Got the bad news today

[N6WT]

My Gladiator is a 2020 Rubicon. Stock, no lift, stock tires. The only mod is a Genesis Offroad dual battery system.

A week ago I got in my truck and started the engine. It would idle very rough and then a check engine light. I took it right to the dealer. The 2 codes came back as a misfire in #6 cylinder and a misfire on all cylinders. The tech says he can smell coolant in the exhaust.

My truck has 40000 miles on it. I have the extended warranty. I am quoted $3700 for the teardown, and if the problem is covered under warranty, the teardown is covered.

All I can say is WTF? At 40000 miles, a head gasket goes bad?

Has anyone else had this problem?

Kent N6WT

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[Badunit]

I don't think it is very common, judging by the small number of posts on it. Even the most minor of problems get amplified in discussion forums so that's a good sign.

Did they do any real tests like looking for combustion gases in the coolant or looking at the plugs or borescoping the cylinders or asking if your coolant level has been going down or anything other than "I smell coolant"? I don't know about the codes but "misfire on all cylinders" seems odd to me for a head gasket failure on one bank. Maybe someone with more diagnostic knowledge than me can chime in on that. Not saying it isn't a gasket failure but $3700 is a hefty price to pay just to find out and does that also cover "put back together" if they are wrong?

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

I’d have to agree misfire on all cylinders sounds like something maybe a bit deeper in the engine decided to give up the ghost.

If it was head gasket I’d expect 1 or 2 cylinder misfires but not all 6 unless you just toasted the entire gasket which actually takes some effort. This is based on other head gaskets I’ve changed unless Jeep did something way out of the ordinary on its head gaskets.

 

[red/green hawk]

IF it's covered by the extended warranty? What explanation could they give that it wouldn't be covered?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I’d have to agree misfire on all cylinders sounds like something maybe a bit deeper in the engine decided to give up the ghost.

If it was head gasket I’d expect 1 or 2 cylinder misfires but not all 6 unless you just toasted the entire gasket which actually takes some effort. This is based on other head gaskets I’ve changed unless Jeep did something way out of the ordinary on its head gaskets.

Doesn't have to be a head gasket......... I've seen heads and blocks crack and cause issues.
A head gasket will often give 1 or even TWO (2) cylinders if the issue is in the wrong place. And likely he meant multiple cylinders

The 2 codes came back as a misfire in #6 cylinder and a misfire on all cylinders

I bet you mean a MULTIPLE cylinder misfire - this can mean #6 and #4 for example. Not all cylinders.

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

It was probably that extra battery. Too much battery power - Thought it was a 4xe - malfunctioned.

 

[Hootbro]

Mopar extended warranty or third party?

 

[N6WT]

I bet you mean a MULTIPLE cylinder misfire - this can mean #6 and #4 for example. Not all cylinders.
[/QUOTE]

Yes, that is what I meant.

 

[N6WT]

Mopar extended warranty or third party?

Mopar

 

[DanW]

Glad you are under warranty, OP! For anyone needing a new engine and you are out of warranty....I'd check with AEV for used engines. They have LOTS of low mileage, even brand new engines and I'm sure they sell them. I don't know how many Hemi swaps they do these days, but I'm sure they have plenty PUG Pentastars laying around. I suspect they still do some Gladiator Hemi swaps and maybe some for Wranglers for people who don't want the 392 drive train and it's transfer case issues.

Also, I'd bet other Hemi conversion outfits have a bunch of them laying around, too. Probably some even with less than a few hundred miles on them.

 

[biodiesel]

All I can say is WTF? At 40000 miles, a head gasket goes bad?

Premature engine failures can and do happen. It's almost always related to defective parts or assembly issues.

 

[Stan H]

OP the problem you described does sound like a head gasket and @shadowspapis spot on as you explained. There may have been a casting flaw or a Crack somewhere.
With warranty though your good .

 

[Hootbro]

Mopar

Then you are in a decent position then. I cannot see this as anything other than being covered.

 

[Mr Miami]

If you have the Mopar warranty, I don't understand why they would charge you to diagnose a problem as you mentioned. Depending on the time left on the warranty, I would be tempted to throw the ball back in their court and tell them that since they don't think it is a major problem, you will just keep driving it. A copy of the conversation goes to the dealership, Mopar, Jeep Cares, blah, blah, blah.

I would ask them what to do, ignore the codes and keep driving it since it may not be a warranty issue (copying all the parties on the email). Otherwise, drive it until it blows up and you have a good paper trail if they don't want to fix it.

Based upon the facts you are presenting, I would find it very unlikely that a judge would rule against you.

 

[NC_Overland]

I swear half of these are techs short on work and trying to earn a paycheck. I’m a little jaded though, years ago, when I worked for a Jeep dealership, we had to fire two techs for similar things. One was quotingfor transmission rebuilds on perfectly good transmissions.

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