The #6 cylinder on my 4.0L blew a head gasket. This week and weekend, I fixed it.
Rule #1: take many many digital pics of the engine, including details of the wiring harnasses, power steering hose placements, heater hoses, etc.
I took the heads to a machine shop - they determined the heads were warped and milled them flush as well as pressure tested the combustion chambers to check for leaks/cracks. Luckily no cracks.
Since half the motor got torn-down to get to the head gaskets, at 98k miles, I figured it would be a good time to replace any worn or nearly worn parts along the way. The list of those parts:
- thermostat
- power steering pump and hoses
- radiator and heater hoses
- belt tensioner/pulley and idler pulley and belt