head from a jeep I'm parting out. It's not tested but the jeep ran and didn't consume any coolant. It had 203k on it so I'd prolly put new valves in it

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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