Need Confirmation on Head Gasket Leakage

Bought my 98 XJ new, and after a few years, sent it off to college with my daughter. She passed it on to next daughter, who drove it for several years after her graduation. Last September she blew the head gasket, and after some debate she bought a new Jeep and I got the XJ back.

I had the dealership check the head, and there were no signs of cracks or warping. Being short on time, I had them put it back together, and have been driving it daily since. I have used the same dealership and advisor for over 10 years, spanning 2 Wranglers, 2 Grand Cherokees, and a Durango with a good history of service and repair.

Last week my check engine light came on, and there was some gray smoke spurting out the exhaust. Code showed a misfire on cylinder 1, and when I pulled the spark plug, I found that the plug on cylinder 1 was wet with coolant.

I am inclined to think that the head gasket is leaking, and needs to be replaced (again). It bothers me that it was done less than a year ago and is potentially a problem again, implying that perhaps the head was slightly warped or some other defect wasn't caught in the first go-around.

Having more time (and less money) I'm thinking I need to do it myself this time around. I'll talk to my service advisor, but based on nearly 10 months of dependable service, I don't expect them to warrant the previous repair.

The XJ has 184k miles, is in otherwise great shape, and I just installed a 3" lift and 31" BFG ATs less than 3 months ago. I'd like to keep it.

So, is there anything other than a leaking head gasket that I may be overlooking for coolant in the cylinder? I don't want to start that project without some confirmation that I'm looking at the right issue.

Based on a previous repair of the head gasket, should I expect a new repair to last longer than the first one, or do I have an underlying issue with the head or the block mating surface?

Would dropping in a remanufactured motor be a better, long-term solution?

Would welcome any ideas, thoughts, or suggestions.

First, unless you have overheated the engine, it shouldn't have gone south.

Take it to the dealer and talk to them. Give them a chance to make an offer on the repair.

x2 above

if they have been so good to you in the past, its only because you have given them the opportunity to do the work. now its time they lived up to their work. take it back and remind them it was done less then a year ago. if they have a problem warrantying it, remind them how long you have been going there, giving them business, and how many vehicles have passed throught them to you. all else fails, mention your interest in finding a new place to do business, and how your loyalty should/could be rewarded.

as for the cracks/warpage when they first inspected, I would find out how they tested that... a straight edge run over the block/head looking for gaps? or did they get it checked out at a machine shop? a few thou may not show up under a straight edge depending which way they did it.


take it back, as why this problem has reared its head again, so soon after they fixed it, because unless you severley over heated this thing, there's no good reason for the gasket to have gone again.

Good luck with your dealership. Hopefully he's one of them that Chrysler isn't closing.

Anyway, on the mechanical side, if you tear it down (or anyone else does), make sure to check inside the cylinder walls for porosity. There have been multiple cases of people pulling the head thinking head gasket and finding porosity on the #1 cylinder wall. If that looks good and you go for another head gasket, make sure that the head is not cracked and is checked for flatness. With that many miles, you may as well do a valve job on the head and make sure to either check carefully or just replace the rear freeze plug. When that rusts out, you have to pull the head again to fix.

Another option is to find a known good engine with less than 100k miles and swap it in.

One way or another, the head needs to be pulled and the block and head need to be inspected to find out what happened this time. Dealership will not say or do anything until they have inspected the internals.

Didn't get to call the dealer again today, so I will try and find the time tomorrow. Thanks for all the replies - I will give them a chance on it first, and see what happens.