1990WillyVilleXJ

I recently bought a 2000 xj that has a "bad head gasket". I have been doing a little reading on the web and have found out that this year of the 4.0 has had some head issues. Cracking on the #3 cylinder from '97-'00 4.0's is what I found and mine seems to have the symptoms of that.. So instead of getting another one of the same head could I just use one off an earlier H.O motor? I have a good complete '96 head on my bench, could I use that on my 2000? I am aware the coil pack mounting brackets are not on the '96. I have looked up the gasket kits and the one for the '96 is $99 and the one for the '00 is $150 and different part numbers, not sure what the difference is. Im hoping maybe someone has done this or has thought of it and figured out it wont work. Anyway, any help would be awesome and very much appreciated. Thanks.

HudsonN

Yes. You can use your 96 head on your 00.

00 and 01s have the 0331 head casting which are prone to cracking. Clearwater cylinder head and another company make a reinforced 0331 that most end up buying, but it's not worth it for you if you already have a 96 head.

They normally crack before the 3rd and 4th cylinder.

As you already stated one of the differences is the coil pack. You can make your own mount - that's easy enough.

However, one thing you need to take into consideration is the intake manifold. In late 99 and for the rest of the 00s and 01s they used a different intake to increase horsepower as they decreased either the size of the intake or exhaust port (i can't remember which.)

You're going to need to get an intake manifold for a 96 XJ to bolt to that head. I think the exhaust manifold is the same but do some research as i can't say for sure if that changed too, although i don't think it did. Someone else might chime in about that.

1990WillyVilleXJ

Ok cool, I'll do some reading before I continue with it. There is a pick-n-pull right down the street so getting one should be easy. I haven't taken it apart yet but when I do I can compare the heads, maybe that will tell the difference on intake or exhaust if I can't find it. Thanks for your help

sthon

No. use the 99+ intake. It'll bolt up and give you a few extra ponies on that 96 head.

1990WillyVilleXJ

I was just talking to a friend of mine about that but he wasn't 100% sure on it. So I'm assuming I will need the 99+ head gasket kit...?

sthon

Have links to the kits? Without knowing the differences I would lean towards the 96 kit.

1990WillyVilleXJ

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/se...2000&make=Jeep that's the '00

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/se...kee&vi=1180369 that's the '96

The 96 is much cheaper (which I like) but I'm not see a difference.

1990WillyVilleXJ

I just took a few screen shots and realized the intake manifold and thermostat housing gaskets are different. If I use the '00 intake I should us the '00 kit.. Is my thinking..

CCKen

Either kit will work kit but toss the exhaust/intake gasket away and buy a 1996-1999 exhaust/intake gasket from the dealer, part number 53010238. The openings for the exhaust and intake ports on the OEM gasket are perfect register. I bought a Felpro gasket for my '99 and the exhaust port openings were way off so out it went (can't return it if the box is opened).

Note the difference in the exhaust openings in the illustrations you posted. The 2000 exhaust ports are much smaller than the 1999 ports (the intake openings are the same).

You want to accomodate the 0630 head exhaust openings so use the 1996 thru 1999 Mopar gasket. If you used a 2000 gasket it would choke down the exhaust flow.

1990WillyVilleXJ

Ok cool. I'll do that. I'll keep you guys posted on the progress. Thanks for the help.

CCKen

Additional thoughts:

You could buy the parts seperately instead of in a kit. For example: you could get a Victor Reinz head gasket and new head bolts from Rockauto .com, the rocker cover gasket kit (Felpro) from advance, O'reilly, etc., as well as the T-Start gasket. Get a new thermostat from the dealer (195*), OEM part number 52028186. You can get the T-Stat housing gasket from the dealer as well, OEM part number 53020547AB.

Exhaust manifold bolts can be purchased at a hardware store that carries a good selection of bolts. Just match up one of your bolts to the store's bolts. Get SAE Grade 8 bolts.

84zmyfavorite

Awww,..but theres much More. Your 2000 has coil rail that is bolted to the Head via bosses in the cylinder head. Some people make brackets that bolt from valve cover bolt holes and then go to the coil rail, Kind of "Holding" the rail in place. I dont care for this idea, and have drilled and tapped holes in the cylinder head for the original bolts to thread into,..Well you will need to get longer bolts.(You dont need to worry about hitting a coolant passage or anything important like that, whats right behind the coil rail bolts are the cylinder head bolt holes, and thats only if you drill to far). ALSO, pre 1996 cylnder heads(7120 head-1991-1995) will Not have the Dowel pin (Alignment)Holes, like your 2000 block/cylinder head has. A Dremel works very well to grind away whats needed, which isnt very much. I wish I could post pics of my 2000 Desert Sand Cherokees 0331 Cracked cylinder head, and the 1992 cylinder head I have ported(nearly 35 hours total!) drilled/tapped, etc that Im replacing it with. Its exactly what Youre doing.

CCKen

I think the OP wants to use a '96 0630 head which has the two receiver holes for the dowls on the block deck.

I think Salad has a pic of the coil rail mounting. I personally wouldn't drill holes in the head to mount the coil rail, but that's me.

1990WillyVilleXJ

Ya drilling into the head is sketchy to me, I figured I'd just make something when i get to that point. I can see how bolting it to the valve cover wouldn't last long. Ill have to see if the 96 head has the hole for the alignment pin tm, if not its not a big deal. I agree with getting the parts separately instead of a kit, seems like a better way to go.

Turbo X_J

It's a waste of time to port a head for a motor that will never see past 5k.