So I bought this jeep for $700.

It ran it was cheap so I figured this will be fun. Since I intended for this to be a cool project and learn a thing or two about vehicles and repair work I got exactly what I wanted at a price I didn't mind paying. I knew there was going to be issues.

Once I got it home I realized it had some over heating issues. Didn't seem to be a problem during my short test drive and short drive home after the initial purchase. When I looked around I noticed a lot of the main ground and power cables were corroded and one ground (battery to motor) was completely gone.




[I]I replaced all the ground and main power cables with these.Welding wire, with ring terminals crimped and soldered.[I]





[I]I decided I check and change the thermostat since it's cheap and easy and see if that changes anything about the overheating issue.So this was trying to remove the thermostat from the housing. You'll notice what my inexperienced self would consider to be entirely to much RTV. The thermostat look like it could have been fairly new but i replaced it anyway and cleaned up the housing with a brass brush on the end of a cordless drill and put it back together with a gasket.[I]

After this there was no change in the overheating issue. At this point I noticed that my heat didn't work and I had an excessive amount of white smoke coming out my tailpipe. Figuring it was a head gasket problem I dove right into it.




Picture so I remember what it looked like



Started on the manifold side of the bay and removed everything.



Didn't take a pics of the other side but I pulled out all the riser arms and bridges and removed the push rods. I set them up in boxes so I could put them back in the same order.



Head removed. Lots of burnt coolant. I only have a short video but i got this very clean using a brush brush and brake clean and some elbow grease. I also turned the cam from the pulley and cleaned the top of each cylinder. I only have a short video of the finished product all cleaned up no pic.



Head completely disassembled and cleaned. New stem seals, valves cleaned and lapped back in. Springs put back in place.



At this point I also replaced all 12 lifters. Several of the original lifters looked a little dished. So I figured since replacements weren't all that expensive why not. Yay Beer!

I have Installed the push rods and the riser arms and bridges. This is where I have concerns. It is my understanding that these are suppose to sit very solid inside the engine. as in I shouldn't be able to move it around with my hand. Despite the bolts being tightened correctly I have a decent amount of movement. Is this perhaps due to the lifters being new and not yet pumped with oil?

no pics of it's current state and I'm about to head into work so will need to wait on adding those to the thread. Thanks for looking!

Edit/Update: Well last night I finished the reassembly and started the vehicle. Boy what a great feeling! Before starting it, I pulled the fuel pump relay and turned the ignition a few times to let the motor get some oil flowing through. Put the relay back in and she started fairly quickly and smooth. No strange sounds. Well, except for the ridiculously loud belt squeal. I'm pretty sure the belt just needs to be tightened a bunch. Also during assembly I accidentally broke off the little plastic hose barb just below the radiator cap. This hose runs from there to the expansion tank for the coolant. It's my understanding that this hose simply takes the excess coolant from the radiator and dumps the overflow into the tank. It's my understanding that years ago vehicles didn't even have an expansion tank and the overflow coolant just got pissed all over the ground. Is that the case here? If so can I just do that and put a second battery where the coolant expansion tank is to run a power inverter or a winch off of?

 

I have Installed the push rods and the riser arms and bridges. This is where I have concerns. It is my understanding that these are suppose to sit very solid inside the engine. as in I shouldn't be able to move it around with my hand. Despite the bolts being tightened correctly I have a decent amount of movement. Is this perhaps due to the lifters being new and not yet pumped with oil?


Yes, more than likely.


I hope you put lots of break in lube on the face of each lifter.

 

I used Lucas' Assembly Lube on everything as it went back together.

 

I would have the head checked by a machine shop before putting it back on. It would be a bummer to put it all back together only to find the head is cracked.

 

unfortunately from the sounds of it he is far beyond this step. basically no matter what if a cylinder head is removed (especially from an overheat condition) it goes to the machine shop for confirmation. even if it isn't cracked there is a chance it is warped and needs milled back to true.

of course i see an opportunity to do A LOT of milling, bigger valves, new guides, seals and of course some port work.

 

This is gonna be a practice run for next weekends head removal due to a '0331' cracking.

Should have thrown it at a machine shop for a quick once-over at least...

 

lifters have some spring pressure right? after running and then shut down, and oil pressure dissappears do the lifters now provide more pressure than just the springs? does the oil leak out, i think so.

 

lifters "pumping up". that is what you're looking for. this is why it is imperative to use a solid lifter when determining pushrod length (if necessary), even on hydraulic lift engines. the solid lifter imitates a hydraulic lifter that is pumped up. an unprimed lifter can produce a loose pushrod if the valve is closed and the lifter is at rest. there is a tolerance in hydraulic valvetrains known as preload but that's not applicable to this situation.

prime the engine by turning it over without firing it. once you get oil pressure, give it back the ability to live and let it go. start filling fluids and checking for leaks.

 

This crack was not found until after the head was resurfaced at the machine shop.

 

He has a 99, so no 0331 head.

 

Indeed I was far past this by the time I posted this thread.

 

Not quite entirely true. I have a 99 using a distributor and an 0331 head. It was built in Aug of 99 so they may have been using 00 parts by then.

 

Is this casting # you guys are talking about right above the #4 exhaust port? I just got a 99 and would like to make sure I don't have the 0331 head!

 

you don't need the valve cover off, but this pic shows what to look for. i believe it is around that area yes

 

Cane - Thanks for verifying! I will check mine out when I get home.