Most 4.0's have a tick.

 

Yeah normally the 4.0 has a small tick to it but it could have problems if whoever did the head gasket didn't put it all back right.And if thats the case i would buy the jeep for 800 bucks just in case it needs a engine.If no one has told you stay away from the 00-01 cherokee and the 99-01 inline 6 grand cherokeee those years had a head that could crack if it was drove over heating.

 

This one is a 99, the head gasket was just done, and the head was resurfaced

 

Just a regular cherokee though, not a grand

 

I would pay a mechanic to look it before you buy it to make sure its not a pile of junk.

 

99 did not have the cylinder head problems, only 2000-01 model years of the XJ. If there is a coil rail instead of a distributor then you have to worry about the head.

 

Are you sure the tick is coming from the engine and not from the evap purge solenoid? On the passenger side firewall, right at the top, there's this annoying little bastard with vacuum lines running to it that is part of the emissions system. On most XJs it ticks periodically. On some it can be pretty loud. If you have a vacuum leak, it can tick almost constantly.

If that's the problem, it's not a big deal. If it's really coming from the valve cover, you may have a bigger issue. If it were me, I would get a mechanic's stethoscope from Harbor Freight and use it to figure out exactly where that noise is coming from before buying someone else's problem or passing up a good deal over an inconsequential noise.

 

I'm going to take a look at it Saturday afternoon, il keep yall posted on what I find

 

1996 was a mix-master year and emissions/driveabilty/parts can be a real nightmare.

 

But then again the 1996 model year was the best selling and highest production year.

 

It seems as though you are looking at XJs...and to answer the original question, V8 or I6?.... You are going to be wrenching on either, for fun or necessity, and it is way easier and affordable to work on the I6 then the v8s or v6s... You can just crawl up on top of the XJ and work with no obstructions, whereas doing just about anything on V8s and V6s you've gotta be a contortionist.

Inline motors are so much nicer to work on and since there is less BS to deal with they are more bulletproof too.

(I can already hear the old-school hot-rodders cringing, but your hot-rod ain't going anywhere in the sticks...)

 

Oh trust me, you don't have to sell me on inline motors, I work in a semi shop lol

 

Yeah, but a Big cam Cummins can only go a million miles before you need to think of rebuilding it. You call that reliable?

 

 

Unfortunately I fear those days are over, all the new epa regs are wreaking havoc on the trucking industry