HELP! Engine Problems 1000 miles from home

Well, I was all ready to make my first trip followinga pretty total rebuild of my 89 Xj w/ 4.0 engine. After a hard pull up a hill on the freeway at 80 MPH, as I coasted down the other side, started to hear rattling from ther head. When I pulled into a gas station there was oil pouring out the bottom of my airbox, having consumed about 1/2 quart in about 500 miles of driving.

The rattling seems to be in the valves, and a local shop in Bullhead City seems to think its a collapsed lifter. I'm not yet convinced, and am thinking about having it hauled back home where I can dig into it in detail.

QUESTIONS: ANy good auto transport companies that can haul from Bullhead City, AZ to Nevada City, CA? Phone quote I got was $850 which seems really high.

Any idea what would cause excessive pressure in the valve cover that would lead to oil getting pushed into the airbox? The airbox was thouroughly cleaned and new lines both front and back were installed.

Any help appreciated.

I'd guess you didn't have much engine vacuum due to the amount of throttle needed to get up the hill. The normal flow of the circut - intake vacuum pulls air from the air box and through the valve cover -wouldn't have been there. Negative pressure in the air box due to the mostly open throttle would have pulled oil or oil mist in from the crank case.
You might try pulling the valve cover off to make sure none of the rocker bolts have come loose or if you've bent a pushrod.

sjkimmel99 said:

I'd guess you didn't have much engine vacuum due to the amount of throttle needed to get up the hill. The normal flow of the circut - intake vacuum pulls air from the air box and through the valve cover -wouldn't have been there. Negative pressure in the air box due to the mostly open throttle would have pulled oil or oil mist in from the crank case.
You might try pulling the valve cover off to make sure none of the rocker bolts have come loose or if you've bent a pushrod.

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We are talking a buttload of oil, not a little bit. Rocker bolts have been checked and are OK.

Can lifters be replaced without pulling head?

How many miles on the engine? Either the rings have not seated or maybe a busted ring. You can't pull a lifter without removing the head on the4.0L. Pull the valve cover and try and wiggle the rockers. If one is really loose, you found the bad cylinder. If none seem too loose, start it up and put your finger on each rocker. If the lifter is collapsed, it will vibrate like mad. Do this when the engine is cold:jester: . You can put a dial indicator on the rocker to see how much lift each valve is getting and then turn it over by hand. This can locate a collapsed lifter or flattened lobe as well.

Other ways to determine which cylinder is to do a compression test.

old_man said:

How many miles on the engine?

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About 3-4000.

After a bit more trolling on the site, I'm honing in on a collapsed lifter. Given the LARGE amount of oil in the airbox + the noise, I'm thinking this is it.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=84912&highlight=Collapsed+Lifter

I'll be talking to the shop shortly.

I'm going with broken/ not seated ring/s.

I cant offer any advice, but I can feel your pain I hydrolocked my XJ in England a few weeks ago the bad part is I live in Germany.
GOOD LUCK.:cheers:

Where in Germany do you live? I lived in Hanau for 3 years.

SOLVED! Thanks to the board which no doubt saved me a lot of grief and money....

Turned out to be a broken flex plate.

Looking back, this makes sense, since I was pulling up a hill at 70+ MPH w/ stock gearing and 32" tires. The rig was doing the gear wander all the way up shifting around to find a good gear.

No doubt, the stress took its toll on one of the few remaining original 18 YO parts -- the flexplate.

The oil in the airbox seems to be a seperate issue and may be a result of incorrect assembly of valve cover snorkles. I'll dig around here to see if I can get a clue, the FSM has no details.

jeeperjohn said:

Where in Germany do you live? I lived in Hanau for 3 years.

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Ahh lovely downtown Hanau Germany the arm pit of Hessen.

Dichtelbach for three years, hairy legged women and good beer...what more could you ask for ....lol

I enjoyed my time there, especially the fresh food at the Toom markt and the bratwurst on the street corners.