2005 CRD head gasket replacement

daytona701 · **Joined:** Sat Oct 20, 2012 11:32 pm **Posts:** 99

Hi, my CRD Liberty needs a new head gasket. Currently at about 153k. At 105k I did:
1. Egr delete
2. New intercooler hoses
3. New glow plugs
4. New timing belt, water pump, thermostat, idle/tensioner
5. Elephant mod
6. Split radiator cowl
I have factory service manual. I want to do:
1. Replace head gasket
2. Recondition head with new exhaust valves or replace if needed
3. New timing belt and associated components
4. New torque converter
5. Cummins electric fuel pump in tank
6. Anti drain back valve in transmission coolant line
My question is can the engine/transmission/transfer case be dropped out the bottom of the Jeep?
I am 60 years old and I like the idea of working on the engine on a bench. It would make it easier to do quality work. I have a 2 post lift in the shop. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Bruce.

WWDiesel · **Posted:** Sat Aug 31, 2019 3:10 pm

I believe due to the body design the engine has to come out from the top.
But you can do the head gasket job with the engine in the vehicle.
Just remember, if you pull the head, be sure and have the exhaust valves replaced. Some have suffered a broken exhaust valve and when it happens it causes very expensive catastrophic damage and in a few rare cases engine was totally destroyed.

And some friendly advice; the Elephant Hose mod has proven to be bad for these engines. Has caused some to have oil seal blowout or leaking problem.
Install a Provent instead.
See this if you want to read up on it:> viewtopic.php?f=5&t=80491

ProVent Install
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=83541

TKB4 · **Posted:** Sat Aug 31, 2019 8:14 pm

also make sure to use ARP studs and replace front pump in transmission and you may not need the check valve . Some advocate Transgo kit , I really couldn't tell much difference

flash7210 · **Posted:** Sun Sep 01, 2019 7:43 am

I think it sounds like a neat idea.
But its gonna be a hell of a lot of extra work.

Unbolt the front shocks
disconnect the steering shaft
disconnect ALL wiring from the engine and transmission
disconnect transmission and transfercase shift linkages
disconnect transmission cooler lines
disconnect the rear driveshaft
place supports under the front cradle and rear crossmember
mark the position of the front cradle so it goes back in exactly the right position
unbolt the rear crossmember
unbolt the cradle
LIFT THE JEEP and leave everything else on the ground

I'm sure I've left out a whole bunch of smaller details. :dizzy:

daytona701 · **Joined:** Sat Oct 20, 2012 11:32 pm **Posts:** 99

Read almost all of the Provent material. Thanks for the guidance from everyone. Home base is south Mississippi. Currently in Colorado. A 2005 showed up on Craigslist in Cortez that I’m going to look at today. Has about 260k with engine problem. Guy wants $400 but I would have to move it 1300 miles to get it home. Anyway Wife, dogs and I will take the scenic route to go see it.

Billua · **Joined:** Sat Nov 25, 2006 5:05 pm **Posts:** 64

Well, WE'RE WAITING!

daytona701 · **Joined:** Sat Oct 20, 2012 11:32 pm **Posts:** 99

Ok, I travel 2 hours west to Cortez, Colorado and find the residential location. Yard is fenced with a tall gate at the driveway by the road. Lady comes out with large fat old German Shepard looking dog. I let myself into the yard and close gate behind me. Two more dogs run up and I bend over to pet black lab that rolled over and is showing his belly. Lady/young women and I introduce ourselves and large fat old German shepherd bites me on side of my face while I’m petting black lab. Not to much blood and I was still able to look at CRD. Passed on the sale simply because of logistics/cost to move Jeep 1400 miles to my location. Guy said he was driving and turbocharger was making noise then smoke came out of tailpipe. 260k and black body looks good, interior trashed, home made provent, engine complete and dog was up to date on shots. I was watching the third dog when old fat one got me. Jeep is still for sale in western slope Craigslist. Type in CRD.

Billua · **Joined:** Sat Nov 25, 2006 5:05 pm **Posts:** 64

Dang man, sorry for the luck. Hope you can find a better one.. They come up every once in a while...

Good Luck!

