I have a 01 cherokee with the 0331 head that has cracked. My question what is the best head to replace it with? I will be pulling one from a junkyard. I have a a 0630 head but I understand there is some exhaust modification I need to do. Not sure if I wanna do all that or not. I would like to bolt on and be done. So what should I do?

 

If your using the junk yard make sure it says TUPY between cylinders 3 & 4. Do not rely on the model year, instead look through the oil fill cap.

 

For simple bolt on from the JY, you need 0331. If you can get a 0331 TUPY its the way to go. TUPY is stamped between the rockers for cylinders 3 and 4.

 

Ok TUPY it is then. Thanks

 

And while you are looking, you will NOT find one in a cherokee, YOU NEED TO LOOK at wrangler TJ's and grand Cherokee WJ's 2002 and newer. The TUPY head was not produced during the XJ's production
The earlier heads will require considerable exhaust work due to port mismatch. Only adapter I knew of was by a guy on NAXJA, that would allow the earlier heads to match up to the later dual cat manifold you are stuck with. Last I heard he was still making them on a by demand basis, ran about $150 last time I looked.

 

You cannot go on model year. Engine build date can lag vehicle model year by as much as two years!!!

 

It was a best chance advice, the TUPY head itself was not produced until 2002, so as I stated ... looking in a TJ or WJ produced after that point will offer the best chance.

 

Quote: "I would like to bolt on and be done."

Stay out of the junkyards. That vehicle may be in the junkyard BECAUSE of a cracked head. Any head can crack.

Buy a new one from a reputable manufacturer such as Carolina or Clearwater.

 

Ok thank everyone for the information. I'm new to all the modifications to the jeeps. But I have these one suiting in the yard doing nothing. So I'm going to see about helping it out. Is the 01 a good xj. Or is the a better out there?

 

01 XJ's are fine vehicles. I've enjoyed mine for the past 10 years.

Three differences between the 00-01 and earlier years is the pre-cat style exhaust, the head casting/cracking issue, and coil pack replaces separate distributor/coil.

 

Additionally:

It will almost certainly have a low pinion front axle. Chrysler had a bunch of those in stock and switched over to use them up toward the end of production.

It has the best intake manifold of any of the XJs. They changed it in 2000 and refined it for 2001.

Prior to '97, there was a hole in the steel panel in front of the airbox to allow cool air to pass through from the grill. That hole was removed from the 97+ XJs to get warmer air into the engine for emissions purposes.

The windshield fluid bottle was relocated to the driver's side fender in later models, which complicates installation of a snorkel.

As was mentioned above, 2001 only had a California emissions version, which means it has three catalytic converters and four O2 sensors. That limits your options if you want to add a header, but there are options available.

The stock stereo system is set up for 2 ohms. Almost all of what's on the market now are 4 ohm systems. If you need to swap speakers, you'll have to either find 2 ohm replacements or live with the impedance mismatch. If you swap your head unit for a 4 ohm unit, you'll need to replace your speakers also to keep from burning them out. The diaphragms in the stock speakers tend to rot away and stop working, so you ought to just plan on a stereo overhaul if it hasn't already been replaced.

The cooling systems in the later models are no better than the early ones. These run hot.

So overall these have advantages and disadvantages. The good thing is that you can fix most of the disadvantages and work around the few you can't. Other differences you might find will have to do with which package you have. The Limited had wiring installed that the Sport didn't have, and the towing package added some nice extras like a transmission cooler.

 

Thanks all