Good luck has ended

CGman · **Posted:** Wed Oct 26, 2016 12:00 am

Well I went a LONG time (at least in CRD time) with no maintenance issues, but my good luck has ended (although I've been ignoring a couple of issues :mrgreen:

)

I got a low coolant light last week and quickly figured out it was coming from the upper radiator hose inlet area of the radiator. I re-seated the hose to make sure it hadn't worked it's way loose, but the low coolant light came on again today, so I'm thinking the plastic to metal interface area must be going bad. (any input?)

Second, while I was removing parts to get a better look at the radiator, I took out the air cleaner box and I noticed the turbo inlet hose felt a little jiggly...sure enough, it was almost completely split at the turbo inlet flange...classic fatique/temperature issue. (I'm kind of surprised this hose hasn't had someone redesign a beefier retrofit, it seems to be a clear design flaw that will break after a certain time)

Third, one of the issues I've been ignoring is an annoying issue of having to let the vehicle run for several minutes before shifting it into reverse, otherwise it doesn't immediately engage and will throw a CEL if you're not careful. After reading and talking to my neighbor/transmission guru, it seems that the solenoid pack on this transmission is known to fail around 100K miles and has a new, redesigned part available. (I"m also surprised our friendly parts guys aren't stocking these, they seem to be another common issue :2cents:

)

Fourth...sigh, I think the TC is finally starting to show it's age...she's got 122K miles, I've put on more than half of those with a GDE Eco tune and TCM tune and a light foot. I was hoping it would last for a lot longer since I'm not towing anything and I drive with a light foot.

The good news is I have a much better appreciation for my little CRD. I just bought a Excursion with the 6.0L Powerstroke, and if you think the 2.8L is a touchy engine, holy mackeral, that thing is seriously complicated with some technically sketchy design ideas required to make the V8 work. I think you need a PhD from Ford just to be able to put on the serpentine belt! :furious:

jws84_02 · **Posted:** Wed Oct 26, 2016 7:34 am

Your first issue sounds like a head gasket failure if you keep loosing coolant. Confirm that you aren't leaking any hoses or other obvious places. You can also do a cold test. Run the jeep for 30 seconds, shut off, then open the tank cap. If there is pressure than that tells you combustion gasses are in your coolant. You must do this when the jeep is cold of course.

Turbo inlet hose is a common failure.

The problem with your transmission isn't a solenoid issue. Your front pump has failed, which is common. If you pull the tranny to do the tc then plan on a new pump when it's out. What happens is the check valve fails and allows fluid to leak back down

CGman · **Posted:** Wed Oct 26, 2016 9:49 am

The coolant leak is a pretty obvious puddle under the radiator with dried residue up the edge of the radiator to the upper hose area...I'm planning on going with another OEM radiator unless I hear something to change my mind. :juggle:

WWDiesel · **Posted:** Wed Oct 26, 2016 10:58 am

CGman wrote:

Well I went a LONG time (at least in CRD time) with no maintenance issues, but my good luck has ended (although I've been ignoring a couple of issues :mrgreen:

)

I got a low coolant light last week and quickly figured out it was coming from the upper radiator hose inlet area of the radiator. I re-seated the hose to make sure it hadn't worked it's way loose, but the low coolant light came on again today, so I'm thinking the plastic to metal interface area must be going bad. (any input?)

Second, while I was removing parts to get a better look at the radiator, I took out the air cleaner box and I noticed the turbo inlet hose felt a little jiggly...sure enough, it was almost completely split at the turbo inlet flange...classic fatique/temperature issue. (I'm kind of surprised this hose hasn't had someone redesign a beefier retrofit, it seems to be a clear design flaw that will break after a certain time)
Do you have a ProVent CCV filter installed? If not, you need to install one, it will stop 99% of the oil coming out of the CCV puck from going to the air intake hose at the turbo and rotting it out over time.

