Fletcher34

Looking into buying an XJ and I found one within a couple of hours drive. Here's what the guy says about the jeep:

"This is a 1995 Jeep Cherokee that has been well kept and maintained.

It has a Golden Engines 4.6L stroker jeep engine. 270HP, this engine cost $4000 delivered

it has a flowmaster muffler and sounds great,

the engine was installed in 2013 and currently has about 4000 miles on it

the Jeep has a Viper alarm with remote start"

He's asking $5800. Does this sound like a good deal???? What questions should I be asking? Is the motor swap a fairly easy one and should he have changed out a lot of factory parts for upgrades???

Atmos

you can always google the motor https://www.golenengineservice.com/engines/jeep

I'd be interested, but the jeep itself is only worth maybe $2000. if it's really straight and clean and you really want a stroker (that is the only modification right? it's a street jeep with a stroker?) you can offer up money as you please up to $3000 max would be my personal stopping point. And I mean that's if you really REALLY want a stroker with no work involved. you can build one yourself for way cheaper

if the jeep is immaculate and you've got cash then you'll have to pay as you see fit. he might be better off swapping a stock motor into that thing and selling the stroker separate. other than that ask all the other basic jeep buyer questions. there is a thread or 6 on here somewhere

strokers are awesome. I would love a 2wd jeep stroked to 4.6L. if you go look at it turn the key and let it run the whole time you're there. make sure it doesn't over heat, pick a hot day even

Fletcher34

My concern is if I offer $3k he's going to get frustrated lol. I mean I know he's got close to 4k in motor alone, and he's only had it for a couple of years. I'm also concerned if he made the other necessary adjustments like upgrade intake, throttle body , larger injectors, headers, etc????

Rogue4x4

My concern would be why is the motor 2 years old, and only has 4k on the build...2k miles per year means it's been sitting...a lot. There's a reason for that, find out what it is before making an offer.

Fletcher34

That's a great point.

Rogue4x4

I swapped a 4.6 into mine. I love it. But as with anything, it needs to be done right. Trust me, if that guy has a stroker in a jeep and he isn't driving it, there's a reason why. I have a hard time NOT driving mine, LOL

Atmos

if you're afraid to hurt feelings then you're going to get taken for your cash. research the motor and see what all comes with it and message him and see what he has in it. that motor aint worth **** it only costs $2500 to build a stroker. he's the sucker for buying it instead of building one himself

unless it is a truly immaculate jeep, he's probably not going to get much for it

Rogue4x4

And remember, just because he paid a ton of money for a MODIFICATION, that doesn't add value to the car. People think that they can recoup their cost on things like this, and it's just not the case. Don't let his **** poor buying habits be paid for out of your wallet...

thebyus

Check out this thread if you need some reassurance as to what Roninofako is talking about! Just cause the other guy paid for it, doesn't mean it's worth anything to you.

Fred/N0AZZ

A lot has to do with all the options that were installed on the Jeep other than just the engine. Cooling system can be problematic with stroker's along with the fact of having to run 91-93 oct. fuel in it (Cost).


Then was the driveline upgraded any for the extra HP and if its a 4wd most important have the gears been replaced and lockers added, lift installed all the other things that have been done and were quality parts used.


If most of all of the above has been done and you have taken it to a 4x4 shop to have everything inspected engine to lift package and gears & lockers if you can't tell pay a $150-200 and have them all checked out.........Then if it all does make an offer and NOT $5800 for sure.

extrashaky

I'm gonna kick the trend here. I have a Golen stroker ("Golen," not "Golden"). Here are a few things to understand:

Yes, it really does cost about $4200 to get the 4.6L stroker from Golen to your door after you include the cost of shipping that crate. My credit card has the scars to prove it. That's roughly the same price as the Mopar 4.7L stroker and a bit more than the ATK. You're not going to do much better with a crate stroker, especially considering that it comes with a 100K mile warranty. You would also need break-in oil, a bored throttle body and a set of 24lb injectors, which will set you back $300 to $600 depending on what you use. Make sure he has swapped them in and isn't running the original TB and injectors, or factor that upgrade into what you're willing to pay.

At that point you could run it like that. The swap is no more complicated than a regular engine swap. It's meant to be able to bolt it in over a busy weekend and use most of your OEM components. However, this motor benefits from a cold air intake, a header, a free flow cat and exhaust. I don't know much about spark in '99 and earlier XJs, so it might also benefit from upgraded ignition. When I did mine, I also upgraded to Brown Dog motor mounts.

Yes, you could build a stroker yourself for $2500. But are you set up for it, and can you build one with the sort of precision put into the Golen motors? That precision is why he's able to offer a 100K mile warranty. Consider that IF you had the ability and tools to build a $2500 stroker of comparable quality, that would mean you'd be paying less than $2K for both labor and warranty, which would still be a pretty good deal.

You may want to verify with Golen that the warranty will transfer to you and that the guy registered it properly when he installed it. Chad Golen answers his emails and telephone and is very helpful. As long as the motor was broken in properly, it should have years of service left in it.

Yes, it does give you 170+ hp. How can I be sure? Because I had mine broken in on the engine dyno, and it topped out at 174 hp and 321 ft lbs of torque. This thing is a beast. Chad builds a superior engine. Oh look, here's my actual motor on the dyno:


Now, also keep in mind that the higher compression of this motor requires you to run 91 or higher octane gasoline. You'll ruin it if you run 87 for any length of time. The terms of the warranty also require you to run high zinc oil or use a ZDDP additive to protect the cam. It does cost a little more to run it.

So is this jeep worth $5800? I would say that's not ridiculous. A used Golen with only 4K miles on it would sell for probably $2K to $3K alone on eBay or Craigslist. If the rest of the Jeep is rust and damage free, I would want to get it for $4500 or maybe up to $5K depending on what other performance upgrades it has. If it were me, I'd probably start by offering him $3500 (in person) to see how motivated he was to sell, then negotiate.

Fred/N0AZZ

The key factor in buying ANY performance engine is how the PO treated it. I have bought all kinds of HP engines over the yrs used, (none of them Jeep) but all you are really buying is the sum of the "NEW HP PARTS" that were installed in the engine last time it was rebuilt period! To do that you must disassemble them to check parts (what they are) and ware on them.


You never know how someone drove or raced an engine no matter how good a build it might have been once. I still remember a $28,000 mistake I made on a engine with **2** pass's on it???? Blew up with 5 most parts destroyed.

Rogue4x4

Excellent post. Right on the money.

extrashaky

But that goes for any used car. "What the PO did" is a recurring topic of discussion in these threads, even with regard to completely stock vehicles.

You're always going to be taking a chance. The chance gets a little more exciting when you're gambling on 80 extra hp. Personally I'd be willing to risk a little more for an engine built by a known builder rather than something someone I don't know rebuilt in his garage, especially if that 100K warranty transfers.

XJlimitedx99

Several very good points in the post. Mostly why does it only have 4K miles in 2 years, and will the warranty transfer over from Golen engine services.

As far as the jeep itself goes you'll obviously want to look for rust, cooling system negligence, and to see that everything else is well kept. Definitely get more info out of the owner about what other modifications have been made. It would help if you could post the link of the jeep in this thread.