syfir

I'm looking at buying a 95 cherokee with a swapped in jy motor and tranny. Is there anyway I can tell by looking at the motor, what year cherokee it is out of? Thanks.

cruiser54

Yes. On the driver side of the block is a number embossed on the block. Just to the right and up from the dizzy is a flat spot with a coded build date. Get those numbers for us.

syfir

Will do. I did buy it, in pretty good shape. He said the motor is out of a 98, but I will post it later when I pick it up to verify. Two issues known. The idle seems to vibrate the car when stopped in drive. I looked at the mounts, they don't look broken but the rubber bushings look a little worn. He also said about 6 months ago, it would sputter briefly. He would shut off the car and start it up and work fine. It ran fine when I drove it and the engine was cold when I got there. Coolant and oil were both good, looked like the tranny was slightly overfilled, no issues shifting or any leaks. The 4x4 works but the driveshaft is removed from the front axle. Would appreciate any input anyone has. Thanks.

Gee oh Dee

It may be geared differently in the front vs the rear. Did you ask why the ds was pulled?

syfir

Yes, he said he just wanted to swap it out because the other one was high in mileage, did it around 180k I believe.

syfir

Casting number on block:
404MX27
Sticker on valve cover:
9 425 5052 822869

The last five on the valve cover may be wrong, but based on my research that is just the serial number. Anyway, these codes mean the motor is out of 95 right? Hopefully not the original .

Anyway, I could swear the temperature gauge was working when I picked it up and test drove it, but it stayed on cold the third time I drove it. Do these have a bad rep for breaking?

Thanks.

cruiser54

Engine was built on April 27, 1994.

Gee oh Dee

Thats a BS reapinse given to you. No one in their right mind would swap an entire axle just because its getting old.

Something is wrong there...

syfir

I believe him. It was his daughter's car and it seemed like she had just not maintained it. I asked him if she had overheated it and he said no, it just needed a new motor at the time. Would be a little surprised to find out the motor and tranny have 225k, especially if it was entrusted to a teenage girl. I guess I could be wrong, though. Anyway to verify it was actually swapped? Thanks for the feedback.

Gee oh Dee

Maybe through the casting number somehow.

But there are plenty of XJs out there with 2, 3, or ever 400,000+ miles on them.

225k isn't a sneeze.

cruiser54

[QUOTE=Gee oh Dee;1914866]Maybe through the casting number somehow.


See Post # 7..

syfir

No, I mean other than the years. He wasn't sure what year the motor was, he hadn't done the swap himself, if one was actually done. Any way to reconcile the VIN against the build code, or some other evidence that its a different/same motor?

cruiser54

A motor built in April of 94 would most likely be installed into a 95. I don't believe there is a way to match engine # with VIN.

67 GMC

Sorry to Hijack and resurrect this old posting. I was able to degrease and brush off the 4.0L engine in my '87. The engine code reads:
106MX28

Does this mean it was made June 28, 1991 and does that mean it is the high output 4.0L? Everything looks RENIX to me except that it has a connector in the water neck that looks like a temp sensor would go there and the oil filter is not correct for an '87 (mine accepts standard threads (not metric). I'm thinking it was swapped out at some point.
Thanks!

cruiser54

You got it hihacker!! LOL. Explains alot, doesn't it?