Bad news from Blackstone

As feared, the B-stone analysis confirmed coolant in oil with "excessive bearing wear" on the 2000 XJ. After a few hours over on Jeepstrokers [Thanks, J308] it seems that paying a local shop to build up a decent stroker from bits and pieces could run at least $3000, probably more. That leaves these options for returning my bone-stock Sport to reliable DD status.

• ATK or similar reman: Could this have 0331 problems soon? $2k
• West Coast Engines 4.5 stroker: at $2k it seems too good a deal to be true
• Terry Walters rebuild. Quoted $2.5k for turnkey job. They say pre-heating the head lets them repair [weld?] cracks. Only an hour from home.

I have a heated shop and all the tools to handle engine r&r, but little time right now to do much more than that.

One other flag: B-stone found 3.3% fuel in the oil sample, but didn't mention possible causes. Worn rings? Incomplete combustion?

So ... ATK, WCE, Terry, or some other option?

For this former owner of many Ford, Chevy, and Toyota 4x4's, the XJ is absolutely the best off-road in all conditions, and it's small enough to get around and under obstacles that would stop those others. To top it off, the steering [with LTX M&S] is a delight on pavement. I plan to keep it a long time.

tia, summit94

How about a Junkyard engine, and take your time on a stroker build?

Fuel in the oil is usually caused by a leaking injector and can cause premature bearing wear as well as wash oil off the cylinder walls and cause scoring and loss of compression.''

Whatever decision you make, I'd want to be darn sure that there is NOT a factory 00-01 0331 cylinder head on the engine that goes in your XJ.

Remember the saying....fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!

Welding of these heads does not have a good track history. Don't buy into the claims.

Talk to the engine suppliers and builders and get their assurance that if it's going to be an 0331 head on your engine, that it is a TUPY head (late 2002 into 2003 was when these came out to my knowledge) which is redesigned and doesn't have the casting defect between cylinders 3-4. You should be able to see the word TUPY if you look through the oil filler cap as a quick way to confirm.

There is not a good track record for the head repair but, at least the guy is saying the right things. Whenever you are going to weld cast metal (be it iron or aluminium) you must preheat the entire piece until it is basically to hot to handle with bare hands. Otherwise, the casting will crack at the edge of the weld...

Another possible source for a replacement with displacement is https://www.sandjengines.com/ out of the pacific northwest. $2200 plus shipping. Thing is, it should not cost substantially more to build up a stroker than to build a stock engine. Crank kits cost basically the same for a 4.0 or a 4.2 as do the rods and pistons. Just putting in the 258 crank bumps things up to 4.5L. And if you are going to have to bore the cylinders anyway, the additional machining to go big is mouse nuts.

Some folks out there just take advantage of others in the pricing.

I just looked on the West Coast Engines website...

http://www.westcoastengines.com/#/shop/4558137723/JEEP-4.5-STROKER/534413

1900+ shipping with a 5 year/50,000 mile warranty....sounds pretty good to me. Looks like you have to use 92 octane. I wonder how increased efficiency and gas mileage vs. higher fuel prices works out in the long term operating cost equation?

o-gauge-steamer said:

Another possible source for a replacement with displacement is https://www.sandjengines.com/ out of the pacific northwest. $2200 plus shipping. Thing is, it should not cost substantially more to build up a stroker than to build a stock engine. Crank kits cost basically the same for a 4.0 or a 4.2 as do the rods and pistons. Just putting in the 258 crank bumps things up to 4.5L. And if you are going to have to bore the cylinders anyway, the additional machining to go big is mouse nuts.

Some folks out there just take advantage of others in the pricing.

Click to expand...

https://www.sandjengines.com/rebuilt-auto-engines/JEEP/CHEROKEE/_/AMC-242LB-5/10598

S & J has a 7 year 70k warranty. One phone call is all it would take to confirm use of the TUPY head.

S&J site looks enticing, but shipping is $195 and customer pays core return. Others have mentioned receiving TUPY heads from certain rebuilders. Isn't there anyone in the East who markets strokers?

About FI leakdown check: this involves attaching FP gauge to Schrader valve, turning on ignition for a few seconds, then simultaneously turning off ignition while clamping fuel line. Correct?

Anyone got a link for test procedure on individual injectors? Ordinarily one might just start pulling spark plugs and looking for wet ones, but we 2000-01 owners know how much fun that is!

I would go used from a JY myself.

Ecomike wrote: "I would go used from a JY myself."

Believe me, this has occurred as an affordable option, and I guess to someone who has adapted a diesel into his Cherokee, the changes involved might seem minor.

