Blew the 4.0L in my DD - Looking at Replacement Options (Cost is a Concern)

[Jonner]

Thanks guys for all the suggestions! I've been doing some research of my own and started pricing out a stroker just to see if I could afford it. Cheapest crankshaft I can find right now is $465 to my door, almost as much as the cheapest junkyard motor I can find. That sure puts things in perspective. There is no way I can or should build a stroker with the current state of my finances.

So, now I'm seeing if I'll be priced out of a stockish rebuild. That'll depend on parts, machine shop pricing, and extra items I'll have to purchase to round out the project. For extras, I'm still in need of a radiator (~$300+), probably some new injectors (~$110) to improve fuel economy/performance, my drums need turned (~$30), and I need to start seriously thinking about a ring and pinion rebuild/replace for my Chrysler 8.25 (~$100+).

I want this Jeep to be fun to drive again so a rebuild sounds great for peace of mind, performance, and reliability but can I swing the price. Calling the machine shop today for a rough estimate.

I found some reputable machine shops through other forum reviews which might be helpful for others in Ohio. I think I'll use M&M unless there is a huge price difference between M&M, Beach, and Fowler who all got a lot of positive recommendations.

• Beach Performance 10960 Johnstown Road, New Albany, OH 43054-9604
Bob Beach (614-855-2143)

• Fowler Engines Inc. 3021 Switzer Avenue, Columbus, OH 43219
Jeff Fowler (614-258-2924), [email protected] "cater to blown alcohol work, blower rebuilds, tractor pull engines, top-end work, dedicated area just for race blowers, treat people fairly"
http://www.fowlerengines.com/index.html

• Metals Crankshaft 1435 E 45th St. Cleveland, Ohio 44103
(216-431-5778)
"In business since about 1947 Contact Pat who grew up in the business his father founded. Superb crankshaft grinding, welding, balancing. Block and head cleaning, boring, honing, head work, guides, valves. Will build certain select engines complete. Work is always superb"

• M&M Head Service 30 Reid Street, Delaware, Ohio 43015
(740-369-6442)

• Randy's Automotive Machine Shop Inc 4029 E Main St, Columbus, OH 43213
(614-235-9970)

• Phillip's Racing Engines, Grove City Ohio, 614-875-0040

• Performance Research

 

[cpefy3]

Daveysjeeps has a good running xj with a rusty body for $650...I would consider this... For this price you could swap it out fully and take your time rebuilding yours if you still feel the need... or talk to them and they can set you up with a good motor... Just an option

http://www.daveysjeeps.com/repairables/R188578.html

 

[Forceful Llama]

Look into the mini stroker recipes? I saw the 232 cranks going for 150 a while back on eBay.

http://www.jeepstrokers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=3083&sid=3b44f2ebdcf63d732b1d18c9fe10f587

 

[Tony_SS]

Find a good local rebuilder and buy a short or long block and turns yours in for a core.

That's what I did and am happy. I'm glad I didn't go with a Jasper or some out of town builder. ATK makes engines for just about every part store chain too. Hit or miss. I like small town shops. They stand behind their work.

Also I did all the work myself too. Look under my posts for a thread and advice. I swapped the engine in my garage with basic tools. Looking back I would have paid a shop $1000 to do it, but the experience was pretty cool and even better driving it knowing I did the work.

 

[Redhawk44]

It's right at the top end of your budget, but I got a rebuild for my 2000 4.0 thru Auto Parts Warehouse (build by Marshall Engines). I only have 300 miles on the install so can't speak to the longevity for myself though a friend has almost 150,000 on his from the same source and it's running like a top still, but service was great and the engine comes w/a 3 year warranty.

 

[Jonner]

Daveysjeeps has a good running xj with a rusty body for $650...I would consider this... For this price you could swap it out fully and take your time rebuilding yours if you still feel the need... or talk to them and they can set you up with a good motor... Just an option

http://www.daveysjeeps.com/repairables/R188578.html

Awesome idea and thanks for sharing the research. That is just simply too much work for me right now. 2 hrs and 45 min from Columbus and I'd have to get a helper driver and drive it back without a title or tow it with a suitable vehicle (rent a trailer). Uninstall 2 engines and install 1. I don't have the space to store the parts truck (live in the city). Awesome thought but too much time for me right now.

