BlueRidgeMark

Quit using those shorty oil filters the auto shops want to sell you. Wix 51515 or equivalent (NAPA Gold 1515, Purlolator L14670, others).

dzywicki

That is the filter that was on the used engine. I always use Napa gold.

Got the motor onto a stand and got a better look. So far everything looks really good. Quite a difference for the other motor with well water int he cooling system! While I have it accessible, I'm going to rent a harmonic balancer puller and look at the timing chain. The replacement also has one of the updated exhaust manifolds with the bellows so I don't need to get another exhaust manifold. Also pulled the water pump and that looked pretty good as well. A little pitting on the impeller, but defintiely not all rusty like the previous one.
Almost ready to pull the old engine. Have to get those two PITA inverted torx nuts off the top of the trans bellhousing. Going to try the drop the remove the mounts and drop the engine down and get it from the top approach. Last time I had to get these out on the other XJ, I was removing the trans so already had the support removed and was able to tilt the trans down and use a 3 foot extension.
Hopefully tomorrow will be getting the old motor out and cleaning/panting the replacement and anything else I find that needs to be done. Still need to get a transmission inout shaft seal so I can replace that while the motor is out. Then clean up whatever I can while the motor is out of the way.

dzywicki

Got the old motor pulled today. Those two top bolts on the tans took almost 2.5 hours to finally get both off. Definitely putting hex head back in for those two so they can be removed and tightened from the top. Now just need the transmission seal and some cleaning and painting and then put it all back. Have new motor mounts, water pump, radiator, thermostat, radiator cap, dist. cap, rotor, plugs.

nujeepguy

those two PITA inverted torx nuts off the top of the trans bellhousing.

can u show a pix of them?? never saw them

dzywicki

Here are some pics of the aforementioned PITA reverse torx bolts. The part that makes this a PITA is that these are at the top of the transmission bellhousing. There isn;t enough room to get the socket on and get a ratchet on the end. I tried lowering the engine but that didn't work either, still not enough room. I went with the method I used on my other XJ (and the method you'll find on the interwebs). That method is drop the transmission support and lower the back of the transmission so the trans and engine angle down towards the rear. Then you can get a 2-3' extension with a wobble end in there to actually get it on the damn thing. I have a long extension and 3 other short ones that I put together. Still took a lot of effort to break them free.
If those were regular hex head you could easily get a wrench on them from above and remove them pretty easily.
There are some videos on the youtubes that show how to get to them. I was too busy cursing the Jeep engineers for this choice an didn't take video or pics of the long journey to get tho these bolts. Bastards.

nujeepguy

what actually fits it?

dzywicki

It's called an E12. I'm sure you could find a wrench and get them from the top. I only had a socket from the previous time I did this on a different XJ. I happened to be just removing the transmission that time so I already had the cross member off and dropping the transmission down.
Here is one of many threads on these f'ing bolts.
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/aaa...-bolts-176937/

Google something like "remove top two transmission bolts jeep cherokee" and you will see all the pain and suffering that people have to go through.
I actually had pretty good access to them at the top since I already had the head off. With the head on, forget about getting to them at the top.

BlueRidgeMark

I think if I ever need to pull those, they are not going back in. I'll find the right thread and length and replace them with regular hex head bolts.

extrashaky

http://www.sears.com/gearwrench-4-pc...p-00991207000P

dzywicki

Keep in mind. to even get at them from the top, the head would need to be off. With the head on, I don't think there would be enough room. Of course it's too late for me to try that now with the head on. I will find out about access from above when I put the replacement bolts back in.
Regardless, I still don't see a real good reason why they would use those kind of bolts there. That is the only place I have found where those kinds of bolts are used. Bastards.

dzywicki

Finally got around to testing the thermostat in the blown motor. As I suspected, it did not open in boiling water. I also dropped int eh nice looking tstat from the used motor I got. That one opened right up. Amazing what hard water will do to a cooling system.

nujeepguy

thanks for all the bolt info guys

dzywicki

Are you just planning ahead or just figuring you'll need to do this at some point? I have a '99 that I have owned since new and just bought this 98. By this point, I have taken almost everything apart at least once and know the typical failure points. I am pretty meticulous on maintenance and have still had some unexpected failures. The most unexpected was the freeze plug on the rear of the engine and the front input seal on the transmission. It's actually been my wife's Jeep, just easier to say I have owned it.
We had the dealer replace the freeze plug. the was before I had any kind of confidence to do something like that. I gained some experience replacing things and when the transmission started leaking from the front seal, that was when I really dove in and got brave.
Any Cherokee will need some things at this age. Cracked piston skits, transmission input seal, wheel hubs, crank position sensor, cam position sensor, suspension rebuilt, etc.
I think I have seen most of them by now, except for catastrophic transmission failure (knock on wood, know I shouldn't have said that).

djgrayxj

BIG NOTE from DJ:
Remove those two E12 bolts first to avoid any chance of binding which will make it even more difficult for removal.
Then throw them away and take one of the regular bolts that you removed to your local hardware store as a sample. I believe they are standard SAE thread and by two regular headed bolts as replacement .

nujeepguy

yeah nre xj guy and learning for the future ,,thanks