Thank you! Now I've got an inexpensive project for the weekend

Definitely will be! I actually got a price on the felpro gasket last week because i've been dying to paint my valve cover. I figured I'd just go ahead and change it on what I thought was the off chance it was the cause of my leak.

 

This might be too easy of an explanation but is there any chance you had a clog? This happened to me on a trip a few weeks ago. It's like the temp jumps from 210 to red instantly. Had to pull over on the side of the highway for a while to let it cool down and noticed my cooling system barfed up some nasty stuff into the overflow reservoir. After letting it cool down I made it all the way home without a problem.

I spent the next week or two flushing and refilling the system and heater core that was lined with rusty sediment. Now it's clean and green.

 

^^^^ happened to me.

 

Did you install a new radiator cap?

 

I did. And a bunch of other stuff mostly for peace of mind.

This is a good time to mention what inspired my username. Yes it's from The Office but it's also because when I drove my jeep home the first day from the dealership the radiator blew. Literally blew up. The previous owner had completely neglected the cooling system and the dealership didnt do **** about it. They just prettied it up and pushed it off the lot. My fault for not looking into it but I knew a whole lot less about automobiles in general back then.

Long story short, a man among men named Tony Bennett saved me and my wallet that weekend by driving all the way to jacksonville to get a radiator and helping me replace it in the gas station parking lot. It's a pretty crazy story.

Since then I've replaced the coolant about 3 times whenever I noticed it was starting to look reddish. Just drained it and refilled :\. It wasn't until this last emergency a few weeks ago I realized I needed to look into some serious cooling system maintenance. I'm looking forward to next winter now because my heater doesn't suck anymore!

 

The gasket would have taken me 30min, but it took me 2 hrs to clean and prep my valve cover.

 

1992 XJ stock.

Using the installer tool we got to a point where turning the nut is causing the engine to move. It has been suggested that we use a screw driver at the flywheel inspection plate to stop it from turning. I'm concerned that this could cause damage. It doesn't seem like the right tool for the job.

My teenager is the one actually wrenching on this. He bought the jXJ and after watching some youtube vids (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex_yJ_V5UH8) , and reading the forum he felt he could handle the job. After searching for a solution here today and reading about all the problems other's have had I'm wondering if I should suggest he have this towed to a mechanic. What would you guys say the level of difficulty is for changing the harmonic balancer yourself? He has a good toolset and has taken some mechanics class at the voc-tech, but this is probably the most intensive work he's done on a vehicle. Previous work has been along the level of replacing wheel bearings, belts, and brake jobs.

 

Open the inspection cover on the bellhousing, use a wrench on one of the torque converter bolts, rotate the crankshaft with the bolt on the harmonic balancer until the wrench (on the torque converter) gets held up on the block. Should be able to take the bolt out then. Do NOT lose the "key" for the harmonic balancer, and do NOT forget to put it back in either. Thats probably a 2-4 on the difficulty scale.

 

Thanks for your help.

Not trying to take the bolt out yet. Still trying to seat the harmonic balancer, but I'm assuming the "locked out" flywheel is necessary for both operations.

What is the "key" you refer to, and how would one lose it? Would that most likely happen in the removal or installation process?

 

My Volvo mechanic puts a wrench on the balancer bolt, up against something solid, then cranks the engine just enough to engage the starter. Bolt is loose.
I have done it a few times too, but not on a 4.0 liter.

 

The key is a metal wedge or shim that rotationally locks the balancer to the shaft. Inserts in recess in shaft when installing balancer. They sometimes fall off when removing.

 

What do you mean by "seat" the balancer. You cant do anything to it unless the bolt is out.

Not knowing the key is there is how you loose it. When you pull the balancer off, it will either be on the balancer, or on the shaft. Keep track of it.

 

I dont think theres anything to brace against, but that's a great idea

 

By "seat the balancer" I meant pushing it on all the way. When I started turning the nut on the installation tool it was about 2" away from the case. I was about to move a little more than an inch and a half closer before turning that nut began to turn the crankshaft. That is where we left it last night. I wasn't the one who took it off, so I'm not sure exactly how close to the timing case it is supposed to be. Am I almost there at 1/4"? Is it time to start using the torque wrench?

Is there anything else that we should be replacing while we are working on the harmonic balancer?

 

Oh, you already pulled the old one off. Im guessing you put the key back in or it would probably slip over the shaft. You'll have to take a picture. Its been a while since I did mine, I cant recall how much is enough.