GordnadoCRD · **Posted:** Thu Sep 05, 2019 2:03 am

WOW! Twice!? No warning even!?
Bad day!
Wonder what put her in that kind of mood.

daytona701 · **Joined:** Sat Oct 20, 2012 11:32 pm **Posts:** 99

Ok, after my Liberty sitting for 2 years I started working on the head gasket replacement. Using this forum especially Geordis posts and the factory service manual I got the head off yesterday. I have never been this far into a engine except when I tore down my wife’s 2012 Hemi to verify a wasted lifter roller/cam lobe. I work slow and tedious and with that said the price Geordi quoted for the labor is worth every nickel. The intake had a small amount of soot, turbocharger looks serviceable with a very small amount of play side to side and none forward/aft. The head cover was clean, the head/block and pistons looked good with no corrosion and minimal carbon present. The rockers/lifters are in good shape. Parts from ID Parts are 2 hole hg, 2019 arp studs, exhaust valves, injector seals, 12 nuts for turbo/exhaust manifold, turbocharger gasket, oil drain back tube seals, rocker/cam lobes kit, timing kit and timing tools. Somehow I purchased two sets of rocker/valve lifters so I’ll have to return one. The only odd thing I saw was one of the glow plugs was sooted/carboned in the hole. The rest looked clean. Also when I first got the Jeep and read this forum I bought a set of glow plugs to replace the existing ones. The replacements look to be ceramic tipped. I may have to buy another set.
On another topic when I found Jeep made a diesel Liberty I bought without doing in depth research. Some friends had diesel Passats and a diesel Jeep seemed to make good sense. Last week on EBay I found a Comanche in Idaho that had been prepped for a OM617 Mercedes Benz diesel. The owner backed out of finishing the Jeep and left it in the shop. Listed was the Comanche with quality lift kit/shocks, Grand Cherokee disc brakes/4 wheels, rebuilt Dana 30/35 axles with premium axle shafts, ax15 trans, 242 transfer case and Mercedes Benz OM 617 engine/turbo/fuel pump/inter cooler and matching cam. All of these items were rebuilt. The body looked good except faded paint. Interior looked very good. The shop owner quoted $5000 to finish after $7500 buy it now EBay price. The shop specializes in installing Mercedes Benz engines in Jeeps. After working on my Liberty the mechanical injection on the Mercedes looks real sweet. 35 mpg and the engines supposedly can go 650,000 miles. If the deal was a lot closer than Idaho by Canada in the winter I would have pulled the trigger on the deal.

geordi · **Posted:** Fri Jan 10, 2020 12:36 am

Thanks for the compliment! Word of mouth is the only advertising I do, and it's always nice to have independent validation that yes, this really IS a huge job. After doing so many of them, I'm pretty fast but that speed only comes with the experience.

As for your glow plugs, the part to look at is below the stainless steel barrel. If the tip is all one diameter right to the end, that is ceramic. If it is tapered in the middle, that is the metal plugs. You want the 5v metal plugs (it will say the voltage on the side of the stainless steel) and hopefully you still have the 7v software in your computer. Yes it is "mismatched" but that will give the best performance and not hurt the plugs.

TKB4 · **Posted:** Fri Jan 10, 2020 3:16 pm

congratulations on your progress so far. Yes its a very big job especially doing the trans work at the same time but it is the easiest time to do it . So did you remove all out the bottom or pull from the top ? I believe TheSame Guy was going to try to pull out the bottom also. That sounds like a reasonable deal on the comanche if they include a guarantee for a significant amount of time and remember you might not find many places willing to work on it after conversion also.

daytona701 · **Joined:** Sat Oct 20, 2012 11:32 pm **Posts:** 99

I’m working with the engine in place. After looking closely it is the easiest way to go. I’m familiar with Comanches. I currently have 3. Two 2.5s and one Eliminator with manual. One of the 2.5s is stripped ready for a V8 Mopar. I collected too many projects before I retired thinking I would have plenty of time to work on them. The Comanche setup with a diesel Mercedes Benz looks like a lot of fun.