 

[Jonner]

Look into the mini stroker recipes? I saw the 232 cranks going for 150 a while back on eBay.

http://www.jeepstrokers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=3083&sid=3b44f2ebdcf63d732b1d18c9fe10f587

The stroker is still really tempting and that gets it closer to my reality at $150. I think it'll be at the bottom of the budget priorities since it will be a luxury if I can use the existing crank in the 4.0 right now. Dino's website says the build would be 241hp and 294lbft of torque.... droooool. It just comes down to budget and I would if I could/can.

 

[Jonner]

Find a good local rebuilder and buy a short or long block and turns yours in for a core.

That's what I did and am happy. I'm glad I didn't go with a Jasper or some out of town builder. ATK makes engines for just about every part store chain too. Hit or miss. I like small town shops. They stand behind their work.

Also I did all the work myself too. Look under my posts for a thread and advice. I swapped the engine in my garage with basic tools. Looking back I would have paid a shop $1000 to do it, but the experience was pretty cool and even better driving it knowing I did the work.

I'm starting to go the same path, but let me see if I'm understanding you right
What you're saying is that I buy a motor for the local rebuilder, or will the local rebuilder buy the motor and then charge me a core for my motor when I'm done with the engine swap? That could shorten my schedule without costing me any extra (just 1 month's financing fee).

Do shops do that??

 

[Jonner]

It's right at the top end of your budget, but I got a rebuild for my 2000 4.0 thru Auto Parts Warehouse (build by Marshall Engines). I only have 300 miles on the install so can't speak to the longevity for myself though a friend has almost 150,000 on his from the same source and it's running like a top still, but service was great and the engine comes w/a 3 year warranty.

Marshall engines is one I hadn't heard about or considered. I'm seeing these prices:
- Auto Parts Warehouse
---1661.71 engine
---392.00 core
---0.00 shipping
---2053.71 total order at the beginning
---1661.71 after they receive my core (and do they cover freight for the core???)

-Rock Auto (uses Marshall engines)
---1341.79
---350.00 core
---142.80 shipping
---1834.59 total order (beginning)
---1484.59 after they receive my core
**Rock Auto said over the phone that the crate the engine is shipped in can be reused to ship the core back, shipping the core back to Rock Auto is included, and paperwork is included with instructions on how to contact the freight company for them to pick up the core engine. Nice!

But I need more reviews on 4.0L drivers that have bought Marshall engines. Found one review---> http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f19/advice-remanufactured-engine-1133305/

 

[Jonner]

Nevermind on Marshall engines. I know that every company has their horror stories but I just got done reading some reviews that looked reputable and sounded like Marshall is known for some shoddy quality (sorry Redhawk).

Calling the rebuilder for prices today. And I got some work done...

Harbor Freight FTW - Engine Crane, 1 ton engine stand, and load leveler

It's a little air compressor, but it should be enough to power my impact wrench with a few repeated bursts. Thanks Dad for Christmas!

Load Leveler, don't know if I'll need it or if it'll even fit yet.

 

[Jonner]

More work done today. I somehow managed not to break any bolts today. Both PB blaster and a feel for rust grit in the threads have become my friends. I've gotten better at feeling the resistance from rust, then work the bolt back and forth until it becomes easier to turn in both directions. Hondas didn't have this problem. With Jeeps its a skill.

Oops, nevermind. Forgot I broke the coolant reservoir hold-down bolt (tiny little heads on those things). I wanted to rinse as much dirty coolant out of the system as possible.

Slow progress, slow build with picture overload...

Battery and Air Box

Hood Off

 

[Jonner]

I made more progress today. Called around to all the engine rebuilders on the list below, and here's what I found out.

• Beach Performance
The guy said the 4.0L was a poor engine without providing a lot of details. Later asked me if the engine was 4 cylinder or V6 to which I promptly said I6. He reitterated that the 4.0L was a poor engine when I repeated what he said because I couldn't understand what he said. This is not the right engine builder for my needs.

