2020 Engine ticking and head gasket

[Okk9]

Purchased my 2020 JTR new in July of 2019. It has been pretty much trouble free........until now. Over the last 5 years and 59k miles Ive only replaced the batteries, tires, shocks and steering stabilizer. The truck has been great. It has been serviced every 5k at my dealer and extremely well maintained. So at about 57k I noticed a louder ticking noise only under load and acceleration. Sound was louder during the first 15 miles or so of driving then would get softer but it never really go away. Im thinking lifter or rocker issue. I did audio recording under the hood while driving and its very noticeable. I send off oil sample to blackstone thinking I would get high metal. I did get 4ppm for aluminum, not terrible, but surprise, I got 48ppm potassium. Ive had to add small amounts of coolant but nothing major. So off to the dealer with lab results, audio recording and mopar vehicle protection in hand. They agree to hearing the valve noise and the tech agrees its not normal, leak down test finally failed after quite some time. Pulled intake and scoped cylinders and detected some rust on top of one of the pistons. Preliminary conclusions is small head gasket leak caught early, MVP approved repair. Now waiting for the tear down for tech to see whats up with valve train noise. Just guessing, he thinks stuck lifter and will need to see if its caused other issues. I will update what happens. So far dealer has been great. They put me in a 24 JTR and service advisors have kept me updated. My JTR ran great, no issues, well maintained by me and dealer. Bottom line........if I hadn't paid attention to changing valve train noise and got an oil analysis I would have ran out of my MVP warranty and possibly stuck with a catastrophic head gasket or valve train failure. Stay vigilant with your 3.6 my friends.

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[Charles 236]

Good that you caught it early. I work in a Jeep dealership and have torn down a number of 3.6 PUGs for head gasket failure. Caught early, it is just a head gasket replacement, but if it is allowed to run on too long block damage can occur. The coolant can etch the deck surface of the block, requiring engine replacement. Most of the time it starts having a skip on cold starts or after sitting a while that brings it in for a MIL, allowing it to be identified and repaired.

 

[Okk9]

Thanks! Thinking I caught it early at 48ppm. Just waiting to hear if the valve train noise caused cam wear. Back in 2019 I added the MVP for $1800, glad that I did!

 

[Okk9]

So here is the update. (Hate it when someone posts a problem and we never hear the outcome). Leak down test pressure dropped after 2 hours, no outside leaks. Block test showed exhaust gasses in coolant. Tech replaced both head gaskets. During replacement tech found multiple lifters seized and causing noise. Cought in time with no cam or other damage. Tech replaced all lifters and rockers. New oil, filter and coolant. Performed block test and passed. Also replaced both oil control solenoid seals due small amount of seeping oil leak. Mopar Vehicle Protection covered everything less $100 deductible, plus dealer gave me a 2024 JTR courtesy rental, no charge. Gladiator seems all good, although there were never any performance issues, just progressively louder valve noise, and very small amounts of coolant loss. I am a believer in the oil analysis after this. Hope this info helps.

 

[obrianmcc]

Good deal ... oil analysis works. I as well received an oil report with about 60 ppm of Potassium. My intent was to monitor and do another analysis ... that was until a cyl 3 mis-fire. Off to dealer and confirmed bad head gasket at 82k miles. Thank goodness for extended warranty. I opted to do both sides and just got it back ... all is good again.

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