Uploaded May 2017 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
It's time again for a new exhaust manifold because the Speed Tractor sounds more and more like a boy racer.
Common problem with the 4 litre I6 ERH engined Jeeps, no matter if Cherokee, Wrangler or Grand, sooner or later they all got the same issue, usually starting at the bottom joint but not limited to.
Cracks mainly caused by stress from thermal expansion and certainly accelerated by water showers from going through deeper puddles which we have lots here.
Re-welding is only a temporary fix and won't last very long because the material seems to become very brittle over time, it just cracks at another point. The headers are not very expensive and considering the time it takes to change it, it's far more economical to fit a new one, rather messing around with an already cracked one every 6 months.
Under my condtions (lots of rain and rather hard driving), a new one lasts about 3 years, your mileage may vary with ambient conditions and driving style.
The job itself is not really complicated, the challenge are the bottom bolts, especially the 2 rear ones are extremely difficult to access.
The access problem is amplified by the fact that this is a Right Hand Drive, which means all the aircon pipework is in the way.
I also have a WJ intake maniifold fitted (for performance reasons) which makes it a bit worse because it is much bulkier than the stock XJ intake.
It's quite obvious the the RHD XJ is not exactly designed as an RHD vehicle, it's more like an LHD with just the steering wheel on the other side.
Lots of things are just randomly moved around to make room for steering column, heater and and brake booster.
As far as i know, initially being done on the cheap for the US Postal Service, until someone had the bright idea to sell it to RHD countries ....
Don't get me wrong, i really like my truck, but it needed alot of work to get it right for driving on the left side of the road.
Some day i may do an episode about it.....
Anyway, this video is split in 2 parts as it would be too long for one episode. Part 1 is here youtu.be/zfMTH7ByG1A
There will also be a 3rd part which is (sort of) related to this, covering some issues with "running lean" error codes but the engine actually running very rich.
My Jeep video playlist is here youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ5sckhk3nik7WYYpkRPq9-9rnO5B01ek
(C)2017
dynoguy.co.uk
It's time again for a new exhaust manifold because the Speed Tractor sounds more and more like a boy racer.
Common problem with the 4 litre I6 ERH engined Jeeps, no matter if Cherokee, Wrangler or Grand, sooner or later they all got the same issue, usually starting at the bottom joint but not limited to.
Cracks mainly caused by stress from thermal expansion and certainly accelerated by water showers from going through deeper puddles which we have lots here.
Re-welding is only a temporary fix and won't last very long because the material seems to become very brittle over time, it just cracks at another point. The headers are not very expensive and considering the time it takes to change it, it's far more economical to fit a new one, rather messing around with an already cracked one every 6 months.
Under my condtions (lots of rain and rather hard driving), a new one lasts about 3 years, your mileage may vary with ambient conditions and driving style.
The job itself is not really complicated, the challenge are the bottom bolts, especially the 2 rear ones are extremely difficult to access.
The access problem is amplified by the fact that this is a Right Hand Drive, which means all the aircon pipework is in the way.
I also have a WJ intake maniifold fitted (for performance reasons) which makes it a bit worse because it is much bulkier than the stock XJ intake.
It's quite obvious the the RHD XJ is not exactly designed as an RHD vehicle, it's more like an LHD with just the steering wheel on the other side.
Lots of things are just randomly moved around to make room for steering column, heater and and brake booster.
As far as i know, initially being done on the cheap for the US Postal Service, until someone had the bright idea to sell it to RHD countries ....
Don't get me wrong, i really like my truck, but it needed alot of work to get it right for driving on the left side of the road.
Some day i may do an episode about it.....
Anyway, this video is split in 2 parts as it would be too long for one episode. Part 1 is here youtu.be/zfMTH7ByG1A
There will also be a 3rd part which is (sort of) related to this, covering some issues with "running lean" error codes but the engine actually running very rich.
My Jeep video playlist is here youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ5sckhk3nik7WYYpkRPq9-9rnO5B01ek
(C)2017
dynoguy.co.uk
