2000 2001 aftermarket header information
 

I have a 2000 4.0, just like many others I had a cracked cylinder head. I had a 98 head laying around so I replaced the cracked one with that. Obviously I couldn't use my stock exhaust manifold, so I had to go with an aftermarket. My first choice (cheap) was one of the typical eBay headers that average about $150. They are nice looking, bright silver, with the tubes that make a big loop. When I received it, I was excited, mainly because it just looked tough and had good build quality. Long story short, it would not fit properly!!! The intake manifold did not clear the header, and therefore would not seal. It was about 1/4 inch off. I shaved some of the intake manifold and also heated and bent the header itself. This got me down to 1/8 gap where the intake manifold sealed to the top of the head. Not wanting to mangle things to much, I gave up. Not to mention that the way the manifold is designed makes it nearly impossible to get two of the bolts in on the bottom side. I took the $150, and spent $206 on a Pacesetter header. This one is designed with straight tubes, much like a stock one. It fit great! Everything cleared, lined up, and I was able to easily get all the bolts in. The only thing was that they provide funny looking washers that are thicker on one side to replace the stock ones. The purpose of my post is to warn others who might be doing the same swap, or simply buying a header for their 2000-2001 Cherokee. Buy the quality part, not the cheap no name brand one. Apparently the one I bought was manufactured a little of, not quite within spec
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...b33f5f438d.jpg


Even after matulating it, which I didn't want to do, the intake manifold still wouldn't clear in those spots


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...e5977cac0b.jpg


This one fit nice


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...138a6ea102.jpg


Finished!

Doesn't look like anything is wrong with that first one. It's a header for a wrangler. The second one is an XJ header and that's why it fits. Either they sent you the wrong header the first time or maybe....ordered wrong(happens to the best of us). :icon_wink:

The first header will fit with the older style intake.

That is his problem. Didn't do his homework.

That's a basic TorqueTubes clone, which is made for the XJ, Wrangler and Grand Cherokee. I have a set of Banks TorqueTubes on my 2000. OP's probably didn't fit as a result of bad build quality.

Nope. That header is made to fit the 2000 and 2001 XJ, with the twin downpipe or precats. The 2000 and 2001 did not come with the old style intake. That header will not fit any Jeep that came with the old style intake, because those older Jeeps all had single downpipes.

He is using a 98 head, and 00-01 in and ex manifolds.

ok, i need to know. (may have the same issue in the future). what is needed to run the older head on a 2000 xj? will the stock intake and exhaust manifolds work? or do i need something different..


what is that second set of headers? what brand and year were they built for?

There you go, I read that but stayed focused on 2000-2001. Since he swapped to a 98 head he needed a header for the 98. Good catch. I'm a little fuzzy past 96.

Yes, extrashaky is correct. The problem was due to bad build quality. The first header I used would not have worked on a 2000+ Wrangler either. Believe me, I tried everything, even using the older style intake just to see. I also mocked up the setup on the original 2000 Cherokee head, still would not clear. The stock exhaust manifolds are the same Chrysler part number whether they are on a 2000 Cherokee, a 2000 Wrangler, or 99+ Grand. I just assume the one I bought was made a bit out of spec. I've seen others use the exact same setup I tried the first time, with the first header, and it did work. I think my point is just perhaps to avoid some of the cheap parts we find, I bought it simply because it was the cheapest and it ended up costing me more in the end.

Some people have gotten the stock manifolds to work just fine with the 0630 head. However, some people have gotten exhaust leaks because the exhaust ports on the 0630 are larger than on the 0331. There's a guy who makes an adapter plate that goes between them to close up the hole if you encounter that problem.

You can avoid all that by just going with a Clearwater head, which is made to the 0331 specs without the casting flaw. That way you have ports in the head and in the exhaust manifold that are the same size.

ok.. i'll have to look up a clearwater head. never heard of one..

The second head
 

Where did you find the second head that worked? I’m looking for one that connects to the downpipe cats and can’t seem to find one for the 2001 xj.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...e734fa7ad8.jpg