Bought a non-working '02 Liberty, where to start?

[tenpin3000]

The car doesn't start, makes a click thats it. When I had it towed to my place, I noticed oil was leaking from the bottom. My tow truck guy thinks the motor's completey blown, I'm hoping it's just the starter and the oil gasket. Battery is fine, I am going to check for error codes in the morning. The car has 157,000 miles and has never been in an accident. The original owner told me the car just stopped on them. Would like advice on what to look for to see if the motor's completely blown or if it's something less serious. Thanks in advance to all replies.

 

[Logan Savage]

I'd get under it with a light to determine where the oil is leaking from . If a rod knocked a hole in the block or there's a hole or holes in the oil pan the engine is junk . If the leak is something simpler I'd get a breaker bar & a socket & try turning the engine by hand .
If I remember correctly , on my 05 , the bolt in the front of the crankshaft is 13/16 if using a sae socket . If you get this far & the engine turns over without excessive effort by hand make sure battery is fully charged & check battery terminals & both ends of battery cables to make sure they are clean & tight .
You may need to check voltage at the starter with a multimeter when the ignition switch is turned to the start position . Make sure the transmission is not in gear if you get under the vehicle to check voltage & have someone turn the switch . You should get battery voltage to the starter when doing this .

 

[Conundrum2006]

Start by checking the oil, then I'd get underneath the motor and look for damage. If itself destructed it should be obvious.

Btw I've seen a car that went through auction with supposedly a bad starter, once it was up on the rack and work on the starter began a hole in the block was found


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[tenpin3000]

I'd get under it with a light to determine where the oil is leaking from . If a rod knocked a hole in the block or there's a hole or holes in the oil pan the engine is junk . If the leak is something simpler I'd get a breaker bar & a socket & try turning the engine by hand .
If I remember correctly , on my 05 , the bolt in the front of the crankshaft is 13/16 if using a sae socket . If you get this far & the engine turns over without excessive effort by hand make sure battery is fully charged & check battery terminals & both ends of battery cables to make sure they are clean & tight .
You may need to check voltage at the starter with a multimeter when the ignition switch is turned to the start position . Make sure the transmission is not in gear if you get under the vehicle to check voltage & have someone turn the switch . You should get battery voltage to the starter when doing this .

Thanks so much ironically I was looking up the sizes right now. I believe 13/16 is about 21 mm, gonna do that shortly and reply to this thread, again thanks a million

 

[tenpin3000]

Start by checking the oil, then I'd get underneath the motor and look for damage. If itself destructed it should be obvious.

Btw I've seen a car that went through auction with supposedly a bad starter, once it was up on the rack and work on the starter began a hole in the block was found


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Yep gonna check shortly and let you guys know thanks

 

[tenpin3000]

Theres are some photos I took under the vehicle. I did the best I could given the limited real estate. I didn't notice any holes poking through, it seems the oil leak is coming from part of the frame under the vehicle. I also noticed in the photo that the thread of the "beam" (let's just call it for that for now) is coming out a little, almost like it needs to be screwed back in not sure, but to me it seems the leak is coming from that part. I didn't get a chance to turn the motor yet, going to do that first thing in the morning. Here are the photos, let me know what you guys think, and/or also if I should be looking somewhere else under the vehicle:

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[ltd02]

Looks like you've imaged the passenger side intermediate shaft housing and front diff. Can't tell if that "oil" is from above it or not from those pics. In the last pic, the surface above that has a few drops on it and looks to be the oil pan? Could probably use a bit more light in your photos. Are you sure it's engine oil and not gear oil? Maybe the diff itself is leaking? Gear oil would be pretty thick and smell pretty "unique". Other than that, tough to tell but looks pretty clean for engine oil if it had any miles on it before it quit.

We'll have to see what the experts on here say. :gr_grin:

 

[Conundrum2006]

Not familiar enough with the KJ to tell what all I'm looking at. What I could see of the oil pan it looked OK. Actually good .usually if it punches a hole in the pan its a oily mess. Might have a hole n the block maybe

I'd check the oil then try to turn the motor by hand.

Not sure what kind of fluid you are seeing. Also the previous owner says the car just stopped is over simplified. It did something prior to no longer starting.

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[tenpin3000]

I'm actually pulling out the spark plugs right now to turn the motor over, it's more time consuming than one would think lol. I already checked the pile level in the engine and it seems full. But anyway we will know shortly once I try to turn the motor over. Thanks for your response and will update you shortly

Not familiar enough with the KJ to tell what all I'm looking at. What I could see of the oil pan it looked OK. Actually good .usually if it punches a hole in the pan its a oily mess. Might have a hole n the block maybe

I'd check the oil then try to turn the motor by hand.

Not sure what kind of fluid you are seeing. Also the previous owner says the car just stopped is over simplified. It did something prior to no longer starting.

