Clayto1332

I didn't have a straight edge to check my straight edge no... But it was an old school magnesium straight edge. That's what they make the Swanson speed squares out of BECAUSE they don't warp.... However nothing surprises me at this point and as unlucky I am I will actually have the only seriously warped 6 cylinder head that this guy has even seen. I will say that I take good care of my vehicles though. My oil looking the way it did and so quickly along with the misfire was enough to tell me. If this guy says I am good I believe him.

The other day when I called him about the head he could have just spewed a bunch of bull**** about how the block needed to be machined and whatever else and I would have literally went and bought an engine hoist and mount, disassembled the entire engine and hauled the block off to him. He probably knew that too.... Instead he's all like "dude, just put the ****ing thing back together"!! LOL

I bought some kind of thread cleaning drill bit with nylon bristles that got all kinds of crud out of them before I went and put the head on the first time. The one that goes all the way through to the coolant chamber with the thread sealant was the worst. I had to dig the crap out of the threads on that bolt with a razor blade. I should have never even tried to reuse those bolts. I didn't use any oil but I put lots of anti-seize on the bolts. My understanding is it acts as a quasi-lubricant so you don't get a misread from your torque wrench?

I have decided to half-*** a paint job tonight. Wife is out of town and kids will be in bed. I bought a Chrystler orange and a flat black. I'm thinking the valve cover, water pump, thermostat housing, alternator bracket and fuel rail (I know to be careful) in orange and the intake manifold in black. That way whenever I put everything back together, and I am standing there bawling my eyes out because it won't start, I will have a nice polished turd to look at while I am thinking about which mechanic to take it to.

dave1123

DUDE!!! Don't think that way. It's not conducive to good brain health. Just anticipate that electric thrill when it fires right up! That first fire-up is like seeing your first kid when it's born. (well, nothing is better than that!) If you have any problems, it's probably going to be electronic.

To me, it just "Well, another trophy build!" Even though I've done several engines, it still is a kick.

BTW, have you seen the pics of the new 6.4L Hemi? Orange block and heads, black valve covers and intake.

Clayto1332

Here it is in all of it's glory! Again!




Total machine shop expense tallies up to 335. I'm telling myself that getting this one machined helps the semi-local economy and another good o'l boy business owner. Still has the original valves, springs, rockers, clips etc so everything checked out.

Here is the gasket I bought from him, the one he recommended:



I am literally too lazy to look back at this thread but I believe a gentleman also suggested a fel pro.

And finally the fruit of last night's painstaking cleaning and labor:



You can add painting to the list of things I'm not so good at. Got drips on the right side of the valve cover and thermostat housing. Oh well.... if anyone has a problem with it they can kiss my ***. Going to pick up my head bolts and another can of orange. Barely ran out and only lack a few minor touch ups. I'll finish her off with some enamel.

Also look at the valve cover. Normally there are two plastic vacuum hose attachments but now there is just one. I was trying to find a way to remove it for the paint but it broke... i became frustrated and proceeded to completely destroy it. You folks are probably starting to see how I am. What is the name of that thing? I'll probably describe it as "the doohickey on the valve cover" to the parts store folks.

Tonight is the night! I'll make a video of me cranking it up for the first time. Wish me luck.....

dave1123

The only thing I question is your painting of the throttle body. IDK that much about how they function, but I know carburetors have air bleed and pressure balance ports in them that are just small holes and can get dirt over them and not work properly. I guess you'll just have to find out.

Clayto1332

Painted the intake manifold but not the throttle body. That what you meant?

dave1123

Okay, maybe I'm wrong, but the item in your pic that has the hose on it just to the right of the valve cover looks like the throttle body. If it is, that's what I question.

That rubber grommet in the valve cover is called to crankcase ventilation grommet. The one that's still there is the CCV or PCV valve grommet. They both can be had at rockauto.com for around $3 each.

The note he put on the gasket about "top" is important. The holes in the gasket direct most of the coolant flow to the rear of the engine before it's allowed to come back thru the head to the thermostat. If installed backwards, it can cause hot spots and steam pockets to form in the back of the engine. Fel-Pro is a nice compliant gasket and works well with the 4.0.

When filling the engine with coolant, what works for me is to remove the temperature sensor, fill the radiator until coolant flows out of the sensor hole, put the sensor back in, and finish the fill. That gets 95% of the air out of the system. Then fire it up and add coolant as it warms up. Also, the heater supply hose that comes from the thermostat housing should go into the bottom heater core pipe. That way, the air bleeds itself out.

Clayto1332

Ahh that is the water pump. Have tons of tape on it so it is hard to tell what it is.

I finally had to stop for the night. Two hours connecting the exhaust manifolds. I have that CA emissions deal and I had an incredible about of difficulty with the front bolt on the back pipe. It was cross threaded and breaking the starting threads on all 4 bolts. Finally I ran a tap through the clip in a vice and saw the retaining part of the clip that applies pressure and holds the clip in place was broken and gouging whatever bolt I tried to send through. I got that out of the way... then sent a bolt back and forth through it over and ovet until I could do it with my fingers. I finally got both manifolds (exhaust, not intake) mounted loosely to the head and tightly to the exhaust pipes. Will start on the intake manifold tomorrow and can tell I am going to have plenty of difficulty and frustration getting it on and everything torqued down. After that everything is a lot easier to get to and I should be able to crank it up in no time.

