hey guys-
I have a 93 XJ i bought in 1995 and ran the **** out of this thing with no problems. It sat for a year until now. When it ran it was very rough and a dealer jeep tech friend of mine said it was a head gasket. Easy enough, right? well long story short- I pulled the head & discovered there was no head gasket there to replace! gone! this thing ran good too!! the water jackets on the head were sealed up too. I am stunned. has anybody ever heard of 4.0 motors not using head gaskets???

Thanks

 

NOT in this life...lol...never heard of a motor except an old rolls royce that didnt need a head gasket...Strange...Tj

 

look closer its probably a coper gasket that is stuck to one side and just looks like its not there

 

I finally got some time to post pics. There was no copper gasket. There was no gasket period. Note the water jackets on the head are sealed. Why? I wonder if it was for a reason. What will happen if I ream out those clogs and put a gasket on? In theory it should run like a champ right?!?

 

i see the imprint of a fire ring on the block and head........either your missing it or your BS'ING. Period...........it just isnt gonna run without one.......

 

sure looks like a head gasket stuck to that head son.

 

I see it too.
If you poke that water jacket hole I'll bet you "Find" the gasket.
It's just a very thin gasket thats all. stuck to the head.

 

yep, looks like it's right there stuck to the head.

 

yep and you can see a terr in the gasket between the two cylinders at the left could be blown or it tor when you removed the head

 

the water jackets are plugged by the gasket some have small holes it makes the coolant flow right

 

X2. Its stuck on the head, not the block.

 

I'm an idiot fellas. I read the threads and walked back out there with a razor & chip on my shoulder. there WAS a ridiculously thin gasket on it. My apologies.

But you guys helped solved my problem allright LOL!!!

 

The most funniest thread ever?!

 

Being able to run without a head gasket would be very rare, and very difficult (I won't say "impossible" - I've seen stranger!)

But we're talking about some damned close machining tolerances to make it work. I've certainly not run across any production engine that didn't have a head gasket...