WJCO's Build Thread, 1999 WJ

WJCO said:
Almost always the head being cracked is more likely than the block. What scares me is that this issue started after a trail with a lot of water crossings. However, if the stop leak doesn't work, I think that's what we'll do.
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I'm going through a similar issue with my work van right now - Ford E350 Super Duty. I've been putting off dealing with it since the weather has been cool. I replaced the fan clutch this morning because I knew it was bad, but didn't expect it to help the issue... Sure enough, the temp shot up this afternoon. I'm gonna replace the stat next and then move on to the radiator. I'm afraid that it's gonna end up being a warped or cracked head but I'm hoping for the best and starting with the simple (and cheap) stuff first.

Glad you found the issue... I hope you find an economical fix.

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Build Thread - Adventures of Fiona - https://wayalife.com/showthread.php?t=47407
 
BaddestCross said:
I'm going through a similar issue with my work van right now - Ford E350 Super Duty. I've been putting off dealing with it since the weather has been cool. I replaced the fan clutch this morning because I knew it was bad, but didn't expect it to help the issue... Sure enough, the temp shot up this afternoon. I'm gonna replace the stat next and then move on to the radiator. I'm afraid that it's gonna end up being a warped or cracked head but I'm hoping for the best and starting with the simple (and cheap) stuff first.

Glad you found the issue... I hope you find an economical fix.

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What motor is in the van?
 
HighwayTrout said:
Bummer. Was hoping this wasn’t going to be the case even though all the signs were pointing that direction.
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The tech, whom I know, said as soon as the tstat opened, the block test fluid changed color. I did the test 3 times with my own at home with no change. Him an I both suspect my test fluid went to shit. I can test it later to make sure by holding it up to the Jeep's exhaust, but I'm not worried about it right now, I trust the guy.
 
WJCO said:
The tech, whom I know, said as soon as the tstat opened, the block test fluid changed color. I did the test 3 times with my own at home with no change. Him an I both suspect my test fluid went to shit. I can test it later to make sure by holding it up to the Jeep's exhaust, but I'm not worried about it right now, I trust the guy.
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Did you ever do a compression test? Now that you know the cause it may help you narrow the search for the location of the crack.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
98XJ06LJ said:
Did you ever do a compression test? Now that you know the cause it may help you narrow the search for the location of the crack.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using WAYALIFE mobile app
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I've thought about that now with hindsight. But I've never had any performance issues nor coolant loss so it's never been an issue for me. Now that I know an internal issue exists, if I decide to move forward with repairs, I'll let the dealer deal with that. The intake manifold and timing cover have to come off for either head, do I assume that the dealer will just pull both to inspect the gaskets and then send the heads to the machine shop.
 
Update on the WJ: It's been a mess. I purposely set an appointment with our dealer so they could tear it down while we were out of town. Long story short, after 2 weeks, they hadn't even touched it. Another 3 days with no results, I picked it up and took it to another independent shop. I called ahead to check their schedule as they are a big shop and was told if things go smoothly, they would have it back to me in a week. So I told them the entire story and left it in their care.

Slightly over 24 hours later, I got a phone call that heads were off but they didn't see anything abnormal. They shipped the heads off to a machine shop and within a day I was told that heads were pressure tested and passed, no cracks. The machine shop did mill the heads .007 whereas spec is .002, so there may have been some warpage, but no other concerns.
Today, I was told that the heads were reinstalled. We shall see if it is fixed.

If this works, either head warpage or gasket bypass was the cause and money well spent. If not, the short block is toast and I just wasted a bunch of money. Then I have to decide what the next step is. The shop found ZERO evidence of coolant wash in the cylinders which is good, but obviously combustion gases were still escaping into the cooling system based on previous tests. I will hopefully have it back within a few days to check it out.
 
WJCO said:
Update on the WJ: It's been a mess. I purposely set an appointment with our dealer so they could tear it down while we were out of town. Long story short, after 2 weeks, they hadn't even touched it. Another 3 days with no results, I picked it up and took it to another independent shop. I called ahead to check their schedule as they are a big shop and was told if things go smoothly, they would have it back to me in a week. So I told them the entire story and left it in their care.

Slightly over 24 hours later, I got a phone call that heads were off but they didn't see anything abnormal. They shipped the heads off to a machine shop and within a day I was told that heads were pressure tested and passed, no cracks. The machine shop did mill the heads .007 whereas spec is .002, so there may have been some warpage, but no other concerns.
Today, I was told that the heads were reinstalled. We shall see if it is fixed.

If this works, either head warpage or gasket bypass was the cause and money well spent. If not, the short block is toast and I just wasted a bunch of money. Then I have to decide what the next step is. The shop found ZERO evidence of coolant wash in the cylinders which is good, but obviously combustion gases were still escaping into the cooling system based on previous tests. I will hopefully have it back within a few days to check it out.
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Well, the tests you're basing it on was done by a shop that doesn't seem very trustworthy at this point. Did you ever see the test done?

Good luck, brother... I'm still chasing the overheating problem on my work van too. The only thing left for me to do is have a radiator shop flow test my radiator before I start tearing into the internals, so I'm feeling your pain.

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Build Thread - Adventures of Fiona - https://wayalife.com/showthread.php?t=47407
 
Well that blows! I hope they find the cause of the problem. Reminds me of a shop I took mine too. The had it for two or three days and then said we can't do anything for you. I can't trust my stealership here as well they tried to fuck me.
 
Whelp, if that doesn't work time for a low mileage motor transplant? I know of a good junkyard in Loveland :rolleyes2:

^^Pete, dude do you ever sleep?
 
BaddestCross said:
Well, the tests you're basing it on was done by a shop that doesn't seem very trustworthy at this point. Did you ever see the test done?
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I didn't see the test done, but I know the tech that did it and used to work with him. I trust him. The issue with the dealership is that it appears to be void of accurate communication between the techs and writers and I think they're all overworked and don't know how to manage it nor tell that to customers. On top of that, there is nothing left in the cooling system to replace.

Now this current shop said they carefully checked for visual cracks in the block and didn't see any and said the cylinder walls looked really good. I hope it's all good.

catahoula said:
Well that blows! I hope they find the cause of the problem. Reminds me of a shop I took mine too. The had it for two or three days and then said we can't do anything for you. I can't trust my stealership here as well they tried to fuck me.
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I think a lot of shops want the business even if they are too busy, but are scared to tell the customers up front that they really can't get to it in a timely manner.

Ddays said:
Whelp, if that doesn't work time for a low mileage motor transplant? I know of a good junkyard in Loveland :rolleyes2:
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Yeah, that's the likely next step.
 
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