Well it has come to pass. Engine number 2 in my main PM has blown. It's the EXACT same problem that took out the first engine, though this time I caught it before it threw a rod.
The short story is it's got a #1 cylinder misfire which is compression related. It's not the coil, it's not the plug, and it's not electrical. I know this because a mechanical vacume gauge reads way low when the miss is occurring. That means the valve isn't seating/seating. The condition generally goes away at low load high rpm, and problems like rings, head gasket, etc wouldn't do that. So whatever the actual problem is, it's valve related.
Last January I had the EXACT same problem, which I ignored, and eventually the valve seat fell out of the head, crashed into the piston, and threw a rod. That little adventure cost me $5000. Ouch.
That occurred at 140,000 miles. Put in a junkyard engine with 40k, and now I'm at 268k. Do the math, and one engine blew at 140k, this one at 170k. What's weird is that my other 2014 PM is at 240k with none of the these problems. Dunno.
Regardless, I'm losing money every day I'm sitting so the plan is to not even bother with the head or the valve, and just replace the engine myself. In my driveway. LKQ sells engines all day long for $1600 - I found one with 20k on it right in my city. Replacing just the head is a $2200-2400 deal, even though the head itself is only $300 brand new from Chrysler with a 150k warranty. Nice. LKQ apparently sells an extended warranty for parts AND labor for like $100. I'll be investigating that one!
The good news is that I think this R&R is going to be fairly doable, even with my limited skills. I was able to get the AllData instructions. They show it as coming out the bottom, but the guy that replaced my first one did it in 17 hours and took it out from the front, which is how I'll do it. The other good news is that now I get a spare engine, which I can replace just the head on at my leisure. More good news is that I'll document it for future swappers. More good news is that I'll be able to determine if a 2012-2013 engine is identical. They cost 500-700 less than a 2014-2016.
The SUPER IMPORTANT MORAL TO THE STORY:
Those of you who have engines with less than 100k on them are LUCKY LUCKY LUCKY. You'll be due for plugs at 100k. Go ahead and bite the bullet and have a dealer do them, but make some kind of vague complaint about "running rough" or "misfires" and have him do a compression check while he's there. If your compression is good, good. If your compression is low on any one cylinder, then you have a WARRANTY claim and they will swap the head for free or reduced. If you wait till after 100k, you're screwed. He's already done a lot of expensive labor to change the plugs - a compression test is 30 extra minutes but might save you THOUSANDS.
The short story is it's got a #1 cylinder misfire which is compression related. It's not the coil, it's not the plug, and it's not electrical. I know this because a mechanical vacume gauge reads way low when the miss is occurring. That means the valve isn't seating/seating. The condition generally goes away at low load high rpm, and problems like rings, head gasket, etc wouldn't do that. So whatever the actual problem is, it's valve related.
Last January I had the EXACT same problem, which I ignored, and eventually the valve seat fell out of the head, crashed into the piston, and threw a rod. That little adventure cost me $5000. Ouch.
That occurred at 140,000 miles. Put in a junkyard engine with 40k, and now I'm at 268k. Do the math, and one engine blew at 140k, this one at 170k. What's weird is that my other 2014 PM is at 240k with none of the these problems. Dunno.
Regardless, I'm losing money every day I'm sitting so the plan is to not even bother with the head or the valve, and just replace the engine myself. In my driveway. LKQ sells engines all day long for $1600 - I found one with 20k on it right in my city. Replacing just the head is a $2200-2400 deal, even though the head itself is only $300 brand new from Chrysler with a 150k warranty. Nice. LKQ apparently sells an extended warranty for parts AND labor for like $100. I'll be investigating that one!
The good news is that I think this R&R is going to be fairly doable, even with my limited skills. I was able to get the AllData instructions. They show it as coming out the bottom, but the guy that replaced my first one did it in 17 hours and took it out from the front, which is how I'll do it. The other good news is that now I get a spare engine, which I can replace just the head on at my leisure. More good news is that I'll document it for future swappers. More good news is that I'll be able to determine if a 2012-2013 engine is identical. They cost 500-700 less than a 2014-2016.
The SUPER IMPORTANT MORAL TO THE STORY:
Those of you who have engines with less than 100k on them are LUCKY LUCKY LUCKY. You'll be due for plugs at 100k. Go ahead and bite the bullet and have a dealer do them, but make some kind of vague complaint about "running rough" or "misfires" and have him do a compression check while he's there. If your compression is good, good. If your compression is low on any one cylinder, then you have a WARRANTY claim and they will swap the head for free or reduced. If you wait till after 100k, you're screwed. He's already done a lot of expensive labor to change the plugs - a compression test is 30 extra minutes but might save you THOUSANDS.