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up in smoke, swap motor?

gremlinxj

NAXJA Forum User
Location
new hampshire
I've got an 88 xj and the heater control valve went. so i by-passed it and the jeep would not stop over heating. well the other day i left work to go home and try and fix it and on the way it started making a nasty scrappin metal noise and then went up in smoke. the pressure bottle blew and sprayed everything and now the jepp wont start i dried all the connections cleaned out the distributer and fixed the pressure bottle but it still wont start. it does turn over but when i tried to start it it blew the dip stick out. so im thinking that i blew the motor. any ideas on what could still be wrong would be great. or i was thinking about possible swapping in a different motor, 4.2 , 318, 305? how would i go about putting something that is carburated?? do i have to switch the harness? im only 18 so i need to get it back on the road fast!! any ideas woul be great
 
First, I think it would be wise to try to determine what happened to your engine. Overheating may "blow" an engine, but not necessarily. I would begin with basic diagnostics:

* Visual inspection -- is there water/coolant in the crankcase oil? Is there oil in the coolant?

* Compression check -- do you have compression in all cylinders, and if so is it anywhere close to what it's supposed to be?

* You said it cranks but won't start. Do you have spark at the spark plugs? Do you have fuel pressure at the fuel rail?

If some investigation does confirm that your engine is toast, the cheapest and easiest way to get the Jeep back on the road will be to replace with another 4.0L engine. To avoid having to swap manifolds, injectors, and the like, more specifically you should be looking for a 4.0L engine from a 1987 thru 1990 Cherokee or Comanche. Later years will bolt in, but require modifications to fuel system and electronics, as well as differences in manifolds and brackets for accessories (such as power steering and alternator).
 
If you need it back on the road fast I would suggest replacing it with the same motor.
pretty much any kind of swap takes a bit of time when you have to deal with things like wiring and cooling systems.

hope this was of some help
Mike
 
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