The turbo on my Jeep Liberty CRD (common rail diesel) went out on Sunday when I was 100 miles from home.  It started making a whistling sound back in June (4 months ago), but I decided to keep running it.  There were no other signs of imminent failure (did not use any oil, fuel economy was unchanged, no loss of power).  I pulled the hose off in June to check for play and did not detect any significant play in the shaft.  The Jeep only has 80k on the odometer (bought it used, might not be right).  It was the first Liberty diesel I bought,,, I now have 3 and really like them.  Back to the story: 

I was on the highway when it failed and drove it to the next exit (about 1/2 a mile).  There was a huge cloud of smoke whenever I gave it any throttle, but I limped it to a parking lot.  My dad brought a trailer and I drove it on.  Pulled it into my shop when I got home and drained the oil.  There was only a quart left in the pan!!!!  I pulled the turbo (about 2 hour job).  I then installed a used turbo in the CRD.   I put new oil in the pan and a new filter.   Did a quick lookover, and everything seemed to be in order.

Here is where the fun begins!  I started the engine and let it idle while the oil pressure came up.  It seemed to be running fine.  I let it idle for a couple minutes while the oil warmed up.  I then gave it a little throttle (2000 rpm) and it sounded great.  So I gave it more throttle (about 3000 rpm).  I sounded great for a second and then suddenly went to 4000 rpm.  I instantly removed my foot from the throttle.  And then it went to 5000 rpm ( I am guessing on the rpm).....  I quickly turned the key off.  The engine continued to race as my shop filled with black smoke.  It ran like mad for at least 30 seconds and then finally came to a stop.

I went to the house and ate lunch while the smoke cleared.  Later I went to see what was left of my Jeep.  Surprisingly, there were no puddles of oil or holes in the side of the block.  There was a black stain on the concrete where the tailpipe turns down.  The oil level in the pan was still on the full mark.

I figure that the intercooler was full of oil and when I gave it some throttle, it started sucking that oil right into the intake.  Turning the key off probably saved the engine from going past the point of no return (limited the "fuel" to just the oil in the intercooler).  

I pushed the Jeep out of the shop and fired up the engine again.  It ran fine until I gave it some throttle.  The rpm's danced around the red line again, but soon it smoothed out.  I let it run for a few minutes while I varied the throttle.  A little smokey, but no too bad.  I decided to take it around the block to see if I could use up the rest of the oil in the intercooler.  By the time I got back, it had quit smoking and seems to be running normal.

So the lesson here:  if you have turbo failure, don't forget to clean the oil out of the intercooler. 

In spite of the turbo fail, still a good ending.

How about the diesel liberty, milage, power. Where is a good place to buy used ones.

Thanks, John

John,
The Liberty that had the turbo failure is my wife's and has always averaged about 27 mpg.  My work Liberty averages around 20 mpg, but carries about 1000# of tools and mostly back road driving.  Much better than the pickups that I used to drive.

Lots of power.  I tow empty wagons to and from fields and it had no problem.

Mine all came from Ebay.  Jeep only made the CRD in 2005 and 2006.  There are several for sale on the LOST Jeep forum right now:   www.lostjeeps.com

 

Here, the runaround vechicle of choice is the tracker/sidekick. Get 25 +/- running irrigation lines.

Won't haul much except 2 souls, shovel and a few tools.

Like the jeep, havn't made them in a few yrs and getting hard to find a good one.

I think it's a conspiracy.

John

The Liberty CRD engine has a "flow control valve" as part of the EPA emissions package. When you turn the key off, the flow control valve closes for about 5 seconds and shuts off the air flow to the intake. In this case, there must have been enough oil in the intake to keep it running past the 5 seconds. 

The emisions crap: this little diesel has EGR. When the computer determines the engine is up to operating temps and the MAF sensor determines there is sufficient flow, then the flow control valve closes and the EGR valve opens. This allows soot to enter the intake. It also has a PCV valve that feeds back into the intake side of the turbo. This combination of soot and oil vapor gets to meet in the intake manifold where it plugs up the manifold pressure sensor as well as the manifold. 

However, I have "heard" of guys unplugging the MAF sensor. This causes a check engine light and disables the EGR valve and flow control valve from opening while the engine is running. I have also "heard" of guys venting the crankcase to somewhere other than the air intake. These two mods keep the soot and oil vapor out of the engine. Some guys have went to the effort to build a little electronic device that tricks the computer into thinking that the EGR valve is working, when in fact it is disconnected. This device keeps the check engine light from coming on, which helps you pass emisions tests if you are in an area that requires them. The check engine light on mine is on, but it does not bother me.

I had a 95 Geo tracker before I bought the first Liberty.  Good little runaround vehicle, but it was 10 years old at the time and had 160k miles.  It was cold in the winter and my wife didn't like to drive stick.

It's a Garrett GT2056 turbo, but it must be an odd duck.  I don't think this particular one is used in any other apps and Garrett does not have any parts to rebuild.  My local turbo shop won't touch it.  However, there is a company in California that rebuilds them.  I ordered a reman from them so that I have a spare for the next time.

That's why diesel pulling trucks n tractors have to run one of these types of air shut offs just in case of a run away pump or from oil from a turbo failure...