Family ties or not, you brought it in for a specific problem and presumably, rather than do the obvious and professional thing - which would be to DIAGNOSE the problem, the guy first fires the parts cannon. Then, after firing the parts cannon at it without solving your problem, only then does he run a routine, basic and easy to do test to check the compression?!? I wouldn't accept that from my redneck buddy after a case of beer - much less anyone claiming to be a professional mechanic!!

See if you can get yourself a compression test gauge - borrow it from your cousin's husbands dad. Then run the compression test yourself, carefully and following the instructions and see what the results are.

If you have zero compression in 2 out of 6 cylinders, I think you'd have an engine that barely ran if at all.

If the compression test that YOU do turns out OK, then check the wiring on the coil pack - remove the tape and really examine each wire and the connector - fix anything that isn't 100%. Then, if you want to fire the parts cannon, I'd load a Mopar Idle Air Control valve first.

If the compression is bad - then you'll have to make some difficult choices. Figure out where you're at and report back with what you find.

 

Thanks for the reply, appreciate the feedback. Trying to track down a compression gauge. Hoping to run the test Saturday, and check the ignition rail as well on Saturday. If those are good, then I will pick up an air idle control valve on Sunday and install and then report back here.

 

New info:

Could not get to a compression test this weekend. I had already bought two new upstream O2 sensors, and a IAC before the holidays. was hoping to be able to return them, but since I had them and I am impatient, I used them.

Replaced Both upstream O2 sensors and the IAC. Drove for about 5 miles. No improvement. Came home, reset the ECU. Let Idle for 10 minutes. Havent driven since, will drive to work tomorrow.

Started searching threads and googling and was wondering if I may have the 0331 cylinder head crack. Took the oil cap off, and saw some gunk. Thoughts? Next Steps?

 

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Just focus on getting the compression check completed. That is the next step.

 

Is it "milkshake" like gunk? (Sorry, I'm red-green color blind, so it's hard to see what you're showing). If there's traces of antifreeze in the oil - that's bad news and indicative of the 0331 crack. Also bear in mind antifreeze in the oil can quickly damage the rest of the engine, so if you have any hint of that - don't run the engine! If you've been driving with antifreeze in the oil, then the engine is probably shot. (Usually if you have poor oil pressure after running with contaminated oil, you know it's too late.)

You very likely do have a cracked head that's been pissing antifreeze into the oil -- and probably why your sister's cousin's neighbors dog walker's step dad found the engine to be bad -- now if that so-called mechanic had started with a compression test, you'd be halfway paid off of a junkyard engine replacement. The only way to know anything for sure though is to diagnose.

 

Update:

New Error Codes - P0174 System Too Lean Bank 2. P0153 O2 sensor circuit slow response bank 2 sensor 1.

Compression Test Results:
1 - 145
2 - 140
3 - 30
4 - 30
5 - 150
6 - 145

Spark Plugs - 1& 2 look okay. 3 is a bit brown. 4,5 & 6 are BLACK

Oil - After cleaning off my oil cap and dipstick yesterday, there is almost no "gunk". It should be noted that the mechanic put a can of sea-foam in, and engine restore. Oil level is high, but colour looks good. Also, in the last 6 weeks I only went on the highway once, yesterday. Which I'm thinking, may have caused some evaporating leading to the gunk. or maybe not.

Exhaust - White smoke in the mornings. Cannot tell if it smells sweet or not.
Overheating - Blew the rad 18 months ago, no problems since replacement until now
Coolant - Suffering coolant loss
Heat - There was heat inside, until around the same time this started happening. Cannot be for sure. Did a heater core flush in October, heat worked fine until now.

 

 

The 'gunk' looks to be an oil/antifreeze mixture and the 2000 model had the 0331 head pre-TUPY fix. All of your symptoms point to a crack between 3 and 4 which would have been caused most likely by the overheating. In order to be extra sure you can check for exhaust gas at the neck of the radiator, but honestly I would just start planning to take the next steps (replacement, etc.).

Also, as PatHenry has said, that guy was just looking to make a buck off of you, family or not. Freakin' weasel...

 

Yeah - it's time to consider what you want to do. Your options (short of scrapping the vehicle altogether), are A -- pull the head, inspect the block for damage and if there is no damage, put a new TUPY/Quality replacement head on it, or B -- Find a replacement engine (preferably one that has already had the defective 0331 head replaced) and swap the engine in.
Considering that you don't know how long you've been driving with contaminated oil, I would highly recommend option B.

As it's a 2000, it is more than likely cracked at the head and not the block - but if the engine has been run with contaminated oil, the crank bearings are probably shot and while the block may be "save-able", you're looking at a costly full engine rebuild which as far as cost, can easily exceed swapping a complete replacement engine in.

Most folks here, myself included, are very biased towards the XJ vehicle, so we are likely to suggest repairing it, but there's no shame in making the decision that it's time to retire the Jeep and start looking for another vehicle.

You do have my sympathies Josh - both with the vehicle misfortune as well as with what happened with the family "mechanic".

 

I just wanted to thank everyone for the assistance, knowledge and patience. This has been a tough time, and you guys helped me out. Thanks!

Unfortunately, the junk yards around here do not have anything older than 2007, and there are no local manufacturers of replacements heads (all in the states). I am going to rent a car for a week and make some calls to see what my options are. I fear PatHenry may be right, and it might be time to let the girl go. Whatever the resolution, I will post once its all sorted.

Thanks again, and hopefully another 2000-2001 Jeeper will find this thread in time to be helpful.

 

hey y'all,

$2000.00 cash, to a legitimate mechanic.

Problems: two cracks in head, crack in intake manifold, crack in exhaust, worn out rockers

Fix: new head, welded intake, welded exhaust, new thermostat, all new gaskets, all new fluids.

Just got it back tonight, but its running amazing and sounds better than when I first got it.

 

Nice!!! Glad to hear you got it sorted and are keeping the truck.

2k is a good price for the work listed. Considering the head and parts is a good 7-800 easily.
With a new head you'll easily be able to get to 300k and beyond.

 

Glad to hear that your vehicle is running and that is a very fair price. For reference, replacing the exhaust manifold is listed as 4.5 hours of labor.

Also, with the unmetered air from the cracked intake manifold and lack of compression on cylinders 3 and 4, I am surprised it wasn't running worse than what you described.