so it was confirmed today that the head gasket's trashed. what are you guys' suggestions? i'm not getting rid of the jeep, so if that's your suggestion, you can suck it. sorry, it's been a long day. moving on...
quote from ******* hot rod guy next door..."at least $3500, prob more like 4, it's basically trash, i suggest a fire sale.", quote from the dealership to replace both head gaskets...$1600 + tax. quote for all new engine from jeep...$4400 + tax. dont think i can swing the engine, and it's gonna be at least 2 months to save up $1600 that i dont need. there's a used car lot behind our shop that the inlaws own the property to. he works on engines, so i'm going to get a quote from him tomorrow after work. may be able to get the inlaws to give the guy a break on rent if he hooks me up. this has ruined my ****ing day.
Not to be overly simplistic, but why don't you replace the head gaskets. It is not complicated. Yes it is a pain in the butt. No special tools except a torque wrench which you can borrow.
bc i dont think i have the skills to do it...and that's not something i want to try and do and make worse. how hard is it anyway? im gonna go check the manual real quick...
just read what to do to remove the cylinder head covers. sounds like it might be too much for me. how long do you estimate this would take? i def have all the tools
Search for WJ FSM. Theres one floating around for download, and its FREE. I love to give you the links, but im at work and some sites are blocked.good luck.
ok, so i guess im gonna try and change em next weekend. gonna go shopping for the gaskets today/tomorrow. what all do i need besides the gaskets? and should i go fel-pro or mopar?
it should have it there right? I havent done this either. If this thing happens to me. I'll just get a new motor if i can afford it. or rpair it my self than get a reman. Either i spend all out or save a bunch. - its just me.
...Its kinda an oppurtunity to learn more aout engine.
yeah, good point. i just wish i could learn on something a little less extensive/serious. and yes, the manual i got has all the info for the gasket change.
I'm in the process of doing mine right now. Heads are at the machine shop. Not really all that bad, just take your time and label everything. The wiring harness connectors have alot of little locks on them that you have to unclip before you can disconnect. Just be sure you remove the lock first as I broke several of them. Other than that...it's just a matter of patience. Most difficult part was removing the fan clutch...which wasn't all that bad.
Remember, these heads are prone to dropped exhaust valve seats. Especially once overheated. I'm having the machine shop replace all of them for like $50.00. Make sure you check them out before you reassemble to be safe.
def will. talked to my co-worker today and he offered to help/do it for me next weekend for $200. and he's makin me get the whole gasket set so we can replace everything. yay! found some nasty gaskets from cometic, but dont know if i wanna go $100 for EACH gasket when i can get the set and all the bolts for $250. im still torn between mopar and felpro. the mopar SET on airram's website is $140, and the felpro set is $150 everywhere ive seen it.
You need to make sure you allot time for the heads to be checked out/reconditioned if need be as well. There is a good chance they warped some or have cracks and you need to know you are putting good parts back on the vehicle so you don't have to do the job twice.
If you are tight on time and can swing an extra bit more money instead, you can get re-manufactured heads from a local guy to you in the central Florida/Clearwater area for $650. That is for an exchange type deal...meaning you pay for the heads and get re-manufactured ones shipped to you. You do the swap/install the new heads and put the old ones off your Jeep in the box they sent you and ship 'em back. It's more expensive and will probably turn this job into a $1000 job...maybe a little under, but then you have new guides, seals, valve job, planed/decked head ready to bolt on, good as new...no worries.
It is cheaper than having the dealer or a shop do it, but still a bit on the pricey side. I would just be careful slapping new head gaskets only in there and hoping the head is fine or finding the head messed up after is all apart and now you are stuck with your vehicle in pieces waiting for the machine shop to recondition your heads or get these other ones shipped to you.
already done. and im not just "slapping in" a new head gasket. pertinent gaskets will be removed, as well as valve seals. heads will be checked to make sure theyre good when they are taken off. not half assing this job. ive got a machine shop that said they would do the heads if need be...we will be taking them off friday, and the machine shop they would do it on sat. if need be. plus im doing the work at work, so there's no prob with my car being in pieces for a couple days. just competing for space with my bro in-law who is putting new axles on his tj
Yup, that's the company I was talking about...they are close to him as well. There is another in St. Pete or Clearwater...Clearwater Cylinder Heads that does the same deal...probably the same price too...if not the same company under an Ebay pseudonym.
it never went over 3/4 of the way up the thermo. prob bout 230. i really hope thats not the case. if i need new ones, ill prob be takin a trip to clearwater. all i can do now is wait and see.
found a guy locally thatll redo the heads for 140 apiece if needed. also, i dont know if this means anything, but i checked my coolant res level today and it hasnt moved since last thurs when i parked the HO. i was just wondering bc if there's a coolant leak, shouldnt coolant be going somewhere, thus making the coolant level drop?
