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I'm almost positive my engine is blown - help!

6K views 31 replies 15 participants last post by  fun2drive 
#1 ·
Hi everyone. I have a 2015 limited 4x4 eco diesel with 13k miles that up until tonight I absolutely loved. On my way home I heard a noise, almost like I ran over something even though I didn't. Then the engine started knocking louder and louder and would get worse as the engine revved higher. There were no warning lights, no CEL, nothing, until I got to a light and the low oil pressure warning started turning on and off. When I was a lot younger I spun a bearing on a z28 v8 and this sounds similar but a lot louder and worse. A couple searches online led me to videos that have the same sound and those cases were blown engines.

For those that have gone through this, do you have any tips? Has anyone figured out the cause of this? I bought the car thinking I would keep it until the wheels fall off. I figured it's diesel and Diesel engines last forever, right? The car is going to the dealer in the morning so let's see what they say but I'm almost certain the engine will need to be replaced.

Thanks for any help you guys can provide.

JJ
 
#4 ·
I had the new oil spec. My car included two years of maintenance so I took it to the dealer to have the two recalls done and have the oil changed. As part of the oil change they switched to the new mopar oil and I also noticed there were a large amount of ecu's that were reflashed at that point.

I dropped off the car at the dealer but I got the generic "until our mechanic can look at it we won't know what the issue is."
 
#9 ·
I was on a somewhat empty highway in 8th gear cruising at a steady rpm, probably doing somewhere around 75-80 when it started making a crazy racket.

Is there a way to post a video on this site without having to host it somewhere else? I took video of the noise it was making.

Has anyone else on this board had a blown engine that they've had to have the factory replace?
 
#10 ·
I read recently on another forum of a similar occurrence.

Apparently FCA advised that nothing would happen until their dealer mechanics pulled the engine down but later said that it was not worth spending any time on it and fitted a new engine.

I am guessing but I would suggest that your case may be treated in a similar way.

Hopefully it will turn out well for you but it is probably going to take a couple of weeks at least before you get your car going again.

I believe that any failure like this needs to be viewed in the overall number of these engines that are being produced. When the Dodge 1500 RAM was to have this engine fitted, production in Italy was increased to something like 350 units per day. It is probably more by now.

The percentage of failures would be the same as any other make and model.

Pete
 
#12 ·
The percentage of failures would be the same as any other make and model.

Pete
I'm not so sure about this. From a very reliable source; There have been approx. 3,300 ecodiesel failures over a three year period in the USA. This includes approx. 150,000 Jeeps and Rams produced.

This failure rate isn't anywhere close to other makes and models.

Don't shoot me, I'm only the messenger.
 
#11 ·
Jesse
Is the bearing failure data based on diesel or gas engines?

You will have engine failures on all models and makes because in the end regardless of how excellent manufacturing and assembly is these days for engines you have parts that will still pass an inspection but be fatal for the engine down the road.

I do engine oil analysis every 2nd change to see what the results are especially those metals that start to show lower end bearing wear.
 
#16 ·
Has anyone on this forum gone through the process of having the engine replaced? They told me I have 3 vehicles in front of me so I don't even have a timetable right now for when they are even going to look at this. I've looked at the lemon law in Florida and it seems that if the car is in the shop for more than 30 days I can start the process. The only thing with that is that the 2017s haven't been approved and this truck met every need I had.
 
#19 ·
We have had the Diesel in Australia since 2011.

I wonder if anything has changed since the original production methods because as far as I have been told there have only been a couple of failures of engines here. Maybe they have cut some corners to speed things up.

I have heard of a few of the 5 speed gearboxes being replaced but engine replacement here seems pretty rare.

Pete
 
#20 ·
Forums are not the most accurate place for data. I highly doubt that the failure rate is much over the typical norm for engines.
I saw similar comments when BMW came out with their E46 M3 engine and the E90 335 engines. Some teething problems yes but nothing out of the ordinary.

Oz has been the testing ground for 3 years before we got ours and their climate and use for the most part is much harsher than ours.

I have total confidence in my JGC and that isn't Fan Boi talk it is based on 50K miles of use and no issues except the power steering fluid slowly going down and good oil analysis reports from Blackstone...
 
