4.0 0331 Head Swap '00 XJ Sport

[Chrisp929]

AWESOME Writeup..

But i have to take issue with your comments about the coolant looking like it only is on the top half of the engine. Um, what ?

You understand engine oil travels thru passages all thru the engine, mixing constanly? There aren't two seperate reservoirs for engine oil. If you have coolant up top, its in the oil everywhere else man.. You may not see it, but its there ..

Im sure im just misunderstanding you.. Anyway good luck and keep up the awesome work !

 

[ihscoutlover]

Head bolts going in:

Exhaust manifold gasket also going in, and manifold studs put in.

Still another, exhaust manifold nuts and center bolt holding exhaust manifold in position, just about ready for intake manifold to go back in:

 

[ihscoutlover]

Intake manifold gasket surface cleaned up, ready to be put back into position:

Intake partially back into position:

Another shot of intake, in position and torqued down. Pushrods also going in:

 

[ihscoutlover]

Fuel line being hooked back up:

Another view of the hookups:

Rocker arms back in place, as well as the power steering pump:

New reusable valve cover gasket in position:

 

[ihscoutlover]

Valve cover in position, replaced the rear CCV unit with a new stealership one:

Another view, hooked up injector connectors:

Rerouting the kickdown and throttle linkages, and adding the missing bolt that was found during disassembly back to the throttle bracket, also replaced both heater hose lines, factory originals were still on this Jeep:

 

[ihscoutlover]

More connections being hooked back up, drive belt also put back on, actually was done in the previous picture:

Still more, broken temp sending unit also was replaced and hooked back up, and lower airbox assembly is bolted back in:

Finally all the parts are back where they go, and no leftovers. Oil was being drained, and coolant was being added:

 

[ihscoutlover]

Sorry for not posting a few less individual pictures, and doing what I did towards the end of this thread. I hope you all got something out of what I found and how I did it. I did have to go to Sears and get a set of tools for the head bolts, as I didnt have a tool to handle the 12 point stars that both the head bolts and the two exhaust studs required to be pulled out. The set cost me an additional $24, as I had some gift cards to use that I used, which the set by itself was $60. This whole process for me from start to finish took about 5 days to complete. I did it in a carport with an attached garage, which allowed me to pull tools as needed and lay all the parts removed off to the side so that I could be very methodical taking apart and putting back together. I am almost through the first tank of gas since the swap. I have probably logged about 300 miles so far with no issues. Oil and filter might get changed Friday or Saturday, depending on weather. I had a lot of learning along the way, with my father helping me, having done a total rebuild on an engine in the driveway of his fathers place almost 50 years prior in a January, with near below zero temps. The whole project actually cost about $800 in parts. I still have to tally the receipts as to exact cost. This saved me almost $800 just in labor. You need to take your time, be patient and clean the hell out of stuff. I went through a box of the blue mechanic gloves and a 25 pack of red shop towels. The whole project if I did it again should only take me maybe 3 days, since I was having to travel 7 miles from home to my parents house where the repairs were going on. I learned a great deal from here and from several of the searches prior to taking on this project. Thanks to all who provided input. A big thanks to my wife Melissa for taking the pictures and helping where I needed it, including helping me and my father take out the old head and put the new one into place. My parents for watching my kiddos while the repairs were being done. My little sister for also helping with watching the kids. And to a couple others who will remain nameless for helping with advice and parts inputs.

Jeff

 

[ihscoutlover]

AWESOME Writeup..

But i have to take issue with your comments about the coolant looking like it only is on the top half of the engine. Um, what ?

You understand engine oil travels thru passages all thru the engine, mixing constanly? There aren't two seperate reservoirs for engine oil. If you have coolant up top, its in the oil everywhere else man.. You may not see it, but its there ..

Im sure im just misunderstanding you.. Anyway good luck and keep up the awesome work !

Yes I do know how the oil system works. I changed the oil prior to startup, and will change it again this Friday or Saturday, weather permitting. While I had the milkshake up top, the oil in the pan was still clean as compared to what was found on top. I should get the rest of the crap out with this next oil change, which should yield me better on potential bearing damage. I will ask if any research has been done on the Lucas oil stabilizer, as that was in the oil change that I drained out, and since that stuff thickens the oil some, it also stays on the metal parts a bit longer than just the oil does by itself. Just an observation I've noticed from my experience.

Jeff

 

[Redsnake]

Great write-up and THANKS for taking the time to take pics as well!!

