Is there a replacement head comparable to Alabama Cylinder Head?

[5-90]

The shop I work at can get a new casting from one of our suppliers. The heads come bare.

New casting to order, or NOS bare casting?

I've been under the impression that the only oufit casting heads anymore for the 242ci six was whoever is doing it for HESCO and Patriot - and only in aluminum. I'd be happy to be wrong (I'd also be happy to find out who that foundry is...) and it would also be good to hear if that was only for the 0331, or if it was for the 7120, 0630, and (maybe) 2686 as well...

 

[alex22]

New casting to order, or NOS bare casting?

I've been under the impression that the only oufit casting heads anymore for the 242ci six was whoever is doing it for HESCO and Patriot - and only in aluminum. I'd be happy to be wrong (I'd also be happy to find out who that foundry is...) and it would also be good to hear if that was only for the 0331, or if it was for the 7120, 0630, and (maybe) 2686 as well...

The heads are listed as 0331 replacement heads. I'm not sure who is actually casting them. The two that we got didn't have the usual "ACH" cast into them so I wouldn't call them alabama heads.
We purchased them from one of our suppliers "Liberty Engine Parts." They aren't as nice as the factory heads in terms of machine work, but they aren't cracked.

 

[RichP]

If they told you that, they are dead wrong. My 06 TJ 0331 head that I ordered from them had the coil rail mounts and was identical to the 0331 head on my 2000 XJ. I am very curious on what they thought was different about the two heads. If you are nervous about it then get one from an 03-05 TJ, but I know for a fact the two heads are interchangable.

Edit: Okay so I just contacted everdrive.com and spoke with a Josh at ext. 3160. (Sorry, but I am bored here at work and have nothing better to do) Anyways, he stated that whoever you spoke with was wrong. The 06 Head is a direct bolt in. He also stated he will take off $30 from their asking price. I kind of bitched at their $309 price. That is a little higher than when I bought mine. Now it is down to $279 if you contact him directly at his extension. You may even be able to talk it down a little more. In regards to the warranty, I was a little off. They have improved it since I purchased mine. Their new warranty is 3 years unlimited mileage on the head. For $279 and free shipping, I do not think you are going to get a better deal.

You have no shame

 

[bhicks]

hey guys.. sorry I was busy at a client all day today. Bhicks.. thank you for taking the time to call and negotiate the price on the everdrive head. I'll be ordering the head from them tomorrow.

Got out of work at the client's office tonight at 7pm, went to start the jeep and it sounded like I lost my muffler. Looked under the jeep and someone had stolen my catalytic converter.. Can't believe it.

I went to buy a car at a dealership this last weekend for the wife and when I went to pull it out of the lot for a test drive I realized it sounded terrible. I ended up checking underneath the car when we got back to see the cat converter had been cut off. Once the dealership realized what had happened they inspected the rest of their cars which was probably 200+. When I finally left they had already found over 50 that had the cats cut off and they hadn't gotten to over half of their cars. I ended up not buying the car. This seems to be a growing trend. I am a teacher and last year someone came through the teacher parking lot and took about of dozen of them. Luckily they left my Jeep alone.

 

[98NWCherokee]

I know this isn't directly related to Jeeps but I've definitely noticed a huge problem with cat thefts in Oregon. A co-worker had her cat stolen from our parking lot one day and then a couple days later I saw an ad on Craigslist for a guy selling multiple cats. He wanted to meet at an intersection in town to sell them. I promptly called the cops and they were VERY interested. The detective said he was going to call the ad and pose as a buyer and meet the person to arrest them.

 

[joe_peters]

I know this isn't directly related to Jeeps but I've definitely noticed a huge problem with cat thefts in Oregon. A co-worker had her cat stolen from our parking lot one day and then a couple days later I saw an ad on Craigslist for a guy selling multiple cats. He wanted to meet at an intersection in town to sell them. I promptly called the cops and they were VERY interested. The detective said he was going to call the ad and pose as a buyer and meet the person to arrest them.

Good Job, more people need to get involved.

How many people have seen scumbags lurking around parking lots and just kept walking while texting their friends instead of calling the police?

 

[Emerscape]

bhicks - did you have to resurface the cylinder head prior to installation?

 

[Emerscape]

ah I'm going to flip out. My mechanic called me tonight while he was working on my jeep. Everdrive sent a 7120 head instead of an 04' 0331 head. I can't freaking believe it. After the run around they gave me after I placed the order to now. I'm calling first thing in the morning to demand that they send me a newer 0331 next day... I've been without my jeep for a month now, its driving me crazy

 

[cher96]

I would do a search on Swapping a '96-'98 0630 Head onto your '99+ 4.0L

The '96-'98 HO Heads and the '91-'95 HO Heads have the highest Intake and Exhaust Port Airflows, especially at Lower Valve Lifts where it is most important, and are the best for Performance. The '96-'98 0630 Heads are almost Identical to the '91-'95s except that they don't have a Port for the Coolant Temperature Gauge Sending Unit.

