Is it worth it?? help...

thill

I have a 2001 Jeep Liberty Sport 4x4. 150,000 miles. I had the ignition coil changed on cylinder #5 last weekend and then this weekend it started spewing black smoke out the tailpipe. Dealer says cylinder #2 is misfiring and he would have to replace the cylinder head. About a $2500 repair. The main issue is that the part is backordered for an indefinite amount of time so I have no way to know if or when it could be fixed. If it could be fixed there wold be no guarantee it would work for much longer. It is obviously cheaper to repair the car than get a new one, but at some point the is the law of diminishing returns...Any advice?

The second issue is if I decide to get a new car, what do I do with the car that does not run? Is there somewhere I can sell it for parts?

cigroller

How did the mechanic determine that you need a new cylinder head? And what, exactly does s/he say is wrong with the current head?

thill

Diagnostic said Valve #2 is misfiring... He says the valve seat has dropped. He explained that the seat is integral to cylinder head/cover...

jtsanders

How did they determine that the valve seat dropped? Did they test cylinder compression?

thill

Not sure...

cigroller

A valve can't misfire - but it can cause one. My guess is that your actual diagnostic code is P0302 which is a cylinder 2 misfire. Can you confirm that? Cylinder misfires are most often caused by problems with spark (such as caused by your #5 ignition coil) or fuel delivery. Mechanic engine problems can also cause them due to lack of compression.

Can you find out how the mechanic knows that you dropped a valve seat? Or is it just a guess? Was a compression test done?

If you did actually drop a valve seat, I'm going to say that you might be better off finding a salvage yard engine. A dropped valve seat has a way of immediately producing lots of other damage including to pistons & block. Or if it did drop a valve seat and damaged nothing else, this does not mean that you need a new head. You take the head off and send it to a machine shop for rebuilding. In this case there is no "back order."

thill

Thank you, I asked about a used part, but dealer will not install used part due to past legal issues... I can check into machining the head. Does anyone know how long a V6 in a jeep liberty should last?

cigroller

Short of rust or structural damage from accident, a jeep liberty will last as long as you make it last. Everything "can" be fixed. The only question is "will" you have it fixed.

jtsanders

thill, did the dealer give you a written description of the problem and diagnosis? If so, provide it for us.

gsragtop

The diagnosis is suspect, but the price seems very high for a single head replacement.

gsragtop

Ps this work is probably best performed by a mechanics shop and nit a dealership.