I just bout an 01 xj that needs freeze plugs. I have heard you have to take te head off. Can anyone gimme some advice on an easier way to do it? Maybe a diagram to see how the plugs are in tere.

 

depends on wich one it is. and most times i have replaced freeze plugs i had to pull the motor not the head.

 

It's at the very back.

 

I would pull the engine and replace all the freeze plugs and fix any oil leaks while it was out. Thats just me and pulling the engine out of a jeep cant be any worse than pulling the engine on my diesel pick up.

 

Is it the back one that is leaking? I changed out my freeze plugs that were on the drivers' side of the engine block but didn't touch the ones on the back.

 

It's behind the head on the back. Ima replace all of em while its out. It's only got 140k so I don't know of any oil leaks, just bought it as a project.

 

Decided to go ahead and pull just the motor. Going to place freeze plugs, oil filter, water pump, and maybe a gasket or two...

 

So in a "round-about-way" your saying you just purchased a 2001 Jeep Cherokee thats been run out of coolant & overheated?

 

Sounds more to me like if one was leaking, that the cooling system wasn't properly maintained, and that somebody might have had stop-leak in the system. That's what killed my freeze plugs. And radiator. And water pump. And heater core...still gotta fix that one

While you have the engine out, you should definitely flush the block while you're at it!

 

2 years ago I bought a 94 ranger as my first truck... Same problem it need freeze plugs, at 280k it was still solid as a rock when I sold it. Freeze plugs rust out over time, it happens.

Flush it how? I'm flushing all the lines that had rusty water in it if that's what you mean.

 

Absolutely that's what I mean! Get that junk outta there. If you have the whole block out, and putting new freeze plugs in anyways, pop the old ones all out and rinse that sucker out. Also, you should plan on using BRASS freeze plugs instead of the steel ones. Ask me how I know!

 

Oh ya, we always spend the money and put brass in, don't wanna do this **** twice. Lol.