Brad98xj

It leaked a little more than I was comfortable with, the seat still had some spots in it that were a little rough and I couldn't get all the pitting out of the valve, I didnt want to put it back together and risk it not building enough compression. I'd rather just put one on that I know is good to go and only have to have it apart this one time.

DFlintstone

Understood. Nearly all of us have different financial and time/effort constraints to deal with. Even a good setup will seep a little diesel/kerosene. It's your call. I myself have swapped valves from a doner head until it looked even, and OK, with a decent result. The "Economy" and the result of whatever investment gets pretty complicated! Myself, maybe I've just been lucky. Slightly over-torqued one or two barely out of warpage specs, swapped and hand lapped valves with no complaint. Could easily have gone another way though.

Brad98xj

Yeah I bought this jeep to fix and sell, just wanted to make a good profit on it, so not only do I not want to take the chance on it not working out for myself but I dont wanna put it back together and not have 100% faith and confidence that it's not going to mess 1000 miles later on the person who buys it from me.

DFlintstone

Yea, way different if it's you or someone else. Pics of the cylinders? Can you catch your fingernail on the ring ridge? How meany miles on it? A 98 is not going to be too expensive. Lets see dome pics of the cyls. Thinking if it's under 150K, the leaking is seeping, the barrels look good, and after a bit of use you see decent,even compression

Brad98xj

this is the only pic I've got of the cylinders, it's got 170k on it and no I couldn't hang a fingernail on them. The two cleaner ones is where it blew the head gasket.

DFlintstone

Due to my internet connection sometimes I loose paragraphs of text I composed. That did just happen here! (you got what CF "auto saved") I'm getting better at dealing with text lost, but the neighbor might still hear my reaction, and he's about 1/4 mile away!

Again...if the barrels look clean and you can see even, moderate seepage from the diesel test, bolt her down and test it. I've even gone a tad over, torquing a head a tad over warpage specs. Run it through a few hot/cols cycles, test compression, be honest with your buyer. A $2,500 rig isn't going to be bulletproof. Just thoughts.....

What happened in the first place is a question.

Brad98xj

Well I've already returned the head to place I bought it but I posted an ad on our local website (lsn.com) looking for a head and a guy reached out with one hes got on a motor that slung a rod, hes supposed to pull the head and check it out to be sure the head didnt get hit with any debris, as long as it's good he said he'd sell it for $50 and I'm going to jump on it.

DFlintstone

4.0's don't throw rods often. What year?

Brad98xj

Think he said it was a 98, I had a 97 zj that spit #6 out the side of the block also, was just driving down the interstate in Tennessee and started going up a hill, it down shifted and spit it out, kept running though lol.

DFlintstone

K. Guess you know you don't want an 0331 from 00 or 01, and that a pre 94 or so has the gauge sender rear left IN THE HEAD, not in the T-stat housing. BTW due to moderate climate here in CA. I can run Castrol straight 30 W. Nothing ever wears out with that! And don't use that on your bits or blades, they won't cut well.

Brad98xj

Yeah I knew about 0331 head but didnt know about temp sensor location difference. Dont guess it would really matter though would it? Could just leave the sensor in the older head and bolt the later t-stat housing on and everything work as it should.

DFlintstone

Correct. I'm sketchy on the details but no big deal there. Just for the gauge sender on an earlier head, don't booger up the hex head there pinned against the firewall on the rear left. I guess if you have say, a 90 head on a (Later than 94?), you can just extend that wire forward to the sender in the t-stat housing. Heads swap from 87 to 99 as far as I know, besides that minor glitch. (Make sure the 99 is not an 0331!)

Brad98xj

Alright, awesome info, thank you to everyone who posted on this thread, all your help is greatly appreciated. I'll keep posted on what happens next.

Brad98xj

Update: I ended up buying a head that needed a valve job but it was too far gone, it needed new seats guides seals valves ect ect, I ended up just having the machine shop order me a reman head for $289, I'm going to pick it up this morning and get started on putting it back together. Hopefully all goes well, any tips on putting the manifolds back on by myself? Looks to me like it's going to be a pain in the a**.

third coast

I highly recommend attaching the manifolds to the head prior to installation. It is so much easier and you can get all the manifold bolts torqued properly. Then you only have to connect the exhaust collector/down pipe from underneath. It is also much easier to get the manifold surfaces clean working with those out of the vehicle.

Make sure all the block head bolt holes are clean and dry, same for the head bolts. Follow head bolt manufacture instructions regarding installing dry or with a light film of oil.Do not use anti-seize on the head bolts. To help align the head onto the block make a guide from a piece of threaded rod or a long bolt with the head cutoff that will fit into one or two block head bolt holes. Cut a slot into one end so that you can use a standard screwdriver to insert and remove the guide. This helps get the head into the correct position on the block without damaging the surfaces or the new head gasket. You will also need to preposition the left rear head bolt, #14, into the head prior to installation. If the head goes in without the bolt it is almost impossible to get it in due to interference with the cowl sheet metal. Hold the bolt partially up with some tape wrapped around the shank of the bolt to help prevent interference to the block as you install the head.

The head with manifolds is heavy so having a helper is advised. Don’t use a strap under the head as it is difficult to remove it without risking damage and contamination to the new head gasket.

There are some write-ups on this forum that can provide additional info but following these suggestions will make your life easier. Good luck.