To rebuild or buy a remanufactured....

Ok, the I6 has seen better days...I'm losing power, it's running hot, I noticed the freeze plugs are beginning to rust through, and it emits an enormous amount of steam at start up.

I figure, with 200,000 miles on it, it's time to refresh the engine...my only question now is should I rebuild the one I have or just buy a remanufactured? I don't have a full shop at my house, so the head and block have to go out for machine work anyway. Plus, I don't really have the time as I don't think I'll be able to to remove, rebuild, and reinstall an engine in a weekend....I could probably swap an engine in a weekend tho.

If I end up going with remanufactured engine...is there anyone in particular to get one from? I've seen several companies advertizing reman. Jeep 4.0 for about $1200 + core but I know nothing about any of them.

Any advice always appreciated.

Honestly? your going to spend 1000 bucks to rebuild it to factory and prolly 1800 or so to do a stroker. You can buy a fresh rebuild engine for around or under 1000... so if you just are looking for a stock motor, its the way to go.

What year do you have? Check your PMs too.

I bought one for my 88XJ from these guys a couple of years ago. No issues with the motor after 28,000 miles. However, the core charge may end up being just a part of the cost depending on shipping costs back to the manufacturer.

reman motor

I put a remanufactured engine in my 90 XJ last year from ALLPAR or ALPAR or something like that and have been very pleased. I did not return the core because a buddy bought it for more than the core charge which was around 150-175 IIRC. You may be able to sell your core as well. I wanted to keep mine but my garage is already too full of Jeep and Motorcycle parts and such.

I bought a remanufactured motor for my '91 4.0L from the same place DesertRed bought his:

http://rebuilt-auto-engines.com/

I've put about 12k miles on it now, and I'm really happy with it. Runs strong, stays cool, burns ZERO oil ... really amazing. It's been about 5,000 miles since I last changed the oil, and the oil reading on the dipstick hasn't changed at all.

I also found them very competent and easy to deal with on the phone. I drove to Spokane, Washington to pick up the motor and drop off my core.

$1200 + 200 core.

7 year, 70,000 mile warranty.

im selling a 4.0 with ~100 thousand on it for 150.

I've got a 98 w/4.0l and 130,000 miles. I run a RE 3 1/2" on 31x10.50's. I think every gasket in the thing leaks, including the head gasket, and of course the exhaust manifold has a big old crack. Those are the only problems. Everything else looks and runs like it's only a couple years old. She still runs strong, doesn't overheat and shows no other signs of aging.

I'm gonna pay somebody else to do the work. I just don't have the time. It isn't my daily driver right now, but will be by this winter. I'll need it to be extremely reliable. I'll be buying another newer Jeep hopefully some time next year, but plan to keep my Cherokee for a long time.

At what point, money wise, depending on how much it will cost to get the gasket and manifold work done, would it be better to just buy the rebuilt engine?

Anyone have any experience with Advance Auto's "tough One" engines?

SanDiegoXJ said:

Ok, the I6 has seen better days...I'm losing power, it's running hot, I noticed the freeze plugs are beginning to rust through, and it emits an enormous amount of steam at start up.

I figure, with 200,000 miles on it, it's time to refresh the engine...my only question now is should I rebuild the one I have or just buy a remanufactured? I don't have a full shop at my house, so the head and block have to go out for machine work anyway. Plus, I don't really have the time as I don't think I'll be able to to remove, rebuild, and reinstall an engine in a weekend....I could probably swap an engine in a weekend tho.

If I end up going with remanufactured engine...is there anyone in particular to get one from? I've seen several companies advertizing reman. Jeep 4.0 for about $1200 + core but I know nothing about any of them.

Any advice always appreciated.

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Only 200K? Hell man - that's just about broken in! Performance losses at this point are probably due to the engine management sensors getting old, more than anything else. You'll want new sensors if you eventually decide on a new engine anyhow, so why not replace them first and see if it perks things up a bit for you?

I've got an 88 with 280K on the clock - the engine is still strong. Engine management is getting weak - and I've got most of the new sensors already... The new transmission (AX-15 replacing BA-10/5) should also be a help.