Weezethepeople

Hey guys!


Need some help and I hear this is the place to be ..

Bought a 95 XJ, next day the engine threw a rod.


Bought a used engine from a 96 Cherokee and installed it. Install seemed to go ok except for when I tried to start it.


I get no turn over at all, starter appears to be hanging in the flex plate and will just "grind" the starter clutch and the bendix gear won't pull back in on it's own. I've tried shimming the starter and using no shims "original did not have any".

Starter has been replaced 3 times one brand new and the other two both worked before the swap, one from my old engine and the other off the new engine.

I've had my battery tested and tried a second one just in case also. Checked connections multiple times and the cables appear intact with no damage.


I'm at a loss at this point, everything is working as it should except it just won't turn over at all.

Engine spins freely by hand at the harmonic balancer so it's not froze up.


So my questions..

Does anyone know if the teeth on the flexplate differ from the 95 to 96?


Any other suggestions in what could be causing this.


Anyone in OK want to come fix this pile of scrap for me??? Lmfao


Thanks everyone!

tech

What year flywheel and what year starter are you trying to use ? after checking they can use the same flywheel , maybe the starter is bad ?

Weezethepeople

Hey Tech thanks for the response,

Flexplate "it's an aw4 auto trans"i isoff my 95, I've tried 2 working starters "one new" for a 95. And I've tried a known working starter from the 96.
My old starter didn't have any issues cranking it over. That being said I did buy a new one and get the same result so I don't believe it's the starter.

tech

The only thing you can do is change the flywheel next , I know that's a lot of work , but that's the next step and you did use the spacer that goes between the engine and trans ,

cruiser54

Do you have the metal plate between the engine and trans?

How about the locating dowels?

Weezethepeople

What metal plate are you guys referring too?
The dowels are in, the cover that goes between the trans and engine is there if thats what you mean?

Weezethepeople

What spacer? Do you have a picture?
Everything that was there when I took the engine out went back in..

cruiser54

Good. We can eliminate that.

awg

I would be having a look at the flexplate ring gear teeth, they are probably damaged

tech

Here a picture of the spacer .

Weezethepeople

Flexplate teeth look fine no visible damage, same flexplate that was working fine prior to the engine swap also.

Tech,
Thanks for the pic, yes it is installed.

awg

different part num flexplate for 95 to 96..dont know if that is the problem...should not be if the starter motor part num is the same for both...which I think it is

tech

If you go to rock auto and look the 1996 shows there are 2 different flywheels .

Weezethepeople

Thanks for the info awg, that's the same conclusion I was coming to also. It looks like the starters were the same from 88-98 from what I can find.

I'll be picking up a new flexplate eventually because from what I read timing cps reads from the flexplate and it needs to match the motor so it'll run like **** lol. But even with the wrong year flexplate if the teeth are the same "assuming so since starters are" then it should bare minimum be able to turn over and it won't even do that.

Weezethepeople

Thanks tech that may of just solved my problem!
I see there's a twenty thou difference in the sizes. Definitely enough to cause it to jam..

Wonder why the difference in sizes for the same year?