ol"blue

I would do a compression test, and pressure test the cooling system, before taking anything apart. That way you have some info to go by. JMO

SD_Cherokee

I was told the scaling in the rad came loose and would need to be replaced. If this is true, how would this effect a pressure test of the cooling system and would it cause the rad to clog, which would result in overheating? The coolant overflow starts to fill as the engine is warming up.

bigben1706

I just joined this forum today because i recently purchased a 94 cherokee with 184,000 miles for $450. The radiator has chocolate milk like sledge in it and the head gasket is blown. Ive been quoted by two mechanics for 800-1000 dollars just for the head gasket. I want to try and do it myself and I am a very DIY kinda guy, but ive heard its very difficult. I know jeeps are easy to work on though and i dont have the money to pay someone else to do it. What other source besides the haynes book would anyone reccomend using to help with the process? just kinda as a second option/aid for the process.

SD_Cherokee

If you have some basic tools and know-how you can do it. I followed my Haynes guide step-by-step and it worked out great. I had never done anything as complex as a head gasket, but it turned out to be fairly easy, although a little time consuming. Just make sure you label everything you pull apart. For me, getting everything apart was actually harder than getting it back together. I would recommend getting the head tested to make sure it's not warped/cracked. Mine was, but got a refurbished one no problem. While doing the head, I replaced the entire cooling system. It worked out well.

You can do it, just jump in and follow the manual. Best of luck.

Programbo

Hello and welcome to the forum. As the one who started this thread I`ll re-confirm my original thoughts. I think any decent "home mechanic" with the right tools and a bit of common sense can easily change this head gasket provided you take your time and as others have repeated clearly lable everything you take off! The Haynes manual is enough as the steps are pretty straight forward even without it. The only important steps are when you reassemble make sure you tighten all the bolts to the correct torq in the order they give. And also make sure your head is not warped which mine wasnt. Of course my particular blown gasket wasnt in an area involving coolant. Also you can skip over some of the steps they give to speed it up. It tells you to "remove the intake and exhaust manifolds" but you need only remove the intake manifold itself and not disconnect the fuel rail and attached items. And the exhaust manifold just need be unbolted as it will move far enough aside you needed entirely remove it. Any other question please feel free to ask!

Programbo

To para-phrase the Professor from Futurama: "Getting the head gasket out was the easy part. The hard part was getting the head gasket out!"

TrailLover93

I also joined this forum because I found this post. I have a 93 with (what I assume) is a blown head. A friend was paid to do work on my jeep and my mazda. I was too sick to do it myself. Turns out, he just shafted me and screwed up quite a bit. My jeep used to run, not it runs til the temp gage goes through the redline, which is 5 minutes at that. I assume this is head damage as he very matter of factly informed me he didn't add any coolent after doing the waterpump and thermostat.
If needed, where could I get a head for a cheap amount? I live in South Carolina if that helps any. I am pretty handy, so as long as I can figure it out, I should be able to do it all myself.
After I hopefully get the jeep running again, I will have to repull the motor/tranny on my mazda, as he just put random bolts in whereever he was working..I have a pile of bolts leftover from that, and I dont want to forfeit the 2 grand I put into a used motor and tranny.
Any help/info would be greatly appreciated!
my current symptoms are this:

weird ticking noise
overheating
turns off and smokes from the right side of the engine.

I have not seen any coolent in the oil yet, but the stuff that was in the engine was sludge..

kaneymac

just bought my 93 cherokee a couple weeks ago for $1,000... now i have a blown head gasket... the serpentine shredded itself on the highway, probably because one of the pulleys/wheels wiggled loose, and engine totally shut down about the time i was able to find an exit ramp... had it towed to a mechanic near home who says i should just scrap it or pay up to $1800 to replace the head gasket which is blown ("top end")...

i'm no mechanic... but i did drive big diesels for a while and feel like i can pretty much learn anything... i saw the video series on this post after "asking" google if i should really scrap it or try to repair myself... and it just doesn't look that complicated...

i also found a 4.0 AMS engine for only $1800 so i figure just replacing a gasket shouldn't cost me as much as the whole engine!

assuming that i don't need to get my head machined... (the engine head, not the one on my shoulders), is there any reason i WOULDN'T attempt to do this repair myself.... all the how-tos and advice here make it sound like it's not that complicated

also... at http://www.jeep4x4center.com/jeep-en...4.0L-242-a.htm i can get a gasket set for $39.99 if i'm reading that right... is that all i need, other than a speed wrench, torque wrench, straight edge, some good eyes, and some fresh fluids? i mean am i missing something here??

idk why a mechanic would just say scrap it if it's something that can be fixed at home... it's a JEEP!

Caish

Its not a hard engine to work on.
If your good with your hands and detail oriented you can do a head gasket.
First take lots of pictures and each step as you go along.
Plan on buying a head if it got that hot.

Just go slow and take it step by step.
Congratulations on using the search find and dredge up this old thread.

kaneymac

thanks ... yeah love me some google power

but i love Jeep even more and just can't bring myself to scrap one over a gasket... and i have no problem reading, watching and learning how to do stuff... that's why i got it in the first place!

a friend is gonna introduce me to a friend of his who's a mechanic in case i get into trouble, but i'm gonna try to fix it... right now i just gotta get it back from the mechanic... 3rd tow in two days

Aaron N.S.

TTT. I am getting ready to start the HG on my 89. after reading everyone else's positive comments and saying it's not so rough I'm all over getting this done at home and saving some serious coin.

waltermitty

It may be a cracked head..

Chihlidog

For those wondering if they should go ahead and try it, honestly, there are 2 big things to be concerned about.

1) - details. Which bolt goes where? When you've got your top end torn down, the bolts add up and can get confusing. Make SURE, like many have said, you take photos and LABEL!

2) - The intake. There's a particular bolt in the back that is a gigantic pain to get to. You cant see it, you have to feel for it, and its in the worst place imaginable for a bolt. If it werent for that bolt, I could do heads on these day in and day out no problem. It wasnt that tough. I did one for the first time late last year on my 2001.

Ashley123

Hi- I have a 1999 Jeep Cherokee Sport and I just took it in to the dealer to be serviced and was told that my cylinder head gasket blew and I would need to get it fixed IMMEDIATELY. They told me it would be $975 just to take out the cylinder head and see if it is warped or cracked and then if it is and they can "recondition" it, it would be another $475. If they ned to replace it, they said it would be another $900 on top of it. I have a strong feeling I am being ripped off and am trying to see if this problem can be fixed for cheaper so I can keep my car.

phoenix901223

of course they are gonna rape you at the dealer, any shop can do a HG, ask around for prices