It wasn't from a shop it was just a guess. I want to do it my self but i dont have the equipment to lift a motor or flip it

 

Seals?! You do NOT need a new engine. Half of them will have those problems anyway...

You also don't need to lift your engine or flip it to do any of that work. No special tools required. How did you plan on swapping your engine without the ability to remove it, by the way?

 

You can rent an engine hoist for about fifty bucks and buy a stand for around a hundred.

 

I want to do it my self but i got told it was hard to do. I will take pictures of what is needed to be done and see what y'all think.

 

Seals are certainly DIY-able. I highly doubt you need front AND rear mains. $2k for just seals and a couple hoses sounds like they're trying to take you for a ride.

 

New engine won't fix the power steering lines.

 

If for some reason you decide to pull motor,It is not hard to do- just take pictures of how everything goes and stay organized. I use a piece of cardboard and label every bolt. Use tape on wires/hoses. Pretty easy if you take your time.

I personally just pull the entire motor/tranny/tcase out at once. Has always been easier for me but I use a winch mounted to a beam... just push the jeep out of the garage after gutted.

If you get to a spot where you need help, youtube/forum will be able to answer all your questions.

You dont really need any special tools and you can easily afford them with the money you save by doing it yourself. You could buy a completely remanufactured engine or a cheap Stroker for your estimate price. Rent/check craigslist cherry picker/ engine stand and you'll be good to go.

I was scared when I first jumped into one
.. was not that bad and I completed it with very few problems by myself with no training or special tools. You can do it!

 

Jeep 4.0 Rear Main Seal Part 1:
(Part 2 is also there)


Harmonic Balancer Installer Tool Instructions - H…:
Harmonic Balancer Removal Tool Instructions - How…:
(I assume you mean the timing chain cover is leaking? tool can be rented at AutoZone- money back when returned.. real easy)

Valve cover is really simple but here you go!
How to Replace a Valve Cover Gasket:
Rotors/brakes

How To Change Drum Brakes: Disc Brake Repair on 1998 Jeep Cherokee:
or better yet:
1998 XJ Disk Brake Conversion:
Steering:

How to change a Powersteering hose:
You can buy all the tools, do it yourself and gain a sense of accomplishment as well as something of value (tools) rather than dump your money in a shop. Just my opinion of course.

 

Nice list of videos. Everything you need is right there!

 

Wow you guys are the best! I need to find out the name of every gasket i need to replace or find a package of every single gasket on the jeep itself because 240k miles on the original motor i might just want to replace it all once it's out

 

Wow you guys are the best! I need to find out the name of every gasket i need to replace or find a package of every single gasket on the jeep itself because 240k miles on the original motor i might just want to replace it all once it's out

 

http://www.google.com/search?q=diagr...ih=508&dpr=1.5

(if it does the " let me Google it for you" thing, forum does it automatically sometimes)

I just bought a complete FelPro kit when I did it the first time around/Stroker (motor was built so lots of extras there).. About 100$ everything you'll need for motor. (check year/motor etc). There are also various "master" rebuild kits available.

*edit* you'll need some black RTV , blue RTV, copper RTV as well. The Felpros are nice and easy/fit perfectly but I use a little bit of proper RTV to hold them in place. This has never caused any leaks for me. Black=petroleum products. Blue=water/coolant. Copper= high heat (exhaust manifold). I always replace old things when I take them off (harmonic balancer, timing chain, etc) but thats just me. You dont have too.

If you ever run into problems, take a few pictures and post em up... someone will help you!

 

+1 with everything said here. Learn to do everything yourself. You'll save money and learn an amazing amount. Just don't tell your friends you're good with repair...you'll be asked to help with everyone's car problems.

Everything is replaceable while having the engine in. I opted for the 250 bucks for engine hoist and stand. Much easier to replace all the seals and gaskets while out of the engine bay.

 

Although the videos are good, if you're going to own an XJ, you should probably spend the money to get a real factory service manual (NOT a Haynes manual) specific to your year. When you start contemplating a repair, you can read the procedure to get an idea of how complicated it is. You'll also have all the torque settings. You can usually find them on eBay or buy digital copies online.

To me the estimate you gave sounds about right for a shop to do that list of repairs, but as has been noted the engine swap will not fix the power steering lines or the brakes. If you can't do the seals yourself, I don't know how you expect to swap the engine yourself. If someone else does the swap for you, an engine swap is going to run you at least as much or more than the quote you were given just for the labor and not including the new (or used) replacement engine.

As for the power steering and brakes, those are easy as long as you have the tools and the patience.

Another consideration: Do you have alternate transportation during all this? Any time you see an estimate posted here of the time it will take to do a repair, double it at least. Repair times on this site are fish stories. In the past I have found myself in a position of paying a shop do repairs for me, not because I couldn't do the job, but because I couldn't afford to have my only source of transportation out of service while I figured it out. In that case you're not just paying for someone to do the repair, but you're also paying to avoid the extra down time from doing it yourself.

 

yeah don't tell friends. Everyone asks me to fix everything now. When they found out I put in my whole audio system, everyone decided to get one to and get me to put it in for them.... Just tell them you paid a shop to do it haha