0331 head

I have an '01 and I have read enough about the cracked heads now to get curious.

Anyone had their 0331 head crack and taken pictures of it? I hear they are prone to cracking only in certain spots. It would be helpful if there were some cracked head shots posted so that other 0331 owners can make a quicker troubleshoot...

And just to be certain, where is it cast on the head to identify it as an 0331?

The below thread has some pics of the cracked 0331 cylinder head

http://www.jeepsunlimited.com/forums/showthread.php?t=391831

It is easy to determine what head you have. On the drivers side, about halfway down the cylinder head, clean the lip of the head with a rag or solvent if really greasy. With a good light, you can read the casting number of the head.

If you have an 01 with a factory head, you DO have an 0331.

Just ran out and checked mine (wish I would have been more educated when I purchased 5 years ago), I have a build date of 3-99 and mine is a 0630 head. So apparently 99 could come either way.

Never seen or heard of a 99 with a factory installed 0331 head.

0331 head cracking gets talked about much more than it actually happens.

IMHO most 0331 heads crack due to abuse from lack of routine maintenance of the cooling system.

I agree that I have seen no evidence of a 99 having the 0331 head.

But this head does have quite a reputation, and lives up to it in my opinion.

Not trying to vilify it, but the posts on this serve a purpose of alerting everyone with the 0331 head to be sure they check their coolant levels on a regular basis, as unexplained coolant loss is the #1 symptom of a cracked 0331 head.

I literally just walked back into my house after about 14 hours of work replacing my 0331 head...had a few problems that took us longer than the reported usual length, but nothing major at all (I have my own thread where I will post a complete end write up). From the pictures I have seen, and from all the research I did prior to this, the cracks seem most frequently to crack right in between the 3-4 cylinders. Such a crack can sometimes/often be seen through the oil filler cap. Mine was such a crack, I could easily see the crack when looking down the oil cap with a semi-bright flashlight. Now that the head is off, the crack is pretty big, goes much further toward the side than I thought. I have not had the jeep long enough to say whether the cooling system had been neglected, I bought the jeep knowing I would prolly need to do the head. If you have more questions post them up, this is a well documented issue...and many have delt with it!

There's enough 0331s cracking that most of us are like: "there goes another one"

mattylight...thought that was gonna get done by friday :repair:

cottontail I'll mail you my cracked 0331 head if you want to see what it looks like =)

Keep an eye out for sudden, constant loss of coolant, and milky oil.

lol, i started friday, was supposed to be finished saturday...actually finished sunday, after 3 trips out to get a socket to fit the tall head bolts...and a broken rocker cover bolt...well you get the idea, it took longer than expected. But it is done, and boy does it purrrrr!