02 libby-huge issue

[NCLibby90]

So I just picked up a 02 liberty sport 3.7L 2wd for cheap. Was told it had a cel for cyl 2 and cyl 4 missfire. It was running a little rough. So I went ahead and got 2 plugs and 2 coil packs. Installed them and it still ran a little rough. I did notice the coolant was low, added some and saw a small crack on top of the radiator. I got up the morning to drive it and when i started it, my God it smoked. White smoke everywhere. I tried smelling it but my sense of small is wacked, didn't seem sweet to me though. I had to replace the battery as it was toasted and now there is no light or even hidden code(via auto zone scanner and the key trick). I don't know much about liberty's so some help would be great. Again, mine runs rough and has white smoke coming from exhaust. I did drive it some while smoking. Went a couple miles down the road and cut it off. Turned it back on after a couple of minutes and no smoke but as soon as i pulled back in my yard it started smoking like Hell again.

Head gasket?
Burning oil?
Notorious valve problem?
Cat issue?
Stuck injector?

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

Well, I would presume you have a warped or cracked cylinder head. The white smoke leads to burning coolant and the fact the radiator is cracked means at some point in the past the engine overheated which - with these engines - leads to cracked/warped heads, dropped valve seats (usually in the #2 cylinder) and a major repair.

Get a compression check and see what that reveals, then top off the coolant with HOAT-type coolant (available at NAPA and O'Reilly's as Zerex G05) and see if it gets burned down.

Good thing you bought the Jeep cheap - you can use those funds for a repair.

Oh, and welcome to JeepKJ. (welcome)

Bob

 

[NCLibby90]

Thanks. Paid $600 for it with 133,000 miles. Cheap enough? Lol. I figured head issue but was in denial. Would I be best to snatch some heads from bone yard for $40 each, get local shop to clean/check/resurfaced for $60 +/- a few, slap new head gaskets or pay someone to do all the compression check/leak down/exhaust gas in coolant tests? Would I be ok to drive it some as is with keeping an eye on coolant level?

 

[NCLibby90]

Also I have to use hoat coolant not regular? What do u mean gets burnt down? Like see if it smoked then?

 

[Conundrum2006]

I'm not sure the parts would be that cheap. But I'd do some testing to see what's what.

Might get away with replacing the heads or it might need a complete motor.


Last time I priced rebuilt heads it was to the point a motor made more sense.



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[NCLibby90]

What about trying the liquid head gasket repair stuff? Worth a shot?

 

[NCLibby90]

Local bone yard said it's almost $40 a head to snatch them myself off a wrecked kj. To be extra safe I would have them checked, cleaned and resurfaced which is actually $50 a head at local performance shop. Then the gaskets are like 30 a peice. So all in all $240 plus coolant and oil change. $300 total. Or or I could try bar's leak. The top is $50 for a bottle. Guaranteed to seal. Is Bars full of carp or does it work, some of the time?

 

[NCLibby90]

How do I add a pic up here? Pulled pcv hose off intake. Its coated in a off white color.

 

[tommudd]

Also I have to use hoat coolant not regular? What do u mean gets burnt down? Like see if it smoked then?

System is designed for HOAT coolant only put in anything else and then more issues.
As far as the Barrs stop leak, huge NO
unless you again want huge issue with heater core etc blocked , bad stuff

 

[NCLibby90]

Terrible info. Lol. So looks like I'm stuck doing a head job? Not using hoat, could that cause smoking? I didn't notice it last night. Coolant was low so I added regular anifreeze then this morning.

 

[Conundrum2006]

Local bone yard said it's almost $40 a head to snatch them myself off a wrecked kj. To be extra safe I would have them checked, cleaned and resurfaced which is actually $50 a head at local performance shop. Then the gaskets are like 30 a peice. So all in all $240 plus coolant and oil change. $300 total. Or or I could try bar's leak. The top is $50 for a bottle. Guaranteed to seal. Is Bars full of carp or does it work, some of the time?

Wow that's cheap for a cylinder head. A lot of work too. What wrong with the motor they are coming off of?

 

[NCLibby90]

Donor car has Been totaled. Would snatch it off then take it to be tested to see if its good or need rebuilding. It should be good though. Most cars there were running just wrecked.

 

[JasonJ]

See how much they want for the entire running engine.

Would be easier to just do a yank and drop for a replacement engine.

 

[NCLibby90]

Ok so I decided to run it again and no more white smoke. Now it runs good. Finally popped up a p0158 o2 sensor b2s2. Also it now is smoking blue. I did leave the pass side manifold v band loose, never pulled the pipes apart though. Could that cause the o2 code? And how could the smoke change like that. What should I do from here?

 

[NCLibby90]

Any help?

 

[renegade 04]

I am not sure why the smoke is changing color but it is not good for sure. Hopefully someone can help more.

 

[jharrisliberty]

So the only reason that I can think of why the smoke would change color would be due to the fact that it switched from burning coolant to burning oil now.

 

[Conundrum2006]

some vehicles o2 seniors can make them run rich (if very bad then black smoke) Not sure what a failure does with libertys, I'd check the wiring just to be sure it's not damaged since you were working near there.

Is it a puff of smoke like at start up or a constant chimney?

I can't think of a good reason for it to change unless it got worse, new leaks in valves seals, stuff like that.
The original problem still exists. Unless something was done to it suddenly dropping the characteristics of a BHG and jumping to oil burning does not make sense.

White smoke is water vapor
Blue is oil
Black is fuel

Just Blindly guessing at causes, be good to check the fluids again. they may tell the story when you check.

Either way the motor is sick, what you describe are the symptoms of a massive failure.
IMO the question is growing beyond a cylinder head job, if the block were in good shape you could get away with swapping/rebuilding the heads. But the piston rings could be shot, not to forget the trouble radiator fluid can cause to the bottom end (may not be as bad with hoat fluids ).

I don't know what kind of tools you have access to but I would recommend a compression test just to find out what happening , followed by a leak down if you can. Leak down requires compressed air to work so a air compressor , it is a bit of a pain to do but will tell you the health of the engine and what is leaking (cylinder, intake valves, exhaust, head gasket) without tearing it down.


Without seeing what's it's doing or knowing the engines history we are all shooting in the dark. I'd hate to steer you wrong and the symptoms are confusing.






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[CalcityRenegade]

I would rip out the engine and throw in a replacement one. Just me though.

 

[NCLibby90]

The liby sat for a few months, that's the only other thing I can think of to cause some while smoke. When I first start it there really isn't any smoke but then it gradually starts. Not much though. Like it would do on a cold morning traveling 1 maybe 2 feet b4 disappearing. I cleared the codes and no light yet. Haven't driven it far yet, max maybe 2 miles twice. I will drive it to work tomorrow then go get a comression test and a pressure test. I can rebuild the heads fairly cheap myself. I don't understand. It drives good now. No shuttering. Just smooth riding. Barely any smoke. All's good except whine under acceleration. I'm suspecting drivetrain, no slipping or anything else so I'm not stressing that now.