Hey,
I came across a 2006 Jeep Libery CRD for sale. It has 135,000 miles on it. He is asking $5,500.00 for it. I contacted the owner so he could explain to me the problems with it. Here is what he told me. He said the Jeep had been slowly losing coolant for a while. Maybe 1 pint or two a week. He said it never ran hot. He always kept a close check on the coolant level and replaced any that had leaked out. He also stated that when the Jeep was running it ran very nicely. He also had the timing belt replaced at 100,000 miles. He had the MAF sensor unplugged, to keep the EGR valve from cycling and eventually failing. A week ago the Jeep refused to turn over. This had happened once before. The previous time he took it to the dealer, and they removed the starter. They found nothing wrong with it, so they replaced it and it worked fine. This time when it happened again he had it towed to the same dealer. He called the dealer to tell them what happened. He also mentioned the slow losing of coolant. They phoned him back saying that the car had either a cracked block or an issue with the head. They would not know without pulling the head and taking it to a machine shop. He told the dealer to park the Jeep until he decided what to do with it. My question is what is causing it not to turn over, and what is causing the slow coolant leak. Is it possible it could be the block. I really would like to purchase this Jeep for myself and have it fixed. Is it worth taking the chance and buying it, hoping it is only a head gasket problem. The man seems to be really honest with me about the problems. Any advice or help will be appreciated. Thanks.

Considering that a used engine or a rebuilt engine costs $4500 to $8500 plus labor and that the CRD is in the condition that is in with that many miles, correct me if I am wrong but I think it's worth between $1000 to $2000 tops.

I believe book value for a working model in good shape is $7800 to $9200.

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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"

Yeah, you don't list your location but depending on local shop rates you could be out in the neighborhood of $3k or so for a new head if that's all it needs.

As to why it wouldn't turn over, if the head problem is severe enough you could have coolant leaking into the cylinder which if there is enough would prevent the piston from moving all the way up and hydro-locking the engine.

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Chris
Current:
2007 Steel Blue Metallic Grand Cherokee CRD Limited
GDE Eco Tune and DPF delete
CB Engineering DPF delete pipe
EHM

Past (sold to Mountainman):
2005 Patriot Blue Liberty CRD Limited

I am not a betting man, but id put all my money on this is the same one you are looking at

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=65220

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Yea $2000 top's but to buy a part truck for 2000 would be nice to have. I f had leather seem cheap but the repairs are so high.

This is my Jeep. Not sure what to reply here. I did ask for pricing advice and received input from only one (Green Diesel). As far as value of a good running CRD being 7,800, maybe but that's not what I've seen even on Ebay.

You guys may or may not be right that the value is under 2,000. If it is, then I would certainly not sell it, I'd be shooting myself in the foot. I'm not trying to be insulting, but I think some here may be blowing smoke. At least one party in this thread (other than the OP) was contacting me to get the jeep.

Mathew, I am definitely not trying to sell the Jeep to you unless you know what you are getting into. Most of what I told you about problems/probable causes was from stuff I learned at this forum. I really don't know how to establish a fair value. It may come down to me having more diagnostics done or getting it fixed myself if necessary. Either way, and assuming you end up with a CRD, mine or anyoneelse's, I would highly recommend doing a lot of research here about problems and fixes for these machines.

Hey, thanks to all for the advice. To the owner thanks for being honest and being very helpful. I am really wanting a jeep CRD. I am currently driving a single cab truck. It is a real gas eatter. I am in need of something with more room and better mpg. I was just hoping for some advice from people with more knowledge of these vehicles. If you decide to sell it like it is or get some tests ran and fixed maybe we can work out something. If the cranking problem could be solved and it could be driveable it would be better. Thanks

Matthew and Artisan: Let me offer myself as an impartial arbiter here for the value question.

I have zero interest in this purchase, but I think many here would agree that if it has broken on a CRD... I've probably experienced it. If not, I at least know someone who has. As such, I think I can speak intelligently on the market value you might expect to get / give.

1000 / 2000 is right out. Forget that number, it is far too low for even the parts value. Parting it out yourself might take longer, but you could easily clear 4k, especially if you started parting the rest of the motor individually. You might get that if you scrapped it for the weight, which obviously isn't the best idea.

I have seen sale ASKING prices for a running truck in that mileage range somewhere in the 10k-13k ballpark, negotiated actual sale prices are probably a little lower.

Now, about this truck specifically... I understand the frustration about dealing with another failure, and chasing a potential black hole for cash... But realistically - You don't know what is wrong yet, you stopped just shy of getting some answers. The next steps I would take are outlined in that other thread.

YOU CANNOT TRUST THE DEALER TO DIAGNOSE THIS!!!!!!!

I cannot say this loudly enough. I just went through a dealer's "diagnostics" where they demanded $517 of my money to tell me WHAT I TOLD THEM when I dropped the truck off. They didn't diagnose or repair DIDDLY, yet also charged me $35 in "shop supplies" for doing exactly NOTHING other than probing the depth of my wallet. To add to that, their GUESSING about what was wrong with my truck was also WRONG, b/c the morons tried to start it (with a burned up and locked transmission) and stated that they "discovered" that the motor was locked and might need to be replaced! It was the transmission. Burned up and seized in gear, so OF COURSE it wouldn't start
I wouldn't trust a dealer to diagnose which day of the week it is. You (either one of you) needs to get a set of wrenches and pull the cylinder head off to see what happens next.

You already pulled the glow plugs and found one snapped off, right? Ok... I had one like that too, in my parts bin. Hopefully you haven't rubbed off the crap on the tip, and this next idea might tell you something: Take a pair of wire cutters, and cut off just a little bit of the ceramic at the tip of that broken plug. Why do this? You are comparing a FRESHLY BROKEN section of the plug (see how it looks just a little sparkly?) to what I suspect is an old injury on that plug. Lots of people have had their plugs break off... Never to be seen again. The tip might be sitting in the top of the piston, it might have been pulverized and is long gone. If the fresh cut you made looks different than the rest of the plug - The rest is dull / dusty from the soot... Then chances are, that is an old injury and NOT your cause.

The head needs to be pulled. Yea, it sucks... But you are talking about 5k in value difference here. You shouldn't be worried about losing the timing right now, so it is just a matter of wrenching. It isn't that hard, once you get the (*%^(&%*&$%*^$@#@#!!!!!!!! fan clutch off. If it helps you out - I have a full cylinder head with valves that is for sale, and has never been overheated at all. It only has 60k miles on it, and I'm in Hardeeville / Savannah.

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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 225 CRDs currently driving with my valves, timing belt, rockers, or ARP Studs.
Bad noises = REALLY bad things.

Geordi, that is good advice. I may get the Jeep to my other mechanic (who's done work on my Powerstroke truck) this week for a teardown and diagnosis. I'll keep your head in mind. Could you PM me a price on it? Another member also has a complete motor if that becomes necessary.