Hi, first timer here.
I've had a 2005 Grand Cherokee Laredo, 3.7L with just under 170K miles.
In October I had about $1800 of work done (fixed a steering leak, brakes, tire rod) and thought the car was gonna be fine. It had been very reliable.
Since then I drove it back and fourth 4.5 hours to NY, but otherwise pretty sprasely.

Last week I drove again back to NY, no issues. Drove it about 120 miles a few days later, no issues.
Then last Monday I drive it, the oil light comes on, dashboard says need service.
Now, the tire pressure light is usually on (bad sensor) and the car has been known before to say it needs an oil change when it does not, so I figured this was just another faulty sensor.

I drive, get gas after 10 miles, oil light still on but otherwise car is fine.
No overheating, pinging, smoke, nothing.

I am on the highway about 90 miles later, I go to pass a truck and get over 90 MPH...and then it happens...engine shuts down suddenly. I pull over, engine will not start, outside nothing but blue smoke from the exhaust and a burning smell.

Take it to the shop, they say there is very low oil (but not bone dry), however the oil is inundated with metal and won't crank...it is done.

My questions:
1. Anybody else had this problem?
2. Unfortunately we can't pinpoint the point of failure (was it a bad plug, bad pump, or something bigger like a gasket crack). I wanted to know based on others experience and knowledge what you think it might have been. I can sleep better if it was likely a major leak which would have required more expensive repairs vs a quick fix. Note...there was no sign of an oil leak where it was parked.

 

Only a teardown will tell. When the light first came on, did you check the dipstick? I'd say oil starvation or a sheared oil pump drive was the culprit. Those valve covers are large and if the oil drains were plugged, oil could have been hanging in the heads and starving the pump.

 

You never ignore an oil light or a coolant temp light.

This is why.

 

Those oil lights are worthless and generally stand for "replace engine" light by the time they come on. Did you regularly check the oil level? You mentioned a lot of work done, was one of those things an oil change? It's possible they didn't tighten the oil pan plug good enough, and it had a bad leak. It's also possible that it was a regular leaker/burner of oil, and it caught up to you. With an older car/engine it's important to frequently check the oil level.

 

If you want my opinion, and remember it's just an opinion, the 4.7 and 3.7 are problem engines anyway because of dropped valve seat inserts, sticking valve adjusters, warped heads, and jumped timing chains, all of which cause catastrophic failures and expensive repairs. They are similar to the 0331 heads on the 4.0s. Some are good, some are bad, and you won't know until it happens. If I was given one, I'd sell it while it was still good.

I have faith in any other Mopar engine and they all will give good service if maintained. The best you can do with the variable displacement hemi is change it over to a constant 8 cylinder arrangement. Also stop-start systems are a waste of money and just plain stupid.

The main thing is 30 seconds with zero oil pressure is enough to destroy ANY engine!

 

I did not. I did stop about 10 miles in, and got gas, everything on the outside and the way it drove seemed fine.

I had our trusted mechanic, who has worked on my family's car for 30 years, do the work on it back in October which included an oil change. I would highly doubt they would have been at fault.
So what do you think, a simple fix if I did not drive it OR another major repair?

Sowhat do you think, simple repair or major repair if I did get it looked it without driving?

 

To me, visible metal in the oil tells me it's toast. You'd be time and money ahead by getting another good used engine.

 

That is the question, does it make sense to junk the car and get another vehicle OR get another engine?
How much (best case) will that cost and if I did that would the car meet my goal of being around another decade or two settling in to the backup role or hauling stuff a few times a year?

 

I used to think so, Dave. Then one of my sons taught me otherwise.

I drove that thing until I wrecked it.

 

Some engines can take a lot of abuse and still endure and the 4.0 is one of them, BUT they will go downhill fast after that. I don't put much faith in the 4.7 or 3.7.

 

It sounds like EVEN if I did get this looked at first thing, it would don't have mattered.
Sounds like the ring by the cylinder/piston busted, which allowed the oil to have a pathway to the air; which is why there was no oil leak.