01 Cherokee Sport, 116 K. Still chasing mystery coolant loss. At hot idle indicating 15 psi oil pressure. No knocks from the top or bottom end. Starts and drives great. Love the thing so I’m prepping myself for a reman engine. Already know the cost to replace what might be a defective head but what if the bearings are going? Might just swap with a reman. The question is…..what’s a shop going to charge me to swap engines. I can get prices on parts but what would be the labor cost?

 

I don't have access to labor books any more, but around 10 hours give or take for a long block swap. Labor rates are typically around $100/hr. Factor in incidentals (like RTV, coolant, oil, hose clamps, etc) and shop/environmental fees, you're looking at an easy $1500.

 

Hot idle pressure seems ok. Check pressure at warmed up driving speeds thru the rpm range.... General rule of thumb for cars is a minimum of 10 psi per 1000 rpm when warmed up. thus at 4000 rpm, you want at least 40 psi. Oil wieght is a factor so confirm you are using correct weight. If that is good, then likely bottom end is ok, so if you have a head leak, only replace head. you have a very low mile engine by the way. unless abused, I expect bottom end to be ok. some late model heads are known to crack and leak, that crack happens on top of head, near directly under the oil fill cap, My bud with a 2001 xj had the cracked head, we could see drops of green coolant around the crack by peering into the oil filler.
Of course coolant can leak from many locations other than a cracked head. bud replaced his head, and he has been running fine since.


Labor rates vary a lot, coastal california has huge labor rates.

 

At operating temp oil pressure is 40+ psi at 1800 rpm. Gauge indicates 15 at hot idle. Going to hookup a mechanical gauge to get accurate hot idle psi. Shop did coolant pressure test and claimed it held pressure. No visible drips or drabs but have added 36oz of coolant in 700 miles so it’s going somewhere. Going to send in an oil sample to Blackstone after I get some more miles on last oil change. Running 5w30.
No gunk on bottom of oil cap ever. If coolant is escaping through head it can only go back into the crankcase or if cracked near an exhaust valve out through the tailpipe. No sweet smell to exhaust or puffs of white smoke. Re: oil pressure, 2000 miles ago had rear main seal replaced and while we were there replaced oil pump and pickup.
If Blackstone doesn’t find coolant in the oil and the mechanical gauge verifies anything above 12psi at hot idle might I assume the bottom end is ok? I’d so will run another coolant test. If that still holds I will suspect the head.

 

Have you considered the radiator cap? It's the #1 culprit for lost coolant with no other indication. It just steams out (invisibly) while driving around.

 

Well for $8 I’m going to give that a try!