1999 TJ headgasket or new head?

[TheUltimateG]

So, as the title says I've got a 98 TJ. Was informed by mechanic that put in my clutch I would be in need of water pump. Boy was he ever right. Old pump was missing all the fins on the impeller. Made mistake putting in new pump and lower radiator hose popped off while driving. Fixed issue but now I have problem with overheating still. Upper radiator hose is hard almost immediately and I'm getting a light white smoke from the pipe and water on ground below the exhaust pipe. Everything I'm reading says head gasket needs replaced. I haven't seen any mixing of the oil and coolant, but from the hard upper radiator hose and white smoke believe I'm getting exhaust gasses entering the cooling system.

Anyone experience this issue?
What are chances the head is crack free?

I can't afford new/reman head but can afford new gasket. I'm stuck in Denver and need to get back to Arizona on cheapest possible budget. Am I wasting my time replacing head gasket?
Or should I find place to store my Jeep, take greyhound back to AZ until I can afford head and come back for it later?

 

[jeepguy03]

I would first confirm you do have a cracked head/ bad head gasket with a kit to test for exhaust gasses in the cooling system (link to one below).

In my experience with 4.0Ls (I've owned 4, worked on many, many more) they rarely blow the head gasket, and instead crack the cylinder head, but you won't know until you get it apart.

https://www.amazon.com/Block-Tester-BT-500-Combustion-Leak/dp/B06VVBSFTF?tag=wranglerorg-20

 

[Chris]

White smoke fro the tailpipe suggests coolant in the oil. You could always rule this out by performing a leak down test, but I suspect you're going to see that the head gasket is failing.

Take it apart and have the head inspected for cracks. You could also throw some stop leak in there and it may be enough to get you back to Arizona. Still, I wouldn't just throw a head gasket on there. I'd plan on doing that but have the head inspected to make sure there are no cracks before just slapping it back together.

 

[TheUltimateG]

Let me add that I don't believe this is a burping issue due to hard upper hose and white smoke from tailpipe.

 

[jeepguy03]

White smoke fro the tailpipe suggests coolant in the oil. You could always rule this out by performing a leak down test, but I suspect you're going to see that the head gasket is failing.

Take it apart and have the head inspected for cracks. You could also throw some stop leak in there and it may be enough to get you back to Arizona. Still, I wouldn't just throw a head gasket on there. I'd plan on doing that but have the head inspected to make sure there are no cracks before just slapping it back together.

Chris is correct, however I would recommend against using stop leak unless it is an absolute emergency. I've worked on a few Jeeps where the previous owner used stop leak and it gets everywhere in the cooling system and is almost impossible to flush out. To the point that if you use it, you might as well plan on replacing your radiator and heater core afterward unfortunately.

 

[jeepguy03]

Let me add that I don't believe this is a burping issue due to hard upper hose and white smoke from tailpipe.

Another way to test is pull the spark plugs and have a look, if one or two are really clean (steam cleaned) you have coolant entering the cylinder.

 

[TheUltimateG]

I would first confirm you do have a cracked head/ bad head gasket with a kit to test for exhaust gasses in the cooling system (link to one below).

In my experience with 4.0Ls (I've owned 4, worked on many, many more) they rarely blow the head gasket, and instead crack the cylinder head, but you won't know until you get it apart.

https://www.amazon.com/Block-Tester-BT-500-Combustion-Leak/dp/B06VVBSFTF?tag=wranglerorg-20

Test kit is nice suggestion but doesn't help me differentiate if I'm dealing with gasket failure or cracked head. Looks like I'm using the Blue devil or taking the bus. Only other issue is finding place to store it and the small 4x8 trailer I have loaded to take back to AZ.

Thanks for the quick reply.

 

[TheUltimateG]

White smoke is obvious I've got crack or failed gasket. Don't believe test is needed to tell me that unless you can think of another reason I would be getting the white smoke.

 

[jeepguy03]

In that case you are likely wasting your time only replacing the gasket, especially since the labor is the same if you put a new or remanned head on it.

 

[TheUltimateG]

How do I identify what head I've got?
What about pulling a head from something else like a cherroke at the junkyard?

 

[Chris]

How do I identify what head I've got?

Take the oil cap off and look in there with a flashlight. The head should have a stamping on it.

