Wait this is the 1st time i heard that there was a version of the straight 6 that had a bad head design. I am in the process of looking for a Cherokee i can afford because the one my dad gave me just has too many problems on it. Can you tell me what years to stay away from? I'm only familiar with the 88 my dad has owned since new , and after the first time he rolled it he had them put in the 4.0HO from a 92. They engine has always started and ran great. No drive train problems.

 

this engine is fine... although you can just swap in a HO for a renix model motor... the heads porting is not the same... if they swapped in a HO then they should have swapped intake manifolds, exhaust manifolds, and even the entire wire harness... it will run and drive and all... but the porting wont line up right so you wont get the full juice of the motor... and you may go through the gaskets for the exhaust and intake alittle quicker...

stay away from the 00-01 cherokees, 99-02.5 grand cherokees, and the TJ's had this motor also but not sure of the years.... i think the same as the grand cherokees... these had the 0331 heads which were prone to crack around 130k or so... research 0331 head crack on google and you find thread after thread of people saying they blew an engine... hope this helps!!

 

dude stay with a cherokee and dont even think of getting a grand cherokee (zj)

 

Huntingman is totally right my friend, i already had to change engine and tranny on my 94 zj

 

The Cherokee and grand Cherokee shared the same motor up until 99. tranny's were different though except for some rare 93 grand Cherokee 5 speeds...

 

Well i remember when I was real young taking the 3 hour trip with my older brother into Pa to go get an engine for the jeep. It was spring of 1993. He found the HO engine in the want-add-press for a steal he said (back when it had a classified section that wasn't just all dealers). I remember the guy had the engine there waiting in the guys Pickup. Said it came from a totaled jeep. He used a hook on the bucket of his back-hoe to pick up and lower the engine into our truck. It had what looked like everything still connected , even the exhaust manifold. I remember even seeing the hose to the air box flapping around.
From there we drove it straight to the jeep dealership where they were repairing the jeep (insurance was covering it, they had payed for a complete rebuild of the original). Gave it to them and a couple weeks later it was installed and ready to be picked up.

I remember dad commenting allot on the power difference when we got the car back.
Besides a water pump being replaced for the first time and an AC compressor bracket this year no gaskets or engine components have failed on it since.

Besides the tuneup parts .. It also had a conversation with my brother recently about it and he couldn't remember everything they did in the swap but he remembers they had to switch exhaust manifolds. I also remember it coming back with a nice new shiny stainless steel cat-back exhaust with a nice throaty sound to it. And that same exhaust is still on it today.


Don't worry, I would never get a Grand Cherokee unless someone gave me one. I hate the way they look.


I'de love to hear anyone's opinion on what they think the best year for the XJ was. SO i know for when & if i decide purchase one soon.

 

JWell this is kinda my build thread so ill give u my opinion and most everyone else's but I anyone else has a opinion there gonna have to pm ya... LOL... I don't wanna fill this thread with other conversations... 99 because of the body style, interior upgrades, and is the last year of that motor before they screwed it up...

 

Thanks for the advice, and sorry i didn't mean to go of on a tangent there.

So since this is a thread about your mean looking 2 door Cherokee Frugal conversion project. I gotta say i am loving it so far , and i always wished that from the factory Jeep made the 2 doors Cherokee with a removable rear top , like the broncos have or the whole top like the Jeepsters or Comandos (I forget which of those two I'm thinking of) ..

But since you making this mean looking thing, i gotta make a comment about the rear roll bumper.


Its a tad rusty on some parts don't you think?
So to keep in the spirit with this frugal thread, why not go down to the home depot or some store and get a can or two of the cheapest black paint you can find and either spray or brush it on, it would look 10 times better don't ya think?

Minor thing really, so other than that, I'm lovein your build allot so far.

 

Shoot buddy... them bumpers are long gone... had the rear sandblasted and painted for $25 and then sold it with the front... got $200 for both... my Jeeps gutted out now man... no drivetrain... no front end... sitting in Jack stands... still buying stuff for it but laboring over the Mj build right this minute... when its done ill get back on the Xj heavy...

 

So many projects so little time.. i know the feeling

But Your lucky your town allows you to have unregistered or disassembled vehicles on the property.

 

And we don't have emissions : )

 

You dont have emissions?
Hell, Im movin to griffin....
I hate havin that up here....

 

Nope... but neither did mcdonough and it does now... its only one City north of me so its a matter of time... but ill make do... LOL...

 

how did the frugal thread turn into the comanche thread?

i love both builds by the way, and i enjoy your writing style.

 

cause i asked Blue to change the name of my MJ build thread and he did the wrong one... lol... i wish they would let me do this myself... lol... ill have to get him to fix it... didnt notice it... thanks man...