Did my engine just blow up? help.

[RuggedRunner]

Aww bummer, if your truck was drinking coolant then it might be the case and your head gasket failed because of the overheat. However, these engines are pretty stout so you might catch a break and nothing on the bottom end might be damaged. When you pull the plugs out, get a long breaker bar and turn the engine over one complete revolution by hand (360 rotation clockwise) via the crank pulley bolt. Watch for anything bubbling out of the spark plug holes and listen for any abnormal noises. That will give you a clue as to what might have went wrong and if there's hope to revive it.

Update:
Pulled all the plugs and didn't see any liquid down there, I had a bright light and I'm pretty certain it was dry. But cylinder 3 had moisture on the end of the rubber plug attached to the spark plug wire. None of the other rubber plugs had moisture. I stuck a hose down cylinder 3 and it came up dry. My ultragauge had no new codes except 420 and 440 which I knew were already on. While manually turning the engine 360 degrees I heard a very light but constant clicking noise. Almost like when you turn the knob on those old toaster ovens. Is that normal? I heard no other noises. Checked inside the cylinders again, no bubbles or anything. As a side note the coolant reservoir has gradually dropped a little more than an inch in 6 months. Doesn't seem like very much but maybe its enough to hydro lock. If it is hydro locked maybe the engine dispersed all of the coolant when I cranked it yesterday, making it look dry. idk. I know theres no way to tell for sure but what do y'all think, can it be salvaged?

 

[RuggedRunner]

I'm the farthest thing from an expert, and the posters above are likely more on the right track than I am, but that behavior is almost exactly the same behavior I experienced when my fuel pump went out. Similar mileage too, I was maybe at 208-210k or so.

Best of luck.

Funny you mention that, my fuel pump went out 2 months ago!

 

[sdwaltz]

Funny you mention that, my fuel pump went out 2 months ago!

Ah, dang. Was hoping I had maybe found a simple solution for you. Again, best of luck! Hope it all works out.

 

[gamefreakgc]

Update:
Pulled all the plugs and didn't see any liquid down there, I had a bright light and I'm pretty certain it was dry. But cylinder 3 had moisture on the end of the rubber plug attached to the spark plug wire. None of the other rubber plugs had moisture. I stuck a hose down cylinder 3 and it came up dry. My ultragauge had no new codes except 420 and 440 which I knew were already on. While manually turning the engine 360 degrees I heard a very light but constant clicking noise. Almost like when you turn the knob on those old toaster ovens. Is that normal? I heard no other noises. Checked inside the cylinders again, no bubbles or anything. As a side note the coolant reservoir has gradually dropped a little more than an inch in 6 months. Doesn't seem like very much but maybe its enough to hydro lock. If it is hydro locked maybe the engine dispersed all of the coolant when I cranked it yesterday, making it look dry. idk. I know theres no way to tell for sure but what do y'all think, can it be salvaged?

If it hydro locked, that fluid didn't just disappear or evaporate. It would either have drained into your crankcase, or be pooled up in the cylinder. So if there's no trace of coolant, that's good.

Can you describe this "ticking" noise? It should not be ticking as you rotate. Where did the noise come from? Was it from inside the engine, under the valve covers, or perhaps something external like the A/C compressor bearings?

I should also ask, have you tried to start it again?

 

[Jidaran]

I had a 95 ZJI'm surprised you had a couple HG's go on your XJ's.

The 2000 and 2001 XJs had a redesigned head, called the 0331, that was far more prone to failure than previous years. Real shame since the engine is otherwise bulletproof. My gf has a 2001 XJ that was slowly leaking coolant. I eventually fixed it by replacing the radiator and water pump, but for a while I was freaking out.

Best of luck OP! Sorry to continue the thread jack, but I'm always asking questions around here so I didn't want to miss an opportunity to actually contribute something for once...

 

[Yoter]

Were your spark plugs super clean when you pulled them?

 

[RuggedRunner]

If it hydro locked, that fluid didn't just disappear or evaporate. It would either have drained into your crankcase, or be pooled up in the cylinder. So if there's no trace of coolant, that's good.

Can you describe this "ticking" noise? It should not be ticking as you rotate. Where did the noise come from? Was it from inside the engine, under the valve covers, or perhaps something external like the A/C compressor bearings?

I should also ask, have you tried to start it again?

OK so I hand-turned the engine for a while today trying to figure out where it's coming from. I took the AC belt off, nothing changed. I stopped the PS pulley and cooling fan pulley, nothing changed. Didn't stop the alternator, I know it wasn't coming from that. It sounded like it was coming from down near the crank pulley. I think inside the engine. It's hard to tell. I put the spark plugs in and tried to crank it again. Same thing, just a loud wining noise from the unresponsive engine and starter, except this time there was no smoke! Hopefully that's a good thing. I took a video but i can't figure out how to upload it.

 

[RuggedRunner]

Were your spark plugs super clean when you pulled them?

Not really. They're pretty grimy.

 

[Yoter]

Not really. They're pretty grimy.

Im not an expert on head gaskets yet (luckily ray: ) But the rust coloring around the base of the plugs is slightly concerning, as well as the gritty debris. You don't have classic white ash colored tips though that would be indicative of head gasket failure.
This might be a dumb question but did you clean the spark plugs? You can use a wire brush, they are not that delicate. You might just not be getting enough spark to get it turned over. Of course a compression test would also be a good idea I think most auto parts stores will lend you a compression gauge for free.

