Fred/N0AZZ

Looks like your having another crappy day for weather to be outside working, plus the heaviest paper of the week to throw. Dave here it was 82* yesterday and cooled down to 75* today can't believe it for Feb. The temps are running 30-40* above normal last week it was in the single digit's.

munyanb

I had a bad coil pack in a 99, when I put a good one on the engine ran worse, lol. total different situation though, that head was no good, and the engine had a bad rod bearing, I had fixed the rod and polished the crank with sand paper and string before I discovered the bad head, notorious crack in the rear due to the new porting to gain a few ponies. I was sick, lol. I hope your coil pack solves your problem, if you know the head is all good, that leaves no other option other than rings or piston, I'm trying to think of where on the intake are the vacuum lines? Or rather the positive crankcase ventilating hoses rather , it couldn't be that the hose to one of them could be right by cylinder five?

dave1123

You can say whatever you want about global warming, but the fact is weather patterns are changing. California went from drought conditions to dams about ready to burst. I've been looking at You-Tube videos of the problems with the Oroville Dam. DAMN! Pun intended! Who in their right mind would build an earthworks dam taller than Hoover? Oh, right! It's California!

dave1123

Latest in the 4.0 saga, the new coil rail and new plugs look good so far. It's cold today with lots of snow so there is a little steam, but not the large amount of smoke I've been seeing. Tonight on my paper route will tell for sure.

The Freaking County Plow stuck his blade into my driveway last night to turn around and left a 3 foot pile of snow at the end! IDK if it was the Town or the County, but someone is going to get a piece of my mind! I just blasted thru it with my jeep, but that's not the point! I live on a straight section of road, so why did he have to turn around anyway?

Last year there was a problem with the Town getting paid by the County for plowing county highways in the township, so the town refused to plow them until they got reimbursed. Maybe that's started again!

munyanb

I'm torn on the global warming thing, It is obviously happening, but why? The earth rocks on its axis as it spins and revolves around the sun. These cycles take around 13,800 years each direction. Since childhood I heard of geologists find ocean bottom fossils on mountains. Proof that oceans lay there before. Even our Old Testament bible refers to a flooding. Then Antarctica is supposed to have huge oil and coal deposits, as well as north pole. Proof that climates move and change. I would really fear for the planets safety if mining and drilling started big in the poles, what if the magnetism somehow got screwed up or it created some sort of "short"? sounds crazy but there are a lot more energies that we can only now begin to perceive. But yeah, I would think the mass pollution caused by a world designed to consume fossil fuels, bought from certain Families/Cartels I might add, would affect it somewhat. For years already its been talked about, green house effect and all, but that's involving other gasses also.
Hopefully you got in that garage today, no need for added problems associated with extreme weather. Here in TN where I am its warmer, but its so moist, the air is heavy, its like being in cold water somewhat, lol. Them coil packs can crack over time and draw moisture, that's what happened to my bad coil pack. I'm just hoping the cold didn't do something weird to head and head gasket and cause a little leak when it gets hot., Aluminum does shrink and expand, what if a torque value changed or something? If you get in a good garage, have some extra cash, I would start tearing it back down if that coil doesn't fix it, you've done everything else. You should be able to see where oil is coming from, for that matter couldn't an ever so slightly torn or cracked head gasket allow oil to be sucked in but then seal itself back under pressure? I'm just drawing at straws, I admit it, but you've done everything else, lol

Cleman Simpson

The Bible says that in the latter days men will curse God because of the heat, and that the cattle are perplexed because all the green grass is burnt up. If you study your Bible it is plain to see that we are already in the eleventh hour, it's going to get a whole lot worse before long.

bigbadon

The middle east oil fields are in the dessert.....proof that is was a tropical climate at one time. The ice age had glaciers as far south as Virginia then they melted. Climate is a dynamic ever changing process. We are simply witnessing a change now.

dave1123

WHOA!!! I didn't mean to start a spiritual or philosophical discussion about climate change! Because of axial tilt and a slight wobble, this planet goes thru cyclic changes in climate. Mankind's recorded history is short enough so we can only speculate about past cycles that are recorded in the strata. I seriously doubt mankind's use of fossil fuel had anything to do with starting this particular cycle. I reason most of the added C02 in the atmosphere is due to volcanic action and tectonic plate movement. OH....cutting down the rain forests have something to do with it.

As far as the 4.0 is concerned, you are forgetting this is an all steel motor. The only aluminum in it are the pistons and accessories. There is no pressurized oil in the head to leak into the cylinders. There are only 3 paths for oil to get into the combustion chamber, suspended in the intake charge, sucked into the intake from leaking stem seals, or past the rings.

The thing that also boggles my head is live stream data tells me that particular converter is functioning properly, even though it has a weird smell. Valvoline is supposed to be an ashless oil. Let's hope so. I'm not tearing down a perfectly good running engine for a little oil usage. I'm just hoping to keep that plug from fouling.

munyanb

The nightmare situation is somehow the head is cracked in the intake port, not sure if that is possible, but its a way in right? Or a head bolt stretched? I just hope the new coil fixes it, I been trying to work on mine again, and 4 wheelers, general catching up, and now a buell, lol.

dave1123

My hat's off to Cleman Simpson for suggesting the coil rail was at fault! The new rail is supplying enough voltage to fire that plug cleanly and producing enough power to keep the rings sealed! THE SMOKE IS GONE! Yes, that cylinder is still using some oil, but it's making more power now and only showing a little oil smoke after idling for over a hour. It cleans out instantly if you rev it up. I'm so happy I could **** rainbows! I DID NOT want to tear into this motor or baby it into playing nice.

The whole engine is running smoother and making more power with the new coil rail. It just goes to show that even the best parts wear out eventually. 208,000 miles on the original. I was thinking it's too bad someone hasn't made a super coil rail for these engines, but then I realized there isn't much of a market for a low tech engine that was only made this way for 5 years.

One other thing I wanted to mention. My coolant level is now stable for more than 2 months since I sealed that head bolt. If you ever pull the head on a 4.0, make sure you seal head bolt #11 (the one in the front on the driver's side) with a good sealer when you install it and don't torque it more than 100 lb/ft. It's the only one that is tapped into the water jacket and has very little support underneath it. Coolant will telescope up thru the threads and come out around the exhaust manifold mounting stud if you don't. It will evaporate quickly and leave a crystaline residue on the nut. Hard to find the leak.

Thanks for all the help, guys, with special thanks to Cleman!

Charlie Foxtrot

Congrats & stay warm!

Cleman Simpson

That's great Dave, glad I was able to help. The Lord knows reading your post on here have been a ton of help to me since I bought this Grand Cherokee.

Jeepin'_Aint_EZ

Nice Dave, glad to see you're ready to **** rainbows lol

dave1123

I'm really glad I seem to have a following. My whole premise in joining this forum was to learn about my POS 97 ZJ, which was my first jeep, and to share anything I had learned about vehicles in general to anyone who needed help. I had wanted to teach auto mechanics in a high school setting, but I didn't have the credentials necessary to do that, PLUS the current high school curriculum doesn't support this anymore.

When I started this thread, I needed a fresh outlook on my problem and you guys did me proud. I had overlooked the most likely causes and didn't consider the obvious, old parts sometimes fail even when they appear good. Sometimes the doctor needs to be doctored.

Enough of the ramblings of an old man. Enjoy life while you can. It's too short to waste.

Poodle Head Mikey

I would try a healthy dose of MMO in both the engine oil and the fuel. Two / three tanks of fuel before I would reach any further conclusions.

PHM
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