All right! Jeep Saga!!! I think I've got a good one now! It was a little touch and go for a little bit.
I drove the vehicle home from where I purchased it, and it was fine. There were a few little things that I noticed after I got within 50 miles of home, but nothing that seemed "Too" irregular. There are a couple of little things, but nothing worrisome. I had no problems for 1500-2000 miles.
But then the tick became louder, turned into a tap, and maybe even a little knock. I took it to my usual mechanic. He's a Toyota/Lexus master technician and does excellent work. He has done significant engine repairs for me and always over-delivers and under charges -- It's a good combination. People I refer to him, all say good things. But he is, at the end of the day, far more comfortable with Toyota/Lexus/Honda/Subaru.
He worked on my Jeep, but seemed just a little put off by it. A lot of mechanics don't like jeep I am told. Still, in spite of hearing the noise was not "terribly concerned" and could not tell me with specificity what it was.
He stethoscoped the engine and said he couldn't hear anything specific....but admitted that if he were forced he said he suspected lifters. He also gave me the bad news that Jeep 4.0 required pulling the head to get to them. Because of the relative complexity, the recommendation was to put a quart of Marvel mystery oil, and drive it for 500 miles then re-assess. Honestly, I don't think he wanted to work on it, but he didn't want to offend a return customer either. He'll still get my work, just not on the jeep going forward.
The mystery oil did help...some. But it was still not 100%, and intermittently really noisy. It was this intermittent that really stymied me. I decided I needed to get a second opinion from a "Jeep guy" and I was lucky enough to find one close to me.
Doing my research I found that there are three major "customer states" causes like mine, almost exclusively:
1] OPDU (Oil Pump Drive Unit)
2] Lifters (major pain job --- have to pull the head)
3] Flex Plate bolts that loosen.
I dropped the jeep off at Dogtag Offroad in Shelbyville on Monday. I got a text from him today (Thursday) "Sweeney, call me, I need to talk to you..." my heart fell into the pit of my stomach. I'm thinking "$5000 rebuild..." Instead, he said "Its ready...come and get it."
The Bottom line --- 3 of the 4 bolts that hold the flex plate to the torque converter were loose, and 1 of the 3 was put in backward which would mean removal of the exhaust. But, all are tightened to manufacturer spec, and its ready to go.
One of the bolts was backed out about 1/8 of an inch and was making metal-to-metal contact which was causing the noise. Why it was so intermittent, I don't know. Things expand when they get warm, it may have been that few thou that made the difference. Regardless, the diagnosis was "Labor only, no parts" for a whopping $75. How incredible is that!
I drove it for about 90 minutes (pulling the trailer to 'stress' it) and it sounds perfect. Night and day. Even when he started it and drove it to where I was it sounded like a completely different vehicle. I'm so relieved.
Now that it seems like it's going to be around a while...she needs a name. Trailer is "
Serenity" - as in the spaceship from the TV Show "Firefly" captained by Mal Reynolds and his first mate Zoe.
Mal: Ship like this... you treat her proper, she'll be with you 'til the day you die.
Zoe: That's because she's a death trap, sir.
I want to stick in the scifi / asian since Firefly is in a universe where US and China were the two emerged superpowers which kind of combine into a strange mashup. Really great TV show if you find it...
Nice match for the teardrop in terms of size and capability. 