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Clearwater Cylinder Head with New Pushrods and Rockers

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Old 03-23-2019, 08:21 AM
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Default Clearwater Cylinder Head with New Pushrods and Rockers

Hey everybody, I recently purchased a 2001 Jeep Cherokee XJ over the summer. She started overheating and the upper radiator hose ended up blowing on me. To make a long story short it turns out that the previous owner had blown the head gasket and put a bad head back on.

I have removed the cylinder head, intake, and exhaust manifolds. I am replacing the radiator, water pump, fan, both radiator hoses, the AC Compressor, as well as putting a new Clearwater Cylinder Head on. I was thinking about putting new push rods and rocker arms in as well, my question is if there is anything wrong with replacing the pushrods and rocker arms when replacing the cylinder head?
Old 03-23-2019, 03:36 PM
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Cracked head is the most famous problem on the 01 xj. Why would anything be wrong with replacing the rockers and pushrods? Hopefully you are replacing the lifters while the head is off..
Old 03-24-2019, 01:15 AM
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If all your push rods and rockers are OK I would not. Unless you were doing lifters to. Then I definitely would. They wear a certain way and theoretically you should keep them in the same position. For an everyday motor not that big a deal if you don't though. But I would just swap them over to the new head in the same positions and call it a day.
Old 03-24-2019, 02:07 AM
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It is common theory that “ they wear a certain way” and to orient your rockers and pushrods to the exact same hole etc .... however I’ll go against the grain and say that as long as you keep the UP side UP on your pushrods and install everything correctly it’s highly unlikely you’ll ever see a problem . What is a lot more common however is hard wear to the upper push rod ends and rocker arms from being ran low on oil . It will be obvious if so usually the tip of the pushrod will not be perfectly round or not smooth etc. If there’s evidence of being ran dry before if your budget allows I would replace it all including lifters.
Old 03-24-2019, 09:37 AM
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I'd be more concerned about the cam bearings having been wiped out by coolant in the oil.
Old 03-24-2019, 09:33 PM
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Originally Posted by 97grand4.0
Cracked head is the most famous problem on the 01 xj. Why would anything be wrong with replacing the rockers and pushrods? Hopefully you are replacing the lifters while the head is off..
would I somewhat be rolling the dice in hurting my cam shaft if I were to replace the lifters?
Old 03-24-2019, 09:34 PM
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Originally Posted by Ralph77
If all your push rods and rockers are OK I would not. Unless you were doing lifters to. Then I definitely would. They wear a certain way and theoretically you should keep them in the same position. For an everyday motor not that big a deal if you don't though. But I would just swap them over to the new head in the same positions and call it a day.

I think that’s exactly what im going to do, down the road if need be I will rebuild everything brand new
Old 03-24-2019, 09:35 PM
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Originally Posted by GreaseMonkey17
It is common theory that “ they wear a certain way” and to orient your rockers and pushrods to the exact same hole etc .... however I’ll go against the grain and say that as long as you keep the UP side UP on your pushrods and install everything correctly it’s highly unlikely you’ll ever see a problem . What is a lot more common however is hard wear to the upper push rod ends and rocker arms from being ran low on oil . It will be obvious if so usually the tip of the pushrod will not be perfectly round or not smooth etc. If there’s evidence of being ran dry before if your budget allows I would replace it all including lifters.

thanks brother, I’m far from an expert you guys helped me a lot
Old 03-24-2019, 10:05 PM
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How long did the engine run with coolant in the oil? what kind of oil pressure does it have?
Old 03-25-2019, 06:23 AM
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Originally Posted by MikeyXJ34


would I somewhat be rolling the dice in hurting my cam shaft if I were to replace the lifters?
Absolutely not. You can put new lifters on an old cam all day long. Been doing it for 40 years. Did it to my zj just a few months ago. Now, if you change the cam, you then MUST put in new lifters.
As far as wiping out the cam bearings with coolant in the oil, ...why just the cam bearings? Would it not hit all the bearings as well, and in that case, wouldn't the oil pressure be dropping? I just rather doubt that running a little while with whatever coolant leaked from a head gasket would cause measurable damage.
Old 03-25-2019, 08:31 AM
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How long is a little while? Have we seen ANY bearings?
Old 03-25-2019, 09:17 AM
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Originally Posted by cruiser54
How long did the engine run with coolant in the oil? what kind of oil pressure does it have?

the oil oil pressure was fine, i’d say 10-15 minutes max
Old 03-29-2019, 06:35 AM
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Originally Posted by MikeyXJ34
the oil oil pressure was fine, i’d say 10-15 minutes max
You will never know what the last guy did though.

An engine oil analysis, if you still have have oil in the sump, may show the excessive presence of bearing metal..cost about $40
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