The '99+ have smaller Exhaust Ports to produce a faster Warm Up of the Catalytic Converter and improve Emissions, but Performance also suffers because the Ports don't Flow as well as those of the 7120 and 0630 Castings.

The Manifolds are Interchangeable between all the 4.0L Heads. Example: I have a 2004 Intake Manifold on my '96 Head.

However, the '99 and earlier Blocks are not Interchangable with the 2000 and later Blocks. None of the 2000 Accessories will Bolt up to the '99 Block. The Water Pump is completely different.

That all being said,

91-95 242/4.0 Head Vin: S Block Casting: 405 Crank Casting: 453 Head Castings: 119 and 120
96-98 242/4.0 Head Vin: S Block Casting: 53020569 Crank Casting: 53020767 Head Casting: 00630

And they can be found at http://www.rebuilt-jeep-engines.com/jeep-cylinder-heads.html for only $186 fully Rebuilt.

Just an Idea.

Citations: http://hjeepxj0.tripod.com/id15.html

 

[winterbeater]

7120 is the better head. I picked up a 0630 to replace my cracked 0331 "when I get around toit". 7120 is just as good. Why do you want an 0331 with smaller exhaust ports? You will need the older style (non-cast iron exhaust manifold. And small straps to hold the coil rail if yours is a 2000/1.

 

[Emerscape]

I've done the research on the head but the principle of the matter is that everdrive shipped me the wrong head. If my existing exhaust manifold is already cracked then I'll go ahead and replace using an older manifold and keep the head, but otherwise I don't really want to spend another $300 to replace the existing manifold. The cheapest exhaust manifold I could find is $180 each at rock auto.

 

[cher96]

Rugged Ridge Stainless Steel Exhaust Manifold knock-off for around $130. They are now $189. I bought mine from iparts.com, however, they seem to be defunct now.

You can find one on Ebay. This Header is Awesome. I Wrapped (DEI Header Wrap) mine and Sprayed it with Sealer (DEI) before I installed it to keep down the Heat.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/91-9...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/91-9...rvr_idZQQsspagenameZRSSQ3aBQ3aSRCHQ3aUSQ3a101

Sorry, I seem not to be able to find iparts and their write up about this Header.

 

[Emerscape]

thanks I appreciate your help. I'm not trying to be lazy and did a bunch of research but I'm up to my eyes on work for this consulting project (36hrs in 2 days already) and just want to get an answer to my mechanic telling him what to do.

 

[cher96]

thanks I appreciate your help. I'm not trying to be lazy and did a bunch of research but I'm up to my eyes on work for this consulting project (36hrs in 2 days already) and just want to get an answer to my mechanic telling him what to do.

I wish you Success. Good Luck.

 

[Emerscape]

thanks again. While I agree that there are some performance gains to be had I'm going to give a call and see what everdrive will do for me. If they take some money off the head I bought I'll keep it and purchase the new headers, otherwise I'm going to make them ship me a 0331 off a late model wrangler or get my money back and have an alabama cylinder head sent to me. I'm just pissed because I dont have the time to be d*cking around calling these places while I'm at work

 

[Emerscape]

one last thing. Can someone please tell me exactly what I need to make this all work. From what I understand I need the older manifold, to fabricate the coil mounts (not sure where to attach) and there is something about a coolant sensor that needs to be blocked in the back. Can someone please provide me with some definitive answers, I'm exhausted.

Thanks so much for all your help it is greatly appreciated (and stopping me from completely abandoning my cherokee and going out to buy a used XC90)

 

[winterbeater]

Coil mounts attach to the valve cover bolts. Extra coolant sensor hole would be fixed with a common pipe plug. Not sure if 1/4, 3/8, but common. Hate to bring up more porblems, but I think the hardest on mine will be to go from the old model header to the exhaust pipe. There is a huge thread on this change to older heads.

 

[Emerscape]

thanks.. the more I think about it the more I'd rather just have the right head on there.

 

[winterbeater]

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=935856&highlight=0331+head All needed changes are covered.

 

[Emerscape]

hey guys. thanks for the input. Just wanted to update the thread. I've put a couple thousand on the engine with the new head and things seem to be good (knock on wood). I am noticing that at cold startup, I'm getting some chattering/piston slap that goes away once the engine starts to warm up. Should I be concerned? Also I'm getting ready to change my oil in the next month (we only drive 10-12k a year) and wondering if I should switch to a different weight for the winter. We live in Boston but travel to either New Hampshire or Maine during the weekends to go skiing in the winter. Given the much colder temps up north, would it be better to run a different oil/weight?

Thanks!