A long sad story!

A month and a few days ago when I climbed under my Wrangler to shift the front Swaybar that had shifted somewhat I noticed that there was oil leaking from the right axle on to the knuckle, after some well advised research here, I knew it was definitely the inner axle seal that was leaking somewhat but nothing to major. I had planned a long weekend off-roading for in a week and half from that time so that Monday climbed on the phone to new dealership to get a booking for the Wrangler to go in for the seal to be replaced, as although it wasn't leaking bad I knew the offroading trip would do some water crossing and didn't want to worry that I was getting water into the diff.

That Monday the vehicle went in to the dealer and they landed up keeping the Wrangler for 3 days (I also asked for thorough fluid checking) as Ide be heading out for 4 days of offroading. Received the vehicle back Wednesday and got a checklist specifying everything they checked attached below for info. purpose they put the diff leak under Engine Oil leaks but not thinking to much of it as they agreed they repaired both left and right seals, I left it.


That night as I stopped at house oil change light came on, thought it was weird but in the morning the light or warning never came on again.

Flash forward by 2 weeks I towed a horsebox with a horse on the 35"tyres and the Wrangler picked up slight temp increase (just above halfway mark) on up hills driving in excess of 3000rpm but as soon as I slowed or it became flatter and rpms dropped to 2500 the heat gauge needle immediately dropped. I thought this was just a consequence of the 35"tyres and towing heavy load and 3.73 gears (on a 2.8 diesel)

A week ago I complain to my fiancé that the engine doesn't sound right and he gives me the shrug like Im hearing things again...

Yesterday at 05:00am I left for my morning trip to work, pulled in to garage to get a coffee and left. As I left town and hit open road I look down at Speedometer and see that my Wrangler(Beasty) is seriously overeating (she is maxed out-no audible or visual warning just the gauge is maxed out), pull off to the side of the road, let her idle for a little to see if temp. drops it doesn't so I switch her off, I proceed to open bonnet and find the engine cold to touch and no steam or water boiling.

I proceed to contact Chrysler as she is still under warranty if only just (managed to clock 61 000miles in a year and a half), I inform them of what happened and ask if I may proceed driving it as it seems like a sensor issue, they inform not to and send a flat bed trailer to pick Beasty up (3 hours later) she is loaded only just fitting width wise on the flat bed they sent, I get a friend to collect us and let the Jeep travel the 95 miles to dealer alone.

Phone the dealership and speak to adviser informing him what happened, he informs me that I will get feedback from Chrysler once they have given it to them (pretty rude I thought), Dealership nor Chrysler contact me. At 13h00am I contact flat bed driver and he informs me the vehicle was delivered safely at 11h30am. At 16h30 after hearing nothing from anyone I contact dealership and they inform Jeep would only be checked today.

Dealership contacts me today and says that the engine didn't have a single drop of oil in it!!!
I'm instantly freaked because there were no visible leaks on areas I park her normally and I climb underneath her regularly to disconnect quick disco's offroading or checking torque settings, ect. I have had no on-board computer signals or alarms. I think the dealership never replaced drained oil from previous service but how can an engine run so long without oil and no warning, or it is leaking somewhere but to where as its not visible on vehicle? And it was at a dealer a month ago. The technician says they filled it with oil and its running fine so far under test.

I have literally a few miles before warranty runs out and I feel their negligence could of caused permanent damage to the engine... Im thinking of requesting them to replace engine, do you think Chrysler will ever let me get away with requesting that? The dealership requested to put more diesel in engine to do further testing, and have asked me to authorise final service under warranty. I'm not going to authorise final service till engine dispute is fixed but have allowed them to put more fuel in vehicle for testing.

I just have this foreboding that if I don't get them to replace engine its going to pack up in a few miles after warranty is finished and I left with this mess they created.

Any advice and opinions appreciated, sorry for the long winded story....

Sorry to hear about your luck. Never good to see our rigs on the trailer. I hope things get better for you!

If the CRD engine is like any other diesel truck engine, the injectors are partially controlled hydraulically with engine oil. So if your engine in the pan was completely out of oil, the vehicle won't run period. The oil won't pressurize the injectors to start the engine.

I blew an oil line on my F350. I lost about 6 of the 14 quarts of oil. The engine died due to injectors not firing, but the internals/bearings (all lubricated parts) were still protected just fine.

Again, I don't know if the 2.8 is the same, but I would assume it is similar to any other diesel engine.

Thanks Napalm, I'm stressing coz I should've trusted my gut on engine sounding different and I know Chrysler can be a PITA to deal with.

atrollip said:

Thanks Napalm, I'm stressing coz I should've trusted my gut on engine sounding different and I know Chrysler can be a PITA to deal with.

