wigg006

Ok so my jeep has been over heating since I bought it in May, thought t-stat was bad replaced that, sorta helped for a couple of days. Then I noticed my aux fan wasn't wired in, so I wired that into a relay switch inside the jeep so I could turn that on and off when needed, that helped till now. Now the jeep overheats constantly, so I pulled the cap and there was no coolant, so with the jeep running I added coolant and after quite bit of coolant and the rad not filling up I assumed the worst and checked the oil and I had oil about 3/4 up my dip stick, and it was really thin.

So now I'm guessing my head is cracked, and im just wondering how hard is it to replace it myself? I wont be able to replace it till next week, and
I still need to drive it anout 10 miles every day this week to work, will that kill my jeep or not?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

sam24th

Replacing the head isnt too bad on the 4.0s and 2.5s. Ive replaced a head gasket on a wrangler once and took about 6 hours. Just remember to install the lifters and rods in the same place you took them off of. Also before getting a new head altogether check to see if its actually cracked. If its just slightly warped like mines you can take it to a machine shop and have them make it flat again. Its pretty straightforward though. Not as hard as some make it out to be if your mechanically inclined.

As far as driving the jeep around, I wouldnt do it. With the coolant and water in the oil it will cause water to get in the bearings and cause havoc on the engine. If you continue to drive it you may have to end up replacing the bearings on the crank itself. If you MUST drive it, empty the oil and put in some cheap conventional oil. Dont put coolant or water in the rad and just watch the temp gauge to make sure its not overheating too bad.

Slick761

Unless a head is brand new it is ALWAYS recommended that you take it to a machine shop and have it milled. Whether you take it off your engine or anyone.else's.

99 Purple XJ

Before you yank the head off did you see if the oil was white you didnt mention if it was or not hows your water pump your whole coolant system could be due for an update

ericfx1984

bring the head to a decent shop... tell them you want it "checked and decked"...

last time I had a large 6 cylinder head done it was about $60, iirc

if they are a good shop they will not do more work on the head than it is worth... basically saying there is a point when the damage is too bad to be worth fixing... if that happens get a head from a U Pull It / Pick n Pull type junk yard

BUT I can tell you it is a VERY easy job