When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Stock XJ Cherokee Tech. All XJ Non-modified/stock questions go hereXJ (84-01)
All OEM related XJ specific tech. Examples, no start, general maintenance or anything that's stock.
So are they going to pull the engine for you or do you have to do it? Did you turn it over manually? There wasn't any better option where you had a confirmation that the engine is good?
The 2 door is nice, but those doors are freakin' heavy. I much prefer the 4 door so I can easily carry certain items in the back seat and it's an absolute necessity when you have small children. It's a PITA enough to put the car seat in when you have 4 doors, it's another level with 2 - then getting the munchkins in and out (especially if they fell asleep and you want to keep them that way!)... no matter how cool the 2-door looks, it isn't worth that trouble.
Good luck man, keep us posted!
So, I pulled the engine myself, saves the $100 they would charge me to do it. I was able to turn the engine by hand pretty easily. I could even hear the compression while I was turning it. I also had to turn the engine by hand to disconnect the transmission from the flex plate. The mileage on the vehicle was just above 200k. It seemed like they didnt want to put work in the vehicle as the carpet was coming through the floor. The jeep had stickers for sailing clubs so I can imagine saltwater was the culprit.
I still love that 2 door though. I saw and ad for one with a manual transmission but someone scooped it before I could.
Definitely make sure the engine will at least turn before you hand over any cash, and have them pull the motor for you. Its hard to pull it in the yard. Did you pop the oil cap or dip stick and see how the oil looks?
That 2 door is pretty nice. Next time you are there, see if that 2 door has the block off bezel for the rear wiper on the hatch. Those are hard to find and they are not made anymore.
The fluids were still in the vehicle to my surprise because the normally drain them before putting them in the yard. Im assuming this is for environmental reasons. When I removed the lower radiator hose that bright green juice went everywhere so it must have been recently changed as there were no signs of rust in the fluid. The oil was actually a light brown color as well, not the black sludge I was expecting. However, there was transmission fluid all over the bottom of the vehicle but that didnt concern me much as I wasnt taking the transmission.
I'll check on that part for you next time I go out there.
Maybe look in the air cleaner where the vent comes in from the VC. That might be a fair indicator of how much "blow-by" there is past the rings.
You hit the nail on the head with this post. When i opened the Air filter housing it looked clean and new except for a oil spot the size of a nickel which worries me a bit.
So, I pulled the engine myself, saves the $100 they would charge me to do it. I was able to turn the engine by hand pretty easily. I could even hear the compression while I was turning it. I also had to turn the engine by hand to disconnect the transmission from the flex plate. The mileage on the vehicle was just above 200k. It seemed like they didnt want to put work in the vehicle as the carpet was coming through the floor. The jeep had stickers for sailing clubs so I can imagine saltwater was the culprit.
I still love that 2 door though. I saw and ad for one with a manual transmission but someone scooped it before I could.
My dad got 400k (all original) on his Manual 2-door XJ. If anyone finds a red 94 2-door manual with carpet coming through the floor (road salt was the culprit) and 401k on the clock at the junkyard -- the engine, tranny and transfer case were all running perfectly when it was last driven... lololol
So, sorry for leaving you guys for so long and that you for all of your help. I decided to pull the engine from the black XJ. It turned very smoothly and when I removed the intake manifold the visible rods were clean and shiny. none of the bolts were missing from the valve cover and all the clips that hold the various hoses had been broken or removed. Either this vehicle was very well maintained or no one ever popped the hood. (crosses fingers) I now have the engine sitting in the engine bay as I have to get a new motor mount for the driver side as my original was busted and the one in the junkyard had completely disintegrated. (I find it funny that they were both messed up. Is that because the engine turns to the driver side when in motion?) Oh, and here is a pic of me in my feeling of triumph when I got that engine swinging. (and a few others)
Got that engine swinging! Driver side motor mount fell apart. All of the salvaged parts from when I took my engine out originally. Empty Engine Bay ready for new motor.
My driver's side motor mounts looked exactly like that when I replaced them a few weeks ago. Passenger side looks okay. I have 285K miles on my 92. Also, great find! Looking forward to the rest of your updates! I want to replace my motor as well and your post is inspiring me
Yes, it pulls up on the RH mound is probably why they get torn up first. BTW I gather you want to remove the CPS as usually they get bogered up trying to swap with them in. I wouldn't worry much about that oil spot, A tad of blow-by on a 200K engine might be expected. That milky oil on the other hand.....don't like that. What year is it?
Yes, it pulls up on the RH mound is probably why they get torn up first. BTW I gather you want to remove the CPS as usually they get bogered up trying to swap with them in. I wouldn't worry much about that oil spot, A tad of blow-by on a 200K engine might be expected. That milky oil on the other hand.....don't like that. What year is it?
Crankshaft position sensor? Do I need to have it rotated to a certain spot when swapping? And I didn't see any milky oil. Did I miss something?
Also guys, is there a place where I can order all new bolts and screws for everything?
Crankshaft position sensor? Do I need to have it rotated to a certain spot when swapping? And I didn't see any milky oil. Did I miss something?
Also guys, is there a place where I can order all new bolts and screws for everything?
The Crankshaft position sensor should just mount in the bell-housing (if that's the same term on an automatic). I think that the wires get pulled or pinched easily when you're trying to finagle the 500lbs of engine into the compartment.
Re: milky oil - I believe DFlintstone was referring to one of the other engines you were checking. The fluid coloring of the engine you pulled sounded optimal to me - clean green coolant and light brown oil.
There was a guy on here selling some hardware kits that a lot of folks recommended. I'll see if I can dig up the username.
For most of the bolts, I just take one or more of the same ones to the local Ace hardware and match them up using the fastener size thing on the end of the aisle. I'm usually able to find a workable solution that way. For bell-housing stuff, make sure that if you go the hardware store route that you get bolts at least as strong as the old ones (Grade 8 SAE or 10.8 for metric is always a safe bet).
Edit - If you don't have a parts catalog for your year, I'd definitely try to download one. (cruiser54.com -> technical manuals link, xjjeeps.com might have it) Aside from having part number references for pretty much every little bit and bob on your Jeep, the diagrams are awesome for seeing how things fit together and what goes where AND many of the bolts sizes are listed right in the manual since they're standard fasteners.
Last edited by PatHenry; 03-08-2019 at 05:01 PM.
Reason: dumb, dumb misspelling errors
Sounds like my mistake, I read light brown as milky, (bad), clear amber, good. 00, and 01's with an 0331 head have a tenancy to crack right in the middle and make the oil "milky", like chocolate milk. The Crank Position Sensor mounts on the bell housing with two special bolts at about 11:00, spendy and tough to do the swap without ruining it. (to re install, lay on your back with your feet sticking out to the right, then hold it with your left hand jammed up past the front drive line. Then a 3" extension to a universal to long extensions to your ratchet clear down by the tranny cross member to tighten the bolts. DON'T DROP ONE IN THERE!) The second one is easy! If there is a plastic dust shield, toss it. Also you might toss the upper bell housing bolts if they are TORX and install normal hex.
Tubur is the member who sells hardware kits. It didn't look like he did the engine to tranny stuff.
I would definitely replace the inverse torx (E-*) bolts at the top of the engine (in fact, I did replace them when I did my clutch). They're metric IIRC. I know nothing about how the Autos are set up, but I have to think it's the same. I definitely was able to find the two main bolts on the side. I actually bought a couple of bolts to cut the heads off to aid in aligning the tranny back up to the block. It definitely helped, but was still more painful than I'd hoped. Interestingly I think the big bolts were SAE.
03-01-2019, 06:51 PM