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Right off the bat, you need to realize that if truly oil wasn't put in it or wrong type/amount of oil, this is now a dealer workmanship issue as opposed to a Chrylser warranty issue. Warranty has to do with defects of parts that Chrysler pays for. If the cause of damage to the engine is due to dealer workmanship, then that has to be taken up with that dealer. It doesn't mean you can't get Chrysler involved, however, it's not a warranty issue unless a part on the vehicle failed on its own.

WJCO said:

If the CRD engine is like any other diesel truck engine, the injectors are partially controlled hydraulically with engine oil. So if your engine in the pan was completely out of oil, the vehicle won't run period. The oil won't pressurize the injectors to start the engine.

I blew an oil line on my F350. I lost about 6 of the 14 quarts of oil. The engine died due to injectors not firing, but the internals/bearings (all lubricated parts) were still protected just fine.

Again, I don't know if the 2.8 is the same, but I would assume it is similar to any other diesel engine.

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The 2.8 is a common rail diesel I believe. No oil required for injectors.

BABOOZLE said:

The 2.8 is a common rail diesel I believe. No oil required for injectors.

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Yep common rail so will run without oil but definitely would have done damage.

Thanks for the info il contact Chrysler and forward complaint on to dealer principle at dealership that did the work a month ago. I'm still confused why the vehicle never put out any warnings though I guess that's another issue the current dealer will need to investigate.

Perhaps at the very least, get the dealer and/or Chrysler to give you an extension on your current warranty. It might even be worth it for you to purchase an extended warranty rather than having to replace a costly Diesel engine.

Update from today: drafted email to Chrysler and current and previous dealership principle, stopped current dealer with doing service of vehicle as my warranty will then be void and it may tamper with evidence. Current dealer phoned me after me repeatedly saying they must email to tell me that the vehicle had only lost 1l oil and was not dry, that it was my air filter that was badly blocked attached photos and that caused overheating and why oil sensor didn't trigger as oil level wasn't low enough. The other dealership service manager contacted me and explained that their job car only had axle seals work on it and that no other checks or work was done on my vehicle beside inspection report I attached on page 1, I explained that how could they say the status of something was OK if they hadn't checked it, further more I had explicitly requested fluids specifically diff and transmission be checked as I had not seen it invoiced on previous service where it should of been checked, he then proceeded to tell me it was put under engine as the diff oil had covered my engine which I promptly explained was not correct it was only visible on right axle knuckle and I had identified the leak and booked with dealership, he then proceeded to tell me my diff and axle shafts were part of my engine as I had asked why hadn't they put it under diff or drivetrain other on their inspection sheet, after this furious and frustrated trying to explain the inner axle shaft seal had no connection to the engine was exhausting on someone that clearly didn't know the basic components of my vehicle, I informed them I would further only consult through Chrysler and dealership principle. Two things are still seriously bothering me though:
The vehicle never gave audible or visible alarm it was overheating and there was really no loss of power (this is why I have Chrysler in the loop) as the vehicle failed to warn me it was overheating
2. The air filter is clearly a blockage from use over the last month then why only now would it over heat to max (if it's true vehicle didn't lose so much oil).

To top it off Chrysler never contacted me today but I will draft email to them regarding today's events.

Photies of air filter

I don't see any correlation between the dirty air filter and overheating. I would advise the current dealer to really test drive this thing and try to duplicate the problem. As far as the first dealer, I wouldn't go back there ever.

JeepJeep75 that's good advice but literally to extend my warranty by 18641 miles which is 1 service on the diesel would cost me $2100 if I convert everything it's ridiculous to extend the warranties here. I hope Chrysler will maybe extend warranty if even only on engine (that would even make me happier).

Just a question dealership is saying that wrangler doesn't have an engine overheat symbol on dash or alarm (only the gauge), is this really true?

atrollip said:

Just a question dealership is saying that wrangler doesn't have an engine overheat symbol on dash or alarm (only the gauge), is this really true?

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Go out and turn on your key without starting your vehicle, all of your lights will illuminate. #17 in this picture is the coolant light:

Jeep is still stuck at dealership but I guessed as much why do they try bs a person so much. That light didn't come on when it overheated to max and nor did the chime like the manual says.

Thank you WJCO.

atrollip said:

Jeep is still stuck at dealership but I guessed as much why do they try bs a person so much. That light didn't come on when it overheated to max and nor did the chime like the manual says.

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Where was it built? Some international models DO have different features than the ones in the states, FYI.

They built in the USA and shipped from there to SA for sale.

I hate warranties and dealer work. I just do not trust them and they do some shady stuff. Having said that, theier is some stuff that doesnt make sense with this matter. Good luck with getting it taken care of.

The air filter was in really bad shape. On a gas engine lack of air flow would cause it to run rich. A lean engine runs hot. Of course the sensors on a computer controlled engine would try to overcome some of this. I'm not sure on a deisel as the operating principle is different.

If it was low on oil, then there would be at least some bearing and ring damage. I find it odd that you said it was cool to the touch but the gauge showed hot. That would indicate the engine wasn't rally hot, at least not the entire engine.

Very confusing to say the least.