I was putting the Jeep together after having the head resurfaced. I poured coolant into it, only to have the coolant come pouring out of the bottom of the thermostat housing. I thought it might not be seated properly, so I unbolted it, moved it around and bolted it back in. Same thing. So I thought the bottom bolt must not be tight enough, and I tightened it some more, only to hear a pop, and the bolt started spinning. Turns out that, rather than crack the housing itself, I cracked the tab off the head where the housing bolts into! I'm at a loss. Am I done for? Time to tow it to a shop?
The bolt isn't stuck in there, if that's what you mean. The threads are still intact, it's just that the little tab in the head where it bolts in cracked off. Maybe I can try welding it back on.
My dad has a welder. I guess I'll let him have at it and see what happens. I guess when I put it back together I should just get a brand new gasket and put some RTV on it? That's what I did when I recently changed the thermostat, seemed to work.
I guess when I put it back together I should just get a brand new gasket and put some RTV on it? That's what I did when I recently changed the thermostat, seemed to work.
Ok, extra seal material might work. But the water pump is a different situation, no? From reading the post, the pump has 4 bolts. The thermostat housing only has 2. Could it still work? Either way, I guess I'll try it. I just wish I knew why the thermostat housing was leaking like a sieve in the first place after I bolted it back on. I didn't tighten it very much the first or second time. The thermostat and gasket were replaced barely a month and a half ago.
JB weld is rated to withstand 500F. I think that may work. My motor probably wouldn't last long if the coolant hit over 300F anyway lol. I'll try JB and see what happens. Also, I took a picture of the chip next to the mount point.
Bite the bullet and find a new head. Its the only proper fix now.
And don't beat yourself up over it. I once tried to drill out a broken off manifold bolt and ruined the head on my 4.0 L XJ engine. A local shop happened to have a suitable head at their shop so I had them install it.
All I was trying to do was save a few $$ by replacing a cracked exhaust manifold myself. Turned into a nightmare.
FYI, cast iron can be welded with nickle steel rod (AC welder),or can be brazed with special rod and flux- but the surfaces need to be as clean as possibl. sounds like you tried to do the work without the use of a repair maunal-that even seasoned machanics rely on. If you had- you would have known that the torque was XX amount-and you would not have broke the bolt off to begin with. You may have got some bolts mixed up and put too long of a one in at the bottom (maybe).
I'll think about going for the new head only as a last resort. Tossing a perfectly good head because this tiny little ear cracked off sounds pretty insane, IMO. Welding the thermostat housing to the head sounds better than that
I'll think about going for the new head only as a last resort. Tossing a perfectly good head because this tiny little ear cracked off sounds pretty insane.
Agreed, but the work involved to remove the head, weld and re-install only to find out the weld didn't work (looks like welding cast iron is not that easy) makes installing a new head the best option.
Take it to a competent welder and get an estimate and their advice. The welder I use could do this repair but not sure if it would be cost effective. But go get an estimate, price what buying another head would cost and make an informed decision.
It is your time and money you will be wasting if you do a half way fix only to have to do it again at a later date.
Your call...good luck.
NOT AMC Eagle.. The 2.5L in the Eagle is actually the GM Iron duke, not the "stubby 4.0" 2.5 (which makes sense since the car was around 10 years before the 4.0). People commonly get that confused. Not sure if YJs have the same issue.
Eagle Premier isn't even remotely Jeep OR Eagle...
All I can tell you for certain is that after 20 years of owning Eagles (NOT AMC/Renault Eagle Premiers) and being involved with the AMC community, every 4 cylinder Eagle I've seen (which were all SX/4s which were killed entirely for '84, which may be what that article was talking about for '83 but got it slightly wrong or "installation numbers unknown" means like 20 cars... Don't think the 4 ever came in sedan/wagon and if it did it had to be super rare) with a 2.5 has been the GM 2.5. I *think* you could get a Spirit with the AMC 2.5, but that's not the same car, just looks the same.
AMC information, especially with Eagles, is really tough to come by accurately. I'm not insisting that no Eagles exist with an AMC 2.5, I've just never seen one or heard anyone credible talk about owning one. I've heard of plenty of guys coming home with AMC parts for their Chevy though.
Anyhow, the odds of the OP finding an Eagle with a 2.5 of any sort to steal a head off of is pretty low. Shouldn't be a problem for him. I just didn't want someone to search this thread like 10 years from now and come away with some information that isn't foolproof.
Dad had 2 different AMC Eagle sedans. One with the 2.5 duke motor the other with the amc 6. I had a concorde which looked similar but 2wd with a 304.
Anyway, on the broken casting consult a pro welder. If he's not confidant get a new head. Do you really want to be in the woods or desert wheeling when your thermostat housing falls off?
2.5 Sedan must have been awful to drive. Well, at least that settles that. Sedans were pretty unpopular and the few people that may have ordered one with a 4, AFTER 83, might have gotten the AMC 2.5... There can't be many of those out there since only like 10,000 sedans were built, total, and your Dad's is the first I've heard of with a 4. It must have been miserably slow.
Anhow! I doubt the OP is going to bump into one and have to make a decision.
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