{"id":4761,"date":"2019-04-01T21:10:42","date_gmt":"2019-04-02T01:10:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/?p=4761"},"modified":"2019-04-02T19:08:49","modified_gmt":"2019-04-02T23:08:49","slug":"engine-replacement-jeep-cherokee-xj","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/engine-replacement-jeep-cherokee-xj\/","title":{"rendered":"Engine replacement Jeep Cherokee XJ"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How I replaced the engine in my 1991 Jeep Cherokee.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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My old XJ has served me well for nearly 500,000 miles. The odometer stopped working at 444444 <\/a>and I have swapped clusters a couple of times, so I really don\u2019t know what the current mileage is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

I have had an odd noise that sounded like a bad main\nbearing, but the engine ran well so I kept driving.  I also had oil pouring out of both the front\nand rear crank seals. So, I knew I would at least have to drop the oil pan soon\nto repair those.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 After pulling the old engine apart and making some measurements, I decided to get a remanufactured engine from Autozone.  Amazon also sells the same engine.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My old engine bores were worn to the point that I was concerned if a .040 over bore would be able to clean them up.  They were smooth, but very worn.  There was the biggest ridge at the top I have ever cut out of an engine.  My rod bearings looked pretty good, but the crank measured some wear also.  After adding up all the parts I would need and factoring in the machine shops costs and my time to clean and transport all the parts, I decided to just buy a remanufactured engine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The story of picking up the new engine and unboxing is told here:
http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/2019\/03\/new-4-0-engine-unloading-and-unboxing\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I then set about adding the missing parts.  I had planned to reuse my harmonic damper but I managed to crack it removing it from the old engine. So, I bought a new one. (Amazon link)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I found the source of my knock was the flex plate. It was very nearly broken in two.  So I bought a new one of those.  (amazon link)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I got a new water pump from Autozone just to save cleaning the old one.  I replaced my leaking power steering pump with a new one including a new tank. (amazon link)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While all the brackets were off, I cleaned and repainted the\nsteel ones.  I reused my old alternator,\nAC compressor and ignition coil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also purchased a new distributor. More on that later. (Amazon LInk)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The engine came with new timing cover, valve cover and oil\npan. SPO that saved me a lot of cleaning and repainting.   However, the holes for the crankcase vents\nin the cover are different so I had to order different vent connectors. (amazon\nlink)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I inspected my stainless header and found several cracks. Rather than rewelding them, I swapped back to the original style but got one with the expansion joints that are supposed to reduce cracking.  (amazon link)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I cleaned and reused my intake and relatively new\ninjectors.   I also reused the CPS, TPS\nand IAC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before installing the manifolds, I used a Dremmal to clean\nup some of the casting flash on the head and on the intake ports. Not a full\ngasket match porting but just a little clean up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I also used a white paint marker to make a nice bright\ntiming mark on the new front pulley.  I\nrotated the engine around until both the valves were closed and set the engine\nat TDC.  I then installed the intake and\nexhaust manifolds with the engine still on the stand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I installed all the pulleys and accessories on the engine\nexcept the clutch fan.  I figured I would\nneed the space to get the engine back in the Jeep.  I left the belt a little loose since I could\nnot properly tighten the fan pulley in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of trying to clean the thermostat housing I bought a new one. (amazon link<\/a>)  I also installed a new thermostat. (Amazon Link)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I cleaned up the oil fitter adapter and installed new O rings <\/a> and new WIX filter<\/a>.  The O rings were included in the engine kit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Before installing the distributor, I used an old distributor to make an oil pump rotating tool. I simply removed the drive gear from an old distributor. I dropped it into the hole and used an electric drill to spin the pump.  I was surprised at how much power it took to spin the pump once it primed.  I temporarily replaced the oil pressure sending unit with a gauge, so I could monitor the pressure during the priming process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I then set the distributor in place with the engine still\nset at TDC.  I then installed new spark\nplugs and connected new wires in the firing order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I then installed the engine into the Jeep engine compartment\nreusing my old motor mounts. I let it tip back and disconnected the hoist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I raised the Jeep up and installed the new flex plate.  I used a pry bar through one of the balancing\nholes to hold while I torqued the crank bolts to the 105 ft lb. spec.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I then assembled the transmission and transfer case as a\nunit and installed them together.  Once\nthe crossmember was back in place, I installed and torqued down the converter\nto flex plate bolts.  The engine compression\nwas nearly enough to hold the plate from turning but I wedged a screwdriver in\nthe starter teeth to hold the plate while torqueing. Lining up the first hole\nwas tricky, but I finally got it by turning the engine with eh crank pulley\nbolt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I then installed the cover plate and starter.  Next, I reinstated the transmission lines and\nthe exhaust.  I then reinstalled the AC\ncondenser and radiator.  I left the\nengine dry and the heater hoses out of the way for the first start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I then connected the transmission lines, power steering\nlines and fuel lines.  I added some\ntransmission fluid and some power steering fluid so these pumps would not run\ndry at start up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the front of the Jeep lifted, I cycled the steering from lock to lock several times to clear the air that have entered the system with the hoses off.  I topped the pump reservoir back up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I installed the battery tray and battery and connected the cables.  I added a new custom battery hold down clamp from Dirt Bound Off road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I set the fan shroud and clutch fan in together and attached the fan to the pulley.  I then set the belt tension. I then installed the plate over the radiator and attached the shroud.  I left the electric fan out to help check for leaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The first start turned into quite a puzzling trouble shooting exercise. More on that here: http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/jeep-4-0-no-start-troubleshooting-puzzle\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How I replaced the engine in my 1991 Jeep Cherokee. My old XJ has served me well for nearly 500,000 miles. The odometer stopped working at 444444 and I have swapped clusters a couple of times, so I really don\u2019t know what the current mileage is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[210,6,231],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4761"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4761"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4806,"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4761\/revisions\/4806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}