Well, last week I got word from the machine shop that the head from my 95 Cherokee 2wd is cracked after a thorough overheat. Pondering the following options.

- Have it drilled/welded. Not wild about that idea, but the work would be done by a reputable machinist. Cheaper than a rebuilt head. The 7120 casting isn't known for cracking issues, and did take a good overheat to crack it.

- Rebult head. Order a head through O'Riley or Napa. Costs a little more than the machinist but the cost includes shipping to their store. Their suppliers don't have the best reputation though. There are more reputable companies to get heads from, but the cost of shipping to Alaska (along with potential for shipping damage) make them expensive and impractical.

- Salvage yard head. Cheapest source for a head. Supply maybe limited though, and the head would still need to be checked by a machine shop.

- Be done with it. Pull all the useful parts off of it and haul it to the fire station to be chopped up or burned. Could be satisfying after the grief from the thing. It's not a rust bucket, but not a clean body either. PO flopped it into a snow bank. However, it could still have potential as a usable vehicle.

Opinions?

 

95 isn't known for head problems, I'd grab one from the salvage yard.

 

True. But, you can crack any head if over heated more the once or if it was over heated and not taken care of right away and the vehicle was kept running. Like Radi said pick one up from the jy and have it checked out.

 

My last trip to the jy, it looked like the 4.0 heads had been pretty well raided, but I'll check again.

 

check craigslist for a whole 4.0, might be cheaper.