Vanishing coolant & low oil pressure.
 

I've been topping off the coolant for a few years now! plus with the low oil pressure light for the same amount of time.
I guessed it was A cracked head gasket or the cylinder head is gone.
I had new spark plugs put in last week & now the coolant going very quick, guessing a gallon a tank of gas. Before it was topped off once or twice a month.
I'm guessing its time for a new engine? I was looking for ideas for where to get an engine rough price guide & what I should be paying for labor for installing it?
Any other surprises I might run in to?
In the last 10k i've had the transmission rebuilt new shocks & spring all around, new brake line, plus fuel line, brakes & exhaust.
As you can see i've put money into it!

Walk away or new engine?

How many miles are on it? 2000-01 XJ's were known for cracking heads with the 0331 casting number. Coolant loss on that scale would definitely be caused by a cracked head, assuming it isn't leaking from somewhere like a water pump. The low oil pressure though, that could also be a combination of low oil level from burning some off, a crappy filter or what kind of oil you're using. If it's a high mileage engine then worn bearings will cause low oil pressure.

Usually you can get away with just swapping on a new head when this happens. Find a good used 2002+ 4.0 head with "TUPY" stamped into it from a Grand Cherokee/Wrangler, or get an aftermarket head that has a better casting. Those usually cost $3-400 I think. Then just labor to swap it with a new gasket.

Buy a brand new head from Clearwater for your year XJ.

Pull the whole engine and have the short block rebuilt. The old head is scrap. So are your bearings. They are all damaged. Deep scoring could extend to the crank, cam, and cylinder walls too. There's no assurance at this point that your core is any good. You have let this go for a very long time. Just throwing a head on it won't help.

Depending on your mechanical knowledge, or lack thereof, paying for the engine, parts, and labor in a turnkey job will probably be around the $2500-3000 mark more or less.

I wouldn't trust a salvage yard engine 2000-01 because it probably has the same problems as yours. I don't think the Grand Cherokee TUPY head backfits to your '00.

If you are unwilling or unable to do this, sell the Jeep for around $1000 with full disclosure. If it's rusty, get rid of it for whatever someone will pay.

The car is a Grand Cherokee Laredo, it has 165k on it. Its the check gauges light that comes on when warmed up. I've seen short blocks on ebay for $800 with 3 year warranty. Looking at engines what year models will fit?
Thank you for the info on head numbers.

Since you posted in the Cherokee section, and not the Grand Cherokee section, I assumed you had an XJ (compact) Cherokee.

I don't feel qualified to tell you what will for sure fit your Grand, as they can be quite different in many respects from an XJ.

Agreed, but I do know the Grand Cherokee's also suffered cracking heads until they got TUPY heads in late 02' (November I think).

Every 0331 head has the casting flaw. They are all suspect.

Let's be clear. Every 0331 head in the original casting has the flaw. The TUPY head without the flaw is also a 0331 head, as is the aftermarket Clearwater replacement. These are all 0331 heads because they share the same port design and bracket mounting points, but only the original casting had the cracking problem.

Don't want somebody to order a perfectly good Clearwater head and freak out when it arrives because it has "0331" cast into it.

U waited too long.
New engine, or a complete rebuild.

Thank you for all the information, I'm still looking at what option is best. I have looked for an engine on Remanns website, anyone an thoughts on them? They want $2k after core return, plus $325 for an engine installation kit.
I was wondering whats the chance of finding one in a dealers, that might want to move it at a good price?
Any ideas of what amount of surprise $$ their could be?

The surprise would be if a dealer had a crate 4.0 lying around.