I was coming back from doctors office when my 1998 Jeep Cherokee cut off on me. I had it towed back to the house when my husband discovered what looked to be oil in the radiator. I had no problems with the jeep until the point in time. So I'm being told the head is bad. Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated. :confused: I figured with a head going bad there would have least some indication that something was wrong.

I think they mean your head gasket which is a pretty expensive job because the top of the motor has to be lifted off to get at it and a new one put on. If you have a leaking head gasket, then, yes, you did have an indication which was oil in your radiator.

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Originally Posted by tickle

I think they mean your head gasket which is a pretty expensive job because the top of the motor has to be lifted off to get at it and a new one put on. If you have a leaking head gasket, then, yes, you did have an indication which was oil in your radiator.

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Ok, the thing is, with a blown head gasket, shouldn't there be water in the oil? Also, I don't understand how there is so much oil in the radiator when the oil level is full, and 2 weeks ago when the oil was changed the oil level was full. We bought in Feb. It ran fine the whole time we have had it. All of a sudden out of nowhere it just dies. We are thinking about just selling it. The body, trans and interior are all in perfect shape, so we should be able to get something out of it.

So in the states you can sell a car 'as is' without a roadworthy certificate? In Ontario Canada a car can't be sold unless it is certified as roadworthy by a licensed mechanic.

And no, I don't think there would be water in the oil, but I am amazed you weren't leaking oil all over the place for a while before you found out it was the head gasket.

Could also be a cracked block or head. For a quickfix I would try some stopleak in the rad and keep an eye on the fluids. Other than that change the head gasket and drive her till she dies. I'm guessing it has the 4.0L straight six. They are a good motor but head gaskets don't last forever... good luck!

Have radiator checked, simple and inexpensive. More likely to be transmission fluid in water than motor oil.

Harold's assessment makes the most sense:

The transmission is cooled by a heat exchanger loop at usually the bottom of the radiator. Check transmission fluid level. Even though it's usually checked when running, there may be a watery mix there.

A blown head gasket would generally mix antifreeze with the oil.

Smell and color is a good way to tell the difference.