I got to enjoy my second experience with a cracked head on a 2000 jeep. I pulled the head with the intake and exhaust manifold still attached as I just could not get to the lower bolts on the intake manifold. I thought I was being clever and installed and properly torqued the intake and exhaust manifolds on the new head on the bench and then placed the entire assembly on the block and installed the head.
I started the Jeep and the rpm's went right to red line - around 5,000 rpm. The throttle plate was closed. So I had a massive air leak at the intake. Turns out the intake was not fully seated on the two dowel pins. Obviously I wish I had double checked this on the bench as now I either had to pull the head again, or figure out how to get to those 4 pesky bolts under the intake manifold. I pulled the PS pump and bracket to make room and try to get to the first bolts from the front. I have a swivel 14 mm socket and gear wrenches and all kinds of extensions but after almost 2 hours of getting nowhere at all, I took a break.
I decided to see if I could confirm whether the intake was really not seated on the dowel pins. I removed the upper bolts holding the intake. I took a pry bar and, placed it against the exhaust manifold (still bolted in place) and gently pried the ends of the intake upwards. Sure enough - the intake moved up a little, confirming neither end was seated on the dowel pin.
This is the "hack" part of job. I then put a piece of wood (a hammer handle) on the end runner of the intake and gently tapped the intake back "down." When it stopped moving, I tried to pry it up again, and it would not move up, confirming it was now seated on the dowel. I did that for both ends of the intake, installed the upper bolts, and fired jeep. It runs great! Now admittedly the bolts are not properly torqued anymore, you should never pry or tap on a fragile intake, and this is not the way to properly get the job done. But until I figure out how to move like Gumby and do this right, at least I can drive (and no codes yet)
Wanted to share this in case someone else screwed up like I did - if nothing else its a hack way to confirm you missed the dowel pins.
I started the Jeep and the rpm's went right to red line - around 5,000 rpm. The throttle plate was closed. So I had a massive air leak at the intake. Turns out the intake was not fully seated on the two dowel pins. Obviously I wish I had double checked this on the bench as now I either had to pull the head again, or figure out how to get to those 4 pesky bolts under the intake manifold. I pulled the PS pump and bracket to make room and try to get to the first bolts from the front. I have a swivel 14 mm socket and gear wrenches and all kinds of extensions but after almost 2 hours of getting nowhere at all, I took a break.
I decided to see if I could confirm whether the intake was really not seated on the dowel pins. I removed the upper bolts holding the intake. I took a pry bar and, placed it against the exhaust manifold (still bolted in place) and gently pried the ends of the intake upwards. Sure enough - the intake moved up a little, confirming neither end was seated on the dowel pin.
This is the "hack" part of job. I then put a piece of wood (a hammer handle) on the end runner of the intake and gently tapped the intake back "down." When it stopped moving, I tried to pry it up again, and it would not move up, confirming it was now seated on the dowel. I did that for both ends of the intake, installed the upper bolts, and fired jeep. It runs great! Now admittedly the bolts are not properly torqued anymore, you should never pry or tap on a fragile intake, and this is not the way to properly get the job done. But until I figure out how to move like Gumby and do this right, at least I can drive (and no codes yet)
Wanted to share this in case someone else screwed up like I did - if nothing else its a hack way to confirm you missed the dowel pins.