Third, one of the issues I've been ignoring is an annoying issue of having to let the vehicle run for several minutes before shifting it into reverse, otherwise it doesn't immediately engage and will throw a CEL if you're not careful. After reading and talking to my neighbor/transmission guru, it seems that the solenoid pack on this transmission is known to fail around 100K miles and has a new, redesigned part available. (I"m also surprised our friendly parts guys aren't stocking these, they seem to be another common issue :2cents:

)

Fourth...sigh, I think the TC is finally starting to show it's age...she's got 122K miles, I've put on more than half of those with a GDE Eco tune and TCM tune and a light foot. I was hoping it would last for a lot longer since I'm not towing anything and I drive with a light foot.
The transmission issue, solenoid pack will not fix hesitation issue, as others stated, problem is front pump is worn out. Need to drop transmission, replace front pump assembly and install a new TC preferably a HEMI TC or Suncoast TC if you got the funds... :wink:

At trick many use till they can swing the transmission front pump / TC replacement is to start engine, place in Neutral let it idle for 10-15 seconds, then place in "R" or "D" as needed, then drive away. Transmission oil pump is not engaged in PARK, only in all the other gears, so it takes a few seconds for it to build up the line pressure once you take it out of PARK if the fluid has leaked out of the cooler lines! Adding an extra qt. of ATF+4 may actually help it some as these transmissions love having a little extra fluid in them...

The good news is I have a much better appreciation for my little CRD. I just bought a Excursion with the 6.0L Powerstroke, and if you think the 2.8L is a touchy engine, holy mackeral, that thing is seriously complicated with some technically sketchy design ideas required to make the V8 work. I think you need a PhD from Ford just to be able to put on the serpentine belt! :furious:

I fully agree, I have worked on these engines and hate them; A mechanic's nightmare! Makes one really appreciate the gobs of room and simplicity of the Cummins diesel used in many vehicles including some of the larger F700 Fords....

flash7210 · **Posted:** Wed Oct 26, 2016 12:08 pm

CGman wrote:

The good news is I have a much better appreciation for my little CRD. I just bought a Excursion with the 6.0L Powerstroke, and if you think the 2.8L is a touchy engine, holy mackeral, that thing is seriously complicated with some technically sketchy design ideas required to make the V8 work. I think you need a PhD from Ford just to be able to put on the serpentine belt! :furious:

Wow! A CRD and a 6.0!

I... I... I'm sorry to hear that :shock:

The 6.0 is a lot like the CRD in that it takes a lot of work to undo the factory mistakes and make it right.
(if it hasnt been done already, make plans to install ARP head studs in that 6.0)
(and your CRD too :wink:

)

ernest · **Joined:** Sat Aug 06, 2016 2:04 pm **Posts:** 21

What is the part number for the HEMI TC.

CGman · **Posted:** Wed Oct 26, 2016 1:03 pm

WWDiesel wrote:

CGman wrote:

Second, while I was removing parts to get a better look at the radiator, I took out the air cleaner box and I noticed the turbo inlet hose felt a little jiggly...sure enough, it was almost completely split at the turbo inlet flange...classic fatique/temperature issue. (I'm kind of surprised this hose hasn't had someone redesign a beefier retrofit, it seems to be a clear design flaw that will break after a certain time)
Do you have a ProVent CCV filter installed? If not, you need to install one, it will stop 99% of the oil coming out of the CCV puck from going to the air intake hose at the turbo and rotting it out over time.

No ProVent, but the EHM was the first mod I did to the Jeep when I got it. The intake hose was cleanly broke at the edge of the turbo inlet (no oil rot), with the screw clamp and remaining hose baked onto the turbo flange. (which is I would like an alternative to another rubber hose that's going to have the same issue)

CGman · **Posted:** Wed Oct 26, 2016 1:14 pm

flash7210 wrote:

CGman wrote:

The good news is I have a much better appreciation for my little CRD. I just bought a Excursion with the 6.0L Powerstroke, and if you think the 2.8L is a touchy engine, holy mackeral, that thing is seriously complicated with some technically sketchy design ideas required to make the V8 work. I think you need a PhD from Ford just to be able to put on the serpentine belt! :furious:

Wow! A CRD and a 6.0!

