2014 Jeep Compass Latitude - Head Gasket

[73surf]

Hello All,

The wife's car, 2014 Jeep Compass, Latitude 2.4L engine with 146,000 miles, is giving up on the head gasket. She was on her way home when the lamp and audible alert sounded. She pulled over in a parking lot to let it cool while I made the trip to look at it.
I topped off the radiator, looked for any visible leaks, there weren't any, so we got it home with no further over-heating issues.
When it cooled down, i popped the radiator cap, started it up and the bubbles were streamed through the radiator. There were no signs of white smoke out of the tail pipe, again no visible leaks from hoses or water pump. I tested the radiator for hydrocarbons and it popped positive immediately.

I'm going to pull the head off and have it machined and have new valve seals installed.

My question to the collective body here is, do i need to be concerned with finding a thicker head gasket to maintain OEM tolerances for the timing. The machine shop indicated that there maybe steel shim available instead of a thicker head gasket.

Has anyone done this, and or anyone know of a resource for thicker head gaskets? I have searched, but haven't found anything specific to a thicker head gasket or shims for this model engine.
I realize this will be driven by the amount of material removed from the head during the machining process.
I do plan on replacing the water pump, thermostats (2) i believe, and timing chain while i have it torn down.

I also plan on aligning the timing marks before disassembly.

Are there any pitfalls i need to be aware of? any other precautions i need to take or plan for ?

Thank you all for your time and insight.

Regards,

73Surf

 

[rampagingturbo]

Hey 73Surf, a reputable machine shop will have machining tolerance reference books. Depending on how much needs to be machined off will dictate whether it can be used reliably. There are no shims that I am aware of. Something to be aware of the buckets or mla's are different thicknesses. So don't mix them up. If you get the surface done and the valves cut at the same time. You will have to check clearance and get correct buckets to get clearance into spec. Good luck.

 

[73surf]

@rampagingturbo thank you for the reply, apologies for the delayed response also.
Your reference to "buckets" are those the lifters? are those the multi air actuators ?
i must admint some components on this engine are a bit different than a 351 W. LoL.

thanks again @rampagingturbo

regards
73Surf

 

[maxi426]

Find a shop that will straighten the head before they cut it. That will correct the cam bore alignment, as well as not needing as much material removed.