I was really hoping to get to 200,000 miles, but my 3.7 self-destructed at 196,252. This was a week ago Monday. Since I know everyone will be curious, here's the damage report from the paperwork I got back: "Cyl. #2 intake valve seat fell out of cyl. head and broke apart causing severe damage to piston cyl. walls and cyl. head, debris caught in intake manifold."

I had a new engine put in and just got the KJ back tonight but something went wrong and it's leaking oil so I have to take it back in tomorrow after I get out of jury duty. Didn't need any of this to happen. On the bright side, I escaped the latest umpteenth round of layoffs at work. So it's not all bad.

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2002 KJ (un)Limited 4x4: OME HD lift, ARB bullbar, Warn 4X flood lights, Skid Row tranny skid, Mopar engine, transfer case and fuel tank skids, Boulder Bars, 245/75/16 Goodyear Duratracs on Moab wheels.

Congrats on still having a job! The rest of it will work out i'm sure.

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99 TJ
71 C101
04 KJ
03 SFA KJ Sport
LOST JEEPS So-Cal

Bummer!! What did the new engine and install cost? As you said, at least you still have your job.

A side note... say what you will about rice burners, but they run forever. Well, at least almost forever. I have 178,000 miles on my little '94 Civic SI and the engine runs like a top. I've been told by several people who work on them to expect 250~300 easy. It sits in the garage most days while we rack up the miles on the KJ and JK. At the rate it's being driven or should I say, not driven... it may just outlive me. LOL

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'06 Jeep KJ Sport... w/some stuff
'08 Jeep JK X... w/more stuff

It's an AZ LOST JEEPS thing....
other folks don't understand!!

Did it give any indications before the ticking and finally boom happened?

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2008 KK Liberty Sport NIGHT OPS EDITION + GILLS
OEM & Custom Skids - Factory Tow Package - Rock Lizard Skink Super Sliders
Prototype JBA 4 Inch Lift - JBA UCA's - Flowmaster Super 44 OR - Whacked Resonator
Jet Stage 2 - RL Gecko Basket Rack - Custom Winch Bumper - Recon 10.5K Winch

Glad to hear that you still have your job. I've been out for 8 months now.

Do you mind sharing with us the cost of your engine replacement. I am curious also. I am at 145200 and been getting minor break downs every couple of months. Its starting to get anoying and costly.

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LostRenegade - Lost # 477
2003 Jeep Liberty Renegade - Silver
Mopar Skids, Skid Row Tranny Skid, Boulder Bars, Frankenlift II, 60" Hi-Lift Jack, K&N 6x9 Air Filter, Magnaflow, Dertoit Locker, 245/75R16 BF Goodrich All Terrains, Al's A-Arms

I paid $7,500. $5,200 or so for the engine and the rest in labor. It was a lot, but a used engine with a lousy warranty would've been only $2,000 less. I thought it was worth it for the warranty.

I was halfway tempted to put the $7,500 down on a new Rubi but I really, really like not having car payments. And with my job on the line seemingly every quarter it didn't seem smart to get locked into another loan.

As far as the oil leak goes, it looks like they damaged the rear main seal during the install. It's back at the shop getting redone.

I've been thinking about that. Maybe, but nothing that would have directly indicated it was about to go south. A month or so earlier I did get a flashing check engine light and the engine sputtered and ran really rough for all of 5 seconds, just the amount of time it took me to make a left turn through an intersection. As soon as I completed the turn, the light went out right away and the engine ran smoothly again. It was about 4 days before I had time to check for codes (the ignition key trick doesn't work for my 02) and by that time there were none. I guess whatever it was hadn't repeated and the codes had cleared. Then it ran fine up until the moment it died. I stopped at a stop sign, accelerated away like normal, and it was instant carnage.

Thanks for the reply.... It is interesting to see that it would just give up the ghost like that....

Did you ever get to see the old engine? I would love to see pictures.

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2008 KK Liberty Sport NIGHT OPS EDITION + GILLS
OEM & Custom Skids - Factory Tow Package - Rock Lizard Skink Super Sliders
Prototype JBA 4 Inch Lift - JBA UCA's - Flowmaster Super 44 OR - Whacked Resonator
Jet Stage 2 - RL Gecko Basket Rack - Custom Winch Bumper - Recon 10.5K Winch

No, didn't get to see it, so no pics, sorry. Yeah, it really was running as well as ever right up until it happened. We'd just come back from a wheeling/camping trip and it drove great.

That stinks. I'm working in kind of a dying industry, newspapers. So if I get canned I've got nowhere to go, really. I'd have to completely reinvent myself.