I have a 2000 xj sport with a cracked head I saw on eBay a head that was for sale it says it's a head for a 258 motor or a 232 motor will it fit my xj ?

 

Not 100% but i thought all 258's where carberated which means your intake wont bolt up....

you want a 7120 casting or a 0630 casting head from a 4.0L, which will require 98 and older exhaust manifold to be used, new down pipe off the manifold. and coil pack brackets/grounds made. not a big deal, I am doing this to mine come here shortly as mine cracked as well....

 

Find a pick n pull in your area and find an XJ to pull the head from. There were 3 different 4.0 HO head castings, the strongest were said to be the 7120 which came on the '91-95 model years.

You can find rebuilt XJ heads on eBay for decent prices as well (~$310), here's one I found from a simple Google search

http://www.ebay.com/itm/REBUILT-4-0-...sories&vxp=mtr

 

You can also check your local machine shops. When I did mine a couple months ago I got my head with valve job, new valve seals, re-decked and new springs for $200 the shop was just trying to the money back they had in labor.

 

4.0L head info

Year............Casting No
1987-90......2686
1991-95......7120
1996-98......0630
1999-04......0331

the 87-90 are renix and will not bolt up to your intake either, another 0331 will crack, unless its a "tupy" head that has been updated. lots of head info here. http://www.greatlakes4x4.com/showthread.php?t=661

 

Thank you everyone for the helpful info I really appreciate it !

 

One other option, find a 03+ Wrangler/Grand Cherokee with a 4.0, they have the upgraded 0331 TUPY head, the weak spot is fixed in this casting, this will be a plug-n-play swap. The other heads are good swaps as well, but you will have to fab up brackets for the coil packs. In this you can find them for $150-200, another $200 to have a head job done at a machine shop, and you back in business. www.car-part.com You can search junk yards here.
To answer your original question, yes the 258 head will fit, but just because it will doesn't mean you should, you will lose ~40-50HP, the 258 guys put 4.0 heads on to boost their HP.