head gasket swap after P0301 code

[HHGadget]

About $6500 here in Los Angeles. I am sure labor rates are lower in other towns and states.
I pulled the valve covers and my cams were fine before deciding to have the work done.
If i had also needed cams/rockers and lifters i would have gone for an engine swap instead.

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[alphawolff]

About $6500 here in Los Angeles. I am sure labor rates are lower in other towns and states.
I pulled the valve covers and my cams were fine before deciding to have the work done.
If i had also needed cams/rockers and lifters i would have gone for an engine swap instead.

I just want to point out of that our remans are of really poor quality. Always repair it instead of swapping the engine unless there's cylinder wall/bottom end damage.

 

[HHGadget]

About $6500 here in Los

I just want to point out of that our remans are of really poor quality. Always repair it instead of swapping the engine unless there's cylinder wall/bottom end damage.

I was thinking more of a swap like what @SadRobot did where they pulled a low mile Pentastar from a JL / JT for a hemi swap...

 

[SadRobot]

I was thinking more of a swap like what @SadRobot did where they pulled a low mile Pentastar from a JL / JT for a hemi swap...

Which in the end was still a lot of money. I ended up around 8k to replace the engine in my driveway although it was still better than a shop which wanted 13k.

 

[HHGadget]

Which in the end was still a lot of money. I ended up around 8k to replace the engine in my driveway although it was still better than a shop which wanted 13k.

If i had had to do cams, rockers and lifters on top of everything else, i think i would have been pretty close to your number in parts.
@AlphaWolf ’s point about poor quality remans being taken seriously though. I would have only done a low mile used pull if i was swapping engines like you did.

 

[Odyssey USA]

I’ve been out of the engine building game for a while now but a low mileage, not overheated, engine option might be the best option for a few out there based on circumstances some are facing. You know it runs and the cylinder wall finish should still be good from not having coolant in the chamber affecting lubricity of the rings against the finish.

It would be reassuring to take one and put it on an engine stand, remove the heads, see if ARP makes a head stud kit, and do a multi step torque procedure and a re-check pass. Could make sure you have the latest oil cooler, check the rear main seal and upper and lower oil pan sealing, and the water pump too.

 

[mwilk012]

A salvaged engine is a terrible idea given that we know that all of the pentastar engines are likely to suffer a head gasket leak at some point in their life. Replacing the head gaskets and the B1 intake cam will fix the engine. It doesn’t need to go any further.

 

[RenegadeT]

I started the tear down yesterday. Got a late start and only put in 5 hours.
Spent too much time getting the battery tray out., but finally worked it out Front of the engine went alright (front 2 alternator bolts are super tight, WTF). Never seen a hydraulic tensioner...that was interesting and also required the breaker bar.
Then the EGR valve and stacked brackets was a bigtime pain to free up the air intake. It was late in the day and I didnt feel like draining coolant, so worked around all those hoses.

 

[RenegadeT]

Not much work today, missed my goal of looking at cams and rockers before the end of weekend, oh well.

I did drain the coolant. Did not see any radiator petcock or drain, so just pulled the lower radiator hose off the tee. Also disconnected the three on left side (2 heater and 1 water pump). On to the thermostat where I got denied by both the electrical connector and both ends of the 90degree rubber hose to the tstat. I feel like I can get that hose off once I get the electrical connection off and also disconnect hard coolant pipe above the tstat. Leads me to a few questions...

The tstat electrical connection...wtf am I missing? There's a vertical sliding gray latch piece that has 3 distinct positions; down/closed, halfway, and all the way up. I yanked/wiggled with no luck in the halfway position, then realized there was another higher position. Again no luck wiggling/pulling. I tried with a small flathead screwdriver, pushing the area below the gray slider, which seemed like it should be an internal latch. Still no luck, so I called it a night.
UPDATE/EDIT
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...rmostat-housing-on-a-2018-jlu-rubicon.106174/

Second, hose clamp pliers. I've managed with slip joint pliers and channel locks for years, but can see this 3.6 is going to want the right tool. Any recommendations?

 

[RenegadeT]

2.5 hrs more labor today, got the passenger side valve cover off.
Man I'm hating these electrical connectors.
What a PITA just to get the valve cover off.
Spark plugs didn't look terrible. 0.040 gap. #1 looked clean, as expected.due to the cylinder 1 misfire where the coolant is supected.to be leaking in. #3 normal and #5 was little oilier than expected.

Question about these odd deposits on the rear.cam inductor things, presumably magnetic. There were stripes of milkshake oil/coolant slime. In the research ive been doing, i hadnt seen anything mentioning this...is it normal? It wipes right off

Rotated.the engine to TDC. Cams looked OK to me, will know more as I get deeper into this.

 

[HHGadget]

Not much work today, missed my goal of looking at cams and rockers before the end of weekend, oh well.

I did drain the coolant. Did not see any radiator petcock or drain, so just pulled the lower radiator hose off the tee. Also disconnected the three on left side (2 heater and 1 water pump). On to the thermostat where I got denied by both the electrical connector and both ends of the 90degree rubber hose to the tstat. I feel like I can get that hose off once I get the electrical connection off and also disconnect hard coolant pipe above the tstat. Leads me to a few questions...

The tstat electrical connection...wtf am I missing? There's a vertical sliding gray latch piece that has 3 distinct positions; down/closed, halfway, and all the way up. I yanked/wiggled with no luck in the halfway position, then realized there was another higher position. Again no luck wiggling/pulling. I tried with a small flathead screwdriver, pushing the area below the gray slider, which seemed like it should be an internal latch. Still no luck, so I called it a night.
UPDATE/EDIT
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...rmostat-housing-on-a-2018-jlu-rubicon.106174/

Second, hose clamp pliers. I've managed with slip joint pliers and channel locks for years, but can see this 3.6 is going to want the right tool. Any recommendations?

Got a set of these electric disconnect pliers a while back. Lifesavers.
https://www.amazon.com/Electrical-D...sc=1&msclkid=2d806c893a9a1542afc804460981dfa4

also for hose clamps i bout one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/WORKPRO-Flex...-3-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

you can get them at Autozone, etc as well last time i looked. Major time saver for those hoses that you can't get some pliers near.

 

[jeepingib]

I bought a second vehicle so I can put the Jeep down to do this. Hands and fingers don't work like they used to, but I think that I can still do this.

 

[mwilk012]

The stripes on the camshaft reluctor wheel is steel dust from engine wear. The cam reluctor is magnetic. Do not allow any magnets to come into contact with these rings. Careful not to bend them either.

 

[RenegadeT]

The stripes on the camshaft reluctor wheel is steel dust from engine wear. The cam reluctor is magnetic. Do not allow any magnets to come into contact with these rings. Careful not to bend them either.

that's what I figured. Is this normal to see on a 7yr old engine with under 60kmiles? I was also alarmed by the light color of this sludge, similar to what I've seen on engines with coolant/oil slime.

 

[mwilk012]

that's what I figured. Is this normal to see on a 7yr old engine with under 60kmiles? I was also alarmed by the light color of this sludge, similar to what I've seen on engines with coolant/oil slime.

it’s always there.

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