[WheelinOK]

Sorry I'm not reading all this for myself, I kinda got lost in the arguing. Thank y'all for the help.


What will I have to replace? I'm not scared to wrench, but this is myDD so it's gonna have to be done in an evening. I'm not bad, just inexperienced at working on Jeeps.

[TheFog]

Unless your a professional mechanic with a shop full of tools your not going to be able to replace your camshaft and lifters in a night.

You can stick in another OPDA but from what you described the camshaft gear is already trashed and the new OPDA gear won't last long. You also have to realize that the camshaft gear drive the OPDA which drives your oil pump. So driving it with the opda and camshaft gears failing is asking for a MUCH MORE SERIOUS engine damage.

Replacing a camshaft and lifters in a 4.0 is not a hard job, but allot of work. You have to pull the head which requires removing the manifolds. Then you have to pull the camshaft which means either have to pull the engine or pull the radiator/condenser and front grill off.

Like I said its not hard but its allot of work and you have to have allot of attention to detail.


FOG

[WheelinOK]

Yeah, that's more than I want to get into. If I pay to have this done how much am I looking at? Just a ball park? Also, how long do I have to get this done before I have a serious issue? I've had the Jeep about 2 months not. It has about 72K miles now.

[willydigger]

Originally Posted by TheFog

Unless your a professional mechanic with a shop full of tools your not going to be able to replace your camshaft and lifters in a night.

You can stick in another OPDA but from what you described the camshaft gear is already trashed and the new OPDA gear won't last long. You also have to realize that the camshaft gear drive the OPDA which drives your oil pump. So driving it with the opda and camshaft gears failing is asking for a MUCH MORE SERIOUS engine damage.

Replacing a camshaft and lifters in a 4.0 is not a hard job, but allot of work. You have to pull the head which requires removing the manifolds. Then you have to pull the camshaft which means either have to pull the engine or pull the radiator/condenser and front grill off.

Like I said its not hard but its allot of work and you have to have allot of attention to detail.


FOG

Could it just be the OPDA gear? Mine never got that bad. If he pulls the OPDA he should be able to see the camshaft gear and determine the damage to the OPDA. FOG has a lot more experience with this than me.

What symptom indicates a camshaft gear failure?

[TheFog]

Originally Posted by willydigger

Could it just be the OPDA gear? Mine never got that bad. If he pulls the OPDA he should be able to see the camshaft gear and determine the damage to the OPDA. FOG has a lot more experience with this than me.

What symptom indicates a camshaft gear failure?

As soon as you start throwing codes and getting bucking that means the CPS gear is not longer staying at the same speed at the camshaft.

The only way this happens is if both the camshaft AND cps gear have worn down to the point of stripping. I've seen several that had the same symptoms and have yet to see one with only CPS gear damage. The mechanics of how the gears mesh wouldn't llow wear on just one gear.

As the CPS gear gets worn down it allows the camshaft gear tips to grind agaisnt the side of the CPS gear teeth. As this happens it narrows the camshaft gear down more and more till finally the tip of the tooth is too thin and gets ripped off by the load.

When this happens you get the check engine light and the bucking.


FOG

[WheelinOK]

How much money and how much down time am I looking at to have a shop do this?

How long until my engine implodes?

[TheFog]

Honestly I think your looking in the $1000-$1500 range from a private mechanic or a good bit more from the dealership. I haven't priced it myself but with the time and parts that's a off the top of my head ball park.

As far when is your engine going to implode. As I said earlier that gear that is stripping out turns the OPDA which also turns the oil pump. Right now the gear is probably at the point where it keeps skipping a couple of teeth every couple of seconds which cause the bucking and check engine light.

Because the gear isn't totally stripped (which is a educated guess at this point) your engine hasn't been oil starved yet. HOWEVER if you continue to drive it the gear will totally strip and the engine will suffer oil starvation and you will be looking at a complete rebuild or a whole new engine.


FOG

[WheelinOK]

that sucks. drive roughly 600 miles a week and between school and work i'm busy 7 days a week. I hope I can get it fixed. It's a ticking time bomb right now. I've put 4000 miles on it and no telling how many the previous owner put on it while it was showing signs of failure...

[willydigger]

With 72K you're out of warranty.

Based on what FOG has said, I wouldn't drive it. Pull the OPDA and look at the gear. Shine a light into the engine and take a look at the camshaft gear. If you can get pics post them so we can see what you're dealing with.

Was there any squealing like a bad belt before it failed? I remember seeing a pic of a broken OPDA gear and there was no warning. How long has it been acting up?

[JeepScrap]

So is the bottom line with this OPDA issue just to stay on top of it and keep checking and replacing the assembly as required? Should my awesomely American engineered "bullet proof" 4.0 I6 motor last with this method? I'm guessing that if you get to it before you start bucking and throwing codes, the camshaft gear wear will be modest and a new OPDA will get you up and running until the next time you notice wear on the unit?

Man I wish someone would engineer a permanant fix for this BS.

[bertaman80]

I don't know if anyones posted this yet but when Chrysler Does the fix these jeeps is the problem solved or are they just replacing the parts with the same parts they originally put in new? could still lead to problem again? I had a new cam installed and ODPA gear from the dealer about 30,000 miles ago, Everything seems ok now but I am wondering if Chrysler has done anything to fix the problem not just put in new parts and call it good

[TheFog]

Originally Posted by JeepScrap

Man I wish someone would engineer a permanent fix for this BS.

I've already said I dunno how many times what the permanent fix is but I will say it again.

1.Buy a new OPDA

2.Install a zerk fitting to facilitate the ability to lubricate the upper bushing withe grease.

3.Remove the gear on the new CPS and install a Napa Echlin high quality gear.

4.Run only a ACEA rated high ZDDP oil IE Mobil One 5W-40


I've done this with mine and 3 other Jeepers who had wear issues with their CPS gears. 2 of them have already put 20K miles on their new CPS assembly and there isn't a trace of abnormal wear.

Everyone needs to stop waiting for Chrysler to come save them with a redesigned part because its not going to happen. Its easy and cheap to solve this problem and make your engine reliable again you just need to take a little initiative. All its gonna cost you is a new OPDA, a gear and a pack of zerks. Heck you can have a permanent long term fix for under $200 bucks.

It cracks me up how everyone here will do all kinds of mods to their Jeep but when it comes to something so simple just about everyone ether says they are going to wait on Chrysler and hold their breath or just keep replacing CPS units.




FOG

[jeffjeep1]

Fog,
Please verify the distributor gear is a DG-402 from Napa.

IIRC, you said in a prior post that one should just consider this a mod not unlike other stuff we have done. The price of $200 would make this one of the less expensive mods I have done. It has a huge benefit, unlike some I have done. I fully agree with that idea.

[willydigger]

Putting armor on a jeep is a little less intimidating than making an engine modification. I think that's the hold up, at least for me it was. Once you start to get a good understanding of things it becomes less overwhelming. I have learned a lot from this thread, so for those of you needing help, you're in the right place.

As of 12/01/10, Chrysler will only replace the part with the same part. There is no upgrade.

The reports that only some of these units fail prematurely is enough to check it. Unfortunately most people will not suspect a problem until it squeaks or there is a more catastrophic symptom. I didn't pay any attention to this thread prior to my OPDA squeaking.

I consider myself lucky that mine didn't totally fail and I plan to follow FOG's recommendations.

[Jp90Talon]

Originally Posted by willydigger

I remember seeing a pic of a broken OPDA gear and there was no warning.

That would be mine