Posted by budda Side note, Idk if you can get them for the Jeep 2.5, but I highly recommend ARP head bolts. They're about $30-50 more, but It's worth it. These fuckers don't stretch. They are actually reuseable if need be, and I have reused them with no trouble.

Hell, I recommend ARP bolts for any engine!

Best part, the box comes with 2 free stickers to put on your car.

Posted by budda Best part, the box comes with 2 free stickers to put on your car.

Sweet. 10 extra horsepower.

So we got the valve cover off, well he did, and we were removing the rocker arms, pushrods and plugs. One of the pushrods (#6) was bent at about a 20 degree angle, and the plug that was in that cylinder had the electrodes bent over to one side, with the ceramic around the center electrode missing.

I assume that the pushrod was probably due to the valve being stuck, which would explain the ticking and knocking. Once we get the head off we'll figure out the valve. But what happened to the plug is a mystery.

Posted by splumer So we got the valve cover off, well he did, and we were removing the rocker arms, pushrods and plugs. One of the pushrods (#6) was bent at about a 20 degree angle, and the plug that was in that cylinder had the electrodes bent over to one side, with the ceramic around the center electrode missing. I assume that the pushrod was probably due to the valve being stuck, which would explain the ticking and knocking. Once we get the head off we'll figure out the valve. But what happened to the plug is a mystery.

uh oh... possible piston collision? Splumer, baby, the deeper you get into this engine, i hate to say, you might find more shit wrong with it than a headgasket.

Posted by Samurai uh oh... possible piston collision? Splumer, baby, the deeper you get into this engine, i hate to say, you might find more shit wrong with it than a headgasket.

This. You find damage on a plugs head and you are going to have some problems in that cylinder. Dude, learn on this engine but go ahead and start tracking down another one. I'll help hunt if you need me too hoss. This one isn't going to be much more than something to learn on. I mean if you want you could pull it and rebuild it as a project if the cylinder isn't completely screwed. I think a Dakota 2.5 will work and is more common in wrecking yards, get to hunting.

after thinking about it for a few minutes, what if he hydrolocked that cylinder? I've seen an engine suck water and bend connecting rods into semi-circles (ford 2.9L V6/89 Ranger)? Could the coolant have done that damage to the valves/plugs?

Posted by Samurai after thinking about it for a few minutes, what if he hydrolocked that cylinder? I've seen an engine suck water and bend connecting rods into semi-circles (ford 2.9L V6/89 Ranger)? Could the coolant have done that damage to the valves/plugs?

He said his son didn't drive it very far, it would have to be a massive loss of coolant into one cylinder to lock it that quick, but it is possible I guess. I'm thinking it ran hot enough to unseat a valve and dropped a cylinder. 2.5 is a strong engine that can deal with a lot of shit but if you run it hot enough they will die just like anything else.

Buy a junkyard engine. This thing is toast... beyond a head gasket. You're wasting your time and money at this point.

Posted by bandi Buy a junkyard engine. This thing is toast... beyond a head gasket. You're wasting your time and money at this point.

i was thinking the same thing.

Posted by Samurai i was thinking the same thing.

Plus one

Best case scenario, a foreign object got in the cylinder. Either way you're fucked.

Posted by bandi Buy a junkyard engine. This thing is toast... beyond a head gasket. You're wasting your time and money at this point.

Agreed. We're gonna start tracking one down tomorrow. Dude at the auto parts store (who talks like Meatwad from Aqua Teen Hunger Force) said maybe $400 for a junkyard engine, and I figured we could get probably a hundred or more for the old engine either selling it as is or for scrap.

My son's pretty bummed, though. It's his first car (besides his Cozy Coupe) and it was what he really wanted, and to have it so fucked up so early into having it, well, let's just say he's not happy.

The sort of upside is, my mom's in the hospital and so my son's been driving her car, a 2006 PT Cruiser with a 2.5L 4 in it. Hmmmm....

But seriously, when we do find an engine, will my 2005 Liberty hold it in the back to get it home, or do I need to get someone with a pickup?

Engines are nasty. Rent a truck from Home Depot or borrow one. You don't want that mess in your liberty. Yes, it will physically haul it. Just don't.

joke is on you if you ever have to do the head gaskets on your liberty

Posted by big dave joke is on you if you ever have to do the head gaskets on your liberty

Oh God. Don't even joke like that.

There is nothing worse than a post 2000 mopar engine.

believe it or not, but i have been thinking most of the day about your Jeep problem and man, something doesn't smell right in suburbia. It's almost like the people that had this Jeep knew something awful was a'brewin under the bonnet and they sold it quick to a a kid who (i'm assuming) knew very little about cars and mechanicals. So now it's someone else's problem.

that's being a shitheel.

i called my friend Willard tonight about a spare engine he had for his 92 Wrangler... i got his answering machine. Then i stopped and remember you're like fucking OHIO so coming 1900000000000 miles to northern new york does not make much sense.

the upside to this is that, yes the Dakota 2.5L will fit in the Jeep and the great thing about those is that their autospastic transmissions SUCKED BALLBAG, so they went before the engines got destroyed.

There are two types of Open Jeep owners, Enthusiast and "cute" car people.

Enthusiast USUALLY know their Jeep, even if stock, inside and out. "Cute" car people couldn't tell you a plug wire from a fuel injector. And they usually run these things into the earth with slack maintenance and general not understanding of a Jeep.

That said, the 2.5 is a damned good engine. It will never be a speed demon but it will crawl off road with the best of em. I think it was either run hot in the past and someone used "block" seal to repair the head gasket before and it finally failed or the gauge wasn't working well and the thing was running hotter than he knew for longer than he knew. I have seen valve seats come loose on those heads before and it usually is due to severe overheating of the head. And the tend to cause the damage he described.

Posted by Samurai believe it or not, but i have been thinking most of the day about your Jeep problem and man, something doesn't smell right in suburbia. It's almost like the people that had this Jeep knew something awful was a'brewin under the bonnet and they sold it quick to a a kid who (i'm assuming) knew very little about cars and mechanicals. So now it's someone else's problem.

I was with him, so I accept some of the blame. I did a compression test on it, and it checked a little low, but not unacceptably so. Otherwise, it seemed OK, except for a tick, which I assumed was a stuck rocker arm.

Oh well, it is what it is. I told him I'd help him out as much as I could with buying the engine. Looking online, we're looking at $300 - $400. The 6's seem a lot more common, so it may be some time before we find one. But he has some connections, so I think it will turn out OK.

Thanks for all your input. I will keep you updated on the ongoing saga.