ElectricevoIX

so I have the dreaded rod knock and lord knows when the car is going to just go on me one day but being I have to tow a car down to Georgia from Jersey I'm not running this motor on that drive down. Now the question is do I get a used motor from a 95-98 jeep or just buy a brand new rebuilt one? If I buy a rebuilt one which is the better company to get one from?

A used motor can be had for 400-600 depending on miles and condition. A new rebuilt one will run me about $1,300.

My XJ is a 98 with a 4.0L inline 6

Any feedback and/or advice would be greatly appreciated.

jiffy

i would just buy a newly rebuilt motor. at least this route will ensure that the engine is cleaned, checked for any cracks & bored to specs. check out this site that has 7 yr warranty on their rebuilt motors.

http://www.rebuilt-auto-engines.com/....cgi/home.html

Rmart30

How long has it been knocking ? have you checked the famous torque converter bolts?

I have one cherokee with some piston knock thats been in it for years and 1000's of miles and just took a 700 mile trip in it.

Its possible that any used 4.0 will have some piston knock or lifter noise in it if its got some miles on it.

Unless I could hear a used one run first I would say get a rebuilt one.

ElectricevoIX

I was thinking about heading that route and thanks for the link I'll def check this out

To be honest I'm not sure, I bought the jeep like that and like a dumbass thought it was a lifter tick. After like 2 weeks the tick got a little louder had a few people check it out and it's a bad rod knock. The car drives fine right now and I've read on here about guys with the same issues and running fine for 90,000 miles on it till the motor went.

I have no problem driving it a reasonable distance around where I live however i'm going to be moving to GA and currently living in New Jersey. I'll be towing my 2nd car with the jeep down to GA and with the added stress on the motor and transmission I don't want to risk it on a drive like that and get stuck between here and GA. I agree I wouldn't buy a used one unless I could hear it run but I'm afraid if I buy a used one I'll eventually run into another cracked head or rod knock. I've been seeing this issue pop up with alot of the 98 XJ's.

I think I should be fine towing a 3300 lb car with the jeep though do you think?