 

[Moglocker]

So, as the title says I've got a 98 TJ. Was informed by mechanic that put in my clutch I would be in need of water pump. Boy was he ever right. Old pump was missing all the fins on the impeller. Made mistake putting in new pump and lower radiator hose popped off while driving. Fixed issue but now I have problem with overheating still. Upper radiator hose is hard almost immediately and I'm getting a light white smoke from the pipe and water on ground below the exhaust pipe. Everything I'm reading says head gasket needs replaced. I haven't seen any mixing of the oil and coolant, but from the hard upper radiator hose and white smoke believe I'm getting exhaust gasses entering the cooling system.

Anyone experience this issue?
What are chances the head is crack free?

I can't afford new/reman head but can afford new gasket. I'm stuck in Denver and need to get back to Arizona on cheapest possible budget. Am I wasting my time replacing head gasket?
Or should I find place to store my Jeep, take greyhound back to AZ until I can afford head and come back for it later?

How long do you have there?get a Clearwater head and be done.

 

[jeepguy03]

A 1998/1999 TJ 4.0L will have a cylinder head with an 0630 casting. This same head is found on 1996-1999 Cherokee XJ, 1997-1999 TJ Wranglers, and 1996-1998 ZJ Grand Cherokees with the 4.0L engine. As mentioned above Clearwater Cylinder also makes a brand new cylinder head that is compatible with 1991-2001 4.0L engines.

 

[macleanflood]

You can throw a head gasket on a 98 in an afternoon. Felpro head gasket kit isn't more than a couple hundred. You pull the exhaust header and intake, bleed off a little coolant and remove the water neck...rocker cover comes off...then head studs.

Kit comes with new valve seals...skip them for now...make sure you put thread sealant on the front driver head stud... proceedure is in the FSM.

Give it a shot and see what happens.

Cyber Monday...20 percent off online O'Reilly's and 25 percent off Napa online. Ordered a bunch of parts for the wife's JK.

-Mac

 

[GoldenGorilla]

I'm team - swap the head gasket and see if it'll go. The 0630 head isn't as prone to cracking and the head gasket is pretty easy to access on these.

But spend $35 on the funnel kit from Harbor Freight, and make sure you get it burped. I think from your description of swapping the water pump you got alot of air trapped up in the head which created the original overheating issue. The hard upper hose does suggest an blown head gasket and exhaust gasses entering the water jacket more so than a cracked head.

It's not impossible to crack an 0630 head and it's not impossible to warp it by overheating, but they're cast iron and tough (except the early 0331 heads).

 

[GoldenGorilla]

And if you do go the head gasket route. When you have the head off - take a moment to use a long straight edge to check the head didn't warp.

 

[Moglocker]

And if you do go the head gasket route. When you have the head off - take a moment to use a long straight edge to check the head didn't warp.

What about the white smoke,I think I would still do the coolant test

 

[GoldenGorilla]

What about the white smoke,I think I would still do the coolant test

Yeah, that's not a bad idea to parse whether you have exhaust gas getting into the coolant or coolant getting into the oil. But at the end of the day a crack in the head can happen in such a way that it leads from cylinder to coolant passages or from coolant passages to the valvetrain. With the non-TUPY '00-'02 0331 heads the latter seems more common, but I don't know about the 0630 heads. You can't entirely verify a crack without taking it into a machinist. The OP could call Gunn here in Denver and see if they can check it same day for him though I kinda doubt it.

I still think with a 98/99 0630 head it's worth rolling the dice under the circumstances.

 

[Moglocker]

Yeah, that's not a bad idea to parse whether you have exhaust gas getting into the coolant or coolant getting into the oil. But at the end of the day a crack in the head can happen in such a way that it leads from cylinder to coolant passages or from coolant passages to the valvetrain. With the non-TUPY '00-'02 0331 heads the latter seems more common, but I don't know about the 0630 heads. You can't entirely verify a crack without taking it into a machinist. The OP could call Gunn here in Denver and see if they can check it same day for him though I kinda doubt it.

I still think with a 98/99 0630 head it's worth rolling the dice under the circumstances.

I think if I could extend my stay I would have it checked.i wonder if he drilled the hole?

 

[TheUltimateG]

Thanks for all the replies. I do have a few days and a garage to use. I am at junkyard right now and there is 2 compatible heads. I may pull one just to have it in case. Without any way to test the head I'm grabbing any tell tale signs of thing I should look for to rule one or the other out?