Klutch

I just finished up replacing the cylinder head on my 2000 XJ and wanted to thank the Cherokee Forum being so much help. Through the whole process of troubleshooting, sourcing a new head and replacing it, the Cherokee Forum was a BIG help! For others for future reference, here's a review:

- Radiator was leaking so I flushed the cooling system with Blue Devil and replaced the radiator. That Blue Devil coolant system flush works pretty well. A whole lot of Stop Leak came out of the cooling system

- I kept having to add coolant after the radiator install; much more than could be explained by the system purging air

- As it turned out, when the new radiator developed pressure with the all the Stop Leak flushed out, the cylinder head started leaking coolant at the top, between the cylinders 3 & 4. I soon discovered this is a very common problem with a 2000 XJ

- I ordered a new, aftermarket cylinder head from Clearwater. This casting is designed to resolved the cracking problems with the 0331 cylinder head. It arrived exactly when Clearwater said it would. It came with a return shipping label and was pre-painted black, which is nice

- I installed the new cylinder head, changed the oil and started it up last night. It has a slight exhaust leak from where the exhaust pipe pulled out of the flange attaching it to the manifold. I will take it to a shop and have that fixed (I absolutely HATE working on exhaust systems)

- Overall the engine is running well with a tiny bit of roughness now and then. I'm hoping that can be explained by the very low temperatures and the computer adjusting things after being disconnected from the battery during the install

- The power steering pump had been leaking and moaning since I bought this XJ last month. I installed a new pump and used one bottle of Lucas steering fluid. Before starting the engine, I put the front axle on jack stands and slowly turned the steering wheel all the way left and right multiple times to purge any air from the steering system. When I started the engine, the pump was dead silent and worked perfectly! (I learned this procedure from the Cherokee forum)

I don't think the previous owner knew this XJ had a cracked cylinder head. He had owned for only six months and was pretty clueless about vehicles. I know he was aware the cooling system was leaking because I found a bottle of pre-mix coolant under the driver seat. I think whomever owned the Jeep before him knew it had a cracked head and added TONS of stop leak before selling it. It appears the Stop Leak actually worked, albeit temporarily, as it always the case with that stuff. I'm just happy it didn't clog the heater core.

Thanks again, everyone. Jeep people rock!

kcdt58

Good to hear everything worked out. Now put some miles on that thing and enjoy it!

Larry's XJ

X-2 on exhaust.

Think might have same issue with my son's. Replaced gasket over year ago, but recently started losing bit of coolant.

OEM sure keeps Clearwater in business though. About 5 yrs ago replaced both heads on son's Ranger V6 4l with CW heads, unpainted so they got Ford blue. Both cracked in same spot between valves. Slightly more than an I6 head but still a deal. All new stuff. Weird that you have to send them a junk head back tho. Wonder what they do with them???

Klutch

I too was surprised they wanted my cracked head back. I assume they want the springs and valves for rebuilt heads, then sell the factory casting as scrap iron, which is all it's good for.

Kalali

How deep do you guys think is the crack? I'm guessing it's all the way through the head to allow the coolant ooze out like that. Any thoughts?

Klutch

The 0331 heads crack at the top of a coolant passage between cylinders 3 & 4. It's just enough to allow coolant to ooze through and onto the top of the cylinder head. So, it's not like the entire cylinder heads is broken in two. It's just the coolant passage that cracks.