Head/Head gasket Woes After new Head, Steamy Exhaust

Hey gang! Recently joined the Jeep club with a 96, bare bones SE with 130k miles.

Too Long, Didn't Read: Replaced head and head gasket, still getting coolant in the exhaust and who knows where else, maybe cylinders 5 and 6.

Ran like a champ for a couple of weeks on my short trips back and forth to work. Did a radiator flush, and on long trips it started over heating, no biggy, reckoned it was the headgasket because I had some dirty radiator fluid. I ran it longer than I wanted to, and I started getting steam in the exhaust after I let it cool down and topped off fluid at a friend's house. I decided I was done and got a tow home.

Pulled it apart, head gasket was fine but close inspection showed a crack in my 0630 casting head between the intake valve and the water jacket in cylinder number one. Got a remanufactured head from Cylinder Heads International. Got it in last night, I used a new Fel Pro 9076 PT3 kit and new Felpro bolts, everything torqued as Haynes said. I did put gasket sealer on the HG, which may have been a mistake.

Everything fired up just fine, but once it heats up it starts to bog and surge at idle. I'm also getting a lot of steam still in the exhaust, especially when it heats up or you get on the throttle. Cylinders 5 and 6 are coming up low on a compression check, I oiled the cylinder with no improvement so I don't think it's the piston rings or anything.

I'm going to pull it all apart again, I had the block and the new head squeaky clean when I put in the headgasket. Did I mess up by putting a thin layer on both sides of the gasket? I also sealed bolt 11 as it is supposed to be. I put antisneeze on the bolts, as it was a "new" clean head and new bolts.

I have the idiot lights on my dash, I already have a proper cluster coming in and I already swapped out the temp and oil sensor. The water pump and radiator have also been replaced in the last year or two by the previous owner. Other than that everything is stock.

What could I have done wrong, and where should I be looking for problems? I hate to think its the head. CHI is closed, but I'm going to call them up just as soon as they are open.

*EDIT* Forgot to mention, the oil when purchased was clean, first thing I did was an oil change and it's still clean. The rockers/pushrods and stuff where all nice and oily, no coolant/water has seen them. If something is leaking, it is definitely coolant into cylinder and/or exhaust only, it's not touching the oil.

Thanks guys, I know I am probably Hasta !!!1 here but I am fresh out of ideas and not having a car is driving me nuts. Ohh ask me why I don't have another car :gee:

I should also mention it's a 4.0 2WD

I am interested in seeing what other advice you get. I have never antiseized head bolts not have I put gasket sealer. Whether or not this is your problem or you have a problem with the block I don't know.

Any good ways to look for cracks without pulling the motor? I noticed my head crack while cleaning in with carb cleaner.

Here's a question for y'all, how many holes for coolant is the head gasket supposed to have? The gasket I replaced (which was itself a replacement) and the one I put in didn't have holes for the greater majority of the water ports in the head. I have matching holes in the head and block. I have almost no flow on the driver side. Is this how it is supposed to be?

Looks like my new thermostat may have been to blame it isn't opening, and it seems to have been forcing coolant in places it isn't supposed to be. I've been running it with the stat pulled out this morning, I still have a chuggy bad idle when "warmed up". My new gauge cluster is also not the best - The temp gauge sits at 100 when the car is of, and it goes to 260 when a digital thermometer in the radiator says coolant is 160.

SO time, to get some better reads on temperature and see what I can do about the chugging.

I'd pull the plugs out of 5 and 6 and see if they have evidence of coolant on them. I'd also go rent/barrow a cooling system pressure tester and pump the cooling system up and see if it maintains pressure. Also if you have coolant leaking into the cylinders you should have combustion gasses leaking into the cooling system. when it's cold, if you open up the radiator cap does it smell like exhaust?

Coolant is fine, I don't think I'm getting coolant in the combustion chambers anymore. Definitely need to pressure test, try and figure out whats going on with the cooling system, and why the idle isn't any good once warm