xj engine problems

[MUDDY]

i started it up. runs for awhile then shuts off. opened the rad. cap, coolant goes down like normal but when it shuts off the fluid comes back out. kicker coolant is a yellowish/ foamy. is it the head gasket or the thermostat. any ideas. muddy

[hillbilly]

does it get hot then shut off? or run for a couple minutes then shut off? did you check the oil for choco milk. you could always pull the thermostat and try it.

[Rick_Bear]

When the coolant starts flowing back out of the radiator fill neck you've got a blown head gasket. Been there...
The more you run it the more damage you're going to cause.

[MUDDY]

thanks rick i was not sure if it was that

[etaucher]

Thats weird, the last Jeep Cherokee that I had, blew a head gasket, and the only thing it was doing was making the milky oil. But it still ran, it never shut off.

[hillbilly]

mine has a head gasket leak from the compression to the oil side. still runs .oil pressure is nill but it blows oil out the dipstick and breather any time i go faster than grandpa speed. no oil in rad or choco milk, just runs hot and has a self changing oil system.
   fyi dont follow me to close on the way to rausch.

[Rick_Bear]

A bad head gasket can provide different signs through different systems.

From my experience when she "spews" back out the radiator you are best to stop running it.
Your talking about a $20-$32 part that requires 8-10 hours labor...That's where the expences is...LABOR

Adam, you will be needing a replacement motor. That "choco" milk oil you have is infected with coolant and the heat inside that baby will rise, rise, and continue to rise until it seizes.
You best travel in a group, even to the grocery store.

[etaucher]

After I sold my last Cherokee, thats when I found out it had milky oil, all I did was buy a Head Gasket kit for it, which had all the gaskets, and the guy replaced it, and the milky oil went away. He was leaking coolant into the oil.

[hillbilly]

got a replacement already, its a newbie only 85,000 miles out of a 95 xj.
 it hasnt got to the choco milk stage, it just blows oil out the dipstick and breather.

[MUDDY]

well if its 20 to 32 for parts the labor i will do myself. what else am i going to do. im not going to sit around the house while being laid-off so i might as well do something to pass the time.

[hillbilly]

   yeah head gaskets arent too scary, just need some tools ,time, and patience.  if you got a camera its a good idea to take pics along the way to remember where all those connectors go.

[MUDDY]

 come to find out isn't the head gasket it was that stupid ceramic resistor on the side by the air box the whole time. thank god for that.