Snuffleupawhat

i bought a cherokee about a month ago, after it had some minor issues i took it in to get it looked at. i just got a call letting me know the engine that is in there is not the original engine, i guess i can run the engine vin when i get it back to see where it came from. what bothers me is that the engine is a "junkyard motor", the mechanic said he could see this because of dots that melt if overheated on the motor. so i was given a carfax, and at no point dose it mention something like this. i did sign an as-is agreement, do i have any legal recourse? i still love this jeep, but i paid a hefty penny for it $3900+taxes and dealer fees, and the reason i felt comfortable doing so was because it only had 98,000 miles on it. i haven't even called the dealer yet, i wanna gather as much information here as possible.

SnakeEyes814

Carfax only shows what was reported to the insurance company. How does it run?

Snuffleupawhat

i think it runs great, but my mechanic is telling me there is no hook up for the temp sensor, so i have no way of telling how hot this thing is getting.

Cherockee

hmmmm, lets first start with what year the Jeep is.

If it's pre 96 then it's possible that someone put in a 97+ motor, which did away with the the temp sensor on the back of the head.

Snuffleupawhat

my jeep is a 96, and the temp sensor is not where it should be, or according to my mechanic not there at all.

djb383

On a '96 XJ u'll either need to get a OBD-II scan tool (ScanGauge for example) that reads coolant temp (it plugs into the ALDL port under the dash) OR drill/tap into coolant flow somewhere in order to mount a OE coolant temp sending unit and connect the existing gauge wire to the sending unit. Sounds like u at least have a '97 or later cylinder head.

cdhebert

Just get a thermostat housing off of a 97+ that has the temp sending unit in it. You will probably have to extend the wire to plug it into the new location. Pretty simple fix...

Snuffleupawhat

where on the engine can i find a vin? i'm going to run a carfax to find out approx how many miles are on it. i wouldn't even know where to go about drilling for something like this.

cdhebert

I could be wrong, but I don't think there is a "VIN" on the engine. Even if there was - Carfax certainly wouldn't be able to tell you anything about it. Maybe JEEP could tell you what the VIN# of the vehicle that it was originally in, but I doubt that too...

cdhebert

You could always ask the dealer to make the temp guage functional, if you do it diplomatically. If you give them attitude, I wouldn't expect much help...

sthon

If you have the carfax it should list the previous owner, look them up and give them a call. You might get lucky and find out it has a rebuilt engine in it.

I wouldn't stress out about it too much, if it runs good and doesn't leak oil like crazy you should be in good shape.

djb383

Not too sure about that.....the coolant temp sensor in the t-stat cover is for the ECU, not the dash temp gauge.

cdhebert

No need to drill anything. Just change to a newer style thermostat housing. The threaded port for the sensor is already in it. Very simple...

Snuffleupawhat

when it was sold to me it was listed as having only 1 owner, i don't believe it listed their name on it. it has a very slight oil leak. i was under the impression the engine would have a vin, and i assume if it was a junkyard motor in working order than the car must have been totaled from a rear accident or something of that nature, and if that was the case the insurance company should list the final mileage.

cdhebert

I just rebuilt a 98 engine and swapped it into my 98. I'm positive the only coolant sensor I installed is in the tstat housing, and my dash guage works.