My first post...
I have a 1997 cherokee with 250k miles. The head was rebuilt once with a previous owner because of a bent valve. I bought it shortly after and it had a rough idle. Owner said he didnt know what it was but knew that it ran well otherwise. I drove the Jeep for a couple years and it ran great.

Later I closed the hood on a empty power steering fluid bottle that managed to jam the fan and cause it to overheat. DOH! Since then it had a misfire on #6 and low compression there and gradually got worse. So i decided to fix it.

That was the background and here is the point of my story and the questions I have.

Because of the mistaken abuse and previous issues with the head I decided to get a new head instead of getting mine rebuilt. I went with clearwater cylinder head for this purchase. The head said that it fit 91-07 online but when I got the head in the mail it said 99-07, and mine is a 97.

I noticed the only main difference was the exhaust ports on the new head are smaller than that on my old head. My question is if I can use my stock 97 exhaust on this "beefed up" 0331 type head.

I know that you can't put the smaller year 2000+ exhaust on the older head but can you do the opposite?

I don't want to buy year 2000+ exhaust for this job when i already have a perfectly good header if it will fit. Plus if I buy newer exhaust then I will have to modify it anyways because the newer exhaust uses more sensors and I don't because my Jeep is a 97'

So frustrating..... thanks in advance for the help

Get the correct head.

I agree. Get the correct head.

Return it to the company you bought it from for the correct head.
Also, If you purchased it from a reputable place, you should be able to call or correspond with them on this matter. After all, the part you got was not the description of the part you clicked on to purchase.

The correct head is casting number 0630. Manufactured from 1996 to 1999.