Engine replacement yes/no

MALiberty · **Posted:** Fri Jul 20, 2012 7:54 pm

2002 Liberty w/114,000 miles.... on start up it wouldn't start for my daughter... turned over rough however. When I got there I tried and pumped the gas... started but wildly rough, banging, clanging from motor and shut off in 5 + - seconds. Towed to my mechanic.... he states upon inspection that there is prob a hole in #2 cyl as there is no compression and when smoked it "came out everywhere". Says replace engine is prob best money wise.

Dilema.... if he looks into in a lot deeper it'll run up costs....and it may be non fixable even then. Used motors are around $2,300-$2,600 plus roughly 15 hrs labor so prob a $3,500 repair. Do I put in replacement engine.... best price was $2,200... do I have him dig deeper to see if at all fixable or do I cut my losses.... I just put $800 into brakes, rotors, calipers, brakes lines and stablizer bar on front end.

Any thoughts would be great.....and appreciated... also being in decent shape otherwise, with motor crapped out is there a market with someone who has a replacement motor and the ability? Thanks

MALiberty · **Posted:** Sat Jul 21, 2012 8:33 am

Thanks, Yello.... I unfortunately live in a condo now.... no parking lot repairs. Also I am worried about the mechanic digging into this and finding it is a hole or such and not repairable. How much would he have to do mechanically in your view to really identify what's going on?

Thanks much.

John

ihatemybike · **Posted:** Sat Jul 21, 2012 10:58 am

It's a bit of work to get in there to see the extent of the damage. I would guess a shop that had the tools and experience that I didn't have should be able to have the head off in a couple hours. An alternative to pulling everything apart is to used a mechanic camera scope to look inside the engine. Smaller shops thus far typically don't have these, so call around and see if you can find one that does.

The price you quote for the used engines is roughly what the shops wanted to do the work that I did. Used engines typically don't carry warranties and you may end up in the same position again soon.

Since Jayme plans on driving Eugene till the doors fall off we found it would be best to buy a remanufactured engine with a 3 year warranty. This would have run us about $5500-6000 after installation, since they have to be installed by a pro shop to retain the warranty. The engine by itself is $3320 at Advance Auto.

ihatemybike · **Posted:** Sat Jul 21, 2012 11:05 am

This is what I'm talking about to see inside.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgRRuo_yKRk

MALiberty · **Posted:** Sat Jul 21, 2012 12:23 pm

Thanks for all the solid advice, Aaron.... and the tip on the camera..... as an aside I have seen them but only in the colonoscopy suite at the hospital...lol.

Gonna talk with my mechanic about tear down costs and maybe ask my former mechanic (20 miles away... I moved....) as I think he may have such a camera.

Thanks again.... this is really crazy..... I also own a 2012 Liberty with 15,000 miles with a bad occuoant restraint control module and the part is GLOBAL back ordered..... so Jeep Corp gave me a rental... sad two Jeeps... two in the shop..!!

ATXKJ · **Posted:** Sat Jul 21, 2012 8:57 pm

And basic economics - it's almost always cheaper to repair what you have, than to replace it.

even if you spend $4-5000 on the repair - what kind of vehicle could you buy for $4-5000???
- something that needs work?
or a downpayment on something else - that you end up paying on for the next 5 years?

Austerity · **Posted:** Sat Jul 21, 2012 9:01 pm

$4-5k sounds like a lot of money, but I am sure it is cheaper than replacing the entire Jeep. Fix her up, she'll love you for it.

sota · **Joined:** Fri Aug 07, 2009 7:44 pm **Posts:** 379

if you have a harbor freight near you they have inspection cameras for $100-$200. if the current mechanic doesn't own one you could buy it and have him apply the cost of it towards the repairs. :mrgreen:

MALiberty · **Posted:** Mon Jul 23, 2012 5:38 pm

So here's the deal: mechanic thought maybe a lifter was stuck as the valve would not seat fully.... took off lifter and still has valve issue.... oil in cylinder too... he states it usually does not get in via a valve but a hole in piston or rings gone. Says that if I want to fix it there may be a lot more damage than one can see now.... and we'd want at 114,000 miles to replace other parts.

Sooooo.... got a line on a used engine w/ 59,000 miles for $1,999 shipped with 3 mo warraNTY.... and about $1000 in install labor ....I still owe $2K on her so can't really afford to just drop it for $500 or so with no running motor.... anybody?

ihatemybike · **Posted:** Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:08 pm

Eugene's valve was stuck open too as a piece of valve seat was stuck at a weird angle under it.

If I was in your condo situation, I'd be hitting friends up looking for garage space, then pull the head. Not sure how much of a wrench you are, but ours was the first time I pulled a automotive cylinder head.