I... I... I'm sorry to hear that :shock:

The 6.0 is a lot like the CRD in that it takes a lot of work to undo the factory mistakes and make it right.
(if it hasnt been done already, make plans to install ARP head studs in that 6.0)
(and your CRD too :wink:

)

Yes, I'm a sucker for punishment! :mrgreen:

I've got the parts for the Jeep, but I'm not planning on installing them just yet since I'm only running Eco tune. As far as the 6.0L, I'm saving my money for all the broken items that came with buying a used truck (glow plugs/accelerator pedal sensor/fuel injectors/EGR/tune) The one nice thing I did find was a very nice expansion of OBDII codes for the 6.0L that can be monitored with the Torquepro app on my cellphone. Has anyone heard of anything similar for the CRD? Maybe GDE has looked into this issue and whether this engine even has all the extra info to monitor.

jws84_02 · **Posted:** Thu Oct 27, 2016 7:00 pm

CGman wrote:

The coolant leak is a pretty obvious puddle under the radiator with dried residue up the edge of the radiator to the upper hose area...I'm planning on going with another OEM radiator unless I hear something to change my mind. :juggle:

What's your location. I have a used one left from one I parted out if your interested

CGman · **Posted:** Sun Oct 30, 2016 9:20 pm

jws84_02 wrote:

CGman wrote:

The coolant leak is a pretty obvious puddle under the radiator with dried residue up the edge of the radiator to the upper hose area...I'm planning on going with another OEM radiator unless I hear something to change my mind. :juggle:

What's your location. I have a used one left from one I parted out if your interested

Thanks for the offer, I decided to get a new one since I had some store credit burning a hole in my pocket.

Anyone know if there are good instructions on radiator removal? Nothing in the Chilton book for diesels of course!

Now I'm getting tempted to look at the efan again!

WWDiesel · **Posted:** Mon Oct 31, 2016 2:50 pm

CGman wrote:

Anyone know if there are good instructions on radiator removal? Nothing in the Chilton book for diesels of course!
It is not too bad of a job, remove fan shroud and mechanical fan/clutch assembly, disconnect radiator hoses, unbolt radiator fasteners and pull radiator....

Note: insert a piece of thin plywood or heavy cardboard between fan and radiator after you loosen the fan shroud, to protect radiator from damage if metal fan happens to fall and hit radiator. Do this on install as well.. Most on here cut fan shroud in half and discard the bottom half and only use the top half of the fan shroud on reinstall...

Now I'm getting tempted to look at the efan again!

For a better fan & clutch setup see this thread:>http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=82941&hilit

As to EHM, most agree that it is bad, not good for engine CCV system, see this thread for information:
ProVent filter is the best option!! According to information available, the CCV requires some vacuum provided by the suction of the turbo for proper operation...
EHM mode can cause some problems.
Read and digest this information below and make your own decision: :arrow:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=80491&hilit

CGman · **Posted:** Tue Nov 01, 2016 12:07 am

I don't use the CRD for towing, so I'm not bothered with the cooling issues ( and hopefully EHM won't cause issues). Geordi helped with fan shroud mod so it's done too (although I've lost track of which bolts were holding the top piece on so the whole things off right now!) It's cool enough around here in the winter that I'll probably remove the mechanical fan again until spring.

As for the radiator removal, it looked like there were some mounting clips between it and the intercooler that required both to be removed. If that's not the case I'll be very happy! I was also a little concerned that the amount of coolant that drained. I disconnected all the hoses and still only got a couple of gallons out. I really don't want to have to remove the skid plates ( the front ASFIR plate is a PITA).

turblediesel · **Posted:** Tue Nov 01, 2016 1:42 pm

Seems to me the radiator, intercooler, ac condenser, e-fan, and trans-cooler were designed to be dropped into the Jeep as a complete assembly at the factory. I took my radiator and intercooler out without removing everything as an assembled unit and it was a challenge not to damage anything. It'll be a bigger challenge to get it all back together undamaged. You might want to consider removing the whole assembly.

