Cylinder Head - AMC 304 - 2 questions

[spokanecj7]

I took the jeep out and broke it last weekend. I rev'd it way to high in low range gear and am now paying for it. I pulled it apart and found out that I busted the bridge on one of my rocker arms (#1 cylinder) and blew my head gasket on the passenger side. I could see coolant leaking out between the gasket and head before I even pulled it. So I know have the head on the passenger side pulled and have the parts to put it back together. I cant see any other visible damage (no bent pushrods and no other damaged rocker parts). Here are my questions.

1. Should I pull the other head? Is it just stupid of me to have it taken apart this far and not pull the other head and replace the gasket? Or, should I not fix what isnt broken....or what I dont think is broken. My first thought was that I wasnt going to pull the other head because I found my problem, but then I started to second guess myself. What if I did damage on that side also? It would really suck if I didnt pull it and had something wrong.

2. Should I take the head(s) into a machine shop? I have a shop down the street that will magnaflux for $98 and if needed, mill both heads for $68. The heads are only about 5 years old and have less than 5000 miles on them because it isnt a daily driver. Is this a waste of $$$?

Thanks for the input.

 

[gert]

Head gaskets usually come in pairs Judging your post you are second guessing your self already so why not? As far as milling you usually only need to mill if you over heated the motor real bad. If you have a good straight edge you can find out if you need to mill for sure. I personally wouldnt mill em but if it would make you sleep better at night it wont hurt to be on the safe side

 

[spokanecj7]

I hate it when I cant make a decision... Napa is who I blame. When I went in to buy the gaskets then asked me how many I wanted and I took the cheap way out. Now I am going to be going back to Napa to buy the other one. I guess I shouldnt be so cheap next time.

I think I am going to spend the $98 bucks to have them magnafluxed and only mill them if they really need it.

 

[CJ]

Good choice! Cheap insurance!

 

[gert]

heck ya its good to find out in the garage rather than the trail

 

[spokanecj7]

Completely agree with both of you....just wish I had come to that conclusion earlier. I guess I would rather be slow and do good work than....well you know.

 

[skiner24]

Definitely do both. It's better to do to it right the first time. The second time will cost more.

 

[iCEMAN]

Good choice in doing both and getting them magnafluxed. I can say this from experience as I now have a set of 'good' boat anchors sitting in the corner of my garage.

(not sure why I haven't thrown them out yet)

 

[MN CJ7]

Would doing a compression ck before your head removal tell you if any other cylinders had issues?? Just a thought for next time.

The head bolts torque values for heads are into the stretch of fastener values. If you did not use new USA quality fasteners..... May want to consider getting new Hdw and doing both sides.

I know many do not use new hdw.... but many I trust and respect say this can cause failure... so they say not worth using the USED head bolts.

What do you think??


Fred

 

[83cj7]

Anyone notice how old this thread was?

 

[MN CJ7]

Anyone notice how old this thread was?

NOPE.... I missed that too... saw some current posts and posted up.


YES........OLD THREAD