Yeah, I'm pretty decent with a wrench. But I do love XJ's, without a doubt. I took it to a mechanic, and the head is cracked. The guys there said they would put in a motor from a 98, with labor included, for about $1800. So I'm stuck on what to do. That's a hefty amount of cash, plus that was going towards a new lift. But I gotta do what I gotta do to get it running.

Could always be worse though

 

and you aren't 100% sure what kind of condition that transmission is in

 

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I'm curious about something.

I looked into checking the head gasket, and just gave it a shot. There is spark and there is fuel. Now, I filled the radiator to the top, and tried to start it. When I did, the water bubbled out, which from what I've read, is almost a sure sign of the HG being blown. Is it worth tearing down and replacing?

 

I thought you said the head was cracked.
If thats the case, you need a new head. Not just the gasket.

 

That's what he told me straight off the bat. They didn't tear it down or anything like that, so it has me wondering if he told me that just so he could get some money out of me.

 

You really pushed your luck with the abuse it took over and over trying to limp it home. I don't trust mechanics much either but there was plenty of opportunities for the damage to escalate from just the gasket to the head too. Did you ever check your oil for coolant? The best thing to do now is look at it yourself. What is the harm? If it is just the gasket you can fix it, if you get it apart and the head is cracked/warped do you plan on trying to fix it or buy another.

 

Wow this sounds like when i was 16 with my first cherokee (99 sport) it turned out to be the exact same symptoms(randomly over heated and wouldnt move) on the way home from the dealership... to be blunt it was the headgasket however the head had only warped and doing it myself took a weekend and about $570 (had to have the head decked).

That being said pull your spark plugs and check for coolant or a milky residue in the cylinder. If there is that is one reason why there was no power and why it may not start now.The weird thing is when mine blew there was no coolant in oil or oil in coolant.

 

I agree. YUK!

 

How many miles on that one? For around that price you can get a brand spanking new motor just have to slap it in yourself