TKB4 · **Posted:** Fri Jan 10, 2020 10:17 pm

I did 4 head gaskets arp etc and torque converters with engine in place and I do mine by removing the manifold and leaving the turbo intact. Lots of odd angles etc and 1/4 inch wobblers extensions and tight quarters but whats not these days. You will be proud you did it when it starts back up and you know its done right.

daytona701 · **Joined:** Sat Oct 20, 2012 11:32 pm **Posts:** 99

Got the engine running today. Is smoother and quieter than before. Am very happy with the way it sounds. Let it run in the shop for 15 minutes at idle to check for leaks and all was good. Went for a road trip and a mile from the driveway smelled diesel than the engine quit. Top rear of engine and underside of hood was sprayed with diesel and diesel was dripping under truck. Towed Jeep back to shop and gunked engine to wash away diesel pooling around injector wells. Lost about 1 to 2 gallons. Let Jeep sit for 2 hours to dry. Couldn’t see anything obvious with Jeep just sitting. Checked bleed valve on fuel head to make sure I had closed it tight after bleeding before initial engine startup. It was tight. Pumped up fuel head and was soft so bled air out until pump got firm. Engine started and ran fine at idle. Didn’t see any leaks. May need to get wife to step on throttle to get about 1800 rpm and see what happens. After I get leak fixed then trans pump/torque converter and in tank fuel pump. Really appreciate y’all.

geordi · **Posted:** Fri May 29, 2020 10:13 pm

Look at the return lines, that's usually the source of large amounts of fuel in a short time period. The plastic manifold is a popular place to break things. Also the return lines on the top of the injectors, if the part that sticks into the injector separates and leaves the o-ring and the tip in the injector, it will leak a LOT of fuel around the injector.

The return line is available from IDparts, the block is unfortunately not - have to make that custom from brass parts if that's what's wrong. High pressure side doesn't flow much fuel so it is unlikely unless spraying obviously from somewhere - use a paper towel or cardboard to feel for spray patterns, DO NOT USE YOUR HANDS while the engine is running. I've seen where the lines will spray / break right near the ferrule at the nut if they are overtightened, so don't be a gorilla on tightening the nuts on the lines.

daytona701 · **Joined:** Sat Oct 20, 2012 11:32 pm **Posts:** 99

Had wife run up engine to 1500 rpm and hard line to fuel injection hard line to manifold log needed to be tightened. Took Jeep for a 5 mile cruise after tightening connection, pulled into shop and turned off shop fans and stereo to listen to engine running. Engine sounds excellent. Popped hood and diesel fuel had sprayed over the top of the engine again. Not seeing any leaks at idle. Shut down engine and will go over hard lines again in the morning. Hard lines are all tight but may need another half turn seal.

geordi · **Posted:** Sat May 30, 2020 1:29 am

Ok... When you took everything apart, did you ONLY disconnect the hard lines from the rail end, not the injector end?

When you put them back, did you "seat" the line in the center of the socket BEFORE spinning the nut on, or hope the nut would help it find the center?
You have to pre-seat the lines into the rail (and the injector if you took that off) before putting the nut on. These are NOT crush-seal ends, if they aren't seated properly then they WILL spew diesel everywhere, maybe not fast or at idle, but it will happen. Sounds like one of them is either not seated or possibly damaged if it isn't a return line.

krb · **Posted:** Sat May 30, 2020 7:10 am

Double check the return lines. When I did mine I had 30 trouble free miles then fuel everywhere. The #4 return line was "loose". It was still on but not completely seated. Fixed that then about 20 miles later the #1 did the same thing. Weird. Have about 1,000 miles on it now and all is well, so far...

daytona701 · **Joined:** Sat Oct 20, 2012 11:32 pm **Posts:** 99

Geordi, all 4 hard lines to injector were removed. Not sure if lines were seated when nuts were tightened. I have a 17 year old technician working with me in the shop while I supervise. This guy graduated high school in 3 1/2 years and received a scholarship for welding class at the local community college. He wants to also take the RN nursing course at the same school. He and his dad race a big block Vega. He helps me with building construction, electrical, plumbing, painting, land clearing, lawn maintenance and mechanical work. In my 45 years of working in the trades I would consider him in the top 2%. With that said I will ask him Monday about lining up the tube ends with the ports on the connections before tightening.
This morning primed the pump and got firm in 4 strokes. Started the engine and it idles fine. Let it warm up and had my wife hold throttle at 1800 for about 3 minutes with no sign of a leak. I’m thinking to remove and inspect hard lines for damage to ends. I still have fuel heater plugged in. I will unplug and seal socket with silicone.

2005 CRD head gasket replacement

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