How do you remove the cylinder head on a 1997 jeep grand Cherokee limited?

Answer 1

which engine type?

== If you have the straight-6 engine, I don't know. If you have the 5.2L V8, I'm in the process of working on mine (Fullsize Dodge van, same engine)... What makes you think the cylinder head gasket needs to be replaced? Excessive oil consumption? With the Magnum V6/V8 engines, it's probably the PLENUM GASKET. It is extremely common for this gasket that separates the lifter valley and intake manifold to bow or burst, creating a vaccuum that draws oil into the intake. Take a look down your intake manifold from the throttle body. If it looks oily in there, it's the plenum gasket. There are kits made to fix this problem, about $80 plus gaskets.

First step: Safety. Find the relay center, remove the FUEL PUMP relay. Crank the engine for 10 seconds or until it dies. Now remove the STARTER relay. If you've already started taking everything apart, locate the fuel pressure valve on the fuel rail. Grab some rags and press down on the pin inside, like draining air from a tire)

Remove upper radiator hose and upper fan shroud for more space. Some vehicles, if you remove the lower shroud you can stand in the engine bay and work on the engine easier. If you can, remove the fan and serpentine belt.

Remove the air intake, throttle body. Label and disconnect all wires and hoses going to the intake manifold.

Unbolt the fuel rail and pull straight up, removing all four injectors with the rail.

Remove the intake manifold.

Remove the exhaust manifolds. This is gonna suck. If you break the studs in the middle parts, you can chase out the holes and use a tap-and-die to allow a 5/16" coarse threaded 1" hex bolt.

Remove the valve covers.

Get a chunk of cardboard. Label where each rocker and pushrod came off of. I actually work in a resturaunt so I have some of our old packaging from a promotion, each little box has the piston it belongs to labelled. Remove the rockers (they're paired per piston) and pushrods. Store them by putting holes in the cardboard to label where each goes.

Unbolt the heads. There's ten bolts.

It probably won't want to come right off. Use a crowbar on one of the casting protrustions, NOT ON THE GASKET SURFACE OR BETWEEN THE BLOCK AND HEAD! Find a spot on the side that sticks out. -- BE WARNED: No matter how well you drain the coolant, It's gonna come rushing out of the head, and the head is >HEAVY<. Offhand guess puts it at around 50 pounds, and you're working in a cramped area.

One of those "As Long As You're There....." things, you can modify the intake manifold for more power, see related links. Basically shortening the runners and removing most of that center divider (Except if your Jeep uses EGR). Also, you can install a cheap Oil Catch Can. Google "oil catch can diy", mine was like $12 from Fleet Farm. It's more or less an inline air filter that will filter out the oil going through the PCV hose.

Get everything nice and clean. If you have a Dremel, use a tiny wire brush to clean out the fuel injector bosses on the intake manifold for a nice seal.

You will need to also replace:

Throttle body gasket

Exhaust manifold gaskets

Intake gaskets kit (includes plenum gasket)

Valve cover gaskets

Thermostat gaskets

Fuel injector O-ring replacement recommended.

New Head Bolts. These bolts are Torque-to-Yield which means they stretch and can't be reused after a head job. You need to buy new bolts, about $44 in town or $35 at RockAuto.com

More antifreeze, enough oil and filters to do two oil changes (Do one after about 300 miles)

DIY Kegger Mod: http://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen-ram/145873-kegger-intake-mod-diy.html