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[Logan Savage]

Pulling the plugs will make the engine easier to turn but unless it's seized you should be able to turn it with the plugs in . Is the oil leak you have significant , a lot of oil anywhere or just a few drops ? Puddle under the vehicle ? I'm curious why the tow guy seemed to think the engine is blown ?

 

[tenpin3000]

@Logan Savage,

My lack of knowledge in this situation has me a bit precautious, I didn't want anything to get ignited by me turning the motor over. I will tell you exactly what transpired with the tow truck driver, then I will give you my personal opinion.

1) as the tow truck driver picked up the vehicle with his winch, oil started leaking from the bottom. His immediate diagnosis was "blown motor". That's pretty much it.

2) I check the engine oil level and the engine was practically full of oil. I did look under the hood and I didn't really see any holes poking through, but again maybe I didn't have a good enough angle.

3) My personal opinion so far is that the oil is leaking from somewhere else, it's not leaking from the motor, because the engine oil level is very high. My guess is the oil pan gasket. Now this does not mean the motor is blown or not blown, just based on my opinion that the oil leak itself is not coming from the motor.

On my way to get spark plug sockets now, apparently you need special sockets, I've learned so much in the last 24 hours thanks to you guys, I'm confident if the engine turns this forum will help me to get the car running again.

Pulling the plugs will make the engine easier to turn but unless it's seized you should be able to turn it with the plugs in . Is the oil leak you have significant , a lot of oil anywhere or just a few drops ? Puddle under the vehicle ? I'm curious why the tow guy seemed to think the engine is blown ?

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[tenpin3000]

Also the oil leak was only significant when the car was picked up. Almost a if it had been accumulating somewhere and when the car was tilted it all came out

Pulling the plugs will make the engine easier to turn but unless it's seized you should be able to turn it with the plugs in . Is the oil leak you have significant , a lot of oil anywhere or just a few drops ? Puddle under the vehicle ? I'm curious why the tow guy seemed to think the engine is blown ?

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[Logan Savage]

Thanks for replying , keep us posted on how it goes . If you disconnect the battery + cable nothing will ignite .

 

[tenpin3000]

Thanks for replying , keep us posted on how it goes . If you disconnect the battery + cable nothing will ignite .

So its not going to amaze anything if I try to turn the motor without removing the spark plugs?

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[Logan Savage]

It won't hurt anything to turn it with the plugs in . If the engine is already damaged internally you'll likely have trouble trying to turn it . Only getting a click when you turn the key means either proper voltage isn't getting to the starter , the starter itself is bad or the engine is seized so the starter can't turn it .
If you can turn the engine without excessive effort by hand , the starter should turn it if it's good & getting proper voltage to it . If you disconnect the positive battery terminal there is absolutely no danger of the engine starting or trying to start while you try to turn it . It would be an extremely rare incident if that even happened with the battery connected .

By the way , I know of one incident that a starter was stuck in the flywheel & had the engine stuck , fooling the owner into thinking the engine itself was bad .

 

[tenpin3000]

OK guys, I finally made my first attempt to turn the engine, here are the results, interested in your opinions/verdicts:

1) The engine rotates counterclockwise (standing from the front of the vehicle) very well. When I try to rotate it clockwise it will go for perhaps 1/8th of a turn then get stuck. I was told it should rotate CLOCKWISE from the front, so please let me know if that's right or wrong.

2) I heard a noise inside when I rotated the engine counterclockwise, almost like a loose nut tumbling around, I heard it twice, that's why I'm mentioning it.

So let me hear it, good or bad, so I know what to do next, and thanks in advance again for all replies, you guys have been great!

 

[CactusJacked]

Doesn't sound good, like a rod may have let loose. You don't need visual external carnage for the engine to have "blown". Remove all the spark plugs, stick either a long screwdriver or dowel rod down the hole (one at a time) resting on top of the piston, and see that it moves up or down as you're rotating the engine. If you have a cylinder with no movement....it's uh-oh time.

 

[tenpin3000]

Doesn't sound good, like a rod may have let loose. You don't need visual external carnage for the engine to have "blown". Remove all the spark plugs, stick either a long screwdriver or dowel rod down the hole (one at a time) resting on top of the piston, and see that it moves up or down as you're rotating the engine. If you have a cylinder with no movement....it's uh-oh time.

Going to try it right now with a ratchet extension, will let you know in a sec

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[tenpin3000]

Am I supposed to push the cylinders right where I pulled the spark plugs from? If so, my ratchet extension is too short and too wide it seems The specific tool I need to push each cylinder is a dowel rod or is there any other way to test each cylinder?

Doesn't sound good, like a rod may have let loose. You don't need visual external carnage for the engine to have "blown". Remove all the spark plugs, stick either a long screwdriver or dowel rod down the hole (one at a time) resting on top of the piston, and see that it moves up or down as you're rotating the engine. If you have a cylinder with no movement....it's uh-oh time.

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[CactusJacked]

Anything that fits the hole, is long enough, and won't come apart and fall down inside. A straightened coat hanger will work too.