 

[RuggedRunner]

Im not an expert on head gaskets yet (luckily ray: ) But the rust coloring around the base of the plugs is slightly concerning, as well as the gritty debris. You don't have classic white ash colored tips though that would be indicative of head gasket failure.
This might be a dumb question but did you clean the spark plugs? You can use a wire brush, they are not that delicate. You might just not be getting enough spark to get it turned over. Of course a compression test would also be a good idea I think most auto parts stores will lend you a compression gauge for free.

Honestly, cleaning them didn't even cross my mind! :rockthrow: I'll have to pull them back out tomorrow, thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Yoter]

Honestly, cleaning them didn't even cross my mind! :rockthrow: I'll have to pull them back out tomorrow, thanks for the suggestion.

I have a 351 Cleveland in another car, and just last weekend the engine was flooded and wouldn't start. Removing and cleaning the plugs did the trick on that motor, I cant guarantee it will fix your issues but its worth trying!
.....And I cant resist posting a picture of the 351C.....

 

[gamefreakgc]

I have no idea why those spark plugs have debris on them but I can't imagine a healthy engine ever doing that.

Grinding/clicking on the crankshaft is never a good thing either... I'm out of suggestions on how to get it fired up again, if it's even possible.

 

[RuggedRunner]

I have a 351 Cleveland in another car, and just last weekend the engine was flooded and wouldn't start. Removing and cleaning the plugs did the trick on that motor, I cant guarantee it will fix your issues but its worth trying!
.....And I cant resist posting a picture of the 351C.....

wow, sexy! whats the mpg on that thing?

 

[RuggedRunner]

The 2000 and 2001 XJs had a redesigned head, called the 0331, that was far more prone to failure than previous years. Real shame since the engine is otherwise bulletproof. My gf has a 2001 XJ that was slowly leaking coolant. I eventually fixed it by replacing the radiator and water pump, but for a while I was freaking out.

Best of luck OP! Sorry to continue the thread jack, but I'm always asking questions around here so I didn't want to miss an opportunity to actually contribute something for once...

No worries, happens to the best of us! :thumb:

 

[RuggedRunner]

I have no idea why those spark plugs have debris on them but I can't imagine a healthy engine ever doing that.

Grinding/clicking on the crankshaft is never a good thing either... I'm out of suggestions on how to get it fired up again, if it's even possible.

Thanks for your help anyways. I talked to a shop today about doing an engine swap. He said they've done several 3.4s so thats a good sign. I'll keep you guys updated.

 

[St Runner]

I am still a little unclear on what you mean by unresponsive engine and starter. Will it not turn over or will it turn over but not start? If it won't even crank don't even waste your time and find another used engine to swap in. Do the best research you can on any used engine you find, best case is to find one out of a wreck that you can do research on the vehicle itself. Once an engine is separated from its vehicle it really hard to find out its milage and maintenance. A trusted supplier is a good start. good luck

 

[RuggedRunner]

I am still a little unclear on what you mean by unresponsive engine and starter. Will it not turn over or will it turn over but not start? If it won't even crank don't even waste your time and find another used engine to swap in. Do the best research you can on any used engine you find, best case is to find one out of a wreck that you can do research on the vehicle itself. Once an engine is separated from its vehicle it really hard to find out its milage and maintenance. A trusted supplier is a good start. good luck

The starter is turning the engine but it will not turn over at all. Thanks for the advice, will do.

 

[thegipper]

If the engine cranks but doesn't start, than your engine is not hydro locked. If it was, the starter either wouldn't turn over the engine or it would make an awful grinding noise.

I had a 98 Bonneville that hydro locked when I was younger. Because I didn't know any better, I kept trying to turn it over and it eventually broke the starter mount.

I know better now.

If the engine isn't hydro locked it could still have a bad head gasket. It's just not bad enough to flood the cylinder(s).

I would still do a leak down test. You'll know for sure if the HG is bad or not after the test.

Or you can just swap in a new/used engine, that's the route I took since I already had one on hand. It is a TON of work but I did it in my garage over a couple of weeks.

 

[gamefreakgc]

Thanks for your help anyways. I talked to a shop today about doing an engine swap. He said they've done several 3.4s so thats a good sign. I'll keep you guys updated.

I just finished my engine swap, it was a chore and a half. Shim popped out in the cylinder head and marred it and sent shrapnel through my engine. It still ran though, albeit very terribly.

Finding a decent used engine will be difficult. I would advise away from using a JDM if a shop is doing it for you since it will add a considerable amount of labor costs as both engines will have to be stripped to a dressed long block and then build back up with USDM parts. I had a very hard time finding a low mileage USDM engine though, had to go JDM due to time constraints.

If you get that old engine out, take a peek under the oil pan or have him take one of the heads off to see what the heck happened.

 

[johnbyebye]

I just finished my engine swap, it was a chore and a half. Shim popped out in the cylinder head and marred it and sent shrapnel through my engine. It still ran though, albeit very terribly.

Finding a decent used engine will be difficult. I would advise away from using a JDM if a shop is doing it for you since it will add a considerable amount of labor costs as both engines will have to be stripped to a dressed long block and then build back up with USDM parts. I had a very hard time finding a low mileage USDM engine though, had to go JDM due to time constraints.

If you get that old engine out, take a peek under the oil pan or have him take one of the heads off to see what the heck happened.

Could you expand on this a bit? I am considering swapping mine out with a JDM down the road.

If I'm understanding this, when a shop installs the engine they can't use the JDM parts in the engine?

Thanks.