el_dragon

Hey all,

I'm inheriting a Jeep from a friend who told me that if I wanted to get it fixed then it was all mine. It's a 2001 XJ 4.0 I-6 two door with 5-speed manual 143000 miles. The head gasket cracked about a year ago at the end of a harsh Midwest winter and has sat in his back yard untouched since then. The spark plugs were left attached, the engine was not fully drained, and has 3/4 tank of gas.

I've read that replacing the head gasket on the I-6 isn't terribly difficult, but I don't know what it would be like after sitting for a year. In addition to the head gasket, it appears that the either the rear brakes or the entire axle have seized as well. We fought with it trying get it to move but had no luck.

I know that these things can last forever if taken care of, and with it having less than 150k miles it could easily get another 100k. I've got about a $1500 that I can put into it currently. Where should I start? Is this something that may be better for me to have hired out?

nujeepguy

?

CurrySoSpicy

I'm going to assume you don't know about the 00-01 0331 cylinder head.

In 2000 Jeep started putting new redisgned heads on their Jeeps. The cast number of these heads is 0331. Unfortunately, these heads are very prone to cracking, especially when overheated. Some even crack under normal wear, no overheat, ever.

If the head gasket was blown because of an overheat situation, you can probably factor the cylinder head is lost as well.

Many would also also argue that while doing the head gasket job you might as well replace the cylinder head. Some would say (me) that replacing the head gasket in a 00-01 and not replacing the head at the same time would be like lifting a turd out of the way, placing a new piece of rubber under it, then sitting said turd back on top.

These heads typically crack between cylinder 3 and 4 and sometimes (not always) a good set of eyes and a flash light can look through the oil fill cap and see the crack. Sometimes it's not visible and sometimes it's plain as day. You may see some dried coolant around the crack.

I would highly recommend you take the high road and replace the cylinder head, if you do, make sure you buy new head bolts, as the head bolts are a one time use only.

Cheers.

edit: this project, if done by you, fits well with in your budget. You will have room for a steak dinner and DQ ice cream cone after.

mo8414

For 1500 you could probably get one that doesn't have much wrong with it. I picked my 01 up for a grand with 190,000 on it and bad shocks, leafs. That's it.

el_dragon

The oil and coolant have mixed together and has the appearance of chocolate milk, which is why I figured it was the gasket. I had read that the cylinders were also prone to cracking. I figured I may have to replace one or two of them, but was hoping to avoid it if possible. Unfortunately that doesn't seem likely at this point.

Roland the Headless

free jeeps are cool and you can do a lot with one for 1500
change the head or pull the engine and replace
get some killer tires



disconnect the rear drive line and see if you can pull it backwards if its brakes they might break lose
now I am speaking from chevy and toyota knowledge so correct me if Iam wrong

CurrySoSpicy

EDIT: after reading your post. It's not the cylinders themselves that crack, it's the head. It's one homogeneous piece.

yep, your right about that. How is the oil pressure on the rig? After a good 20 minute highway ride. The pressure should be 13PSI @ a hot idle.

Also, I would be more willing to bet the head cracked and gasket is fine. Maintaining the cooling system on an 00-01 is mucho importante.

Living with an uncracked 0331 is not too bad for most Jeep enthusiasts, we really care and take extra efforts to make sure our Jeeps are running tip-top.

However, put an 00-01 in joe-car-owner's hands, forget it. And that's why we lost many a 00-01 XJs. Yes the heads were defective, but when the poor old XJ screamed, I'm sick. The average car owner didn't listen until it was too late. Sad.

tjwalker

Listen to CurrySoSpicy's advice; I'm in agreement that it most likely is a cracked 0331 cylinder head.

Educate yourself about it, SEARCH is your friend, both on this and every other XJ forum. There are literally hundreds of threads about this problem.

Turbo X_J

No one parks a vehicle over a gasket, it needs at the very least a new engine. Then before accepting this "free" gift pull the carpet and see if there is any metal left underneath.

CurrySoSpicy

true. Bearings are probably toasted.

fb97xj1

Bearings are lactose intolerant. Plan on a rebuild.

CurrySoSpicy

that's okay he used Lactaid oil.

DFlintstone

I might pull that 0331 and take it in and have it checked out. Long-shot, but water freezing in the engine could well have cracked the block. The head, (system being partially drained), might have been high and dry! Understandably no one wants an O331, but If $ are a big issue, if that happens to check out OK I gather you can bolt it onto any (Junk Yard) block from 87 to 2001, and you are good to go! (you would need a pilot bearing in the end of the crank if it came from an auto, and your original flywheel) Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong there.

You can look straight down through the oil filler hole and maybe see right away that that 0331 is toast. You can't tell there that it's good, but you might see that it's bad, since they are known to crack right there.

2 door 5 speed is a cool Jeep! Yea, see if rust is a reason to throw in the towel. Btw , Midwest? Did someone park it with the E-Brake on? Cables might have rusted and seized the rear brakes? Guess you will find out when you pull the rears and try to get the drum off. The adjuster wheel will loosen the shoes if you need to.

nujeepguy

any car