summit94
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Valley of Va
Hi, folks, new subscriber summit94 here. After 18 months/12k miles ownership of a cherry 2000 XJ Sport, symptoms of terminal engine disease are developing. When purchased, max. hot oil pressure at 2000+ rpm was a steady 43 psi; hot idle a steady 13. For the last few months those numbers have been on a steady decline so that max. hot is now 36 and idle 9-10. Pressure gauge has been checked against a SnapOn mechanical unit and is spot on; sender housing has been removed and cleaned, so I tend to accept the dashboard oil pressure readings as accurate.
There has also been continued, steady coolant loss even after replacement of a split radiator and a wobbly water pump. Unfortunately my buddy's SnapOn cooling system pressure tester won't seal at the filler neck, so we haven't yet determined the exact area of leakage, but it's not the radiator, hoses, water pump, thermostat, heating system, or overflow system. That leaves a big question mark and a strong suspicion that at 128k miles the dreaded 0331 head failure is beginning.
So far there is no sign of coolant on the oil dipstick, and my master tech buddy is not convinced that the yellowish stuff collecting on the bottom of the oil filler cap is anything more than condensation. An oil sample is being sent to Blackstone and results are eagerly awaited.
This morning I visited another local shop that caters mostly to commercial and racing customers to discuss repower options. One observation concerned the tendency of reman outfits like J***er to "patch up" defective cores and resell. Not a strong endorsement for going the reman route given the history of the 0331 defect.
In light of all the above, my current thinking is to collect the following: "TUPY" 0331 head from 02-up WJ; crank from 72-90 4.2 Wrangler; block from 96-01 XJ. Then we can assemble the pieces at leisure, send out for appropriate machine shop work, and swap in the new mill once winter has departed and my XJ can be taken out of daily driver service. This vehicle is all stock, does no trail crawling or serious towing, but often goes off road in all kinds of weather to support my one-man cattle farming operation. The stroker option is not strictly required, but if I'm going to mate up a head and block from 2 different Jeeps, why not throw in the crank and rods from a 3rd?
The general goal would be to put a solid unit together for the same cost as a commercial reman, or roughly $2000 plus whatever other expenses would be borne in either event. In the interest of economy and minimal re-engineering, I would like to keep the oem manifolds and injectors if at all possible; likewise, the later 0331 head already has bosses for mounting the coil rail.
All opinions on the validity of any or all ideas would be appreciated.
summit94 [located halfway between Summit Point and VIR]
There has also been continued, steady coolant loss even after replacement of a split radiator and a wobbly water pump. Unfortunately my buddy's SnapOn cooling system pressure tester won't seal at the filler neck, so we haven't yet determined the exact area of leakage, but it's not the radiator, hoses, water pump, thermostat, heating system, or overflow system. That leaves a big question mark and a strong suspicion that at 128k miles the dreaded 0331 head failure is beginning.
So far there is no sign of coolant on the oil dipstick, and my master tech buddy is not convinced that the yellowish stuff collecting on the bottom of the oil filler cap is anything more than condensation. An oil sample is being sent to Blackstone and results are eagerly awaited.
This morning I visited another local shop that caters mostly to commercial and racing customers to discuss repower options. One observation concerned the tendency of reman outfits like J***er to "patch up" defective cores and resell. Not a strong endorsement for going the reman route given the history of the 0331 defect.
In light of all the above, my current thinking is to collect the following: "TUPY" 0331 head from 02-up WJ; crank from 72-90 4.2 Wrangler; block from 96-01 XJ. Then we can assemble the pieces at leisure, send out for appropriate machine shop work, and swap in the new mill once winter has departed and my XJ can be taken out of daily driver service. This vehicle is all stock, does no trail crawling or serious towing, but often goes off road in all kinds of weather to support my one-man cattle farming operation. The stroker option is not strictly required, but if I'm going to mate up a head and block from 2 different Jeeps, why not throw in the crank and rods from a 3rd?
The general goal would be to put a solid unit together for the same cost as a commercial reman, or roughly $2000 plus whatever other expenses would be borne in either event. In the interest of economy and minimal re-engineering, I would like to keep the oem manifolds and injectors if at all possible; likewise, the later 0331 head already has bosses for mounting the coil rail.
All opinions on the validity of any or all ideas would be appreciated.
summit94 [located halfway between Summit Point and VIR]
