Cherokee 2.5TD, possible cracked head(s)

[Rickyy]

Hi guys, new to the forum and the world of Jeep!

I've been offered a '97 Cherokee 2.5TD, it is pressurising the coolant system.
After reading a few posts on here I see this is quite common and caused by a cracked cylinder head.

Is this simply a case of replacing with a new head(s) or is there likely to be more issues?

It has done close to 200k, but is in good visual condition and sounds to be running ok.

Also heads seem to be scarce on ebay and the like, what sort of price do they usually go for?

Thanks in advance!

[The Smiths]

just heads - they wear out/go porous

second hand about £60 - new around £160 plus

[Rickyy]

Thanks.

I understand they are individual heads? I take it that is the price per head?

[The Smiths]

yes

[Rickyy]

Unsure whether or not to take the gamble, I really like the car though and the bodywork is in good condition.

Are the heads easy to change? The look like OHV engines, so no camshaft to mess about with in the head. Is it usually one head that goes or do they all follow afterwards? Sorry for lots of questions, just don't want to buy my self a lemon!

[The Smiths]

to find out how many have gone: remove belt. unbolt water gallery and start it - bubbles will blow from the heads that have gone.

You can just change these, or go full tilt and do the lot (only if doing with new ones)

will take about 8/10 hours to do, gasket set is around £40/50 - should fit new bolts, but many don't

upto you how much it is worth - I would only pay max £300 for it - and thats because scrap is £200 - saying that I normally only pay a bit more for a runner with no engine issues....

[Rickyy]

Thanks again. Managed to get them down to £450. It has 4 nearly new Goodyear tyres and a brand new radiator fitted, so can hopefully recover some costs if I need to break it.

Going to sleep on it tonight and make a decision tomorrow.