thomas912001

OK. I have a 2000 jeep xj with 180k miles.it has no aftermarket performance parts at all. In march I replaced the water pump. About three weeks ago I replaced the alternator and starter. About two weeks ago I blew a head gasket. It shut down on me while driving but didn't show on the gauge but about 220. Kinda hot but it normally runs 210. When it shut down it smoked a lot. We towed it home and tore it down. Had the head checked and they were warped so planed them and put it all back together. When I put it back together I put a new head gasket, valve cover gasket, manifold/intake gasket, plugs, 180° thermostat. When we started it up it ran rough for a second then cleared up and after a few more seconds t started idling at 3400 rpms. Nothing coming out of the exhaust but the exhaust was super hot and solo was the manifold. Pulled off the tips and it ran a bit better. But the temp was over 00 and still climbing. So I pulled the thermostat completely out trying to get it to cool down and it still climbed to 210 and kept going so I shut it down. Pulled the top radiator hose and water will circulate and was told may be a bad water pump and throttle position sensor. Anyone have any ideas? Ad the exhaust was soo hot I held a rag about 6 inches away and it started smoldering. Its running smooth also not rough idling and if I start with the throttle position sensor unplugged it runs if you throttle it yourself. And idk if it matters but the plugs I pulled out( haven't changed them myself since I got it) were gapped at .075-.080 while I was told stock specs called for .035.

chris87xj

You put some work in that jeep lately. The 2000 model XJ's had an issue with the 0331 heads cracking. I think it was resolved mid 2002, so if you have to replace it, a slightly newer one would be a good candidate.

thomas912001

Well o brought the head to a machine shop and they cleared it. They said it warped but it was able to be planed out. And yea seems like it hasn't stopped giving me issues lately.