Head Gasket

tcas1355 · **Posted:** Tue Sep 06, 2005 7:44 pm

Just warning everybody out there. I have a 2002 Sport with 86,000 miles on it and my head gasket is shot. I have a leak between cylinders 4 and 6. Engine codes lit up as 0153, 0304, 0306, 0300. Codes 0300, 0304, 0306 are engine misfire codes, and the 0153 is an oxygen sensor code because I was burning my anti-freeze out my exhaust. Even though I am having all these problems that will cost me about $1200, I still love my Jeep.

skrracing · **Posted:** Tue Sep 06, 2005 8:31 pm

Get a new head gasket and seal it back up and love it more. Very cool to hear a positive attitude about it. Hey things happen. Kudo to ya. Later...clint

tcas1355 · **Posted:** Wed Sep 07, 2005 9:35 pm

Thanks Clint. I recently bought a Crown Vic and have been driving that for a while. It is an excellent car and at first I thought that I would like it more than my Jeep, but I drove my sputtering, jerking, cloud making Liberty to the repair shop and I still loved it, lol. Weird, huh?

KY Liberty · **Joined:** Sat Jul 09, 2005 1:46 pm **Posts:** 1195

I had a leak in the head gasket that was allowing coolant into cylinder 4 also. Everyone should check their plugs for coolant. It looks like it may be a problem. It didn't set off any error codes on mine. I just wish that the mechanic that changed the plugs had realized the coolant was red instead of green. My Libby was still under warranty, and the N2O wasn't on it yet. Ended up costing me $4000 because the dealership lied and said the block, heads, pistons....etc were all ruined. It was actually just a couple valves and a lifter.

tcas1355 · **Posted:** Thu Sep 08, 2005 10:28 pm

Just an update, as we took it apart, we found that I have a cracked head also.

2003KJ · **Posted:** Thu Sep 08, 2005 10:36 pm

yikes! Perhaps just a fluke? Got any pictures? I'd love to see where exactly its cracked and how bad of a crack is it. We talking hairline or very noticeable?

tcas1355 · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2005 6:25 pm

I will take pics tomorrow if I get a chance. It is cracked between cylinders 1 and 3. It is quite noticeable. Seems like more than a hairline to me.

tcas1355 · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2005 6:28 pm

On another note, as I was calling around to locate a new head, or possibly another engine, a lot of the people that I spoke to said that they are getting a lot of Liberty's with head gasket issues as they get up in the 100,000 mile range. Mine only had 86,000. Keep an eye on your anti-freeze levels, lol.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Sun Sep 11, 2005 9:04 am

wow, im kinda scared now. I thought about taking my oil changes to 5k, i think ill stick with 3k. I really want that 7/year 70k miles warrenty on that engine.

corwyyn · **Posted:** Sun Sep 11, 2005 10:38 am

OK, so I have a question. Are the heads cast iron or aluminum? I've checked the factory manual and the only description it gives is for the cast iron block assembly. One of my previous vehicles was an '88 S-15 that had a head gasket blow at 230k - I replaced the gasket myself but that cast iron head was a #*@^&(!$* to get off and on. Not saying I'd attempt to replace one on the Jeep, but aluminum heads would at least make the job a little easier if I did.

tcas1355 · **Posted:** Tue Sep 13, 2005 6:44 pm

The cylinder heads are aluminum, and the block is cast iron. Instead of replacing the heads, I went and bought a 3.7 Liter motor from a collision shop parts place for $850. It only has 24,000 miles on it and is extremely clean. I just thought it would be better to buy a whole motor rather than buy the head for $340, then a head gasket set, which I don't think was exactly cheap either. I don't know, we'll see how many miles I get out of this one before I kill it. Just so you know, I changed my oil every 3000 miles and tried to take care of it, but...............lol.

Liberator84 · **Posted:** Wed Sep 14, 2005 9:01 am

2003KJ wrote:

yikes!! Got any pictures? I'd love to see where exactly its cracked and how bad of a crack is it.

Are we going to be able to see some pitures ... it's nerve racking to know what could possibly be around the corner in all of jeeps ... well the ones that are close to 80,000 miles lol :lol:

WV(0)IIIIIII(0) · **Posted:** Wed Sep 14, 2005 10:51 am

tcas1355 wrote:

The cylinder heads are aluminum, and the block is cast iron. Instead of replacing the heads, I went and bought a 3.7 Liter motor from a collision shop parts place for $850. It only has 24,000 miles on it and is extremely clean. I just thought it would be better to buy a whole motor rather than buy the head for $340, then a head gasket set, which I don't think was exactly cheap either. I don't know, we'll see how many miles I get out of this one before I kill it. Just so you know, I changed my oil every 3000 miles and tried to take care of it, but...............lol.

Sounds like you got a good deal. The cost on labor alone for someone to do the head gasket would have run you a couple hundred alone. I can't believe that the 3.7 was that cheap. I think that was a good move.

tcas1355 · **Posted:** Wed Sep 14, 2005 7:49 pm

I have a couple of pics on my cell phone, just have to transfer them and put them in here. For anyone thats close to Western New York, the place where i bought the motor is excellent for parts. They have a good rep around here for being a solid, honest parts place. It's called Howbill Auto Parts. Check them out if you need parts.

tcas1355 · **Posted:** Thu Sep 15, 2005 4:16 pm

I can't figure out how to post a pic on here, lol. I've never done it before. [/quote]

KY Liberty · **Joined:** Sat Jul 09, 2005 1:46 pm **Posts:** 1195

That's a great deal. Swap in the good motor. Then you can get your old motor built. I'm going to get it done next summer. My old motor is sitting in my garage right now. Don't make the mistake of letting a dealership swap the motor. The five star dealership that swapped mine couldn't figure out the K&N FIPK. Had the timing completely wrong, and thought it was somehow the computer. Had it running so rich you could see exhaust pouring out of it at 100 ft away. Test drove it 50 miles with the N2O and fuel lines disconnected from the nozzle in the intake. Damaged the air filter, and bent the guard on the transmission which caused a really weird transmission noise.

Head Gasket

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