After 193k miles, it finally happened

LiftMore

LiftMore

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Supporting Member
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Apr 3, 2018
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46
Location
Maryland, USA
My TJ is a '00 with the 0331 casting cylinder head. Up until now, it's been crack free. I recently changed out my oil filler cap since the old one was stripped and a pain to get off and I noticed a little bit of coolant on the old cap.

Luckily this isn't my daily driver so I have options. I'm still not sure if I want to tackle this on my own, or take it to a mechanic and have them replace it. I'm waiting on a quote back from the mechanic so if it is a fair price that would save me an entire weekend that wouldn't be all that bad. Of course, doing it myself and learning something wouldn't be all that bad either.

Ugh... just when I was about to get serious on building up my axles.
 
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LiftMore said:
Ugh... just when I was about to get serious on building up my axles.
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X2, but mine wasn't engine related; cosmetic body and windshield damage. I feel ya brah!
 
CodaMan said:
It's really not that bad of a job. I replaced my last cylinder head all by myself and in a weekend. You can pick up new head shipped for around $450.

These will also cure the cracking issue with some 0331 heads.

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5337789113&icep_item=172146958114

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5337789113&icep_item=302056256198
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I've spent most of this morning watching videos on the process and am leaning towards doing it myself. Up until this point, the biggest jobs I've done that were engine related as just a water pump and thermostat. This seems more time consuming but doable I think.

JMT said:
X2, but mine wasn't engine related; cosmetic body and windshield damage. I feel ya brah!
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Lol... I just had the windshield replaced 2 weeks ago. It had been cracked 3/4 of the way across for the last 3 years.
 
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Guy called me.back with the quote. While he's not entirely convinced it's a crack he said I'd be looking at about 1k which is about what I expected.

He told me to check a few things which I will and take some pictures.

Reason I think it's a crack or at minimum a gasket was the green tinge on the oil cap that I just replaced. Also I just did a flush and fill of coolant hand have had to tip it off 4x already. Last time was about a quart added.

So I'll heat it up and monitor temp and oil pressure and check my dipstick and in the valve cover for chocolate milk.

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I have a garage now. before, that wasn't the case and even worse, this used to be my daily driver. It made getting stuff done over a weekend a challenge at times, and there were some frustrating Sunday nights on a few of them.

Anyhow, I'm even more confused. My oil looks find. My radiator coolant looks fine. I know there was green on the old oil cap. So I took some before pictures, then got her up to operating temperature and took some more. I even collected the water that came out of the tailpipe. I'll have to wait a bit longer for it to cool down to re-check the coolant color.

Before:
A little cloudy snot, but I wouldn't say concerning.
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PoD2yIb.jpg

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At idle:
ukSm74E.jpg


At 2500rpm
N45cyAc.jpg


Collected water smelled like just water. nothing.
pW21v3p.jpg


After:
PJokHEL.jpg

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uNcc5vV.jpg


I work 50 miles from home. I'm going to drive her to work and monitor gauges close and recheck when I get home. I know I'm old, but I'm not crazy.
 
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LiftMore said:
I've spent most of this morning watching videos on the process and am leaning towards doing it myself. Up until this point, the biggest jobs I've done that were engine related as just a water pump and thermostat. This seems more time consuming but doable I think.


Lol... I just had the windshield replaced 2 weeks ago. It had been cracked 3/4 of the way across for the last 3 years.
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You don't have to remove thew water pump to replace the head. We need to get @jeep_boss to chime in, I think he just replaced his and has a thread on it. And really, it's not that bad of a job.
 
LiftMore said:
Awesome! I never knew you could rent these things. Going to check one out this weekend. I drove into work today with no issues. Gauges stayed normal, but it is still cool this time of year in the mid-Atlantic.
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just go to one where you can buy it an then return in an get your money back......its a loan tool program, instead of renting......or you can rent it if none of them places around.:)
 
LiftMore said:
I have a garage now. before, that wasn't the case and even worse, this used to be my daily driver. It made getting stuff done over a weekend a challenge at times, and there were some frustrating Sunday nights on a few of them.

Anyhow, I'm even more confused. My oil looks find. My radiator coolant looks fine. I know there was green on the old oil cap. So I took some before pictures, then got her up to operating temperature and took some more. I even collected the water that came out of the tailpipe. I'll have to wait a bit longer for it to cool down to re-check the coolant color.

Before:
A little cloudy snot, but I wouldn't say concerning.
View attachment 38313
View attachment 38314
View attachment 38315
View attachment 38316
View attachment 38317

At idle:
View attachment 38318

At 2500rpm
View attachment 38319

Collected water smelled like just water. nothing.
View attachment 38320

After:
View attachment 38321
View attachment 38322
View attachment 38323

I work 50 miles from home. I'm going to drive her to work and monitor gauges close and recheck when I get home. I know I'm old, but I'm not crazy.
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So, was it ok after all?
 
weldedcambolt said:
just go to one where you can buy it an then return in an get your money back......its a loan tool program, instead of renting......or you can rent it if none of them places around.:)
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Yeah, I looked online for my various places around and didn't see any that rented them. Of the two I found, one wants $245, and the other $75 but out of stock.

glwood said:
So, was it ok after all?
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I went to my local Jeep meeting last night, and one of the members thinks the snot I'm seeing on my cap is just condensation since my oil is clear, and coolant is clear as well. I am loosing coolant and that may be due to a radiator leak since the fins on my fan side are chewed up from what I don't know, but it should definitely be replaced. I'm going to order one up to install and keep a close eye on my fluids. If that doesn't fix it, I'm out the cost of coolant since the radiator needs replacing anyway.
 
everything looks fine to me...... the "snot " on the oil cap is just from normal condensation. If there was a crack in the head or a bad gasket, it would be a whole lot more than just that.
 
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greenliftedtj97 said:
everything looks fine to me...... the "snot " on the oil cap is just from normal condensation. If there was a crack in the head or a bad gasket, it would be a whole lot more than just that.
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My opinion too. Head cracks result in one of two things, either coolant will mix with the oil or it will get into the combustion side and blow white smoke out of the exhaust. Neither one of these results can easily be mistaken for something else or overlooked. Google examples of either and I think you will realize that you are safe.
 
LiftMore said:
Yeah, I looked online for my various places around and didn't see any that rented them. Of the two I found, one wants $245, and the other $75 but out of stock.


I went to my local Jeep meeting last night, and one of the members thinks the snot I'm seeing on my cap is just condensation since my oil is clear, and coolant is clear as well. I am loosing coolant and that may be due to a radiator leak since the fins on my fan side are chewed up from what I don't know, but it should definitely be replaced. I'm going to order one up to install and keep a close eye on my fluids. If that doesn't fix it, I'm out the cost of coolant since the radiator needs replacing anyway.
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https://www.autozone.com/locations/md.html you got to pay for it, but they give you the money back, when you return it? if your in maryland
 
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