Diagnosis help

[Tomahawk674]

Hello everyone, maybe someone in the forum can help me diagnose my problem with my 03 Liberty 3.7 V6.

Everthing was working great up to a week ago. The other day, the car stopped "warming up". We are in winter weather here in Missouri, I put the car on the highway and the temp needle barely crept up. After several miles the car started making this funny "rattle like" sound. Soon after the low oil warning came up, then the engine died. We pulled over and there was a weird smell coming from the engine bay.

I am taking it to a mechanic but I was wondering if these were signs of a common problem.

Thanks in advance!

 

[MarkJ]

Of course this is just a guess: Low coolant for some reason. Air in the cooling system may cause the heater to not blow warm and if low enough may cause the gauge to not register because the sensor is not in the hot water. Engine then overheated and maybe mixed coolant with the oil from a blown head gasket???
Wish it were better news...

 

[MarkJ]

How long did you drive with the oil light on before it died?

 

[renegade 04]

what happen to you is not common. What occured was that the engine got starved of oil and once that occurs the motor is trash unless you turn the motor off rite after the light comes on. Also when the low oil pressure light comes on it is all ready to late. My dad killed a Durango engine on a test drive at a dealer in Virginia when the engine lost oil pressure and we did not pull over. On my libby I am installed a oil pressure gauge so that I can monitor what the oil pressure is all the time. Also the inability to warm up means the thermostat went bad and has failed open.

 

[Tomahawk674]

As soon as the sun was up I looked. Coolant empty.

I threw some water in, and looked at the oil, it did not look milky. We babied it to a mechanic and they now have it.

 

[Tomahawk674]

Mechanic just called me, the head gasket is gone, they say it was the likely culprit: the engine would have been burning my anti-freeze going down the highway, when it was gone it overheated and blew a radiator hose.

 

[Tomahawk674]

I think I'm looking ar $1800 for the head gasket replacement, $1000 of that being labor. I think if I source my own parts I can get the total cost around $1500.

I was toying with the idea of a rebuilt engine, I'm seeing some out there for around $2000. I was quoted laber of $1500 to put it in. Thoughts/Suggestions?

 

[dude1116]

You mixed coolant and oil. I would get it rebuilt completely.

 

[renegade 04]

Once coolant and oil mix you will run into problems with your oil turning into sludge. Your best bet is to have your engine rebuilt and then you will be good to go for a very long time.

 

[MarkJ]

I wouldn't make any guesses without checking wear parts like bearings, etc. Need to find out if the engine shows signs of overheating. Pay particular attention to the heads for warping, cracks, etc. If there is no sign of water in the oil then your bearings and such may be fine as long as it was shut down quickly after oil light came on. I would still pull some bearing caps to check. I guess what I am saying is go wherever the engine problems lead you. It may not be all bad. Add up what they find and then compare the price to a rebuild.

 

[tlrtucker]

You mixed coolant and oil. I would get it rebuilt completely.

Once coolant and oil mix you will run into problems with your oil turning into sludge. Your best bet is to have your engine rebuilt and then you will be good to go for a very long time.

not sure I totally agree here. I had on old '90 Dodge Daytona that I blew a head gasket on to the point the thing wouldn't even start (didn't overheat somehow). Oil looked like watered down chocolate milk, and it was spewing smoke out the tailpipe. I spent less than $200 on gaskets and fluids, threw it together in the driveway and put another 70k miles on it after that and it ran like a champ until I sold it.

Not saying his motor doesn't need rebuilt, just saying that mixing oil and coolant doesn't necessitate a complete rebuild. I've several experiences with friends blowing headgaskets and not one of them rebuilt their motors. Just drained the oil, replaced gaskets (a couple had to replace the head due to warping), changed oil a few miles after re-assembly and then drove it.

Make sure you check the head for warping. Just put a straight edge on it, or take it to a machine shop to make sure

 

[Tomahawk674]

Hello everyone, no news on the car still, it hasn't been torn down.

This is not my main car. I bought it as a "get around when it snows" car, and also "park anywhere without caring about dings" car. If it was my main car I would ditch it or get a new engine put in it. I don't think this car will see 1000 miles a year, so I'm just going to replace the head gaskets and take it from there.

 

[Tomahawk674]

Update - engine was reassembled and started.

Soon after the engine started knocking and eventually died - it is now seized and will not turn over. The mechanic shop has offered to eat the cost of a replacement engine if I just pay for the extra labor to fit it. It will be a total labor cost of $1600. Engine is 100,000 mile unit with 6 month warranty.

 

[CalcityRenegade]

Ouch, I think a rebuild would have been the best bet, 100,000 Miles is quite a bit for that cost compared to a rebuild, Hopefully you get lots of life out of the new engine.

 

[CactusJacked]

Sorry to hear about that, but the results don't surprise me at all. The engine ran out of coolant, which is why your temperature gauge wasn't showing it warming up (no coolant in contact with the sending unit). The engine overheated, lost oil pressure, and then died (seized up from overheating). This is what would toast your bearings, and likely score the cylinder walls as well. Knowing all this, the last thing a good mechanic should have done, was to only do a head gasket job and expect to send you on your merry way. Good thing at least that he is going to work with you and eat the cost of an engine. Deep down, he probably knew what was likely to happen too.