I have an '01 Cherokee Sport 4x4. Engine overheated 1st back in Dec. 2011. The shop said it was the thermostat and replaced it. Two weeks later after driving, it started smoking and poured out all of the coolant under the left side of the engine. Towed again to same shop, who said it was a freeze plug and replaced it.

In January, I started noticing puddles of coolant on my driveway coming from behind the front tires, below the engine. I would keep filling up the coolant but wouldn’t stay in the reservoir after driving; it would leak during the middle of the night. In February, it overheats again while my wife's driving it. Drove it home- noticed engine running pretty rough (on a side note, since I bought the Jeep in Spring 2011, occasionally I notice the engine runs rough right after starting it, but then it straightens out after getting up to speed).

I take it to the same shop and they say it’s a blown head gasket. So I pay them ~$1,250 to service heads/gasket. Less than a month later, it overheats on my wife again with smoke pouring out of the hood. Had it towed to same shop, they say now the radiator blew so they replaced radiator. One week later, it overheats again and there's no coolant is in the reservoir. I add coolant and drive it not far, and coolant is missing from the reservoir though not overheating. Also, the oil seems to be diluted with gasoline. Coolant continues to disappear after adding it and I see no leak from underneath engine.

Just took it back to the shop and they say the head’s cracked, which occurred from the radiator breaking and running the engine so hot. In other words, they say nothing they did is their fault. I still think they’ll give me a good deal on replacing the head, but is it worth it? I can’t afford to pay for another vehicle, but I don’t want to replace the head if it’s just going to crack again. Any ideas ??

 

First off find a different mechanic! From the sounds of it this guy is either incompetent with jeeps or he's just trying to rip you off. I'm willing to bet your original problem was a cracked head...

 

I'm going to have to completely agree.

 

Indeed. Thay have constantly misdiagnosed the problem.

Because of that, you have probably paid them to ruin your engine. Also, they are way overcharging for substandard work.

I believe you need to take them to small claims court and sue for damages. The money you have already paid them plus the cost of a new engine, installed.

By someone else, of course.

 

I was thinking that what if it was a cracked head all along? So they have been continuing to put on expensive band-aids, when surgery was needed in the first place . . Thing is, my family (dad and grandad) have trusted this guy for years with their cars. I don't think he intentionally tried to screw me; I just think he's ignorant, sloppy and probably has some clueless mechanics.

You really think I would get anything out of court? First I'll try to fight him to fix the cracked head for no charge considering what I've paid him so far. I intended to pay for them to fix the issue, not for unnecessary repairs.

 

Oil diluted with gasoline = burned bearings and other internally lubricated parts.

I hope this guy saved some of the money he made off your family all these years. He is going to need it.

You can't be in business and ruin people's stuff and say, "Oh, well. It's your baby now."

The owner is also responsible for his employees.

You need to go in there with a witness and politely ask them to replace the whole engine at no additional cost to you. If they balk, and I'm sure they will, the next stop is the lawyer's office.

It's either that or buy the whole engine yourself.

How did you wife feel when the Jeep crapped out on her and left her stranded due to that shop's incompetence?

 

Contacting an Attorney, will cost as much, if not more then paying out of pocket, which after reading your post of what happened, I can kinda see why the multiple overheats, however, a very thorough inspection should've been done after the first one to prevent future problems. A little pricey on the costs, at least here in this area. Try talking to him one on one, explain your family history with him, and see what he will do to help you out some how.

 

Since it was 10+ years old when u bought it, did any cooling system maintenance records come with it? Did u do any cooling system maintenance during the 6+ months of ownership prior to the 1st overheat? U knew it leaked for a month, 1/12, and it overheated again 2/12......... Maybe just bite the bullet, get it repaired and stay on top of maintenance. It's a Jeep.

 

Thanks for the support fellow XJ owners. For the first 6 months, other than checking the reservoir, I didn't do anything else to the coolant system cause everything seemed fine. I'd appreciate any advice for future personal maintenance.

I'm thinking he will try to replace the heads for little or no cost given the circumstances and our family history with him. But, if it's the same kind of head replaced or same welded, I wonder if it's worth it to pay anything more considering it may break down again in a year or so.

Surprisingly, today I found a fairly trusting family friend that has a used 4.0 in-line 6-cyl. Jeep engine that a friend of his swapped out for a 350 chevy. It only has 60K miles on it and he's willing to sell it to me for $800 and install it for $60/hour. I'm thinking that might be my best bet since I would like to drive it for another 4 or 5 years at least.

 

The replacement engine needs to be of the same "generation" so everything will bolt up and function correctly.

 

Initial consultation is usually free. If the OP wins, the loser will have to pay all attorney fees. Some attorneys don't charge you if they lose.

 

Talked to the shop today, and he's going to take care of putting in a new head at no charge. So how often going forward should I flush the coolant system and any other precautions to avoid future problems?

 

I had a lady friend who would ignore the warning and just keep going. No great surprise she had car trouble as well.

# @ Drivers side top edge

The heads that had trouble were the early #0331 heads (1999-2001WJ/TJ, 2000-2001XJ) before they were revised in late 2001 (revised heads have the "TUPY" foundry mark.)

I gather trying to weld a cracked 0331 is pointless. Also I hear the "tupy" mark is somewhere inside under the oil filler. Guess the 4.0 is hard to kill, Good luck!

 

Any vehicle that's no longer covered under factory warranty needs to have the hood raised once a week (MOTOR COLD) and have a look at things. Coolant doesn't go bad overnight and if u check under the hood regularly, potential problems can usually be caught early, repaired when convenient vs being stranded at 2 AM on the side of the road. Unreliable vehicles have a tendency to **** the wifey off and when the wifeys's not happy, nobody is happy.

Pop the rad cap (MOTOR COLD) when the hoods up (weekly) and have a look.

What coolant should look like (1st pic).............

As the TV commercial says "don't be this guy" (2nd pic)............