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Poll: Cracked 0331 cylinder head castings

Dr. Dyno

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Al Ain, UAE
Those of you who own '99+ 4.0 WJ's, XJ's, and TJ's who've been affected by this problem, please post the mileage on your engine when the head was discovered to be cracked and the build date of your Jeep (check stamp on driver's door). I'd like to compile a database of Jeeps affected by head cracking problems.
Please also give details about how the problem was discovered, the symptoms your engine was experiencing, and how it was fixed.
You can post your vote in the poll here:

http://jeepsunlimited.com/forums/showthread.php?t=721472
 
Come on guys. I know there's a few of you out there who've had cracked cylinder heads given all the recent threads on this issue. I'm trying to compile a database so any info. will be helpful.
 
92DripCherokee said:
I own an intact 4.0 liter 00 Cherokee Classic with 61,000 miles. It runs 210° F, and does not not consume coolant.

Fingers crossed it'll stay that way but keep an eye on that coolant.
 
Neither my past 2001 nor current 2000 XJ have suffered this problem, both having in excess of 100,000 miles on them. To be honest, I'm not sure which casting I have (don't know where to look to check), but neither one has any of the usual symptoms of impending head or head gasket failure.

FWIW, there are three sets of numbers on the manifold, reading from left to right: the firing order (clearly not it), another one starting off with a '4' that was half-buried under the throttle body, and a third set of numbers represented in three rows, the bottom one being '11156' or similar from what I remember. Can't really pull stuff to check right now, so any help would be appreciated.
 
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The head casting no. is stamped on the top on the driver's side near the no.3 cylinder. You can just about see it if you look to the side of the valve cover.
Yours will be 0331 head castings. So far so good.
What's the build date of your current '00XJ? I'm trying to establish if all the bad castings came within certain dates.
 
Dr. Dyno said:
The head casting no. is stamped on the top on the driver's side near the no.3 cylinder. You can just about see it if you look to the side of the valve cover.
Yours will be 0331 head castings. So far so good.
What's the build date of your current '00XJ? I'm trying to establish if all the bad castings came within certain dates.

I'm at 67k, no problems... build date is mid-december 1999. (12/20? Three weeks after I ordered it, and 3-4 days before I got it!!)

Den
 
DenLip said:
I'm at 67k, no problems... build date is mid-december 1999. (12/20? Three weeks after I ordered it, and 3-4 days before I got it!!)

Den
Build date is on the sticker inside the driver's door, it's only a month and year. Yours would probably be 12/99.
 
2000, build date 2/00, discovered loss of coolant and small traces of "milky oil" on the oil cap at 50,000. Which of course turned out to be a cracked head.
 
'01 XJ Sport. It's in the shop so I can't check build date. I bought it w/ 45000 miles and it had the problem already. Fought with the place I bought it about the cause of the symptons until they fixed it with a reman'd head. I emailed DC the following:

I recently had to replace the cylinder head on my 2001 Cherokee and in
doing some research have found that there is a problem with the casting
(I think the casting # is 0331, but I could be wrong.)between cylinders
3 & 4 that leads to cracks in this location that allow coolant and oil
to mix, resulting in overheating, low oil pressure, and the associated
problems with contaminating these two systems. This is my 3rd Jeep
Cherokee (others were an '89 and a '96.) I had high hopes for the
improved performance of the 2001, but this defect is not what I have
come to expect from Jeep branded vehicles, and causes me to become
nostalgic for my '96. Have you determined what the cause of this defect
is, and is there anything I can do, as an owner, to prevent this from
happening again in the future?

They replied that there was no recall and wished me a nice day. Not what I was looking for. With this many problems I'm amazed that there isn't a TSB on this, unless they are keeping their corporate mouth shut to avoid taking responsibility for their F-U.
 
Fish'nCarz said:
With this many problems I'm amazed that there isn't a TSB on this, unless they are keeping their corporate mouth shut to avoid taking responsibility for their F-U.

I think you've hit the nail on the head.
 
At about what time did DC stop using the 0331 head? Late 2000 or 2001?
 
Ben H said:
At about what time did DC stop using the 0331 head? Late 2000 or 2001?

I think they continued using the 0331 head right up to 2006 in the TJ, 2004 in the WJ, and 2001 in the XJ. Basically until the end of production of the 4.0 engine.
 
I just popped my head running up highway 168 towards shaver lake. Pisser. I have a newer upgraded 0331 head in the garage. I had been suspect that I had the cracked head up until 2 hours ago, now I am for certain. I had not had any coolant loss, but I thought that I had some oil contamination in my coolant.

Today with ambient temperatures at 107 degrees climbing up a very long and very steep grade I smelt burning oil and stopped. The head spit oil all over the enging through a crack between the #3 and #4 exhaust port....

Will do a full write up on my findings and replacement.
 
Just out of curiousity when did they start using the 0331 casting head? I was thinking of buying my wife a late model XJ but don't think I will now.
 
Assumption? Where should I be looking for a crack. I took of the valve cover and am ready to do the head replacement, but there are no signs that I can see that I the head is cracked. There is no contamination in either the coolant or the oil, and I cant see any crustys anywhere. I think that I might be ok. Any opinions Dyno?
 
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