So I have leaky plugs. Two of the four are bad and start to steam when idling. I have the brass replacements and tried to do the job Saturday. Well I got cold feet and instead stuck jb weld on the leaky ones for the time being. My exhaust manifold is just so rusted, and since I have a 2000 the double cats are rusted on bad too. I don't have the means to deal with a broken bolt in the head or anything but I need to get this done. Should I just cave and send it to a shop? Also, I have the 0331 head and was gonna swap it in the summer. Do you think the plugs will hold out till then? Cause I could just do everything in the summer and have the time to deal with anything that goes wrong. I just don't have the time now If the jeep goes down.

 

I understand removal of parts in delicate condition can be daunting and restrictive.
Will the JB last? It's a crap shoot, a spin of the roulet wheel, a gamble. It will fail, just when is the question. So you have to plan for when it does. Will you shut it down in time to save your 331 head? Have a plan for the worse. Do you have AAA? You just know when bad weather comes, fate will tempt the old plug to fail. I do wish you the best of luck and hope it makes it till spring so you have the most convenient time to do the whole job. But you need a plan for when the jeep goes down at a non convenient time or you have to prepare a fresh exhaust and then pull the system and do the whole job. Sorry, no quick fixes with reliability. You need to build a parts pile now to prepare.

 

the jb weld was just a last ditch effort, i didnt think it will last. and yeah i know it will give out at the worst possible time. i think what i will do is just coat those bolts for the next week in pb blaster and try to tackle it this weekend. just gotta get the courage to go after those bolts. thank you for the advice. just curious. do the manifold bolts break easily?

 

Yes the manifold bolts come out easy. Even on rusted out engines.

I know this because I sell manifolds and I took them out of scores of jeeps in the junkyards

 

What's your plan for the core plugs on the rear of the block & cylinder head? If one is crusty, they all are.

 

well in that case I guess ill go for it then. this weekend ill tackle the job

 

i wasn't going to touch that one mainly cause i cant pull the engine to get to it.

 

i also thought about replacing the manifold while im in there. Ive read that the ebay headers arent too bad. I have a 2000 so I dont have many options. this one doesnt seem too bad:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/400369205658?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

PB Blaster is very good. Kroil is much better.

Best of all is a 50/50 mix of acetone and ATF.

 

X2 on the Kroil....it seems to work better than most...

 

Bought some crc freeze off. Also Im gonna make that atf and acetone mix. I'm gonna soak the hell outta those bolts all week

 

I use an old medicine dropper bottle. Just mix enough for the small bottle, and use the dropper to apply it. You do need to shake it well before use, because it separates.

 

So I never got around to doing the freeze plugs. It's just too damn cold and I need the jeep to go back to school so I can't afford to tear into it and break anything. I know that stop leak isn't a permanent solution and Is bad stuff but I gotta make it till spring before I have a chance to fix anything. If I use the stop leak I will flush the cooling system in the spring as I need a new radiator too. I also heard of black pepper doing the trick to small leaks. Right now everything is a small weep and I only gotta refill the overflow bottle every two weeks. I just gotta get to March before I can tear into it.

 

Are you sure ALL of the missing coolant is leaking out of the freeze plugs? You may want to run an engine oil analysis just to be sure.

 

Take it some place and have it repaired properly. This things gonna pop at the worst possible time, guaranteed, then you will be stranded.