Enigne knocking/ticking

The Jeep gods are angry with me. I don't know what I did to annoy them, but they are not being kind.

The other day I changed the headlight bulb, only to have it still not light up.
Fixed that by cleaning up and fixing a loose wire on the socket.

Last week I noticed some clunking in the front suspension. Thought it was CVs, but now I believe its probably a ball joint.

Today I started it to hear this..
knock knock

The Jeep has 123k....will it make it to 124k without major surgery??
Can I drive it to the shop? Should I even drive it at all?

Oh noes!

Jo6pak said:

The Jeep gods are angry with me. I don't know what I did to annoy them, but they are not being kind.

The other day I changed the headlight bulb, only to have it still not light up.
Fixed that by cleaning up and fixing a loose wire on the socket.

Last week I noticed some clunking in the front suspension. Thought it was CVs, but now I believe its probably a ball joint.

Today I started it to hear this..
knock knock

The Jeep has 123k....will it make it to 124k without major surgery??
Can I drive it to the shop? Should I even drive it at all?

Click to expand...

I wouldn't take the chance and driving/running it any more
If you can't diagnose the problem have it towed to a shop for them to look it over.
But one of the minor issues is the oil cap being on backwards ( pet peeve of mine :shrug::happy175

If you don't want to pay the Tow Bill, throw a Quart of Lucas Oil Stabilizer in it to thicken things up a little bit. That will help you get to the repair shop just take it nice and slow, keep the RPM's down. I know people will laugh at this but, it works.

Hopefully, I will only need to go about 1 mile to the nearest shop.

With hydraulic lifters, what would the problem be? Is there still such a thing as a valve adjustment?

That sounds very familiar - and doesn't get any better. Ended up with engine replacement for me.

This is what it sounds like when the engine is broken down:

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Bob

Bob, I saw this video from you on another thread a while back and have been trying to determine if I've got this sound. I cooked my headgaskets a few years ago and am trying to determine if I should just replace the heads or the whole engine. Anyway, Mine makes a bit of chatter from the heads AND a faint knock. All is good when it warms up. Does the knock from the bad lower end persist no matter what? Today was about 55 degF and only made the knocking noise briefly. I'm thinking mine may actually be an exhaust leak, but don't want to change the heads and have the bottom end take a crap.

Crap, that's not what I wanted to hear 2Bobs:blah:

I have it too in my 02 Renegade. $2700 for a new engine at Powertrains.net. They have made all the corrections to the motor that Chrysler didn't make. Ordering it tomorrow and my hope is to have the new motor in hand in 2 weeks and back on the road in 3.
It ***** but you figure almost 200 K miles on the original 3.7 with the lube issues. No telling how many miles I can get when everything is corrected.
I dont know much about this company but one of our mates on this site recommended them so I am going to give them a shot.

Dropped it off at the shop today, they will open it up tomorrow.

I drove it over since it's less than a mile away. Just took it slow and didn't raise the RPMs much.

Odd that when I started it there was no immediate ticking. Took a few blocks before it started. Not sure if that's a good sign or a bad one.

As it is my only vehicle, an engine swap is pretty much out of the question. I wouldn't be able to be without transportation for the time it would take.

Heard good things about Powertrain, but everytime I go on there out of curiosity they never have my engine for my 05. Thinking the 04 might work but since its just curiosity isn't major.

Got my engine from them. So far it is very strong, and mechanic said it started right up after only a few turns of the crank. I have a misfire issue, but I don't attribute that to the engine. Sounds great, and feels really strong. Took it in a trip 100 miles round trip and got 18.75 MPG and with the miss too.

At the Chrysler dealer now to fix the miss. Most likely the wiring harness.

Sounds like mine did! Maybe it won't look like mine tho

The shop did preliminary look today.

No cross contamination of any fluids, which is probably a good sign.
The tech said he thought it could be a timing issue, "which isn't unheard of in the 3.7s"

They are going to tear into the front end tomorrow and hopefully that's where the solution is found.

I found a '03 near Minneapolis online with only 65k and asking $7900. But when I called about it, they said had been sold already, which is not suprising.

Jo6pak said:

The shop did preliminary look today.



No cross contamination of any fluids, which is probably a good sign.

The tech said he thought it could be a timing issue, "which isn't unheard of in the 3.7s"



They are going to tear into the front end tomorrow and hopefully that's where the solution is found.



I found a '03 near Minneapolis online with only 65k and asking $7900. But when I called about it, they said had been sold already, which is not suprising.

Click to expand...

Yep they are selling good and prices can be high.