Mechanics we talked to were all going worst case scenario when ours had problems, but things weren't completely terrible just having the head repaired and smoothing the top of the piston. If the piston is severely damaged, but the walls aren't too bad it's possible to swap the piston/rod along with fixing the head to get these 3.7s running again.

Eugene does use a bit of oil now, but it's manageable. Maybe a quart between 5k mile oil changes. Otherwise the Jeep runs pretty good. We are saving for the rebuilt engine, but we'll keep running the current one until it's using way too much oil or it craps out. Have a feeling that will be a while though.

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Tue Jul 24, 2012 1:49 am

It really depends on your budget, priorities and long-term goal. If it were me, I would get a bank loan with low interest rate and put a new engine in it with a warranty. My second option would be to park the KJ and buy a Jeep Cherokee XJ. The Cherokee shouldn’t cost too much and hopefully will be a good reliable vehicle for you as you start saving for a new motor or to repair your bad motor. Having back up vehicles are always nice to have. If I have one vehicle down for a repair, I can drive the other until I get it fixed. I guess my philosophy is to be proactive. It’s easier to live life on the offence instead of the defense. But the older I get, the more I realize that my ideas are not always commonly embraced by society’s way of thinking, lol. :mrgreen:

MALiberty · **Posted:** Wed Jul 25, 2012 11:42 am

A follow-up.... reading the dodge 1500 motor will work in my liberty.... jeep is 2002, will this work and what year 1500? Much of anything to swap out?

Thanks.

jmnetus · **Posted:** Wed Jul 25, 2012 12:50 pm

See the 3.7L section of this article to see models that used the same engine:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_PowerTech_engine

That said, I don't know how easy it will be to actually transplant these - well beyond my mechanical skill I'm afraid!

MALiberty · **Posted:** Wed Jul 25, 2012 6:11 pm

So getting ready to fix.... $ an issue so used motor.... anyone know anything good or bad about yourenginesource.net part of globalautoparts out of Florida? Anyone know a good reputable place to buy a used motor?

Motors here in New Eng are running $2k to $2,300 for used with 98,000 miles plus.

Got a price from the above for 62K mile motor with 2 yr warranty for $1,950 shipped.

Any assistance would be great... got to get my daughters jeep back up.

Thanks.

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Wed Jul 25, 2012 6:21 pm

Before you do anything, I’d call at least 2 different dealerships and ask for a price quote for a new motor, install, and warranty. Then go to the bank, ask about a loan, and see what your monthly payments would be. You might be surprised. For $150 bucks a month, a new engine might be worth it.

ihatemybike · **Posted:** Wed Jul 25, 2012 6:24 pm

I know that Global has much history in denying warranty claims. Buying from them, I'd just assume that there is no warranty at all.

ATXKJ · **Posted:** Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:06 pm

dieselenthusiast wrote:

Before you do anything, I’d call at least 2 different dealerships and ask for a price quote for a new motor, install, and warranty. Then go to the bank, ask about a loan, and see what your monthly payments would be. You might be surprised. For $150 bucks a month, a new engine might be worth it.

x2 - or sometimes they can get a factory rebuilt - with real warranty (never trust 3rd party)

MALiberty · **Posted:** Thu Jul 26, 2012 10:10 am

All excellent advice....thanks. I ran the VIN in CarFax and it states:

Vehicle Information:
2002 JEEP LIBERTY LIMITED
VIN: 1J4GK58K12W358374
4 DR. WAGON/SPORT UTILITY
3.7L V6 FI
REAR WHEEL DRIVE

So it appears to be a 4x2; am I correct here? Anyone know if the motor will in fact work in my 4x4 model??

BTW... SharperEdgeEngines has what they state is a completely rebuilt motor... they said they and Jasper are the only two companies that actually replace all the internals with updated parts thereby (they say) repairing all the known issues. They want $2,899 for this motor with a 3 year 100,000 mile warranty and they are BBB A- rated....

HoosierJeeper · **Joined:** Sun Feb 15, 2009 8:23 am **Posts:** 1218

That sounds like the best deal yet.

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Thu Jul 26, 2012 10:25 pm

MALiberty wrote:

SharperEdgeEngines has what they state is a completely rebuilt motor... they said they and Jasper are the only two companies that actually replace all the internals with updated parts thereby (they say) repairing all the known issues. They want $2,899 for this motor with a 3 year 100,000 mile warranty and they are BBB A- rated....

Do they have a required list of shops who must install the engine in order to validate the engine warranty? That's what I like about the dealer, they warranty the engine and the install, and there are no pointing fingers.

Engine replacement yes/no

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