Radiator sits on a couple of rubber pads and only has a couple of 10mm bolts.

Watch out for the correct length bolts when you attach the fan shroud. Too-long bolts can crack the plastic parts of the radiator. Good luck!

CGman · **Posted:** Tue Nov 01, 2016 11:04 pm

turblediesel wrote:

Seems to me the radiator, intercooler, ac condenser, e-fan, and trans-cooler were designed to be dropped into the Jeep as a complete assembly at the factory. I took my radiator and intercooler out without removing everything as an assembled unit and it was a challenge not to damage anything. It'll be a bigger challenge to get it all back together undamaged. You might want to consider removing the whole assembly.

Radiator sits on a couple of rubber pads and only has a couple of 10mm bolts.

Watch out for the correct length bolts when you attach the fan shroud. Too-long bolts can crack the plastic parts of the radiator. Good luck!

That's what I was seeing too; looking at the new radiator it looks like the intercooler sits on top of the radiator mounting pads and that you should lift the whole assy out at the same time. My concern is that I've only found the 2 top bolts that connect the intercooler to the radiator and then the radiator support bracket that spans the whole width of the grill. The intercooler doesn't seem loose so I'm thinking there are other fasteners somewhere... Now I'm also getting the itch to get that ARB front bumper since I have the front end all tore apart. :jester:

CGman · **Posted:** Thu Nov 03, 2016 11:40 pm

After watching Mr COrobotchicken's timing belt change videos I figured out that I was correct and that YES, you need to remove the intercooler before you remove the radiator. This is because the radiator had the main supports that mount to the frame, but the intercooler sits on top of these supports. He also had a nice bit of advice to check for intercooler leaks beside the air intake x and guess what !? Yep, I had a leak there!! I also decided to change the lower radiator hose while I'm there and because I had a spare. But upon closer inspection the cheap POS didn't have an internal spring, no clamps and the engine end seems slightly too large. Oh, and of course one of the wires to the front bumper is broke/chewed right next to the connector. :furious:

Not sure how to fix that :dizzy:

CGman · **Posted:** Wed Nov 16, 2016 11:49 pm

UPDATE:

- radiator replaced
- lower radiator hose replaced, PS the Gates hose off amazon was a POS
- intercooler patched with JB Weld
- mechanical fan removed for winter
- new airbox to turbo hose installed (what a big PITA)
- V6 airbox installed
- new block heater cord installed (original had been left wrapped in engine bay for 5+ years causing it to crack)

Still to be completed:

- fill and flush coolant system
- reinstall grill pieces
- install fixed plug attachment for block heater
- provent :banghead:

- install BFGs for winter
- fix broken wire in LH fwd corner
- install brand new ARB bumper :mrgreen:

joelukex4 · **Joined:** Thu Sep 29, 2011 4:54 pm **Posts:** 386

- new airbox to turbo hose installed (what a big PITA) ???

About 10 minutes of work.

CGman · **Posted:** Fri Nov 18, 2016 3:50 pm

joelukex4 wrote:

- new airbox to turbo hose installed (what a big PITA) ???

About 10 minutes of work.

I've done it in 10 minutes before, but I had to bend the hose hard over and fight it onto the turbo flange.

So to keep from over-stressing the weak area I removed a couple of coolant tubes in front of it to give me room to work.

It worked well, but it was a pain and it took a little longer.

PS - If you ever have to change your block heater cord make sure you've installed your Weeks stage 1 first, that thing is buried and you can't really get to it from below! :dizzy:

Also, does anyone have any pictures where they installed a permanent mount for their block heater plug? Trying to decide where to install it...

CGman · **Posted:** Fri Nov 18, 2016 4:16 pm

I think this might be part of the electrical gremlins I had when I first bought this thing...there was similar damage on the other side.

Good luck has ended

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