madmanmarty

S10. That looks like corrosion on those rods.

s10xtremist

Of course- there has to be a major monkey wrench in the gears. Ya know, now that you mentioned this, I recall browsing a thread where this was discussed. IIRC, the mount bosses were in a different location. I think I can easily remedy this. I'll dig around to see what the other differences are and if retrofitting is feasible. Thanks for the dope slap!


It's definitely not corrosion, at least not on the rods themselves. I can wipe the stuff right off and the rods are clean and not pitted underneath. It's slimy and has the consistency of watered-down mayonnaise. The way it's across all of them makes it look like a water line. It's like there was some water in the oil that caused a slight milkshake, and that's the level it got up to. But, water doesn't float on oil, oil floats on water. And I didn't think the oil level built up that high inside the valve cover. Does it?

s10xtremist

Well, it didn't take long to get the details I needed on the retrofit. It's not happening! Making the mounts work would be the easiest part. I got a headache reading the posts on this swap because people kept asking the same questions over and over, clearly not reading the previous posts in the thread. This really rains on my parade because I don't recall finding any later-model XJs in the salvage yards around here. All I can do now is hope the oil analysis comes back "good" so I can slap a new head on there and be done. Otherwise, I'm gonna have to find the money for a reman'ed motor.

s10xtremist

Blackstone is awesome. I FedEx'ed my sample to them on Saturday and paid for Tuesday morning delivery. Next Day Express would've gotten it there Monday morning, but that was more than $50! Tuesday delivery was $21.xx. It was delivered Monday morning anyway! I spoke with Billy at Blackstone about having my results by end of day on Friday. He said results should be available within 48 hours of receiving the sample. I had my results Monday afternoon!




In case you can't zoom in and read the comments:




I also called the PO to give him a 1-month update on it's progress and to get more history details. Based on Blackstone's report and his input, I'm feeling pretty confident that this thing will be fine with a new head. Blackstone's report estimates the oil to have about 4,100 miles on it. The PO said he usually changed it around 4 thousand and it was due before he decided to sell it, but he didn't bother with it due to the problems. I'm all around impressed with Blackstone and will continue to use them.

Also, just by chance, I located (through this forum) a new/unused Clearwater cylinder head right here in Baton Rouge. The guy bought it then found out he needs a whole engine. Victor Reinz gasket kit, Sealed Power lifters and Victor Reinz head bolt kit should be here by tomorrow night. I'm spending Saturday at my local LKQ for their 50%-off sale. My main goal is axles, brakes and other misc Jeep parts.

extrashaky

Even with the extra money you spent on shipping, it looks like it was worth it to get some comfort on the condition of the block. Sometimes I feel like a zealot preaching their benefits, but it really is great info to have.

FYI for the future: When you just need a routine report and are not under pressure to get your results back, you may be tempted to send their sample bottle through US Mail as Blackstone suggests on their site. Personally, I wouldn't. The last time I tried it, my sample got stuck somewhere and didn't show up for a full month. I think the people at the post office put it in a back room and stared at it for 30 days trying to figure out whether it was hazardous material. Now I put it in a small box and spend several dollars for UPS ground instead, and it usually gets there within a week.

s10xtremist

It was absolutely worth it. The next one won't have to be rushed, so it'll be even more of a bargain. I sent this one in a tiny box and will do the same in the future. Thanks for your input and suggestion.