So I inherited a 95 Cherokee XJ Country with 2WD. It made the drive to Austin well enough, despite an airflow problem. Need to have the fan clutch replaced and maybe the fan. The seals are shot but thats to be expected. My mechanic replaced the thermostat. He found the main problem is that I have a blown head gasket. It's got 150,000 miles on it and from what I hear, this should be expected with that particular head. I've had the worst luck with cars, so for the time I'm gonna choose to believe that for my peace of mind. This Jeep HAS to work since my crap Ford hatchback is now scrap metal in my driveway. So I'm going to sink the money into replacing the head, and fixing anything else. It's a really cool ride, and I dream about driving it since I got it. Is it crazy to hope this only falls somewhere between 2 and 3 grand to get running again? Is there anything I should be wary of or know when working with the mechanic? Thanks for your responses.

 

What makes you think the head gasket is blown? (Is it overheating, running rough, etc.)

Just curious, do you have a good relationship with your mechanic? Hopefully he will take care of you. Make sure the mechanic you get is familiar with these older Jeeps.

 

What seals are shot? And what symptoms are happening?

The head on your '95 is not prone to cracking. Those were the 0331 heads on the 2000-01 4.0's. Doesn't mean that your head gasket isn't blown but if it is it doesn't mean the head needs replaced.

Even with a head replacement and a completely new cooling system 2K-3K dollars is over the top. Unless there is work to be done that you haven't mentioned.

 

If he found the problem to be a blown head gasket, he should be able to describe how he determined that. It's not based on guessing.

As the others mentioned, the 95 is not known for blown head gaskets. (of course it can happen, but it is not a common trouble spot for that vehicle). In fact, many people run 300k+ miles without ever having that kind of problem. That is why the 4.0 has a reputation for being "unstoppable" or "bulletproof" (of course nothing is as simple as that...but the reputation came from many many stories of them going many miles while the vehicle rotted to death around them).

 

The 4.0L 6cyl routinely gets 300k+ miles out of it with regular maintenance. I've never heard of a model year 95 blowing head gaskets at 150k... 150k is barely broken in!! Is yours perhaps one of the rare 4cyl model?

I'd be certain it's a blown head gasket prior to going forward with a replacement. What specifically indicates to your mechanic that the head gasket is blown? Compression test? Coolant in the oil? Exhaust gasses in the coolant?

 

"Is yours perhaps one of the rare 4cyl model?" GOOD catch!

 

Rear main and the pan. My mechanic was the one who discovered the blown head. It's burning coolant after it gets hot enough. It does overheat in idle. In total the head was quoted at 1500 but I also need the fan clutch replaced along with the gaskets. So I expecting somewhere in the ballpark of 18 to 2. Some other minor repairs need to be made as well. Like the plastic thing the front right headlight screws into is broken.

 

Before figuring the rear main and pan gasket are leaking do this:

REAR MAIN SEAL DIAGNOSIS

 

I'm honestly not exactly sure. I trust the guy at his word, which is rare but its not your typical shop. No idea if it's a 4cyl model. I will Google some to find out.
It's definitely on the low side for a Jeep, but it had an over heating issue due to the fan being out. Probably shouldn't have driven it like I did, but I had to get the Jeep back home. As long as I was driving it was at a good temperature. Idle is when it over heats.

 

You should definitely look into the headlight bezels and trim stuff as a DIY job. The parts are shockingly cheap and if you have even the most basic of hand tools, you're good to go. Check Quadratec.com or download a parts catalog - I think I got my 94-96 catalog from xjjeeps.com - and google using the Mopar part number.

The head gasket and rear main/oil pan gaskets are generally considered to be jobs that most experienced DIY'ers are quite capable of doing. Of course, if you're taking it to a professional for a thermostat replacement, then it's perfectly reasonable that you'd want to outsource these jobs. A thermostat replacement is trivial by comparison. Definitely if you're not into wrenching or don't have stuff like jack stands, a floor jack, a quality set of metric and SAE sockets, a trustworthy torque wrench or are just starting to get into wrenching on your Jeep yourself, I wouldn't recommend starting with a head gasket and RMS+Oil pan gasket (this is one job since you have to drop the pan to get to the RMS).

The fan clutch IS something that if you're new to wrenching you might consider doing yourself. If you have a decent socket set and basic tools, it's a fairly easy job - definitely something you could do as a newbie.

 

You can look at it and tell. The distributor is on the passenger side of the engine compartment. There are either six wires leading off it along the passenger side of the engine to spark plugs or 4.
I would expect a "Country" model to be the much more common 4.0L (it usually has a decal on the rear hatch) 6 cylinder. Both the 4.0L 6cyl and 2.5L 4cyl are "inline" style engines - meaning the cylinders are "in a line" 123456 rather than a "V" style engine where the cylinders are split with half on one side and half on the other.

If it's burning coolant you could see a distinct white color in the exhaust (this is different from the visible exhaust when you first start up on a cold morning but goes away when the outside temperature rises) and have a need to constantly fill the coolant overflow bottle. If this is happening, then your mechanic is correct. Even if you don't see the white smoke, it doesn't mean he's wrong, simply that it's not sufficient coolant to show up visibly.

The fan clutch being bad would definitely show up as overheating in idle but less so when moving.

 

I would have done the thermostat myself if it was the only thing that needed doing. Unfortunately I don't have the time or space to really work on it myself. Fan clutch is a doable job for me as well. I can replace the peripherals of an engine and keep it maintained, but this needs a professional to fix it first.
I also lack space. My HOA is pretty uptight. They don't even allow you to change your cars oil in your driveway. So I can only really do fast repairs. I need it in working order before I go at it at least.

 

I hear you on that!

The fan clutch may be something that would go over better than an oil change since I'd imagine the issue with the oil change is concern over staining the pavement with spilled oil. The fan clutch is non-fluid related.

Even though my house is not in a HOA, since I have a dirt driveway and no garage I routinely take my XJ to my parent's house 6 miles away to use one of their garage spaces for any major work.

 

I do. He actually gave us some good advice about getting it fixed. If I didn't go ahead with the head change, he would have let cost of replacing the thermostat go.
It's a family owned mechanic shop in the country. The guy is keen to work on the Jeep. He even offered to buy it. He was letting us keep it on his property free until we had him start work. I was pleased and surprised with them.