LibertytoCherokee

I apologize if this topic has already been discussed elsewhere, first off. Alright, here is the situation, I have a 2000 XJ money pit...I mean build... I replaced the Head Gasket, as I was losing coolant and was having overheating issues. The Head Gasket was bad, however, I was still losing coolant and the engine was running rough. So, I have been skeptical of the problem being fixed. Well, this morning, I was pulling the Jeep out of my driveway and briefly heard a ticking sound. I then pulled forward, it went away, and I tried to leave again, but the tick came back briefly. So, I shut the engine off and went to check the oil after a couple of minutes. I wanted to make sure that I still had enough oil in it because I knew that I was leaking oil from the oil pan gasket. While I was waiting for it to cool, I carefully opened the oil fill cap on the valve cover to see if I could see any signs of a cracked head in the limited area that I could see. When I took it off, I found a significant amount of greenish foam on the inside of the cap and a little on the rocker arm that I could see. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that seems like a tell-tail sign that the head had a crack in it. I am going to attach a couple of pictures of what was there, sorry for the poor quality.

All that to say, instead of just doing that cylinder head, I was thinking of just replacing the engine with a crate engine, as I am still concerned about a lack of maintenance being done on the vehicle before I bought it. It only has 87,000 miles on it now, but it is what it is. Therefore, I was wondering if a 2006 4.0 TJ engine would be a direct bolt in or not? I would like to buy an engine directly from MOPAR if I can, as I have heard horror stories about other companies out there who do remanned 4.0's. The problem is that MOPAR no longer makes 4.0's for Cherokees, but I believe that they still do for newer TJs. I need this vehicle to be as reliable as possible, as it is my daily driver. Any help would be great! Thanks in advance!

TREE

Had nearly the exact situation with my 99. Head gasket blew at 259k. Found a hell of a deal on an 06 TJ 4.0 with 45k on it for $500! Didn't look anything up just figured it was a direct bolt in. Was swapping stuff over and was super confused as to why the water pump and power steering stuff wasn't lining up. Turns out it won't interchange without a lot of modification. Ended up trading straight across for another 99 4.0 engine/transmission combo. It was a huge bummer, but I got a free transmission out of it. Moral of the story, it's not gonna fit unless you're willing to make it fit.

extrashaky

Yes, it looks like you have the 0331 head crack. Common problem. Another one bites the dust.

You can order an ATK crate motor through a local Advance Auto store for around $2K to $2500 depending on where you are. ATK has a reasonably good reputation. They built the 4.7L strokers that Chrysler sold as Mopar motors. The info on the Advance Auto website is a little confusing, so you'll likely want to go talk to someone in person at the store for info.

Or you can shop around town and see if there's a local engine builder who can rebuild your block and put a Clearwater 0331 head on it so you can just drop it right back in without having to do any modification.

When mine went, I replaced it with a Golen stroker. So there's always that possibility as well if you're willing to spend the money.

andrewmp6

I'm with extrashay on this either way you need a new head maybe a full rebuild if you wanna keep the jeep.

LibertytoCherokee

Thank you for the replies! It sounds like a TJ 4.0 swap would be an unnecessary pain. Especially, considering that I would not be getting it for a good deal or anything. I have pretty much come to the conclusion that I want to start fresh with a new engine, as the engine seems to have been somewhat neglected by the past owners. Extrashaky, it's funny that you mentioned Golen, since that has been the company that I have been leaning toward. Either Golen or Hesco, those seem to be the top names in terms of quality. I wish that I could just spend $2000 on an ATK, but I would be nervous all of the time about it failing because of all of the horror stories that I have heard about them over and over again. It just seems to go back to "you get what you pay for." I would rather do it right or do it twice. Any thoughts on Hesco vs. Golen, or other companies? I realize that the Golen is a stroker and Hesco is not, but I am more concerned with the quality of the product.

extrashaky

So far my Golen has been fantastic. I spent the extra money to have it broken in on the engine dyno. It topped out at 274 hp and 321 lb ft of torque (slightly better than advertised). Getting an extra 84 hp over stock with a 100K mile warranty was worth the money to me.

I grew up in Birmingham, where Hesco is located. Although I can't speak from personal experience with one of their motors, they have been around forever and have a good reputation. On the other hand, looking at the price on Hesco's website, I think I would end up going with the stroker from Golen for roughly the same price as a stock reman from Hesco.

As far as reliability goes, I doubt you would have any issue with either choice.