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Coolant leak at rear of enginge

K

kttate75

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Boulder, CO
I came out this morning to find a puddle of coolant under the Jeep (96 XJ 4.0). I traced the leak to the rear of the engine - it's squirting out like there is a pin hole somewhere. With a mirror I still couldn't get a view to see if it's from the head gasket or not, isn't there a plug back there too? No oil in the coolant, no coolant in the oil that I could tell. Anyone have any experience with this? Going to the store to get a better mirror now.
 
Re: Coolant leak at rear of engine

So after looking at it with a mirror, the pin hole leak is definitely coming from the plug. Do I have to drop the engine or remove the head to replace this? Is there a quick/temporary fix like JB weld on the outside of the plug, or would that just be asking for trouble?
 
There is a freeze plug on the back of the block and the back of the head. Both are likely leaks. I don't think you will have enough room to get the new one pressed in, getting the old one out could be impossible as well.

Others may have more input.
 
Buddy of mine had that exact thing happen to him. He had to pull the head. They make expandable plugs, but it would be pretty hard to get the old one out. I've never had any luck with glue/epoxy fixes.
 
Thanks for the input, pretty much what i figured. Having never pulled the head on an engine before, is this something that's pretty straightforward? I have plenty of time, are any specialty tools required?
 
xjtrailrider said:
There is a freeze plug on the back of the block and the back of the head. Both are likely leaks. I don't think you will have enough room to get the new one pressed in, getting the old one out could be impossible as well.

Others may have more input.
Click to expand...

It's at the back of the head.

Jeep40.jpg
 
My 90 blew the one at the top of the rear of the block. The lower plug is a access for the cam bearings and only retains oil at no pressure.

Whether its the head or the block freeze plug its going to be tough to get it out without pulling the head or the engine.
 
I have never done it, but some Volvo techs would R&R the overhead cams on the POS V6 by using a hole saw to cut two holes through the firewall. After the R&R the would use rubber body plugs in the holes. This was definitely not approved by the manufacturer.

You might be able to do it this way. I am not telling you this will work on your XJ, just sharing info.
 
If you search, there are quite a few threads about head R&R, because they crack on so many of the 99+ models. I'm psyching myself up to do mine. Variables are whether you take off the intake/exhaust manifolds (I wouldn't) and whether you replace the head bolts or not. FSM says they may be reused once.
 
I pull the head with the intake/exhaust on it(I use a engine lift) and I always use new head bolts just for the piece of mind.
 
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