I have a 2012 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with 110K miles on the jeep. It has less than 1 year old tires and is a daily driver.
Took it in for overheating and they estimate a blown head gasket(overheating).
I recently(within the last year) had basically everything 'oil' replaced. Oil filter cooler housing down to the oil pump.

When I took it in, the transmission was shifting hard, so I had them look at that too. They said the fluid was dark which could indicate transmission issues, or the overheating did it through the transmission cooler(per the mechanic).

My options are:

Best case:
R&R heads for about 3K(1624 labor + parts + sending heads for machining and inspection)

Second best case:
R&R heads and if they are cracked, new heads on top of that(google says about an additional 1.5K)
R&R engine if I can find a used engine with less miles with cost of R&R of ~2K plus engine(3K?) and drive it longer(I hope)

Worst case:
All the stuff above and if the transmission needs rebuilt, they are estimating 3-4K but can’t really say until it is drivable.

Worst worst case:
Do nothing and try and sell it as is to someone that wants a project.

Looking for advice on what you guys would do if this were your Jeep. I was ready to put 3K into it but now not sure. If I put 3K into it and it runs, it will probably get traded in or sold soon. If I must put more $$ in it, I don’t know if I will trade it off or sell it to recoup some $$ input.

The jeep is paid for so no worries there. I can drive another vehicle in the meantime or if I have to sell it.


Thanks for your advice.

 

I think this is a real pickle of a situation. I think my comment would be that even in a worst case scenario of having to replace an engine and transmission.....you can't get much of a vehicle out there these days for $10k. It would suck big time to have to put a lot of money into that jeep, but at the end of the day the alternative is what really sucks. I look at it as if you spend that money and you end up with a nice jeep in good shape with that mileage, that is not too bad for the money. You certainly couldn't buy a jeep like that for that much. Also not sure if you just scrapped it all together what you could expect to get out of it. I think I'd be more worried about transmission issues than the engine part of it. That is a much larger x-factor to me personally.

 

Start by replacing the head gaskets, since that's the diagnosis. Not a big job, easily done in an afternoon. The gaskets are cheap. If the diagnosis that the leaking head gasket(s) is(are) what's causing the transmission issue then that will go away. If not, then you will not have spent much to find out.

While you have the heads off, replace the exhaust gaskets.

If you find that one or both of the heads is/are warped then it's worth machining while they're off - then you have a new top end. For what it's worth I'd be surprised if you need to do this.

This assumes that you do the work yourself. Obviously having this done at a workshop will cost more, but a simple top job should not be too expensive for the result you will get.

 

A dilemma; as resharp noted, pre owned Wranglers are not inexpensive. I am in the Best Case favor, find out what you are really dealing with and go from that point. On the trans, I would not do anything at this time, changing the fluid and filter would possibly create a need for the overhaul. IF you can do Alanmarce on the labor that really holds down the investigative work. If your plan is to KEEP your Ride, check into a REMAN Engine (many remans come with 3yr/100,000 mile parts and labor warranties) .. You can get the correct one for your specific JEEP. pricing List price around $5,600 for the MOPAR.

 

Going to agree with resharp001 and Jay2013jk.

My 2012 has need a lot of work I am almost done with (needed timing set and misc "while I'm in there.."). So my considerations were similar although my Jeep has higher mileage. Mine is also a stick, but it has its issues.

The fact of what used vehicles cost or even new cost is crazy. Jeeps are worse (in a good way) as they hold value. I like my Rubicon and it is paid for similar to you. I have a couple other vehicles to drive while the Rubicon is down, so again same as you. I really didn't want to pay for a new vehicle when everything else on mine is in good shape.

I went into mine and decided if it needed an engine swap, I would go that route for a reman'd engine. Since I already had that in mind I decided to look into what the fix would be myself. I have worked on more than a few of my own vehicles with some complex fixes. One thing I have noticed in my research is working on these Jeeps does not seem too bad or hard.

So far, it has been a good experience. The timing set is done. Found the oil galley plugs were loose and one had partially walked out. Replaced a few items due to age/mileage just to be sure ( the while I'm in there routine). On the plus side I got to pick up a couple tools that will help with other vehicles when needed.

Either way if you like your Jeep, get it running again and drive what you like. The total amount of repair costs are probably going to be lower than the cost of a used Jeep and far lower than a new one. Once you have the repairs done it will probably go another 100k or more. If you sold and bought used, you will have a used jeep with X amount of miles. Even if it has meticulous service history age, mileage and the big unknown previous owner driving habits can take their toll on the drive train... You repaired or replaced drive train you will know everything about.

My $0.02 and you know what they say about opinions... Good luck with whatever you decide to do.