gvnc

I know there are a million posts on this topic, and I have read a bunch of them, which has gotten me this far.

It's so close!!! But I can't get the axle to swing forward enough for it the clear the transmission.




This is as close as I'm getting it to clearing the flywheel.

Here's another angle.





I saw one person hammered in their exhaust a bit to help... and it might but I'd hate to put a hole in the exhaust.

I put a couple wimpy ratchet straps around the axle to the front piece of metal above the bumper, but couldn't get any help that way.


Anyone have suggestions? Should I take off control arms? I've never done that before.

gvnc

Also, the starter is off, the front sway bar and shocks are disconnected, I removed a bolt from the inspection plate on the passenger side that looked like it was in the way. I disconnected the tierod from the pitman arm so that whole bit would drop out of the way. My passenger side upper control arm looks like it's in the way, but that bolt looks like it wants to snap when I torque on it. I'll soak that with pb in the meantime.

gvnc

Well, with the oil pump off, it seems like the pan might be able to come out forward at full droop... if I could get the track bar out of the way. That damn castle nut wont budge and the other end broke loose, but there's pressure holding it with the nut off and that's stuck.

gvnc

Got the axle bolt for the track arm out, ruined that upper track arm rubber piece with a pickle fork and still can't get it off, but took the steering stabilizer off, swung the track arm around, and here comes the pan. And for my troubles... coolant.

gvnc

I'm pretty broke right now, but this is (was) my dd. And I'd suspected head crack, so not super surprised. I guess I'm gonna pony up for a clearwater cylinder head and be without a vehicle for a while, which is a bummer. A1Auto has a $50 gasket kit... is it total crap?

I guess I'll go ahead and replace the RMS and put it all back together in the meantime. Hopefully it won't take me as long to put back together as it did to get it apart!

93XJeeper

well that sucks, if you have been running it with coolant, the bearings in the motor are probably shot. You might get lucky but I wouldn't bother. What year is the jeep, I'm on the app so I can't see it. You can probably get a good used motor on craigslist for about $300.

Turbo X_J

^
Unless you plan on a full rebuild it's probably not worth putting any more time or money in to this engine.

md21722

Coolant is corrosive to the bearings, but coolant contamination was not high, and oil pressure was still good when you pulled the pan off, it may be worth the repair... for gaskets its hard to go wrong with Fel Pro. Check out their combination (or is it conversion) gasket set which includes all the gaskets and seals for the block (oil pan, RMS, front cover, ...). I think I got one from Advance for $25.

gvnc

Thanks for the input guys.

It's an '01 with 183k. I've owned for the last 30. If the bearings are trashed it should sound like this, right?
That's not mine, btw, mine sounds good (to me). Oil pressure has been great, stays between 40-60 all the time.
I overheated twice during a move last summer due to a bad thermostat. Probably put about 2k(?) miles on it since then. Luckily I didn't drive it much this winter. This is the first oil change since the overheat.
Apart from having to refill when it puked all over the road, I've probably only added ~1/2 gal (of 50/50) that has 'disappeared'--- I did flush it once since then, but not because it was low, because I had no heat (thermostat was stuck open, doh). Luckily my commute is only 6mi round trip.
From other threads it seems like people have done ok with putting new heads on worse engines, although people may not always report if things go bad later on.
I think I can basically do the head change by myself, but there's no way I could do an engine swap.
What does the full rebuild entail? Sounds beyond what I can do. I'll do some research... but that looks like $500 on top of $450 for the head, with a good chance of my screwing up.
In the end, if it's not reliable enough for me to take it up into the mountains for camping/exploring it's not worth it.
Interested to hear what people think.

