'96 XJ Killed by Rod Knock

So a friend of mine has a 96 that's been sitting for a couple years now that suffered pretty much the most miserable fate a vehicle can which I'm sure you can figure from the title. The jeep has just over 200,000 miles and a bunch of new parts (from water pump to alternator and a handful of other things), and I would like a more spacious DD that's still a 5 speed. Cramming a 6'+ tall person into a Nissan 200 with work boots just isn't pleasant. So not looking to make it a crawler or anything (yet?), just looking to get it roadside.

Anyways, he said he'd be willing to sell it, but I know hardly anything about Jeeps. I've got experience with the I6 platforms from my Supras, but anything beyond a BHG may be out of my league. :laugh3:

The only problem preventing me from being able to drive the vehicle is the engine. If I heard him right, he said it dropped a cylinder. First and foremost, is this fixable with a rebuild kit? If not, how much should I expect to pay to buy a fair condition motor and have it installed (I don't have access to a garage, otherwise I'd just do it myself).

Don't rebuild it - not worth your time or money. Take it to a scrapyard and make a couple bucks off of it. Used 4.0L's aren't hard to find and prices can vary. You can usually get them anywhere from $250 - $500 and even cheaper if you go to a pick'n'pull and yank it yourself.

It's always a crapshoot buying a used engine, though. I'd recommend finding one that's still in a Jeep so you can listen to it run, check oil pressure, and temperature.

Yeah, I don't really want to buy an engine without testing it. Since it's going to be a daily driver I would like to get it on the road as quickly, easily and pain free as possible.

If the research I've done has learned me anything, the jeep I'm looking at will have the AX15 Transmission, right? Is there any other engines that are compatible with this transmission that would be more ideal?

I'd buy a long block if you can afford it.

as long as you get it for a decent price and it doesn't have bad rust, I'd say go for it.

You can buy a motor from any 91-99 XJ and swap it in with not much trouble. If you get one from an auto you will need to buy a new pilot bearing but you probably should do that anyways.

You can pick up an engine in working condition for 250 most likely, I have picked up two different ones for less than 100 in working condition from friends on here. You could always find a wrecked/wadded up/rolled XJ on CL for another 2-300 and part it out, keep the engine for yourself and sell the axles, tranny, transfer case, random interior parts, etc. They aren't very hard to come by.

I'm pretty sure i'm going to buy this but for some reason the cheapest I've seen for a motor is $400 around here. I partly blame the wanna be red necks that go muddin' in people's front yards or school property driving up the demand for jeep/truck parts. I've only checked craigslist though, not any junk yards.

Anyways, aside from the pilot bearing is there anything else I should check for? From what I've seen these motors refuse to die given the occasional basic maintenence. My friend just got unlucky at just over 200k I guess.

Going to check it out Friday morning. Will have pictures.

Went to look at the jeep this morning, pictures as promised.








He does have the fender flair messing in pic 3 and the wheel missing in pic 4. It looks like to get it to pass inspection, it'll need a new long block, headlights, 4 tires and little doo-dads here and there like fixing the turn signal on the front driver's side. MAYBE a new front bumper but I'm not sure.

And then of course eventually I'd go by and replace things that need the attention that bother me, like both front quarter panels, the back bumper, so on and so forth.

Any opinions?

I'm cheap, so I'd offer just over scrap value for it. What's that these days, $300? $350?

I wouldn't offer more than 500 for sure... my mj was gotten for 600 off cl and it ran and drove. I'd say 300 and see if he takes it. How did the interior look?

Holy un-resized pics batman!

CherBear said:

Holy un-resized pics batman!

Click to expand...

I like them. It makes it easier to assess the vehicle.

Probably sucks for laptop users, though

Driver's seat is rough, but still comfy. Ceiling is hanging under the back speakers because of a crappy Best Buy install job. Other than that, nothing stood out.

I initially told him $500 because I remembered it being in better shape. After seeing it, I still don't mind paying him that much because he is a friend but I of course wouldn't mind droppin a couple hundred bucks less on it.

Sorry about the pics. I'm used to forums autosizing them. Droid camera's apparently take really high resolution photos by default.

Abusive driver? That thing's been knocked around a good bit by someone who doesn't seem to have cared much what he bumped into, front, back and sides. Can you drive it at all to evaluate the transmission, clutch, etc.? Steering? Not bad on rust, but for a 200K mile Jeep that old, with that much body damage and a bad engine, I wouldn't go much beyond what the junkyard would pay to come get it.

I drove it right around 200k and the transmission was shifting fine, clutch was in good shape, steering was fine.

It definitely hasn't been without it's problems, but overall mechanically it's in good condition. Motor excluded of course. The body shows a lot of abuse that was not always fixed over the years. Anything from suicidal animals to high school kids that don't know that slamming on the brakes on a gravel road doesn't actually make you stop.