Spoonman

Hi guys, It's been a while since I have really been on here but I have a few questions for you if you could help.

Quick reminder that I have a '99 Cherokee with the 4.0L engine.

I have had the jeep for a while but have not done any work to it.
I realized that the head gasket must be blown ir the head cracked when I looked into the 3rd and 4th cylinders and seen that they were full of coolant.

Yesterday I decided to mess with it and start working on getting the head off.I ended up pulling more stuff off of it than I thought I might need to but either way I got it stripped down. I ran out of day light but managed to get it down to where I just cracked all of the head bolts loose.Later today I will try to finish pulling the head off of the engine.

Once I pulled the valve cover I could see the effects of the almost 200k miles on the jeep. There is heavy build up of hardened sludge which basically looks like fine granules of ash-fault which from what I have read is probably partially due to the high mileage but probably more due to poor oil change and maintenance intervals.Not good .If it is like that in the head then probably the same in the lower end of the engine.

Any ways that's just a little back ground so you know where I am at and what I am dealing with.
My questions:

1. Can the cam be removed from the engine while still in the jeep?
2. What is the best way to remove the injectors from the intake? I have the intake off of the engine already and the fuel rail is removed from the intake already but those injectors are really in there!
3. Can the oil pan be removed with the engine in the jeep?
4. Should I remove the rocker arms and push rods before removing the head from the engine?

My plans have changed a little in light of what I have seen so far on this thing.I was originally hoping I could just do a quick gasket change but I now realize I will need to go a bit further.Once I get the head off and get a look at the cylinders things might get a bit uglier too.I was hoping I wouldn't have to do an entire engine rebuild but it might have to happen,time will tell I guess.

• I am going to have the head worked over at my local NAPA shop.

• I plan to pull the oil pan and maybe change the oil pump etc out due to the large amount of sludge build up and high mileage.

• I want to clean the intake manifold and throttle body. I would like to fine a place local that can ultrasonically clean them but that might not happen.

• Of course I will clean all the other little things like valve cover etc and all the regular maintenance stuff like new oil,filters etc etc.

I appreciate any help with the 4 above questions and any other input on my situation.

Thanks

freegdr

yes-remove clips twist and pull-yes-yes

Spoonman

Haha I assume that you mean the injectors.I was just a bit worried I was going to break them. Before I removed the intake I pretty much had my feet on the engine while I was pulling on them suckers and they are still in the intake lol..Ill keep working on them because I want to clean them too . Thanks

FL Denmark

spray a little lubricate on the injectors where they sit in the intake manifold.
and then turns them, so the lubricate gets worked down.
its the o-ring being dry that holds them in

then they should come out fairly easy.



good luck on the job.

Spoonman

Ok well I got the head off today.Its looking bleak at this point.I will need to get prices for a new head and I think the engine will need to be removed and rebuilt.
I haven't started on the lower end of the engine but given the condition of the top end I really don't need to get into the lower end at this point to know what it looks like because I have a pretty good idea.

I found that I have a 0630 head and that it is cracked pretty badly as seen in the pic.( at least I don't have to waste any money having the head cleaned and magnafluxed ) The other pic I posted clearly is the cylinders.It shows the rust and condition of the cylinders pretty well.The 4th,5th and 6th cylinders are full of coolant.I think that some of the coolant in the 6th cylinder leaked in when I pulled the head since I didn't drain the coolant system yet but the rust has obviously been there before I began the work so it too was taking on coolant.No wonder this thing wouldn't start lol
The picture also shows the condition of the head gasket it self.You can see the damage between the 3rd and 4th cylinders but there are other smaller areas of the gasket that have been eaten away that you cant really see in the picture.

Surprisingly none of the cylinders have much of a ridge in them and aside from the rust they seem to be in really good condition, cosmetically any way.

I have to decide if I want to rebuild this engine or replace it with a crate or used engine. I'm not real thrilled with the idea of getting a used engine simply because I don't want to end up doing all this work again, but I guess I'll have to get prices on all my options before deciding.

As a side note about my original post, thanks for the tips on removing the injectors from the intake manifold. I will probably mess with that this week and try to get them out.If I keep the jeep and rebuild or replace the engine I may look into doing the injector swap.

You cant really see in the pics but looks like I will have some wiring to do once I get the engine fixed since some stupid animal decided to eat parts of my wiring harness for lunch at some point lol , time to get the gun out I guess.

Any tips,comments,advice or suggestions on where to get good replacement parts etc is very welcome.Thanks in advance.

I hope the pics arent too big for the forum.

4.slow95

you have to disconnect the trackbar i believeto remove the oil pan. and i know how this all is. my last jeep was like this. and it finally blew. it had 244k on it. it was so full of crud i cant believe it ran. my latest jeep has 352k on it and is clean as a whistle somehow. runs like a champ and i love it. anyways im in the process ofrebuilding my last motor into a 4.7 stroker monster of a motor. keep us posted on the build

Spoonman

Thanks for the reply.I kind of expected some build up given the fact that this jeep has just about 200k on the clock so I'm not really that shocked.I was hoping to get lucky though and just have to do the HG lol.I knew there was a reason I don't gamble though .

I think the 4.7l stroker build would be over kill for me but do you have any comparisons as for as stock build prices and the stroker build prices? I mean if cost is close then might as well beast it out right lol.

I will keep you guys posted of my progress for sure.

Spoonman

Can somebody please remind me of the name, web address and or number of the place which sells the upgraded heads for the 4.0L engines.I have seen it mentioned here before but unable to find the posts with the information.
Thanks