md21722

Overheating probably cracked the head. Remove the oil filler cap and look straight down for any evidence of tan lines, coolant, etc. Nearly all 0331 heads crack in this one location. I too had an overheat caused by a thermostat that failed shut and it did puke coolant all over the road. But once I refilled it, I didn't have the same coolant loss that you did. I did change the head about 2 years later because I had been having the oil tested and noticed an increase in trace elements of coolant. The head swap is not that big of a deal. If you want to get it done faster and have fewer questions during the job I suggest doing some research before taking it apart. In particular the exhaust manifold bolts will probably be rusted in place and can take a bit of work to get out (and even reach). Also, the vacuum lines off the valve cover tend to turn to stone and break when touched, so either be ready to patch them or replace them. For most getting the head in and out may be the hardest part, because its long, hard to reach, and weighs about 85 pounds. I found that sitting up on the radiator support and reaching over was the easiest way. I used a remanufactured 0331 TUPY head and a Fel Pro gasket set with new head bolts.

jedijeb

With such a short commute daily, it could be condensation in the oil that just isn't getting cooked out each day. My 2.5L has milky oil on the dipstick all the time during the winter, but the oil itself looks good when I change it. For a little while I removed the PCV and hooked the hose directly to the carb to pull more vacuum on the crankcase and used the PCV on the other end of the valve cover and for the time I ran it like that I never had any residue on the dipstick but after about a month it began to have pre ignition ping because it was running too lean and fouled the plugs. But it did let me know it was just condensation causing the problem.

Losing 1/2 gallon of coolant though would be a reason to check that head to be sure. Rod bearings you could probably change with the engine in the vehicle, but getting the crank down enough to change the main bearings would not be so easy, you would have to pull the transmission at least to get the rear of the crank down.

Turbo X_J

How do you propose to change the most important component that relates to engine oil pressure, the cam bearings?

gvnc

Interesting about the condensation. It's hard to see much through the filler cap, but I'm gonna pull the valve cover.

I should also mention that my mileage has been really bad lately... like 11-12 around town, which wasn't the case in the past. I had o2 sensor codes a while ago that went away and haven't come back, but I'll plan on replacing those, too. That might (?) be another thing pointing at coolant.

I replaced the exhaust manifold last year before the overheat because the cab was fumey, so those bolts have been out recently. Fumes have not come back since. I had replaced the valve cover gasket and ccv valve things before that. Been watching lots of videos about the head replace and reading around, too. I think the only tool I don't have is the 12-point deep socket for those bolts on the head.

I'll post a pic of the lifters when I get the valve cover off if there's anything interesting going on in there.

md21722

You shouldn't need to pull the valve cover to look for the head crack. You just remove the oil filler cap and look straight down. It literally cracks right in that area. Maybe you'd need a mirror or the climb into the engine a bit to get a better look. The lifters will make a tapping noise if they're worn. They are down in the block. The pushrods connect the lifters to the rocker arms up top. Poor fuel economy can be any number of things, but coolant in the oil is probably not the cause. Leaks at the exhaust manifold, lazy or malfunctioning O2 sensors (which may not trigger a code) can do it as can plugged up exhaust, etc. NTK O2 sensors are recommended. They are usually stock items at NAPA, Amazon, etc. The head bolts are 1/2" 12 point. The one in the back under the cowling can be difficult. I use a 3/8" rather than 1/2" drive socket for that one. Do NOT use abrasives to remove most of the head gasket. Use a scraper or razor blade and brake cleaner. Clean out the threads in the block really well. Change your oil a couple of times with short drain intervals to get all the crap out. You WILL end up with grit and coolant in the oil from all the scraping and coolant that will come out of the head when you pull it off the engine. Some folks will change the oil the first time the engine comes up to operating temperature then change it within 500 miles. If you cut open the oil filters after doing this job you'll see the point of this suggestion.

gvnc

Update, there is no obvious crack. I took the valve cover off to be sure. There was a little gunk where I thought the crack would be, but there was a similar deposit between 1 and 2. I got in there with a toothbrush and can't see any kind of hairline. Deposits were dark and thick, actually took a knife to scrape it off. The rocker arms (my fault, I was calling em lifters) and all that look great, not like the chocolate boogery mess I've seen in videos where there's lots of coolant contamination. There was milky oil at the top of the valve cover, which might be from condensation like md21722 was saying.

Through all this I confirmed that my #4 injector was leaking. I think I'm gonna order a set off ebay, get new o2 sensors, then slap it all back together and hope for the best.

If anyone thinks thats asinine let me know.