Hey all,
I found a place that sells reman heads on eBay for an ok price. Called Odessa out of Florida. Does anyone know where to find the head casting numbers? Can they be seen without tearing a bunch of parts off?
Thinking about adding a remanufactured head to my Jeep...
With the random power loss and backfiring, I am starting to wonder if I have a crack in there somewhere. If I go this route, I can inspect my lifters/pushrods/rockers while I am at it.

 

Use --"search" there are a TON of threads about the heads---casting #s---- and replacements

 

Found my casting number. Plainly stamped on the side.
Still having a hard time with the cracked head notion though. I can't see coolant in my oil. I also can't see oil in my coolant.
I've been trying to chase down a gremlin in my engine for a couple weeks now I think. I do find that I am losing a little coolant. Not a lot... last night was the first time that I added anything to it in weeks. If it is a crack, being warm would obviously exacerbate the problem, and the problem only seems to rear its head when the engine is fully warmed up.
TPS, MAP, CPS, Plugs, cap, rotor, pickup coil, coil...all with no major improvements. O2 tested good as well. Going to rule out vacuum leaks, but dunno, just paranoid I guess.

I did a search on cracked heads, and didn't get as much info as I would hope. I know what some of the symptoms are, but I also know that such things can manifest for other reasons as well. Trying to get my car back up to snuff, but don't want to throw more money at it than needed. At least it doesn't sound like it is running lean anymore... all that metallic rattle was motor mounts being worn to hell.

 

Doesn't have to be cracked head it could be a head gasket and the coolant is boiling off or getting burned up in the cylinder. look inside ur oil filler cap or take off the valve cover for a better inspection. Not to give u any unnecessary werk but taking it off --getting a good visual on things-cleaning the valve cover and a little paint and a new gasket will at least make it look better--and its better to look good than to feel good and u look mahvelous !!

 

"and its better to look good than to feel good and u look mahvelous !! "
-Lol. Not sure if this is internet sarcasm, but it's still hilarious.

It would be possible that the gasket needs swapping. I did overheat twice, and once I had to get off a freeway and find a safe spot to park to let it cool. This was several months ago now though. If the head was gonna warp, crack, or blow a gasket, that would have been when it happened. I am not blowing steam out of my tail pipe, though, if the loss is minimal, it probably wouldn't steam anyway. Engine runs pretty even, only a slightly erratic idle. But it has done that since I bought it. I suppose I could look in the radiator to see if my coolant bubbles?

I am half tempted to get the remanufactured head anyway. It's not overly expensive. I've been thinking of doing the head, and plopping new pistons/rings in. Dunno though, one could argue that if it doesn't really need it, it should not be done.

Perhaps I am letting paranoia get the best of me on this.