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Stock XJ Cherokee Tech. All XJ Non-modified/stock questions go hereXJ (84-01)
All OEM related XJ specific tech. Examples, no start, general maintenance or anything that's stock.
"So was there 4qts still in the motor,did you drive it home on only 2qts,or it was full when you left the PO's place and you lost 4qts?"
"The next day drained oil, only 2qts came out. (If your trying to say the other 4qts was some how deying gravity and floating inside the engine please don't post again)."
Didn't you notice the question mark?? I was trying to point out the obvious. It helps if we know the facts.
And if you noticed I did try ALL advice given to me and responded with results. Maybe it's too tough for you
That post was directed at those giving smarta** answers not those who gave genuine advice.
Letting the vehicle idle is never the best thing. Carbon deposits can form due to it.
Also as we stated. Pull the valve cover and inspect fully. You may need to do several flush and fills to get everything out.
Since you say you sell cars. Are you just trying to quiet the engine just to try and sell it or do you care to make this XJ worthy
"So was there 4qts still in the motor,did you drive it home on only 2qts,or it was full when you left the PO's place and you lost 4qts?"
"The next day drained oil, only 2qts came out. (If your trying to say the other 4qts was some how deying gravity and floating inside the engine please don't post again)."
Didn't you notice the question mark?? I was trying to point out the obvious. It helps if we know the facts.
" I drove it home on low oil."
Well then I'm sorry for misunderstanding.
To answer your question when I bought it was on low oil, how much not exactly sure. But how much oil can be lost in 10minutes? So I'm assuming it had 2qts at time of purchase till the next day when I drained it.
If everyones answer is "dude your motors toast" while I don't like that answer I'll accept it.
Was just hoping someone had some experience with it and could help me out.
Letting the vehicle idle is never the best thing. Carbon deposits can form due to it.
Also as we stated. Pull the valve cover and inspect fully. You may need to do several flush and fills to get everything out.
Since you say you sell cars. Are you just trying to quiet the engine just to try and sell it or do you care to make this XJ worthy
I want to make this XJ perfect again and just for me. I got it extremely cheap due to body panel rust, worn ujounts, deathwobble and several small cosmetic issues (peeling headliner, gauge lights out, reverse lights don't turn on, etc). Because the engine ran fine the first week and 500miles I assumed it was decent and was gonna work on repairing everything else. Then changed the oil and BAM. It starts knocking, crushing my plans. =[
You want to make it perfect for you and we want to help. When you get a chance pull the valve cover and check things out and maybe some pics. I wouldn't start it any more.
I want to make this XJ perfect again and just for me. I got it extremely cheap due to body panel rust, worn ujounts, deathwobble and several small cosmetic issues (peeling headliner, gauge lights out, reverse lights don't turn on, etc). Because the engine ran fine the first week and 500miles I assumed it was decent and was gonna work on repairing everything else. Then changed the oil and BAM. It starts knocking, crushing my plans. =[
This answer right here, is perfect. Thank you. Now accept some of our criticism cause men will be ******* men. But at the end of the day we are here to help you out. The XJ is extremely easy, minus rusty bolts, vehicle to work on. The engine had the tendency to last ul to 300k miles +. The 4.0 can also be a noisy little engine.
Now get your hands dirty. Get a Felpro valve cover gasket and report back in a few days. And yes, keep the engine off for now. Don't let her idle anymore.
I'd be surprised if the problem was not pretty clear after pulling the valve cover.
May or may not be. His picture looked like there may be coolant under the VC. Now pulling the over isn't the hardest things in the world to do to give a quick look over. Hell, may have to pull the oil pan too and see what is down there. Others will come and post their advice too and he can rule out which steps hell want to take.
May or may not be. His picture looked like there may be coolant under the VC. Now pulling the over isn't the hardest things in the world to do to give a quick look over. Hell, may have to pull the oil pan too and see what is down there. Others will come and post their advice too and he can rule out which steps hell want to take.
I still haven't pulled it apart of course (but have ordered gaskets for cover and oil pan). But i feel certain there's no coolant in there. Because the coolant being used is reddish in colour instead of green. Of course I might be wrong.
The previous owner running it in that condition without enough oil and changing it probably worn parts of the engine down. That's why everyone is asking questions on the oil. From what little I can hear, its sounds like lifter/valves. With the flex plate you'll hear a loud knock every revolution of the engine. With rod knock sorta the same but with metal pieces flying loose. Not the steady noise I hear in the video.
I'm assuming the noise was absent when putting thicker viscosity oil. If that's the case then I would try using the thicker oil to see if noise goes away or lessens.
The previous owner running it in that condition without enough oil and changing it probably worn parts of the engine down. That's why everyone is asking questions on the oil. From what little I can hear, its sounds like lifter/valves. With the flex plate you'll hear a loud knock every revolution of the engine. With rod knock sorta the same but with metal pieces flying loose. Not the steady noise I hear in the video.
I'm assuming the noise was absent when putting thicker viscosity oil. If that's the case then I would try using the thicker oil to see if noise goes away or lessens.
When I was running 10w-40 the noise was absent. It didnt start until I ran 10w-30. But I didn't think a change like that could cause it.
Is it possible that some of the gunk was holding something together and that changing the oil cleaned that out and knocked something loose?
If one of mine sounded like that I'd have the VC off by now.
There is plenty to "speculate". It's not unreasonable to wonder if a chunk of gunk didn't get freed up and clog a lifter. Likewise maybe that green light coming out the filler hole there was a message from God! (good to go)
Alright guys, got off of work and took off the valve cover, probably looked like a crazy person doing this at 4am in the parking lot but oh well. Lots of photos so here we go.
(and to clarify, parking lot of apartment complex not work)
Now I'm used to engines with DOHC so I'm really counting on you guys.
After taking the cover off and looking at the green fluid on top I noticed two shades of green kinda swirled together. The coolant in the reservoir is red, in the radiator is green. Texted the PO and he says he added coolant just before he sold it to me. He knew it had a coolant leak and neglected to tell me... Oh well.
I'm guessing a blown head gasket.
And still lots of gunk caked onto the valve cover. Gonna take some brake cleaner and a wire brush to that in the morning.
Notice anything I missed or advice on what to play with?
Again, thanks in advance.
if it has coolant in the oil you need to stop running the engine and find the problem. did you cut an oil filter open yet? that will tell you what you need to know. glitter is bad.
Hey bud, just getting caught up again on your thread here. Hard to tell from the pics(4am pics, lol), but I watched the vid. As some others have stated, it sounds like top end noise, "rocker slap".
This can be caused by a collapsed lifter, bent pushrods, damaged/loose rocker, etc. Wiggle each rocker, some will be super tight(valve in open pos), some will have slight wiggle(closed), but none should be very loose. Check em all, bump the motor with the starter, check them again. Keep doing this till they've all gone through open/closed cycle.
If this doesn't yield an "AH HA!" moment, watch it in action. Being in an apartment, you don't want to run the motor with the cover off, this will make a pretty good mess. Pull the plugs(to eliminate compression), unplug the coil, and have a friend crank the engine while you watch the rockers. Pulling the plugs will allow the engine to free spin, letting the starter turn the engine fast enough to build oil pressure.
They should all cycle evenly, and you should see oil pumping from the small hole on each rocker.
You very likely have a head gasket in your future, but the good news is if that noise isn't bottom end, you probably have a saveable engine there.
08-11-2015, 07:09 PM
