Recommendation for Repair Shop in Denver Area

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rwbeckman

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I believe I have a blown head gasket on a 2005 jeep liberty CRD. I need recommendations on where I might get it repaired. I am considering doing it might self to try to keep the cost down. It might be more work and a little above my skills. Plus my age of 68 makes it harder for me to work around a car. I live just north of Denver Colorado, in Thornton. It would be great to find someone with experience with the Jeep diesel.

I fear it will be hard to find someone to work on it because there are so few of the Jeep diesels and mechanic who knows them.

Suggestion of a good shop who would work on it would be appreciated. Or how to best find one.

Your web site has been a great source of information. It is the reason I like the jeep so much.
 

LibertyTC

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Welcome to the forum.
The CRD factory manual will give you an insight as to what will be required, see section 9: http://www.colorado4wheel.com/manuals/Jeep/KJ/2.5_2.8_export_diesel/2.5CRD.pdf
You may also wish to see the CRD section over on lost jeeps, or google " 2005 jeep liberty CRD head removal"
As you have mentioned so few know anything about the CRD's which does make it difficult to find a mechanic.
The jeep dealer shop would charge an arm and a leg, so a diesel related shop with good experience and a factory manual may be able to re- and re with new gaskets.
The rest would be from a diesel machine shop I would assume.
Of course doing the re and re yourself would save much $ but once again it is not an easy task, and specialty tools can take a while to order.
Making calls to diesel shops around locally and asking who might be able to tackle this job, may be also a good place to start.
 

rwbeckman

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Welcome to the forum.
The CRD factory manual will give you an insight as to what will be required, see section 9: http://www.colorado4wheel.com/manuals/Jeep/KJ/2.5_2.8_export_diesel/2.5CRD.pdf
You may also wish to see the CRD section over on lost jeeps, or google " 2005 jeep liberty CRD head removal"
As you have mentioned so few know anything about the CRD's which does make it difficult to find a mechanic.
The jeep dealer shop would charge an arm and a leg, so a diesel related shop with good experience and a factory manual may be able to re- and re with new gaskets.
The rest would be from a diesel machine shop I would assume.
Of course doing the re and re yourself would save much $ but once again it is not an easy task, and specialty tools can take a while to order.
Making calls to diesel shops around locally and asking who might be able to tackle this job, may be also a good place to start.

Thanks LibertyTC, Your response is very helpful. It supported what I expected of the repair shop community. Your guidance in calling and talking to them on what they a able to accomplish is a helpful suggestion.

I was able to download the manual. It will be well reviewed while I am searching for someone to repair. Getting the specialty tools will be a challenge. Fortunately my wife and I have another car. This gives me more time in getting it down. As the Liberty CRD gets older I am sure it will get harder and harder to find someone who knows it.

I made a mistake in posting it in the general section. I should of posted it to the CRD section. After making the post I was not sure how to change it
 

LibertyTC

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Not to worry, I moved it to the CRD section for you.
 

turblediesel

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Best way to check for a blown head gasket on the 2.8 CRD is to start the completely cold engine and idle it for a couple minutes. Shut it down and open the pressure cap on the coolant recovery tank, if it burps any pressure the head gasket's blown or the head's cracked.

The LOSTJEEPS forum is a goldmine of info on the 2.8 CRD engine. "Geordi" is a travelling CRD mechanic and "Mountainman" has been into these engines a lot. Mountainman might live in Colorado but I could be wrong. Most dealers and diesel shops aren't much help with this engine due to it's obscurity and funkiness.

Consider ARP headstuds, new roller rockers, exhaust valves and a timing belt kit along with a host of other mods. Sasquatch parts and ID-Parts are the best sources for parts and special tools.
 

rwbeckman

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Best way to check for a blown head gasket on the 2.8 CRD is to start the completely cold engine and idle it for a couple minutes. Shut it down and open the pressure cap on the coolant recovery tank, if it burps any pressure the head gasket's blown or the head's cracked.

The LOSTJEEPS forum is a goldmine of info on the 2.8 CRD engine. "Geordi" is a travelling CRD mechanic and "Mountainman" has been into these engines a lot. Mountainman might live in Colorado but I could be wrong. Most dealers and diesel shops aren't much help with this engine due to it's obscurity and funkiness.

Consider ARP headstuds, new roller rockers, exhaust valves and a timing belt kit along with a host of other mods. Sasquatch parts and ID-Parts are the best sources for parts and special tools.


Thanks turblediesel, I had been loosing coolant. Was not where I was loosing it. Then I saw what looked like it might of been from the recovery tank. I saw spots on the engine cover. So will try the test you suggested. Also as the weather got colder I was noticing a lot of whitish smoke until it warmed up.

I may have to check with the two you mention on lost jeep to see if they are interested. Have considered doing it myself. It is a big job.

