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Bad Head Gasket?

B

Borgli

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Hagerman
Hi, I own a 1992 Jeep Cherokee with a 1990 4.0L engine in it.
I cleaned the engine a couple days ago because of huge amounts of crud. Now I have fresh oil running down the side of it, from between the head and block. I have ruled away valve cover gasket as there is no oil on the head itself. I suspect that the head gasket might be busted.
 
OK? Yes your correct. You'll need a new head gasket and you should probably have the head looked at while you have it off. I'm sure it can use some freshening up.
 
Sorry I think something went wrong and only half of my original post got posted. Is this something that needs to be looked at right way or can it wait a little? Do I have to get the head machined before reassembly or can i just clean the mating surfaces thoroughly?
 
i have a similar problem only i checked the dip stick and found some traces of water in there. i would not drive it. better be on the safe side.
 
the answer to your question really depends on if there's any water mixing with the oil, if there is, then yes this needs to be addressed before driving any farther. If it's just an oil leak it is OK, but keep an eagle eye out for any signs of water in oil, if you even suspect that there is some, stop driving it until you can get it fixed otherwise things will get expensive.
 
Depends on how much oil is leaking. I tried synthetic oil once on my 87 and it started weeping slowly between the head and block (240,000 miles) on the passenger side. Went back to dyno oil and the leak (weeping) vanished, that was 4 years and 35,000 miles ago. I had other large leaks in the same area, oil adapter o'ring and oil pressure sensor....and the distributor that were the real major leaks.
 
There is no water in the oil, thank god! I am running 5W-40 from castrol, we get some cold winters up here as I currently live in Norway. I'll keep an eye out for water in the oil. And maybe built up the courage to change the gasket sometime this fall.
 
Make sure the oil was not from the oil filter adapter o'ring or dizzy seal or oil pressure sensor. One of them could be misting the engine block, making it look like the head gasket.
 
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