MattAlive

Hi all, I'm new to the forum, and now I've got a big/expensive problem on my hands. I purchased my 2000 XJ Sport 3 months ago. 110,000 miles. Everything looked great when I bought it. I took it into the shop about a month ago with a low oil pressure issue. Check gauges light would come on at idle. Engine NEVER ran odd, always ran great. Took it to a very reputable shop. They suggested first trying oil pressure sensor replacement and also oil additive with an oil change. This improved my oil pressure. Not 100%, but way better. I put 2,000 miles on since then, even a 3 hour road trip. Jeep ran beautifully, no noises, no leaks, nothing. Today my engine overheated and the coolant reservoir overflowed. Back to the shop. There is oil in the coolant. My worst fear was head gasket. The shop is suggesting a whole new engine, to essentially cover their bases under a full warranty in case anything else should happen. My brother who is an ASE mechanic and Jeeper in Arizona is very confident I should only need a head gasket replacement, have the head sent out to be machined and do coolant/radiator flush and fill. He believes there was a small HG leak, and when they improved my oil pressure this made the leak worse. He thinks with my low mileage and no reported running issues that there should be nothing wrong with the bottom end of the engine, only top end. Should I really consider a used engine with more miles than my current one, or spend 1200-1400 and do the head work? I have no garage of my own, and do not feel comfortable tackling the HG myself. Any input appreciated, I really don't want to lose this awesome Jeep, especially if it's just the head gasket. Thanks in advance for any input.

fishtaconc

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/00-...erview-118922/

Something that should be looked at being its a 2000.

Cherockee

X2^ you've got a cracked head and now probably a bad motor because the coolant will take out the bearings in a hurry.

wahoo

My buddy overheated his 2000 cherokee and had antifreeze in his oil and he just replaced the head gasket, even though I told him to have his head checked he did'nt and he ended up having a cracked head. He went to advance auto and got a remanufactured head for 375.00 and we put it on with new gaskets and has not had any problem with it at all. The oil pressure on his runs at 50 psi at highway speeds and 25-30 at idle and he drove it with a cracked head for a while.

CHRONIC_2001_XJ

I had similar problems with my coolant overflowing. I thought it was a head gasket.....although I had no oil in the coolant. I changed my thermostat, did a coolant flush and then finally gave up and took it in and it ended up being a faulty radiator cap. I got lucky.

I trick I learned to see if its the head gasket is to let your engine warm up and pop the hood. Take a can of starter fluid and spray it over the top of your engine. Not directly on it but mist it over the head......if your idle changes just a "**** hair" (thats what I was told) then its probably your head gasket cause its allowing that starter fluid to get sucked into the heads.

I'd say replace the gasket and keep'r runnin!

tjwalker

Agreed. This very possibly is a cracked head.

The 00-01 came from the factory with the 0331 head that has a KNOWN casting defect between cylinders 3-4. Are you using any coolant? The #1 symptom of a cracked 0331 head is "unexplained coolant loss".

Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel and schpiel out what to look for and what your options are and how to test to see if you are a new member of the "cracked 0331 head club", read this thread.

http://www.jeepsunlimited.com/forums...d.php?t=391831

MattAlive

Thanks for all the info! I ended up going to 3 different shops. Shop #1 recommended new engine. It seems they didn't want to deal with the work of a head gasket if the problem turned out to be something worse. I really doubted that I needed a whole new engine. Shop #2 was PepBoys. They quoted me at $1900 just to do the head gasket! Finally I found a reputable shop my buddy goes to. They were going to replace head gasket and all the fixins for $1400. When they sent the head out to be checked, they found a crack between cylinders 3 and 4. So I'm picking my jeep up wednesday, and after $2,000 I they will have done brand new head, head gasket, valve job, spark plugs, thermostat, oil change and complete coolant system flush. I just hope everything is fixed now, and that this also explains my previous low oil pressure issue...

rockeyallen

Yeah coolant isn't all that great for oil pressure. Looks like ya found the problem and fixing it right nuff said

EastBeast

I hope it all works out for you. For that kind of money you could have replaced the whole engine though.

Cherockee

Doubtful... unlikely. The motor alone would be almost $2K and then you'd still have fluids, labor, and probably a few other things to service while it's apart. Unless you get a salvage motor, but then you never know what you might end up with.

Depending on how much it was driven with the bad head the OP may still need to do a new motor... eventually

tjwalker

Let us know how the repair works out for you. I'd perform at least one more oil change and maybe two without much time driving in between. There is almost assuredly some traces of coolant left in that oil; one oil change won't be sufficient to rid the crankcase and oil of it. Oil is cheap; you put $2k into it, get another 12 quarts of oil and 2 filters.

huntingman2706217

Blown head gasket or cracked head means get a rebuilt or new motor on these I6's... From a 02 1/2+ grand cherokee... Ive seen way to many people sink all this money in a head gasket and head rebuild and 2k later drop a main bearing... The first shop u should have went with bud...

Firestorm500

The initial low oil pressure issue was your first warning that the engine was just about toast.

There was already coolant in the oil and the bearings were already being shredded.

You probably should have either pulled the engine, rebuilt it, and threw away the 0331 head and bought a new design head.

Or sold the Jeep and walked away.

I'd be very surprised if your lower end holds up for very long. But for your sake, I hope it does.

MattAlive

Well, I didn't get my Jeep back today. The machine shop is still waiting on the new head. I spoke with the head mechanic today about my concerns of low oil pressure and coolant ruining my bottom end. He said he was not worried about it because they found no coolant in my engine, that the oil was clean and therefore I should not have to worry about it destroying my bearings. After reading many threads and speaking with many mechanics and jeepers on the issue, I think my only option is to pick up my jeep tomorrow and see where the oil pressure is at once I hit running temp. If it's still low, I'm sadly going to have to walk away from my jeep, I can't afford any more work, I'm not a very seasoned mechanic and I don't have the garage/tools/time/money to keep this up. I'll post again when I get my jeep back.

huntingman2706217

if it does blow... PM me first to buy it... lol... ill be in MN come June for my sisters wedding... lol... if it has low pressure it could mean other things so dont go just off that... drive it till it blows ya know...