i am in the process right now of replacing my head gasket(4.0L) and i was wondering if anyboady has any helpful tips becasue i was reading my chiltons books and it looks really hard. oh yeah i was wondering do you really need to remove the valve springs or do they just come up as one thing???

 

If you remove the valve springs be sure to do it with the head off or with the cylinder pressurized. I you don't you will drop the valves once you take the retainers loose. Though I dont understand why you would have to take the valve springs loose to remove the head.

 

i dont know i was wondering because my book said nothing about it and i have never done it before. what about the push rods, they have to come out right?

 

You should just have to remove the rocker assy. as a whole. Once you do that you can get the push rods out, they just come up through the top as they sit. I have not done this on an XJ, but this is how most heads are set up that aren't over head cams. Hope this helps!!

 

thats what i thought because the whole thing looks connected. i think that i am going to write on of those threads on how to do it just in case some else is going to try to do it

 

If it has overheated, check really close for cracks while it is off. Possibly even take it to a machine shop to have it checked if you are not sure what to look for. It's hard enough to do once, the second time is a real pain!

 

Removing the head is not too difficult. The head is heavy and it is hard to do alone unless you use a cherry picker. That or a friend are required to safely do the job. It is a job both ways so if you needed help to get the head off (due to the weight and position) then you will definitely need help going back on. Keep that in mind.

 

I took my hood off to do it....
I got the head off without help.. But getting it back on by myself.. forget about it. I used a come-along and a chain to do it.

 

Keep in mind that the rearmost head bolt on the drivers side can't be completely removed from the head until the head is removed from the engine. There is a lip on the firewall that won't let you raise the bolt up. You could bend or cut this lip, but that's the hack way to do it.

 

yeah i have my dad going to help me with it so it should be that hard i hope. i am going do it the way my chiltons book says just to see if they actually give you the right info