A visit to the local JY yielded a '96 with running engine and two 98's that arrived wrecked and never ran, but whose engines can be turned manually. $600 for the former and $250 for either of the latter two. I may yet go that route if only to secure a donor block for a stroker project.

Many folks keep an extra vehicle or two so that there's always one running. That choice of lifestyle was fine when I was in my 30's and 40's and gifted with boundless energy, but as in the song, "Those days are gone, my friend."

summit94 said:

Ecomike wrote: "I would go used from a JY myself."

Believe me, this has occurred as an affordable option, and I guess to someone who has adapted a diesel into his Cherokee, the changes involved might seem minor.

A visit to the local JY yielded a '96 with running engine and two 98's that arrived wrecked and never ran, but whose engines can be turned manually. $600 for the former and $250 for either of the latter two. I may yet go that route if only to secure a donor block for a stroker project.

Many folks keep an extra vehicle or two so that there's always one running. That choice of lifestyle was fine when I was in my 30's and 40's and gifted with boundless energy, but as in the song, "Those days are gone, my friend."

Click to expand...

OMG, how old are you? I am about 56, IIRC, LOL:cheers:

Age is one of the reasons I keep the spares, gives me time for the "Roundtoits" LOL!

OMG, how old are you? I am about 56, IIRC, LOL:cheers:

One time back there in the '80's we had 2 farm trucks, 2 tractors, 3 cars and 4 motorcycles for the two of us. Some time back the kids threw me a birthday party; I think it was for being in the '60's again...

summit94 said:

OMG, how old are you? I am about 56, IIRC, LOL:cheers:

One time back there in the '80's we had 2 farm trucks, 2 tractors, 3 cars and 4 motorcycles for the two of us. Some time back the kids threw me a birthday party; I think it was for being in the '60's again...

Click to expand...

You can just click the quote button, no need to type things out.

Thanks to all who have replied to this topic. Everyone has had something useful to add.

Called S&J and got details of their stroker in addition to what's on the link sent by MT Mike: runs on regular gas; includes "all new" head and valve assembly, new oil pump, flex plate and harmonic balancer; no water pump, but does include a gasket to reuse your old pump [which in my case is about 6 weeks old]. Salesman didn't seem to know much about their source for the "new" 0331 casting.

Shipping is $175-195, and core charge is $300. They don't seem to have any arrangements to help buyers ship cores to them, so I guess they don't really need the cores. I hate to sell an engine with so many problems to a private buyer; anyone know of rebuilders around VA who might want to buy a core?

It would be nice to come up with some foolproof way to make sure that I'm not buying any more 0331 problems with S&J before committing to these guys and paying the freight. Suggestions?

Called WCI also, but they didn't get back until I was in a meeting and couldn't take the call. Will find more about their deal tomorrow. ATK will get a call, too, to hear about their 0331 procedures.

All comments welcome and appreciated...

Oops! Wrong link. MT Mike's link was for the oem engine: $1783 w/$400 core.

Here's the link to the stroker:

https://www.sandjengines.com/rebuilt-auto-engines/JEEP/CHEROKEE/_/AMC-288LB-2/10632

I am a newbie to this forum, and I only heard of the 0331 problem when I came here. Just wanted to say that I drive a 2000 XJ with 215K, my best friend has a 2000 with 150K, and my Mom drives a 2001 with 110K....and none of our vehicles has had any issues. Just saying I would not let that deter you from a good deal on a motor, especially with a warranty.

Now it gets tricky. This relatively new XJ owner has no idea what percentage of 2000-01 heads developed cracks in normal use, or whether a triggering event such as gross overheating was required. Be that as it may, enough of us have encountered the problem that an air of wariness develops when those 4 digits are mentioned: 0-3-3-1 [Compare to previous post].

Called West Coast Engines today re:http://www.westcoastengines.com/#/shop/4558137723/JEEP-4.5-STROKER/534413

Note the mild cam but stout hp/torque; also relatively high compression and octane required. Salesman offered slightly lower c/r option, better suited for elevations under 1500' - like where I live. This is the thicker head gasket option, and of course means my dyno [ROFL] won't read like their dyno.

OK; so far, so good. On to the head - whether it's a TUPY. Salesman [who probably deals with 150 different engines] was clueless, so I sent him a .jpg of a TUPY head, with "0331" visible next to manifolds. Yes, he replies, his engineers agree that their 99-01 head has the 0331 casting #.

Internet confirms that Clearwater and perhaps others are casting a "new" head for 00 and later 4.0's. Is there any simple, foolproof way for a buyer to determine which head he is looking at other than the TUPY casting?