I had heard of the ARP headstuds. Was wondering about the roller rockers. Had not thought of the exhaust valves. The previous owner had replaced the Timing belt, EGR valve and cooler assembly, Intercooler, Water pump and Thermostat. The jeep has 130000 miles on it.

 

turblediesel

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Timing belts are only good for 100,000 miles or 6 years, installed. Good to do the water pump at the same time since they probably won't last two timing belts. Roller rockers wear at the pivot pins due to all the abrasive junk fed into the system by the EGR system. Check for play. OEM thermostats are terrible, look into TURBO-DIESEL-FREAKs expensive replacement which allows for cheap and easy thermostat replacements. A lot of money but try a few $170.00 OEM thermostats that might not work or provide heat and decide from there.

Mountainman is in Idaho. If that's too far away he might have parts you might need.

If you keep and fix the thing always give it a good warmup. That big aluminum head needs to be evenly warm or internal cracks form until the dots/cracks connect and leaks happen. Most cracks happen by the turbo where the heat's concentrated.

You do have an excellent resource in Colorado on youtube named something like "coloradorobotchicken". Any CRD timing belt search will get you to his videos. Seek him out.

Good luck!
 

rwbeckman

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Timing belts are only good for 100,000 miles or 6 years, installed. Good to do the water pump at the same time since they probably won't last two timing belts. Roller rockers wear at the pivot pins due to all the abrasive junk fed into the system by the EGR system. Check for play. OEM thermostats are terrible, look into TURBO-DIESEL-FREAKs expensive replacement which allows for cheap and easy thermostat replacements. A lot of money but try a few $170.00 OEM thermostats that might not work or provide heat and decide from there.

Mountainman is in Idaho. If that's too far away he might have parts you might need.

If you keep and fix the thing always give it a good warmup. That big aluminum head needs to be evenly warm or internal cracks form until the dots/cracks connect and leaks happen. Most cracks happen by the turbo where the heat's concentrated.

You do have an excellent resource in Colorado on youtube named something like "coloradorobotchicken". Any CRD timing belt search will get you to his videos. Seek him out.

Good luck!

Thanks again turblediesel, All you advise and suggestions are helpful. I appreciate it.
 

driveswitharage

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Best way to check for a blown head gasket on the 2.8 CRD is to start the completely cold engine and idle it for a couple minutes. Shut it down and open the pressure cap on the coolant recovery tank, if it burps any pressure the head gasket's blown or the head's cracked.

The LOSTJEEPS forum is a goldmine of info on the 2.8 CRD engine. "Geordi" is a travelling CRD mechanic and "Mountainman" has been into these engines a lot. Mountainman might live in Colorado but I could be wrong. Most dealers and diesel shops aren't much help with this engine due to it's obscurity and funkiness.

Consider ARP headstuds, new roller rockers, exhaust valves and a timing belt kit along with a host of other mods. Sasquatch parts and ID-Parts are the best sources for parts and special tools.

Any idea on how to contact Geordi or mountainman? I saw references to Georgi on lost jeeps but not sure how to get a hold of them.
 

rwbeckman

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Any idea on how to contact Geordi or mountainman? I saw references to Georgi on lost jeeps but not sure how to get a hold of them.
Thanks for you reply. I have taken it on to do the work myself. Both with the fact there seem to be no one in Colorado from the Forum and the COVID-19 situation. I did find a repair shop in South Denver that had worked on this jeep before I purchased it. They were a diesel shop that had several Liberty CRD for loaner. They said they knew them well. What I found out is they also charge dearly for their expertise.

I went with a new cylinder head along with the other parts. I am in the process of putting it back together. I am slow because of my age, other projects and the dang heat. I am making progress. I would caution anyone else doing it on thier own unless they have experience with something like this.
 

turblediesel

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Any idea on how to contact Geordi or mountainman? I saw references to Georgi on lost jeeps but not sure how to get a hold of them.
If you PM your contact info to me I'll relay it by PM To geordi and mountainman over on LOST for you.
 

turblediesel

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Thanks for you reply. I have taken it on to do the work myself. Both with the fact there seem to be no one in Colorado from the Forum and the COVID-19 situation. I did find a repair shop in South Denver that had worked on this jeep before I purchased it. They were a diesel shop that had several Liberty CRD for loaner. They said they knew them well. What I found out is they also charge dearly for their expertise.

I went with a new cylinder head along with the other parts. I am in the process of putting it back together. I am slow because of my age, other projects and the dang heat. I am making progress. I would caution anyone else doing it on thier own unless they have experience with something like this.
It is a project! Mine sits a lot waiting for me to get interested.
 

geordi

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Hey - I don't know if you were still looking for me, but I apparently have been here all this time and didn't know it. Email is the most reliable way to get me though: jeep [at] maincomputer [dot] com and I'd be happy to discuss helping your CRD if you still have issues with it. I've been to Colorado a bunch, I like it there!
 

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