this is my first post and I would like to first like to thank everyone on the site I have been a member for about 3 months and I would say I have searched, diagnosed, and fixed about 15 things that I would have been lost without you guys the search tap is my savior and it is always my first stop when I come here with a problem that I just can't seem to figure out on my own I can't even imagine how much time and money I have saved by just spending some time reading past post...plus I know how the long time members hate answering the same questions over and over lol.....So that being said here is my problem...I bought a 99 sport, auto trans, power everything, 4.0 with 136k a few months back for 1100 bucks and thought wow what a deal and after replacing the axle u-joints, rotors, pads, calipers, ball joints, manifold, full tune up, rear wiper motor, wheels and tires, and a few wiring issues, and some other small odds and ends I think I finally have this thing in shape WRONG! it ran great for about a week then after a short drive I hear a tapping maybe a knocking, turning into a rapping smashing, A noise you know that something is wrong and very wrong so I parked it and did a search and after reading alot of post I checked the flexplate for cracks, the tc for loose bolts, valves, cat, some sensors pretty much checked everything that everyone on here has had make a noise similar to what I was having well after taking the oil pan off I found the issue the piston on the 5th cylinder had some pieces broken off I was glad to finally find where the noise was coming from but was hoping it was not that I would say I only drove the jeep around 3 miles after the noise started bc I knew that it was not something good.....so my question to everyone is
1. is it worth fixing? money is an issue and would a new(used) motor be a better bet than a fix?
2. can I just replace the bad piston? would that be a smart move or should I replace all pistons? if so what all needs to be replaced at the same time
3. what all should be replaced when doing something like this?
4. why would this have happened? I never drove it hard never even put the petal to the floor since I have owned it
5. would I need to pull the motor to have it machined?

this is the first time I have had an issue this big and am not lost on doing the work I have owned jeeps for about 10 yrs all wranglers and I have had about every issue you can imagine but since jeeps are tanks I have managed to get away with nothing like a motor going out....any help would be much appreciated and I know the easy answer is buy a stroker, buy a new motor but those are to be my very last options bc funds are limited but not limited to where im going to half *** it bc I don't want to have to do the same work in 2 months

 

find ya a good used motor man... youll have to do so much to that one that it wouldnt be worth it... ive got 4.0's on my craiglist for $250, $300, $400 (from a 99)... there not costly at all and u can swap yourself... thats gonna be your best bet man... sorry... just how it goes... lol

 

where are u located? maybe someone could help or have a motor... best to fill out your location cause it helps alot...

i had a 98 dodge cummins that i got of ebay and picked it up from the transmission shop as it got a new tranny... 1 year later ther torque converter started to let go... so i traded it in for a 03 dodge cummins and ate a chunck of money (traded for less then worth but more then a new tranny)... then 6 months later lost second gear in the 03... couldnt hide that... sold my paid off (with iraq money) built 05 450r 4 wheeler for next to nothing so i could rebuilt my tranny... $4k... had $12k invested in my quad... now if i had your luck with a $400 engine... id be the happiest man in the world... just figured id give u my story to make u feel better about yours lol... theres always someone that has it worse... most of the time its gonna be me... lol...

 

I live in Md and pa house is right on the line I was fig that it was going to be less trouble to just replace the motor I have been looking around for a nice used one I am the guy that always thinks hes getting a deal then realtiy sets in lol.....but I do always love a good story about someone that has had it worse off than me bc most of the time im the worse off guy lol

 

lol... yeah if u know anyone else who got it bad then send them my way... ill make them feel better... ive also put $1200 worth of rebuilt injectors and $850 worth of a new injector pump in the last 4 months and still need $900 for all new balljoints (there frickin $60 each and i dont have a press so i cant do them), $250 injector tubes, and 37x12.50r16.5 tires... and my cruise control just quit working... dont even get me started on the jeep... lol

 

72 chevy i had=blown motor, 70 impala=dropped transmission, 89 ramcharger=blown piston rings and lost tranny same time... i learned vehicles cause i had to... not cause i wanted to... lol

 

60 buck a ball joint is outrageous I paid about 25-30 for the ones on the xj rented the press from advanced auto bc the one from autozone was trash looking around for a nice used xj motor don't want to get something then get it in and be out there 2 wks later doing a head gasket or something like that but im sure I will be lol

 

craigslist is the best man... be specific when looking try... 4.0... jeep engine, jeep motor, inline 6, inline6, cherokee engine, cherokee motor, wrangler engine, wrangler motor, 99+ grand cherokees wont work for ya... they had a different head with no distributor... if u try them as i said i bet youll find at least 4 or 5...

 

yeah c-list is gr8 I have found a few on there but now I have new questions whats the diff in a short and long block since mine is a 99 I think I have a short block is that true? can I use something out of a diff year? can I use one out of a wrangler?

 

u can use one out of a wrangler as long as it has a distributor... a short block means like no head or anything... just the block... a long block meand it comes with the oil pan... head... everything... u want a long block... and youll want to reuse the same stuff thats around your motor... unless u find another motor from a 99 to 01 cherokee... then u can use the same stuff... get it running and if something isnt working... aka the altenator is bad on the new motor... then u know your old one is good and can swap it out... if it doesnt have a distributor... Wj's and newer wranglers... the ndont get it... send it to me... lol... cause thats what i need..

 

thanks for all the help man I think you have helped me more than just his time I think about everytime I look at a post your on there posting some pricless info

 

lol... i try... my wife says im addicted since i found this site... but none of my buddies i grew up with like vehicles like i do... there all into guns... so this site fills a empty spot in my sole... lol... just dont tell my wife that... she thinks she is my sole... lol

 

lol! I hear ya on that! im into jeeps and 4wheelers and I just bought a xj and a raptor this yr and my gf gave me the why don't you get a more reliable car I gave her "the look" and said why would I want to drive a car when I can have a tank that just needs some tlc guess she gets made bc im in the driveway more than in the house lol