Mezman

Hi all, new to the forum so ill try to keep short and simple, Wife's Jeep (2001 Grand Cherokee Limited, (4.0) straight 6). Went from a tap 3 days ago which we believed to be lifters, to the jeep simply died while driving. I was not able to hear the sound myself so I can only say that I was told it sounded like a clunk and shut down. It will not turn over, when I tried in fact the starter, started to get very hot and smoke,(I was tapping the key for about 15 secs) Any one able to tell me how I can test to see if Engine is locked and or does anyone have any suggestions as to what it could be? Im going to start tearing into it shortly. Any speedy responses would be greatly appreciated I will also check back to the forum frequently to see if any new ideas come up. .........May need to buy a new Engine so if anyone out there has a decent low mileage 4.0 please message me.

Oh one key thing I was told by my lovely wife is that (her words)" It didn't sound like it did when I blew the engine in the Van"

OverlandZJ

Piston failures are common to this era 4.0's, i would drop the oilpan looking for pieces.

Mezman

Well lets take the worst case scenario and say this is a dropped piston, would I be better off repairing or replacing engine, 220k miles on existing or cheaper to rebuild?

OverlandZJ

That'll depend on the cylinder, if it's deeply scored you'll need to replace.

Replacement engines are not all that common, they also bring a bit of a premium as far as used engine prices go. Check CL and you will probably see a WJ or two available needing an engine.

If your Jeep is in excellent condition and your fond of the vehicle a reman'd engine could be sourced.

Mezman

If a piston had collapsed would the engine be seized? I can rotate it via the harmonic balancer center bolt. Im just trying to go through a process of elimination before sending it off to a shop. Rebuilds aren't something I'm equipped to do.Thanks in advance for any and all assistance