Found the pushrod for the exhaust valve not fully seated on the lifter. Put it back to where it needed to be and buttoned everything back up. Drove it for 13 miles, highway and city. Drives really well now but idle is still a little rough. No check engine light (check engine light usually came on at idle or within a few hundred feet of driving). Is there any break in period with a reman head?

 

You may just have some residual crap in the cylinder causing the rough idle.

Cruiser54 posted a procedure for using water to clean out the cylinders the other day but I can't find it now. I would try that procedure. Don't use Seapuke, it will eat your O2S's.

PM Cruiser or search (yea right) the forum for the procedure.

 

I came across that in my vast searching but I don't think it's the issue, I cleaned the tops of the pistons off with intake cleaner and a rag and vacuumed out the loose residue.

She's running like she was before this morning again. Real rough idle, missing under load, check engine light. Took the rocker off again and tapped the valves with a plastic mallet. Buttoned her up again and drove. Same results as this morning (smooth drive, slightly rough idle). Got back near home and she started running rough under load and idle.

I'm starting to think I have issues with the lifters for cylinder 1, specifically the exhaust lifter. I did take them apart and clean the gunk/coolant out of them while I had the head off. This really sucks because the head has to come off again.

Thanks again for the help and suggestions. This has been really frustrating since it's my DD and I've been having to borrow my dad's wrangler and audi.

 

Update:

Cylinder head is bad. Compression on cylinder 1 is 60 psi. Took rockers off and tapped valves with plastic mallet. Reinstalled rockers: compression was 90 psi then dropped to 60 psi. Took rockers off, compression was 60 psi.

Cyl. 2: 140 psi
Cyl. 3: 145 psi
Cyl. 4: 150 psi
Cyl. 5: 145 psi
Cyl. 6: 150 psi

Talked to David at Clearwater earlier and said they would replace head if my readings showed as they are above. Hope they will reimburse me for gaskets, bolts, oil and coolant too. Would it be a stretch to ask for time reimbursement too? I'd only charge them what I charge my friends $25/hr!

 

Sorry about the bad head. You'll be lucky if they pay the shipping both ways.

They generally will not cover any incidental expenses of money or time. Sorry. That's pretty much what the parts industry does as a matter of policy

 

Got the head off this morning and sent it back. They said they'd replace gaskets but nothing else. The gaskets they will send are made by a company called DNJ/Rock. Anyone heard of them, I haven't.

 

Alright. Finally got the head back from Clearwater last night. The Cyl. 1 exhaust valve was bent!

Bolted it on and checked compression. 140 psi in Cylinder 1 and the rest were what they were last week. Got everything put back together this morning and she runs like a champ! All is right with the universe now.

 

Glad to hear Clearwater fixed ya up. I've had mine in my 01 for 3000 miles now and going good. Hopefully she stays that way. Was that your only symptom is cylinder 1 misfire? They say it was common issue or a fluke? I bought my head in April

 

That was my only symptom with the head and they said it was a fluke issue. Wasn't really impressed with the attitude I was given by my service guy there. He was really cool up until I gave him my compression readings.

 

Nice yeah when I called I wasn't impressed the owner called back and apologized cause he had a new kid working there...