Head gasket Q

[cb3725]

I have a 1990 Cherokee Laredo that suddenly began overheating. Well, I had it towed to my father-in-laws place and the next days I replaced the water pump and thermostat, hoping that would be the fix. Turns out, whoever worked on it last didn't even have a thermostat put in. I replaced those parts, started it up and it overheated in about 5 minutes again. I noticed there was moisture around the plugs and now there's water in the oil. I'm thinking blown head gasket, but everywhere I've called is quoting me about $1000 for a head gasket replacement.
I have about 150k on this engine and am wondering if now would be a good time to just do a rebuild while they are in there. I don't know all that much about working on cars, so whatever I do, it will likely be done by a shop, not by me.
Thanks.
CB

 

[cwstnsko]

Sounds to me like a good time to find some local Jeep enthusiasts to help you and start learning how to work on your stuff. 150k is just getting broken in if the oil was changed regularly. The only reason I would see to rebuild it was if there was damage done by the water in the oil, or if it had issues before the overheating started.

 

[dave92cherokee]

With the right tools and a buddy to help lift the heavy a$$ head off the gasket can be replaced in a day easy. When I first got mine I replaced the gasket and all piston rings in a weekend by myself. Definately better to do as much as you can to our rigs as mechanics like to overcharge everything.

 

[AL BUNDY]

If you can change the head gasket yourself, that is the best idea but it could be a small hole inside the head. If you are going to pay someone $1000 to replace the headgasket, you might as well just replace the whole engine. Do not pay $1000 to add 1 new piece to a 20 year old engine with 150K. Good luck.

 

[joe_peters]

Replacing a head gasket on the 4.0 is easy enough to do for most people.

Make sure the head is flat, use a straight edge a feeler gauge to check it (a good quality level will have decent straight edge).

Check the flatness of the block's deck.

Take pictures, lable things.

Do a search here, plenty of threads.

 

[birchlakeXJ]

A head gasket replacement is not a real easy job. That being said, it is very do-able IF you have a fair amount of mechanical ability. You said in your original post that you don't know that much about vehicles, so I'd definitely think twice about doing this job alone the first time! This is where gearhead buddies can come in handy.

If it were mine, I'd like to be sure what the root cause is before digging in. Data here is invaluable. A simple compression test may be all it takes to give you this information. Other tests include a cooling system pressure test, a block test, and a cylinder leakdown test.

Salvage yard engines can be a good economical option to consider here......there are usually a few of them around as there were a ton of XJs manufactured.

 

[cb3725]

Thanks. I'm going to see if I can find a couple guys to help me out and try to do this myself next weekend. After its done, I'll let you know how it goes.....

 

[JJacobs]

Have fun with it! By the way, I like to lift the head out as an assembly with intake and exhaust manifolds still attached. It's an easy one man job with a cherry picker. Keep in mind though, you do NOT want to set the head down out of position and then slide it on the head gasket, that's extremely hard on the gasket.

 

[cb3725]

Thread moved: http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1013376

 

[Bainer]

You might want to verify that the thermostat is installed in the correct direction, and opens at the appropriate temperature. It sounds like the thermostat is not opening and that is why your top hose feels like it is empty.