Typical 05 liberty issues, valves, knocking 3.7 auto

[Misfit650]

2005 Jeep Liberty, gas, 4wd , 3.7l
Auto, 170k

over the years did typical issues, coil packs, misfires etc. When it has a stretch of no issues it runs great.
Here's my issue

Last year I was diagnosed with end stage renal disease, started dialysis and for medical reasons couldn't drive, right before this the radiator cracked up high and slowly leaked , I didn't repair as I knew it would be months before I was able to physically drive let alone work on the liberty

Well it's time for me to get back on my feet, back to work full time and move on and I have the liberty towed to repair shop for an overhaul, they say "bad valves, the engines knocking" and suggest an engine replacement, roughly $2000-$4000, I don't have the cash for that.

What could be done if a valve or valves are bent? Hit a piston? Replace these parts? Find a used engine? My father is an ex mechanic, and there is a full service garage near me that rents spots( lifts, tools etc) that I can use, also what other year or model motors will for this liberty????

Please help, I'm trying to recover and put my illness behind me and having no money for a new car and having a broken car really hinders me being able to return to work full time, it's a catch 22 , I need my car for work but I need to work to get a car or repair this.

Any advice?

 

[brianboko]

If you want to spend the time you can take the heads apart and look at the valves to see if anything is wrong in that respect. If there's something obviously wrong you could get a set of junkyard heads and replace them. If there's something seriously wrong with your pistons you'll need to replace those. If they actually broke inside the block you could have some SERIOUS bore damage. If you have no attachment to the motor I would suggest getting a junkyard motor and swapping it in. With that said theres no harm in pulling the valve covers off and checking out those heads like I said before. If you can get away with only replacing those that would be way more ideal than swapping a motor.

 

[JasonJ]

Sorry to hear about your illness. I hope that you recover quickly.

That being said, I missed the part where you stated that it was knocking or running poorly when you parked it long-term. I'm fairly certain that you didn't ...

Valves don't just "go bad"... the valve seat fails, drops into the cylinder, valves can snap and break, also falling into the cylinder, valve springs and lifters can break, and the engine may experience timing issues, such as a stretched or broken timing chain, that can cause the valves and pistons to collide.

It sounds like there is not enough information to say what is actually wrong, however this would not be the first time a shop has told someone that the engine was trash and it turned out not to be true.

A marina once told my cousin the engine in his bayliner speedboat was junk, engine is knocking badly, they said; needed a rebuild for <multiple thousands> of dollars...

We towed it home... turns out it just needed a carburetor rebuild. Has been running strong the past 7 years.

Might want to get a second opinion on this one. Unless that coolant leak caused it to overheat, I doubt that the engine just suddenly failed like this.

 

[Misfit650]

Thanks for the replies, always had a slight tick, nothing major, mostly noticed when driving next to a wall building etc.

This is a knock, inwas always on top of the coolant leak and was used minimally when noticed, i assumed this knocking is related as it was being moved, but not driven while I was recovering.

The mechanic that I brought it to has done every repair on this liberty for the past 3 years, but I do feel they just ran it, heard it and made an assumption. No tear down etc as they were checking it out for free as a favor to me.

How much of an ordeal is it to check the valves without having a garage? I've also been thinking motor replacement, again she's in great shape but always had issues and has a lot of miles on her, she's been plaqued with pretty much "05 3.7 liberty issue" haha

What other year and model motors bolt in if i go that route?

 

[JasonJ]

I recall reading that any Chrysler 3.7 from 02-05 will work. The reluctor rings on the cam and crankshafts, as well as the PCM changed after that. There are a few engine swap/replacement threads on here, when you find them, they'll have more exact info.

That may be the best route right now.. given how uncertain anything is about the current engine. I'd just find a good running parts yard motor and drop her in.

So it had knocked beforehand.. gotcha. Does it still run fairly smooth? I'd tend to think that any actual KNOCK sound caused by connecting rod, piston, or valve damage, that's going to be A. extremely loud, and B. cause a dead cylinder/misfire for sure.

 

[smittyfromPA]

Sorry to hear about your illness and your engine trouble. I have a 2005 too that has had a ticking for a long time. I also had a radiator crack but took me a while to discover it and in the meantime I kept topping off coolant. My KJ definitely likes to be driven and not sitting. Hope this works out for you. I'm saving for my eventual engine replacement (at 140,000) but hope its still a ways to go.

 

[Misfit650]

As of right now the engine knockmis disabling, not drivable, sputters and stalls out

 

[Misfit650]

Local yards have motors, kind of expensive, cheapest was $675 but had 211k miles on it

 

[tjkj2002]

Long term storage can trash a engine pretty easily along with other parts of the vehicle.

Depending on how the engine was(and the vehicle in general) maintained determines how the engine will act after a long term storage.

If poorly maintained and long stretch sitting can cause collapsed lifters and timing chain tensioners will in all practicality can trash the engine in a few miles.Oil does have a shelf life if not in a sealed container.

Having a cracked radiator and sitting in itself can cause issues since the cooling system is a sealed system on a KJ.The water in the coolant will evaporate leaving a coolant mixture that will do more harm then good.

 

[LibertyTC]

You need a new rad...
Pull both valve covers for starters.
May have just dropped a rocker, but wont know until covers are off. Take photos/post em.
Did shop do a compression or leak down test?
I wonder if a payment plan may be possible for a fresh rebuilt, if the whole engine needs replacement.

 

[JasonJ]

$675 for 211k miles is a lot of miles, but not necessarily a horrible thing, seeing how that's not a bad price. I'd bet ya a quart of 5w30 it runs better than your engine. j/k

Given that, a leak down or compression test is also in order... as was said, could just be a single bad lifter... or an entire cylinder could be destroyed... two ends of the spectrum. Hell, you could even have just a single dead fuel injector causing the misfire.

Won't know until someone does some level of tear down.