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Headgasket

xrayjeeper83

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Jax, FL
I found a XJ for really cheap but it has a blown head gasket I was wondering if I bought it what I would or could be getting myself into, also just how hard is it to change?

Andrew
 
changing a head gasket is fairly simple on the 4.0 in comparison to other engines i've worked on. the only thing i would be concerned with is that it is a blown head gasket and not something else. tips in general that i'd say if you do this on any vehicle are to have head checked for flatness, try to remove as much coolant from head/ block before its removed, and make sure that the head bolt threads are clean as well as the threading in the block to get the most accurate torquing, and lastly torque head bolts in the correct order (just check a manual) hope this helps you out
 
cjsxj87 said:
Is it hard to do a head gasket if the engine is still in?

Depends on the vehicle - on our XJs, no it's not.

TIP - since you probably have to replace the head screws anyhow (they're only good for two torque cycles - if there are paint spots on the heads, REPLACE THEM!) then a cheap and easy hole cleaner can be made from just taking a head screw and cutting a couple notches across the threads (longwise, down the screw) and running that into the hole. Clean it out, and do the next hole.

If you use a tap, you run the risk of "re-threading" the hole. Trying to find "thread chasers" can be difficult at best - and they're fairly short anyhow. This is probably easiest, and the same principle can be applied to pretty much any screw size...

5-90
 
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