Are reconditioned heads any good?

Question

I have a 2001 Jeep Wrangler with the 4.0 engine. I need to get a new head because the original one cracked. Jeep only has 75,000 miles. Without considering the difference in price, would I be making a mistake by installing a reconditioned head? The only reason I'm considering this is I really need to get the Jeep running and the reconditioned head is the fastest route. I would be buying it from NAPA. I appreciate any thoughts on this.

Thanks, Dennis

DougW · Accepted Answer

Reconditioned just means they cleaned and checked it. Frankly I don't see any real downside, least off no worse than pulling one at the junk yard and having an engine shop clean and check it. I've been fairly happy with parts from the local NAPA.

Do you know what caused the block to crack? I know there was a production run of faulty heads, but I'm not certain if there was a recall. (actually, it can't hurt to check with your local Jeep dealer and see if there is anything on it)

Dennis524 · Answer

Thanks for the response.I haven't been back to the shop to see the head yet. They called and said they pressure tested it and found a good sized crack. They said that they have been seeing a lot of the 4.0's with cracks on the upper side of the head.  The Jeep has never over heated so it could be a flaw in the casting.

Will Honea · Answer

Use Google and check for cracked Jeep 4.0 heads.  There was some discussionof this a year or so back.  Seems like they changed the mold and had somecrack problems with a run of post-2000 heads.  The discussion gave moldmarks to check for and such but from reading the posts it was a fairlylimited issue and corrected. Don't recall any mention of a recall but theposts did describe exactly where the crack was.  Sounds like you may havegotten one.Dennis524 wrote:

Dennis524 · Answer

Thanks Will for the information. I found what you were talking about and looks like I got one. From what I read the 4.0 heads with casting # 0331 were the ones that were prone to crack. (2000 to 2001) They showed pictures of the cracks and mine cracked exactly in the same place. I'm not going to trust a remanufactured head especially when they sent me one that was welded and had the same casting number as my old one.

Thanks for your help, Dennis

DougW · Answer

might check these folks. 's an OEM (dealership) part but they don't hose you over on price.I've used them many times for hard to find parts (like motor mounts)

Are reconditioned heads any good?

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