Burning oil?

[87CherokeeChief]

87 4.0L 5spd. after bring the jeep to normal temp and driving around a while, if i open the oil filler cap i can see smoke coming out, which i assume is burning oil. also seems to lose coolant with no puddles or anything underneath. My conclusion is a leaky head gasket...does that sound about right? i also get some "lifter noise" coming from the valves, it sounds like a wooshing and only happens under load ie any hard acceleration especially up hills. i dont really notice any powerloss, i have 31s on stock 3.07 gears. any other ideas? anyway to know for sure my problem? compression check? thanks guys.

Brett

 

[firehazzard]

whats the mileage? it's probably blow by which can be caused by a number of things, clogged ccv line on the top of the rocker arm cover, try cleaning out the rocker arm cover or replacing it. if that doesent help you engine may just be worn out 4.0l's are common for that for mine I just use heaver oil like 15w40 or strait 20 oil; for the coolent problem if the water pump, thermostat,hoses, rad or pressure bottle don't leak it probably is internal......its old so I woulden't worry about it. what you could do is go to a wrekers and get a coolent system out of an 97+ cherokee but make sure that the filler cap on the rad is on the driver's side.and swap them if your rad is leaking.

 

[87CherokeeChief]

mileage is 160K. From what ive heard/read the majority of people dont have many problems with high mileage and the 4.0l, of course i could be the minority.

 

[Aquit45]

I have seen 3 4.0's that some smoke comes out of the filler cap older ones and a brand new one so i think thats normal as long as its not alot. I dont know about the coolent if you i have not converted it its worth the money and its not that hard.

 

[87CherokeeChief]

I have seen 3 4.0's that some smoke comes out of the filler cap older ones and a brand new one so i think thats normal as long as its not alot. I dont know about the coolent if you i have not converted it its worth the money and its not that hard.

ive never had a problem with over heating, only one time and that was after a complete flush and there was some air in the system, which was easy to "burp" Can someone point me in the direction of a writeup on converting the system? Thanks guys!

Brett

 

[75SV1]

If your not getting oil in the air filter, then I wouldn't worry about the CCV system. It seems like it is doing its job. Try here for radiator conversions:
http://www.madxj.com/
The lost of radiator fluid could be a head gasket, but there are other things to check for first. The system operates under pressure. Any loss of pressure and the water can boil off. I have had a few older vehicles that it was the radiator cap that caused this problem. Radiator caps loose their spring tension in about 3-5 years. The cap on the overflow bottle does the same thing, but might function a bit different.
Tom

 

[carnuck]

Replace the rad with a '91 or slightly newer one that has a cap. Replace the waterpump, rad hoses and heater hoses (with just regular straight hose, tossing away the stupid plastic bottle in the process) while you are at it and check the floor on the passenger's side for wetness (core leaks suck!)