Hi Guys,


Newbie 95 XJ 4.0 owner here in UK and big fan of the forum.


Had my XJ about 6 weeks now. Bought it with only 68k on the clock for a good price but the engine needed a service (oils/coolant) as it was only used in winters, and sat still the rest of the year.


The Jeep overheated on the way home! I did a compression test which lead me to diagnose a blown head gasket, which it was. I got the cylinder head off and took it to the machine shop. They had to take off 24 thou which is a lot, and also reseated the valves. Because they took off so much, I thought I'd check the block for warping with feeler gauges and lone behold its warped about 4/5 thou over 3/4 cylinders where the gasket went! The machine shop says a new gasket would cover a couple thou, but he wouldn't recommend putting it back together with that much warping, which leaves me in a pickle.


I wanted to ask you guys for some advice. I definitely want to keep the Jeep as the bodywork and interior is good. Would it be best to recon the engine (that means stripping the block so it can be skimmed) or get a second replacement? Whats the odds of me discovering something else wrong in the engine? If I had the money I'd do a stroker but everything has to be imported - no 258 cranks round here even for the poor guy stroker


Also, any UK owners got some good links for parts over here?


Many thanks in advance!

 

>004" to .005" warpage in the block?

I can't see one warping myself.

Per the factory service manual, .008" is max amount allowed. So, all this fretting for nothing, eh?

 

Yep warped the block - I was surprised too I thought they were bulletproof. Precious owner must have overheated it before.

Really 8 thou allowance? I never knew that. So you would recommend putting the head back on as it is?

 

Not only me, but the guys who engineered your engine...........

 

Go to your local parts store, or however you get parts, and look for a head gasket by felpro in the heavy duty series. My head is warped 6.5 thou, and I used said gasket (part number is SD530 or something close to that). It's a little beefier and will take the gap better

 

Measure the thickness of a stock head gasket. It's over .043" thick.

 

Thanks guys.


Parsnip cheers for that - I'm not sure if I can get them in the UK but i'll have a look.


What's your thoughts of using two gaskets??

 

Never use 2 gaskets.
Felpro makes a .051" thick gasket if that makes you feel better. May even be the stock dimension.

Quit worrying.

 

Thanks guys

Where does it say .008 warp allowance in the block? In Haynes it says .002 in over 6 inches max

 

In the Factory Service Manual......

 

Put my watermark right over the spec in the first pic...

 

Haha thanks for that.

You don't think it matters that it's not over 6 inches? It's pretty much straight in between 3 and 4, and to the right of it

 

I wouldn't sweat it.

 

I wouldn't worry to much. Your gasket is there for that reason. Run the thicker one if it helps ya sleep better. I've done worse with less.

 

I don't like that ether. Being you don't have much choice, give her a go and let us know how it works out.

8 thou in less than 6 inches? You're sure that is accurate?