When I die and god sends me to hell he will hand me a wrench and make me a mechanic for eternity. I am not one to ***** usually but I wonder how friends of mine enjoy making a living this way. Some people aren't cut out for it I guess.

The temp sensor suggestion is brilliant.... I have always burped the upper radiator hose with the cap off and heater on until I have made a giant mess. Thank you for continuing to help the best you can.

Another update coming tomorrow.

dave1123

THAT'S why I'm here. To pass on my 55 years of automotive experience to others. Granted, some of my tricks are dated, but for the most part, still work. Sometimes it's the less obvious things that will frustrate you.

Merry Christmas.

Clayto1332

HAHAHAHA ahhhh.... put a ****ing bullet in me.

So my ft lbs torque wrench I borrowed only goes down to 40 and my inch lbs wrench goes up to 200 so any ft lbs I had to guesstimate.

Well I was tightening down the pain in the *** bolts beneath the intake manifold and all of the sudden BAM!!! THE **** WAS THAT??? For a brief moment I thought I broke a bolt off in my head. I was relieved to find out I only cracked and broke my intake manifold.



Everywhere here is closed until Monday and no folks in Wichita Falls have one. I'll just have to wait until Monday. Oh well.... I needed a break anyway. Maybe I should ask Santa for a proper torque wrench.

You guys should sticky this thread and rename it "How NOT to replace your head gasket".

Merry Christmas!

Clayto1332

I found a store that had an aftermarket manifold. I would have rather bought a used one online or went to a junkyard but the area I live in Texas is bracing for a blizzard tonight through Tuesday. I know some of you folks up north regularly get 12+ inches of snow and don't really sympathize but we just aren't equipped, physically and financially, as a State to deal with this weather so often times cities and major roadways will be completely shut down for days. Long story short if I am getting snowed in I want to be getting my jeep finished. This intake plus the gasket (had to buy separate) put me out 240 bucks. Was able to acquire a cheap torque wrench and 1/2" socket sets at Harbor Freight. I know the wrench won't last but it is going to get extremely light use after this. Anyway here is a pic:



This thing really seems like a piece of crap but I am trying to stay positive.... the OEM part's bolt and injector holes seem more centered and I am worried that everything going back on this one will be ill-fitting. I might do a side by side pic when I pull the cracked one off. The good thing is if this manifold doesn't work out O'reilly's will refund my money. I'm just getting tired of all the trips back and forth BUT most of them have been because of my negligence and inexperience. I hope this is it... will get started tonight and keep this thread posted. Hopefully someone in this same boat down the road will read this and learn from my screw ups.

Clayto1332

Yep. Here is what happens when you WAY overtorque an aluminum intake manifold:



I'm glad that it broke now instead of later due to temperature expansion and contraction or whatever....

Here is a side-by-side of the manifolds:



There are a lot of differences but as long as everything goes right back on it I'm good.

mobile-command-unit

I want to let you know that im cheering for you. Don't give up!

dave1123

I don't see any differences other than 2 extra screw bosses and a weird extension flange on the rear edge. AND it doesn't say Chrysler.

Clayto1332

Alrighty folks. I finally got everything back together. I was real careful and meticulous through the whole process. I cranked it for about 10 seconds with the coil disconnected so the engine would lubricate. Put it back on and the engine fired right up. I drove it around and while it is at normal running rpm it runs a hell of a lot better and smoother. However even though I haven't gotten the error code yet cylinder 1 is still dead. I can pull the injector connector off of injector 1 and the engine runs the same. Any of the others and it runs much worse.

Whenever I made this thread I found that coolant was leaking into my cylinders and oil.... It wasn't causing this misfire but from what I understand is it would have ruined all my bearings and some other things. I learned a bunch of lessons and now that I have my head straightened out (hopefully) it's time to go back to the original issue. I hope you folks forgive me for completely ignoring all your advice and suggestions.

The boots. Oil on these can cause a spark issue? Since it isn't a great conductor I can see this. Before I order something and wait, could someone walk me through the process of testing the coil with a multimeter? I know how to use one.

Mobile-command-unit, could you give me more info on using my phone as a tester? I have a galaxy s6 edge.

Also could you give me more info on primary and secondary coils? How to test and which coils to test is one thing. How does the test work though? How do the readings prove the coil doesn't have problems?

I'll keep looking into this and post anything new I find if I don't hear back from anyone.

Clayto1332

Also thanks for the support and comments. Didn't see the last two until just now. The biggest difference is how far the new manifold dips down underneath. I could not get a ft lbs torque wrench to the 2nd bolt from back on bottom. I had to wing it... that is the same one that cracked the manifold last time so I compared pressure on other torqued down bolts.

My wife is making me take the night off to spend time with her. I need to give my hands a break anyway. I am OCD and have been washing them so much that they are red and swollen and when I reach in my pocket to get my car keys my right hand cracks and bleeds. I have seen videos of folks wearing rubber gloves like they do in hospitals and I think I'll do this from now on.