68Datsun510

About the cracking head issues? Its in fact a coil on plug head, it has 179,xxx miles on it, wondering if i should avoid it, avoid distributorless altogether, etc.

Newbie in need of advice!

Thanks!

mehoff_400

me personally i wouldn't worry about it... as long as you keep up on your maintenance and make sure your cooling system is working. with my cherokee at 150,000 miles i just replace everything in the cooling system to know i have everything at 100%. and if it does crack and you catch it early enough its about 300+ bucks to fix it yourself.

68Datsun510

So there are no other annoying "issues" with the distributorless system? Randomly failing coil packs, etc, i'm a fan of old fashioned distributors myself but if theres nothing to really stress about thats reassuring. =)

jay_sco

I think the '00 also has the low pinion axles. Don't know much about them other than some try to avoid them. Something about reverse cut gears and slightly less clearance? I'm sure someone that knows more than myself can elaborate.

Basshark7

The 2000 does have the low pinion Dana 30. As far as the 0331 head goes, I think the people who end up having a cracked head are the ones who use their XJ primarily offroad where you can find your self bouncing the rev limiter, or drive it on the street like a race car. My 2000 probably sees 99.8% driving on asphalt, maintained gravel/dirt roads and I drive it like a truck most of the time. My drive line (198,XXX miles) and engine, except A/C (leak?, the compressor is cycling), still runs as smooth as the day it rolled off the production line.

68Datsun510

Well, my work schedule doesnt play nice this week, wont even be able to go look until saturday at the soonest, so, it will most likely be sold. Still seeking a 97-99 primarily =)

Thanks all!

sandblaster87

My '01 had a low pinion, wasn't too bad, but now has an HP30, no problems with my head as of today, but a new head is on my list of to do's. & I actually like my coil packs. Couldn't be happier with my '01


Has to be the dumbest thing I've seen in awhile...Pretty sure you get head cracking problems from over heating the head?...not bouncing the rev limiter..

VTJeep

Easy now.

Rogue4x4

The problem with the 0331 head isn't due to overheating only. Overheating is definitely a contributor, but the 0331 head has known bad weak spots in the casting...meaning they can crack whenever they damn well please. It's a crap shoot.

andrewmp6

If the jeep is cheap enough and you have the time and money to replace the head if/when it fails then buy it.If its going to be a daily driver its fine if you want a off roader i would look at a 99 or older.It has a low pinion dana 30 lifting it high can cause problems,The headers for the 00 are pricey vs the older years.

Basshark7

Hi Sandblaster, high revs and slow speed = minimal airflow over the radiator = higher coolant temperatures = higher engine heat. My apologies for not making that clearer in my first post.

thebyus

I'm just about to turn over 200K on my '01 with the original 0331 head. It was a DD for about 10 years with 35's, and now I've loaded it down with armor and take it off road with guys with 37+" tires all the time (I'm still running open diffs, too ) plus I drive mine to the trail, usually at about 80+MPH. No head problems.

As has been said, keep up on your maintenance and check it regularly.

The worst part of about the coil pack is that if you want to compression test the cylinders, you basically have to remove the A/C compressor to get to the front two. (Of course, my compressor blew up a couple months ago, so that is no longer a problem )

Fred/N0AZZ

This isn't an issue either if the cooling system is in good shape and you know to drive.

thebyus

Mine runs about 30-40 degrees cooler crawling along at walking speed in 4lo than on highway with air blowing over it.

Rogue4x4

Not necessarily true with the 0331 head. Plenty of people will say "never had an issue"...plenty others will tell you "wasn't an issue until I overheated"...and still plenty more that will tell you "everything was fine, and then it wasn't"...Again, it's a crap shoot