Still waiting to hear on the KJ engine, but trying to do some preemptive research.

I checked out Powertrain.com. Are these complete engines, including pistons, cranks, valves, connecting rods, etc? Or are they just blocks and heads?

Do I need to use all my old "guts" inside the new engine?

Jo6pak said:

Still waiting to hear on the KJ engine, but trying to do some preemptive research.

I checked out Powertrain.com. Are these complete engines, including pistons, cranks, valves, connecting rods, etc? Or are they just blocks and heads?

Do I need to use all my old "guts" inside the new engine?

Click to expand...

No, it is the complete long block - does not include the 'top end' stuff like the intake manifold or exhaust manifolds. Their assumption is that your old guts are FUBAR and you can't reuse.

Basically a new engine.

Bob

02blue said:

Bob, I saw this video from you on another thread a while back and have been trying to determine if I've got this sound. I cooked my headgaskets a few years ago and am trying to determine if I should just replace the heads or the whole engine. Anyway, Mine makes a bit of chatter from the heads AND a faint knock. All is good when it warms up. Does the knock from the bad lower end persist no matter what? Today was about 55 degF and only made the knocking noise briefly. I'm thinking mine may actually be an exhaust leak, but don't want to change the heads and have the bottom end take a crap.

Click to expand...

Mine would quiet down when warmed up and the knock/chatter would frequently go away at around 2200 RPM. But then it got so bad I didn't bother turning on the radio. Thankfully I replaced it before it let go on a road trip so it turned out well.

For those reading this thread and wondering whether it's worth it to swap in a new or remanned engine...

Look at it this way: $3000 for an engine swap (if you have to have someone else do the work) is FAR less than you'd pay in even one year's worth of payments on a new or even used vehicle. You have a known commodity with your current KJ and only need to keep up with basic wear items and maintenance. Avoid the temptation to scrap your KJ, and give it a heart transplant - you'll be way ahead financially. You don't throw away Grandma just cuz she needs a bypass, do you? :laughing1:

Bob

The culprit on my KJ was the timing chain tensioner taking a crap. They are replacing the entire assembly along with the chains themselves. The tech said he is "pretty damn sure that nothing else was damaged, but we won't truly know until we start it up.."

Parts should be in tomorrow and I should be able to pick it up after work.

TwoBobsKJ said:

Look at it this way: $3000 for an engine swap (if you have to have someone else do the work) is FAR less than you'd pay in even one year's worth of payments on a new or even used vehicle. You have a known commodity with your current KJ and only need to keep up with basic wear items and maintenance. Avoid the temptation to scrap your KJ, and give it a heart transplant - you'll be way ahead financially. You don't throw away Grandma just cuz she needs a bypass, do you?

Click to expand...

I think that is where I am at right now too. Can't touch a used KJ for less than about $8k with anything under 170k on the odo. My Liberty is really in pretty good condition and it's really the perfect vehicle for my needs.
If my engine is toast, I am leaning toward doing a transplant. Any clue on how much the install may cost beyond the new mill? Anyone that has done it can you give me an estimate for labor?

TwoBobsKJ said:

Mine would quiet down when warmed up and the knock/chatter would frequently go away at around 2200 RPM.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply Bob! I definitely have some timing chatter but the knock sounds just like yours did. Sounds exactly like your video and almost disappears when warmed up. Feel fortunate that I didn't just throw new heads on this thing yet. I'll have to pull it first and see if I can find anything bad like you did.

TwoBobsKJ said:

Avoid the temptation to scrap your KJ, and give it a heart transplant - you'll be way ahead financially. You don't throw away Grandma just cuz she needs a bypass, do you? :laughing1:

Click to expand...

I'm with you on this one, too! Mine is definitely worth it and will make a nice project for me. I'll be doing it myself since I have another vehicle to drive in the meantime. I was surprised how clean mine is underneath for an 02 with 160k on it. Just the normal wear and tear items need attention as expected. Guess the lift will have to wait for now.

Jo6pak said:

The culprit on my KJ was the timing chain tensioner taking a crap. They are replacing the entire assembly along with the chains themselves. The tech said he is "pretty damn sure that nothing else was damaged, but we won't truly know until we start it up.."

Click to expand...

Wish mine was just the tensioners and such but my knock is back and down from the timing set. I definitely have a loud chatter from the chains but this knock sounds like a bad bearing. Sounds like the #6 area bottom. I do have an exhaust leak but not that major. Time for me to do some exploratory surgery before I throw parts at it. Not overly surprised and got three years out of it after my overheat and gasket failure. nervous.gif