Yeah the front bolt is a pain, being boxed in and all.
I do recommend the sawzall too, from experience its pretty much the only thing you can do without comprimising the metal around it. the blade is going to get bent and probably twisted so be willing to buy a new blade or three.

Do you have another vehicle? Come and get mine if you do

 

Question for the group.
I have a 00 xj that blew a head gasket. I replaced the gasket but now it has a noise in the top end that wasnt there before. Could i have bent a valve? Or something else that would cause a loud ticking noise. I have the head back off an debating if i should rebuild this one or just invest in a new one. Only 134k on the bottom end so its still young.

 

Lifter.

 

12 brand new lifters already installed.

 

I did notice that the new ones seemed to be just a tad bit shorter than the old ones.

 

No I was yanking a avalanch out of a deep sand hole the only way to get it out was with a head start with like 10 ft slack in the tow rope off my hitch

 

I just went through the same thing with my dads '00. Started off replacing the head gasket. It had a lil tick, so figured while we're down there, lets put in new lifters. Well, get everything back together, drive around, starts running like ish. Poppin the light, missing.... Think we knocked some crap in some of holes when we removed the old lifters, ran some "stuff" through, to no avail. Pull it back a part and a lifter is destroyed. Well, so was the cam. Stuff did get in, and seized one up. Anyway, writing that whole story, did think of something: if you got the head surfaced and they shaved too much, you might either need some shorter push rod or a shim in between head and block.

 

Your lifters should be same size as old. It may be too short and not closing the valves.

 

I got my dads sawzall. Gota get blades. Prob gona cut it tomorow. Im tired and getting mad at the jeep. Gota hunt down some bolts for it too

 

if they were too short they wouldn't fully open. they would have to be too long to not let the valves close. but either way we are talking about hydraulic lifters here meaning oil pressure pumps them up to proper specs as long as they are the right part. the question is how is the cam holding up to the new lifters. Its always a risk changing lifters without the cam and you should never use old lifters on a new cam. If you end up putting old lifters back in make sure they go in the same spot they came out of. the cam and lifters wear into each other.

FWIW leaf spring bolts are the same as lower control arm bolts.. so go to the junk yard and pull some bolts and use them on yours.

 

I would but don't have time for the junkyard. Gonna go to fastenal or need ada bolt for them in the morning before work

 

Thanks for catching that, I was trying to type and think at the sometime and got ish backwards. Lol

 

Trailing is fun, but is there any place to go and get the jeep wet and dirty? I like my girls dirty!

 

Just quick installed my light bar... Probably should've planned it out a little better but works like a champ as is bright as f!!!! Gotta finish running the wiring tomorrow night!

 

Looks good! Who makes the light bar?