Teonna.robbins

Okay I have a 1998 jeep. Had it since I was 16. It's making a ticking noise. This dude said I "blew a head" idk what that means lol. Ik the noise is coming from the motor. I think it's Bc I was slacking on oil changes... Get it fixed or get a new car?

dave1123

Welcome to CF!

If it's more than the normal "4.0 rattle", it may be a collapsed lifter or a worn rocker pivot. Are there any other symptoms, like burning oil or does it get louder at higher rpms than an idle? A blown head gasket will show more than a "tick." Likewise with a cracked piston.

You could remove the valve cover and inspect the valve springs, rockers, and rocker pivots for loose bolts, broken spring coils, or cracks around the pushrod pockets. If it's a collapsed lifter, you can press down on the valve end of the rockers while it's running to see if it goes away.

Your 98 still has the 0630 cylinder head that is not the one known for cracking. The 99-01 0331 head is the one that there's a problem with. There's been so much publicity about the 0331 that everyone thinks "Oh, it's a jeep. It must be a cracked head." I also wouldn't expect a blown head gasket unless it's been severely overheated or you have a broken or loose head bolt. A compression check will prove or disprove a blown gasket.

My advise is to fix it. ZJs in good condition are getting harder to find lately and I'd hate to see you throw away a good one just for a tick.

jon-d

I have something similar on my 96. it seems to be coming from the head, and in the middle of it (not spread across the entire head). it does go away when I up the RPMs but is this something worth pulling the valve cover off for? also, you mentioned pushing down on the valve rockers while running, so no worry about oil splashing everywhere?

dave1123

I couldn't tell you about that, having never done it with a 4.0, but yeah, that could be a problem. I DO know that for Chevy small blocks, there are clips that you can buy to cover the pushrod oil hole to prevent that. SBC's throw oil EVERYWHERE!

Also IBT the reason for the 4.0 rattle is the oil feed holes to the lifters are small resulting in not enough oil flow at idle to keep the valve lash closed. I DO KNOW that my 2000 rattles like crazy until it gets up to temp, then it goes away. I put new Sealed Power lifters in it a year ago when I replaced my head. On high mileage engines the rattle tends to get louder because of bearing leakage of the oil flow.

BTW, the 4.0 rattle has always been a sore spot for people that don't know jeeps. They tend to think something's wrong with them.