So my head is spinning and I am beginning to panic. I have had this thing for less than a week now!

The Jeep had hesitation after I started it and a knocking sound. A big loss of power. Black smoke under acceleration.

I drove 17 miles to get home. In the last 1 mile, it started driving a lot better but not normal.

Where do I start. Do I pull the valve cover and see whats going on then?

If the rockers are bad does it end there or did they foul a bunch of other things too?

Simple things first.
Check for codes.
Check boost hoses for leaks or tears.
Check for air in fuel.

_________________
U.S. Army Retired

I would be crying too. I can feel your hurt all the way up to here in Canada, Science and Energy.

PM me your telephone number, a time of day for me to call you, and your time zone. I will try to sort out your problems further, but flash7210's advice is a very good place to start.

And "NO", I will not try to sell you a thermostat.

For the record, I understand that the valve rockers are supposed to be a sacrificial part. They are supposed to be the items to break so that other, more expensive parts do not. This ideal scenario does not always work out.

Thanks for the advice.

The filter head was replaced by the previous owner and I held the intercooler lines while my wife reved it. They got pretty firm. I know this isn't a technical diagnosis. I'm not sure how I could check for air in the lines from an air leak other than a visual inspection and I don't have a boost gauge. I suppose I could install some clear line after the filter head to look for bubbles. I will also need to check the codes. I had some already because I need to replace some glow plugs so I don't know if there are any new codes yet. The plugs will arrive via mail this week.

There is a notable tap when it isn't running right. I bet one or more of the rockers is all fudged up and seizing/sloppy. The tap is less when it is driving better. I read a quick bit about the debate on oil viscosity, the design of the rocker, and the frequency of the issues. At 115,000 miles I suspect it is my problem.

I have had more smoke than I thought I should. I had a filthy map sensor so I thought that must be it. After I cleaned it, I thought maybe it was better but I still have too much black smoke. The big difference happened right after I started it and stayed that way for 25 minutes of driving. I am guessing a mostly ruined rocker didn't have enough oil and somehow bound up or something and then freed later or shifted to a more functional position in its slop.

I am cleaning my garage/shop for what I consider to be a major undertaking. I will likely finish cleaning tomorrow (I already promised the kids I would take them to see Beauty and the Beast so that is likely all I will have time for). It won't be till Wednesday that I can try and diagnose stuff.

Thanks for the sympathy and offer to help me. I will likely take you up on it. My last diesel was an OM617 Mercedes motor and this is a different animal. I am by Erie, PA. That is Eastern Standard Time.

ANY GOOD WRITE UPS FOR GETTING DOWN TO THE VALVES? It looks like there is a lot involved in that simple task.

It's easy to get into the top of these engines. Just rip and tear......be careful with the wiring harness and pay attention to the connectors. Do everything from the head gasket up and it's good for a lot of miles after that.

_________________
2016 Ram 2500 4x4, 6.7 Cummins, 68RFE, Crew Cab
1995 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4, 5.9 Cummins, 47RH, Reg Cab
2005 Liberty CRD,fixed the rockers and a couple more things,GDE Hot tune,Weeks Stage 1 and 2 EGR delete,Hot Diesel solutions Tstat assembly(wonderful heat!), ARP studs, OME 1.5" lift.....thanks Seth!

Its not too bad. The injectors and fuel rail need to be removed and you need to pop the wiring bundles off the studs and bungee those up out of the way. After that it should just be taking the 10mm bolts out, lifting off the manifold, and the rockers are right under that.

The problem is that the cams are in the manifold so you also need to remove the timing belt and thats where things get time consuming

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2006 CRD - GTB2056 turbo by Dieselguy86, Eco Trans Tune, Lift Pump, Week's, HDS Tstat, Racor Filter, ARP's, OME 790's+Top Plate, JBA 2.5", JBA UCA, Moab's+265/75R16, ARB Bull Bar, 4.10's, TrueTracs

I think you may have a fouled injector problem.

Over-fueling is the primary cause of black smoke from the exhaust of a diesel engine. Over-fueling can be caused by diesel fuel injector wear that enlarges the nozzle hole or erodes the injector needle and allows excess fuel to flow into the combustion chamber. Or a stuck open injector.

You may need to have them professionally tested and cleaned.

But before you send them off, try cleaning the injectors yourself while they are still in the engine by using a good quality injector cleaner poured right into the fuel tank. If the injectors are the cause, you will see that the smoke will start to dimish the more you drive it and slowly go away. It takes multiple fuel tank fill-ups to clean them.

I would start there, if not, well then......

_________________
2006 Liberty Limited CRD, Deep Beryl Green, Yeti tune, Arp studs, new cams, rockers, lifters, TB. "Green Monster"
2005 Liberty Sport CRD, Deep Beryl Green, GDE Hot Tune, ARP studs. "Rocket"
1982 Fiat 124 Spider Convertible. "Fiona"

I agree with racetracer.

_________________
Ludi Neethling
South Africa
2005 Jeep KJ CRD 2.8 (6 M/T)
Susp:Ironman Coils, Shocks new bushes and ball joints
Therm: Replaced
EGR: Cleaned, re-installed
CCV Catch Can
MAP sensor: Cleaned
Injectors: Repl
Alt pulley: Repl
Serp Belt: Repl
Crank Pos Sens: Replaced
T/B & W/P: Repl @ 200k Km
Repl Cer GP with Etechno 7V GP 212k Km
Repl CCV

I found this thread describing the cylinder head cover removal and the Injector removal:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=38068&view=previous

Is it agreed that this is a good reference for my 2005?