I had the head on my '01 XJ replaced at a local shop (he's very good and very honest... hard to find in a mechanic) as I didn't have the time to try it myself. Most work done on my autos are done by me... but this time he did the work.

Of course it's a possibility that damage was done to your engine bearings, but it could also be you caught it in time and not too worry. The head on my '01 was cracked and I had the 'missing coolant' issues for about 1-2 months before I finally figured out it was the head. I put about 5000+ miles on my rig during that time and I've put another 20K miles on her sine the head change. Nothing was done to the bottom end of my rig so only time will tell if damage was one to my bearings. My Oil pressure is w/in spec and I don't notice any knocking as of yet... but we shall see. Thanks again for taking the time to share.

 

[ihscoutlover]

Oh my god dude, that valve cover looks BAD. I thought mine was bad with a slight milkshake. Was your oil pressure within the specs? Personally, i'd be concerned with that.

Oh, and i'm STILL waiting for my head to ship in.

I also found it much easier to remove the radiator, but obviously, it isn't necessary.

Oil pressure and other items were in order and working prior to swapping the heads. I am sorry to hear about your head delay. I went with Clearwater Cylinder Heads. Google them and they will hook you up. So far all is well, just checked my mixed gas mileage and I am at about 16mpg mixed on this last tank. I am waiting to do a road test to Wichita, then I can see just what the empty highway mpgs are at. Was at 20 when I first got it. As for the valve cover, I am sure my leak was getting progressively worse, I had three long trips on this issue, with the last one being the last straw to determining where my coolant was going. Mine is now on the mend hopefully, and I doubt there was any damage to the bearings. Most have eluded to the fact that if it was up on the top of the engine, it was in the oil and circulating around. I had some Lucas in with the previous oil change and that along with the Rotella might have actually helped keep a film of oil on the bearing areas, keeping the coolant off. My mechanic indicated that if the oil was starting to contaminate, it would go over to the milkshake look almost instantly. It had not at the time of the swap, but I went ahead and changed out that oil anyways, so that I can track if I am still having issues. 400+miles on it so far and its not using any coolant so far, oil pressure is where it has always been since I have had it, and all other functions other than fuel mileage are where they should be. Time will now be the issue, as well as any gasket leaks that might develop over the course of a few hundred thousand more miles hopefully. By this time next year I should have this bastage lifted to clear the 30s on it right now, but I may have to do a cheapo BB to keep the rubbing at full compression down.

Jeff

 

[ihscoutlover]

1500+/- miles so far and all appears well. Took a trip to Wichita on Tuesday, towed a full size pickup truck bed/turned trailer for about half that, no real issues so far. I'll keep you all posted on any issues that develop, or others of importance to this thread, good as well as bad.

 

[Kingkong0192]

Glad to hear yours is still running strong.

Got my head yesterday at like 4pm, and already have it back on and running. Wasn't bad at all actually.

So far so good. Just topped off my coolant, and i'm hoping and praying that my coolant and oil stop partying with each other.

 

[markjrs3]

Question: you didn't replace the dowels for the intake manifold alignment? I thought those were necessary, I'm literally stuck right now because mine also didn't come with them.

Edit: words

 

[ihscoutlover]

I ended up using some wooden dowels that I modified to work. Those were used just to line it up for the bolts, I used the bolts to do the rest. I had to pull the intake last month to replace the exhaust and precats, and had to pull the intake again to access the bolts since some douche jacked up my exhaust and made things fun for me. Also I am pleased to report that the XJ is at close to 187k and no issues to date. I have been using a tad bit of coolant, but I have noticed a few leaky hose clamps and have since tightened them and no other issues. Oil and coolant aren't playing with each other either. Temps are good even with the A/C on and the outside ambient air temps were over 100*. Still haven't hit the 18 or 19mpg quite yet, but getting ready to take care of that here shortly.

Jeff

 

[00jeepjeep]

could you fix the pictures? says theve been deleated

 

[00jeepjeep]

wow first time ive ever posted on this forum. i feel reborn

 

[ihscoutlover]

I will try and fix the issue. Photobucket is acting up. I will try and see if I can get them to load onto here correctly.

Jeff

 

[winterbeater]

Looking forward to your pics fix. Getting ready for head job myself.

 

[winterbeater]

Another plea to fix the photobucket links.

 

[markjrs3]

You started in on yours yet? I finished mine up a couple of weeks ago. Just go with the flow.