Ok...i know im new here...and new to jeeps(****, dont even have one yet haha) but fwiw i have a degree in automotive, worked at a few garages and spent 2 years doing cyl heads at a machine shop(owner was actually a big jeep guy, had a stroker I6 in his, etc) just a few points i feel i should make
1. Deffinatly send them to the machine shop...get them pressure tested(for cracks) and/or ask about dye penetrant(same thing, finds cracks...if them suggest mag'ing them that is a good alternative too( magnetize the head and use a spray with metal particles and a black light....the particles will "fill in" the cracks and show up...if there are any)
2. Get the heads resurfaced...if it blew a head gasket its usually not flat any more... it would be stupid not to have them take .005 off while theyre there.
3. You CAN take warpage out of cam journals... they cut the caps down and re line hone the cam journals....sometimes if bad enough theyll heat the head and actually "untwist" it 1st...
4. Valve seals is a great idea...
5. Fwiw felpro makes great gaskets... not saying to get them...just dont rule them out...theyre a quility piece
6. Pulling the heads off isnt too bad of a job... if need be a camera(to remember how stuff goes thru out the tare down) and ziplock baggies( to organize nuts/bolts) can be your best friend
Any othe qestions pertaining to machine work, or engine related work feel free to ask
I have faith you can do this, but pictures are a good idea as well as baggies, a perm marker and masking tape so you can write numbers or abbreviations on them to where they go, a egg carton is handy for bolts to keep in certain order or a group.
It's easier to work with the hood off.
I pulled an engine out of a wj, it's not rocket science, just follow the instructions in the FSM and you'll be fine! Have fun and learn something!
thanks guys...just finished 9 hours under the hood....got everything out down to the heads today so all we have to do in the morning is go in and pop the heads off. good day of learning, but the guy that's doin it with me def knows what he's doing. started out with the plugs, and there wasnt any moisture on a single one, so we moved on to a compression test... but the tester we bought was bad (stupid harbor freight). borrowed one from the shop next door, and no leakage showed when we tested with all spark plugs out, fluid fills open, etc. so we just said **** it and started breakin her down. everything's been fine, no problems at all. from what i'm told, everything we've found so far is fine. (no milky oil, no water/coolant in oil, etc.)
i dont really have the money to get the heads re-done as preventative maint....should i let the jeep sit for another week and save money to have them re-done? the guy that's doing it with me is convinced that there's a crack between the water ports and that the coolant's burning off before it gets into the engine, so it shouldnt be that big of a deal...? what are your thoughts on this?
felpro...that's what i went with. got the gasket kit with new gaskets for everything, and duh new bolts. im not THAT green. anyway, i got some pics today, and i'll take more and post em to my build thread tomorrow and let ya'll know how it goes.
I think if there are any cracks anywhere of consequence like that they should be addressed or you are potentially wasting a lot of time and money here. It may be fine, but what if it's not? You will have a lot of time and effort in this for nothing. Besides, it would then be burning off coolant and you will have to keep refilling it correct? That's an overheat waiting to happen again if you miss it one time and it gets low or it decides to get bigger one day and burn off more...then you're back in there doing it all over again. Also, your cooling system is supposed to be sealed and pressurized for a reason. If coolant can leak out and go anywhere it is not anymore.
This also isn't really a "preventative maintenance" thing anymore. It had an issue and now you are fixing it. There's a proper way where everything will be fine afterward, and then there's the way that leaves questions as to how long it will last or work properly. There is too much time in it to risk skipping something. It will inevitably bite you in the end if you keep the car for any length of time. Besides, there could be issue with the valves/seats and guides you are not going to "see" per se on the bench. $140 a piece for a decent machining is a steal...or is that just an inspection? Either way, they need to be at least checked out professionally before re-installing. But that's just my two cents.
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