BigVaz

Here are my symptoms...

Low Pressure gauge, occasionally even at highway speeds now, it will drop to nothing if im out of the accelerator.

This pressure problem only seems to happen in warmer weather & I run 10w30.

I go through about a gallon of coolant every couple weeks & I don't seem to have any leaks??? Explain that...

My oil level looks all good & from what I can tell, I don't see coolant... Now im no mechanic, but im stumped...

Killabrew

Head gasket leak!!

BuckB91XJ

Do a compression test on all cylinders. Remove the radiator cap and look for bubbles when you pump up the cylinders. X 2 on it sounds like a blown head gasket.

Bustedback

Going through that much coolant is bad, now you have to find out if it's an external leak, or if it's going out the tailpipe, or into the oil pan. I'm thinking you may have one of the crack prone heads on your Jeep.

BigVaz

To be honest I think it's coming through the exhaust... I get drips right when I start up. Sometimes it smokes as if it's cold outside & then clears up.

I don't think oil pan, because when I check the oil, it looks ok...

I called a few places to see about head gasket replacement & $800.00!!!

BuckB91XJ

Dude, find a buddy who will help you who works for beer and pizza. If the head is okay, the head gasket job really isn't all that tough to do yourself. $800 is 1/3 of what I paid for my whole Jeep.

BigVaz

1/4 for me... lol. There's no way i'd pay that much for a gasket replacement...

CherokeeCountry

800.00$ is 200.00$ less than the full cost of my XJ.. do that yourself. Labor is what kills you. O.O

BigVaz

I think a repair like this one is over my head. That & I just don't have the time... I'll have to figure something out...

hi im adam

unbolt your intake and flip it over the other side of the engine
unbolt your header... and remove it.
remove your valve cover
unbolt your head... remove all the gasket.
Clean up all the gasket material
Drop a $30 gasket from autozone in place

put everything back together


oh and you should do all new fluid.



If you have a 99+, try and get a 94 head. better airflow and isn't as likely to crack. and yours might already be cracked, so get that checked.



Was the worst that can happen? You don't need to re-time unless you **** with the distributor and remember to have lifter rods

Bustedback

Water from the exhaust is normal, as is steam when first starting. But if you have a sweet smell in the exhaust and have thick dense clouds of steam coming out, you got problems. The engine will have a miss most of the time with a blown head gasket too.

HeepJeeper

Is that really all thats involved, i don't have to mess with the lifters or any of the small parts. the intake, manifold, then lift off the head.

BigVaz

You make that sound wayyyy too easy...

freegdr

have you ever had the cooling system pressure checked yet ever body seem to be jumping in with both feet that the head is bad a bad radiator cap can cause the same sympton loss of coolant with no visual leaks

tjwalker

1. Cooling system pressure test is a great idea.

2. After that, check compression on all cylinders. Low readings on two adjacent cylinders would indicate a blown head gasket.

3. You have a 2000. It is very possible that you have a cracked 0331 cylinder head. The head has a defect from the factory between cylinders 3-4. The #1 symptom of a cracked cylinder head is "unexplained coolant loss". A compression test often tells you nothing if the problem is a cracked head. Pull the valve cover. Inspect with a light very closely between cylinders 3-4 for a crack or cracks. 95% of the time, they can be seen with the naked eye.