• Fowler Engines Inc.
Quoted $2300-2600 for a rebuild if it has rollers in the head. Quoted $1950-2250 if it has flat tappets in the head. He wasn't certain that with a 1998 if I would have rollers or tappets. I'm not certain either yet, because I haven't done enough research. Warranty will be 4 mo/ 4,000 mile.

• M&M Head Service
Quoted $1800 if the engine is given to me as a completed assembly. Was quoted $1500 if I mount the cylinder head and block after they do all other work. They promised a 12 mo/12,000 mile warranty which "can" come as a written agreement.

• Phillip's Racing Engines, Grove City Ohio, 614-875-0040
I called and it rang and rang and rang, finally went to voicemail. I left a message and am waiting to hear back.

• Performance Research
He was very professional over the phone and hesitant to give me a hard ballpark estimate. He said he did a I6 Jeep stroker in the last year. He said they OK things with the customer all along the way so there are no surprises on decision making (and charges) as we go through the rebuild. He told me I have a roller motor, and was looking at these ballpark estimates:
1) $600 block prep
2) $75 to polish and clean crank
3) Additional $125 if the crank needs reground
4) $80 to refit the old rods to the new pistons
5) $400-500 to refresh the cylinder head...
Leaving out some of the finer details he expects a rebuild to cost $2500 minimum.

M&M Head Service got good reviews but I'm beginning to wonder why they are right around the prices of the remanufactured engines (ATK, Jasper, and Marshall). I'm going to search around for negative reviews on M&M, but it's beginning to look like M&M Performance ($1500-$1800) or Performance Research ($2500) are my best choices if I were to go the rebuild route

 

[kastein]

You have flat tappets, all factory 4.0s do. And yeah, Beach Performance sounds like a passel of retards, how do you call a 4.0 a poor engine without actually knowing what motor you're talking about?

 

[Jonner]

Progress:

Radiator, Condensor, bumper end caps, and bumper are off. Tomorrow I'm taking off the header panel for better access, and then am going to start removing and tagging everything off the engine itself.

I had trouble getting some of the transmission lines off the radiator and have another thread floating around for that.

 

[winterbeater]

$1800 for a 12000 mile warranty? Just looked on Columbus craigslist searching jeep under car parts. Numerous options to get a motor for $500. I'd rather have a factory build with 100k miles than a rebuild I didn't do myself.

 

[Jonner]

$1800 for a 12000 mile warranty? Just looked on Columbus craigslist searching jeep under car parts. Numerous options to get a motor for $500. I'd rather have a factory build with 100k miles than a rebuild I didn't do myself.

This is what I've been thinking all day. What else could I do with the $1500 difference and get a reliable used motor??? Tons of things!

I'm going to start another thread soon figuring out what to look for in a used motor so I can get her running again.

 

[cpefy3]

It is pretty easy to remove the lower transmission line at the radiator with a tool like this http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/d...word=quick+disconnect+tool&pt=N0044&ppt=C0052

 

[N8N_99xj]

If by "easy" you mean "a colossal pain in the ass.". I ended up hacksawing the fitting off my old radiator so I could at least turn the fitting up and look at it while fighting with that damned tool. Took me as long to get that fitting off as the entire rest of the disassembly job to replace the rad.

 

[Jonner]

It is pretty easy to remove the lower transmission line at the radiator with a tool like this http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/d...word=quick+disconnect+tool&pt=N0044&ppt=C0052

Yep, that's the tool set that I had. The sucker wouldn't budge and I'm replacing the radiator anyhow, so I cut the tube that runs off the radiator on the radiator side. I'll deal with it later.

The thread is here if anyone else runs into this problem:
http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1108769

 

[Jonner]

If by "easy" you mean "a colossal pain in the ass.". I ended up hacksawing the fitting off my old radiator so I could at least turn the fitting up and look at it while fighting with that damned tool. Took me as long to get that fitting off as the entire rest of the disassembly job to replace the rad.

Haha, glad I'm not the only one!