The bonus is if I go in there and find everything a OK, I won’t worry about their condition anymore (since they have a high failure rate) and the intake manifold with get cleaned. I just got a “weeks” kit to remove the EGR etc. and it will be peace of mind to know it is all clean and will stay clean(ish). I will likely do the elephant trunk mod till I can afford a catch can.

DO I NEED ANY SPECIAL TOOLS?

How would a bad or dirty injector sound? This had a notable sound when it was acting up.

Don't do elephant mod, it may cause main seal failure.
Provent or stock.

If it's smoking at idle, start it with one injector unplugged at a time and see if the smoke goes away. If it's only smoking when you add throttle while in limp mode that is normal. Most likely you just have wasted rockers. They give a light hollow popping, or drumming sound, much more apparent if you take the CAC hoses loose for a listen. You can even tell if it's exhaust or intake if they are collapsed. But, every time you start it you chance having a broken rocker cause the valve stem keepers to be freed, thereby dropping a valve and causing 10x the work.

The only lame thing about this timing is that you probably don't know if it's consuming coolant yet. You want ARPs anyhow, but they don't necessarily fix a leak:/

_________________
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

I was already thinking about ARP studs while I'm down there. This thing is really stressing my wallet though.

I would have thought injector if it was smoking at idle but I have not seen that. The smoke is black not white (that to me says not a leaky injector) and only occurs during acceleration.

I am guessing then only the rockers will need replaced and maybe the cam shafts if they are messed up (I can't believe I said only).

Nothing else is probably damaged right?

Also, Speaking of head studs. I have read of a lot of people simply replacing them one at a time. Has anyone done this? On the flip side, I am going to be close to the work of just installing a fresh head gasket while I'm down there and then studding it.

Black smoke is unburned fuel / not enough air. The fuel then burns in the exhaust and turns to smoke and soot. White smoke is coolant. Blue / grey smoke that burns your eyes is burning oil. What you are describing does sound like rockers, especially if the tapping noises are not perfectly consistent but vary unevenly - so not a metronome, more of a drunk drummer.

Replacing the bolts one by one has been done many times, by both me and other people. The head doesn't move so you aren't disturbing the gasket. The timing belt will need to be replaced anyway, and this is a good opportunity to replace the rockers (as it does seem you need) as well as the glow plugs if they are still the original ceramic.

If this problem "comes and goes" then before you get crazy, pull the injectors and find your local Bosch shop and have them tested. Rocker problems don't come and go. They break and stay broken. The injectors have to come out anyway to remove the valve cover, so you might as well be sure. Number them with a paint pen when they come out (diesel wipes away sharpie) because the position does matter.

_________________
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.

White smoke is also undburned diesel believe it or not. It is caused from evaporating diesel fuel like when there is a leaky injector. I know because we have to simulate white smoke for opacity testing at work and we just evaporate diesel. I have also had a leaky diesel injector on my last diesel (OM617).

Black smoke is also unburned diesel. The difference being it is partially combusted like when someone has not enough air, as you said, or when an idiot adjusts his diesel to dump fuel and "roll coke".

Any idea the cost of having injectors tested? My last were mechanical and I built my own pressure tester out of a gauge and a modified bottle jack. Thats obviously not going to work for these.

Probably about $35-50 each.

9th call I found a diesel shop that could test them for 30 bucks each. The dealerships couldn't even do it.

Today I am driving down to get two new color matched doors. Two of my doors had a little rust (the only rust showing on the jeep) and for 90 bucks each I think it is worth it.

Over the next couple days I will push the jeep in the shop and pull the injectors to have them tested. I will provide and update.

How will I know if anything besides rockers are bad? I can look at the cam shafts, but what about the valves? Also, could a cylinder be bad too from bad rockers? I can't compression test with bad rockers in there now or could I?

I just read: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=74420

I don't want to put in rockers and studs just to put it all back together and find out it still isn't right and that I wasted my money cause the engine is toast.

If the head gasket held up, you should be fine. Rarely does it require more than rockers and a cam. the cams usually survive too, but I replace them if they have much more than a scratch

_________________
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

How much more work is it to replace the head gasket at this point and add ARP studs? Pull the exhaust manifold?

If you must, it seems to work best to pull the head, with exhaust manifold and turbo as a single piece. Don't pull the exh manifold if you can help it due to the likelihood of the studs breaking.

Replacing the head gasket really is a lot more work than replacing the head bolts with studs.

Get a compression test done,
Do a cooling system bleed-down test.

If those show no problems, just replace the head bolts with studs one at a time, and torque them before removing the next head bolt.

If you don't have a current problem, it's much better to prevent a potential problem, rather than replacing a failed item.

It's cheaper, much faster and a lot less headache.

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'06 Lbrty Sprt CRD 150K

Sasquatch
DSS Turbo
CAT-elimntr
Weeks Stg1&2 EGRfix
PV-200
BLING
vent gauges

IDParts
head
cams
rockers
Timing set
ARP studs
eTn1 GX2123 5v GPs

YETI Custom Tune
Flowmaster 8325508
Carter P76611M
GM 12611872
Hayden 2986
GM 15976889
PATC Custom Billet
2010 Ram Hemi Trans
Sonnax 44957
Transgo kit
Cooper 51770