#22 ·
I just got word from the dealer that FCA is replacing my engine. They haven't told me what exactly went wrong with the engine and I doubt they will. I'll try to talk to the service manager next time I go to the dealer and see if he can shed some light into what actually failed. From what I was told, my car was assigned a star case, which means a FCA technician (and I think engineer too) are assigned to the car and basically tell the dealer what they can and cannot do.This back and forth took a little time but I'm happy they finally approved the replacement. If I get any information on the cause of the failure, I'll report back.
 
#24 ·
For an the nine with such low mileage I would think that FCA likely said to the dealer just replace the engine and return the original to us, complete. FCA would likely tear down the engine and determine the problem to see if it is something that can be changed for production of new engines, or even if there is something that needs to be dealt with by recall.
 
#26 ·
I would think VM Motori would get it back to analyze .. If its a warrantable engine failure you can bet those dollars are coming out of VM's hide not FCA's. And VM prob goes thru them with a fine tooth comb to see what has failed for quality improvement...
And Along the same lines VM probably had to approve the changes to 5W-40 oil.... My guess is that was an FCA request to help standardize oils across all the diesel product lines and avoid continued mistakes by dealers installing the wrong oil and taking heat over it....
 
#27 ·
I've been extremely disappointed with the communication from the dealer and FCA. I honestly think they do it on purpose where nobody knows anything. I ask what caused the failure - neither the dealer nor the FCA case manager know. Is the engine going into the car a new one that incorporates all the changes (so essentially a 2017 longblock) - nobody knows. Do I get any sort of compensation for having a severely devalued car - nobody knows. When will the car be done - nobody knows.

All I know is that the technician said it was "rod knock" and FCA sent a new longblock and it "should be done this week." If I had to guess, all this lack of knowledge is on purpose and the engine will be sent to FCA for a detailed autopsy.
 
#28 ·
I suspect that engine is being sent or is at VM for assessment so it would be unusual to get anything anytime soon if ever. That is a warranted engine and Jeep would be crazy to tear it down.
Compensation?
Unlikely given previous experience with different makes and models. Typically that is at the desecration of the dealership rarely the company itself.

How can a company fix a problem is some tech in another country with less than great knowledge tears into it. That and who compensates the dealership for such a task when it seems very unlikely that VM would want that motor touched other than to confirm a spun bearing issue.

There is a good reason diesels run 40 weight oil and that is usually to protect the crank bearing since diesels produce a lot more force than a gas engine. That is where the torque is applied.

I hope they get your situation resolved and can offer some compensation like extended service plan...
 
#29 ·
I'm happy to say that I got my car back today with a brand new engine installed. I had the chance to talk to the mechanic that worked on the car, and as we suspected, they wouldn't let them touch the engine. Instead, it's going back to corporate for them to tear into it. He did say that ever since the switch to the heavier oil, they haven't had any engines they replaced come back, so that was good news. Now I'd like to see if FCA will provide some sort of extended service agreement since the engine already had to be replaced.
 
#32 · (Edited)
VM has been making this engine for the commuter vans and trucks you see all over Europe. This ain't no new engine and the failures that I have seen reported all seem to happen in the first 15K miles and seem to point to main bearing failure (spun bearing).
This strongly points to a material defect more so than a manufacturing defect. I know of no owners who did oil analysis which would most certainly point to something wrong fast. You can best that if FCA didn't VM will do an oil analysis first and see what is going on.
This is an amazing engine and this costs VM a lot of money so I am certain they are working to lower the failure rates.
I still have a large supply of 5W30 but my concern for lower bearing wear (Blackstone next oil change) should help me understand if there is accelerated wear on going.

This article shows that oil weight is not correlated to lowering wear.
*** The higher the psi result, the higher the “Load carrying capacity/Film strength”, and the better the oil is at preventing wear.***

http://www.motoroiltests.com/diesel-oil-testing.html#.WLww128rKM8

The author of this article has extensive oil testing experience on both gas and diesel engines. Gas engine oils are clearly better in psi carrying capacity but have lower zinc additive numbers. This is just the opposite of what I thought and why diesel engine manufactures prefer 40 weight oil.
An interested read...


I now need to rethink the why in the VM engine failures because oil weights seems to be not a correlated factor....My assumption that it is oil weight seems to not be supported by oil analysis what so ever...
 
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