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Bad News

6K views 41 replies 15 participants last post by  Amelie 
#1 · (Edited)
So my sister was driving my WJ and while she was driving it I guess the water pump was broken, the engine overheated and the head gasket blew and I think my engine is now shot :( Anyone know what the cost of average 4.0 I-6 engine would run?
 
#2 ·
hmmm...a good used one might be hard to find thanks to cash for clunkers a couple years ago. I would go with Jasper or an LKQ salvage engine if yoiu go that way
 
#7 ·
Buy the stroker kit, go for a 4.7L, spend a good $500 or more to get a good port and polish on the head. Send the exhaust manifold to Extrude Hone for some major flow. Throw a nice exhaust on it and I bet you will be surprised!
 
#14 ·
Alright cool.

You do have a rare opportunity. Stroking the I6 to a 4.7 is something a LOT of 4.0 xj and wj owners want to do. It is not easy(but not too difficult) and not that cheap(though I doubt it will break the bank) but speaking from experience from some off-roaders who did it to their jeeps in my home town, the results are worth every penny and ounce of sweat.

One thing I will suggest, the header offered for the I6 can be difficult to fit in WJ bodies. There is no need to even buy one(unless it comes with the kit). Extrude Hone treats your stock exhaust manifold to an interior polish through forcing a sand-gel at high pressures through the entire structure, offering the same-if not better-performance numbers as a header.
 
#12 ·
#13 ·
Stroking it means changing the internals like the crank, pistons, rods, lifters and supporting mods.

There are kits to making your I6 stronger. As you know we are NOT talking about the 4.7L V8. We are talking about a 4.7L I6. Or you can go with a 4.5L or a 4.6L I6 if you are willing to do this.

For Example:

http://www.ajeepthing.com/stroker-motor.html
Alright cool.
 
#17 ·
You're going to have to shop around.

Stroker kits can go from $700-800 on ebay to $3K at some sites, depending on what you want to do. This is your truck, so think long and hard about what you want to accomplish, make a DETAILED list of ALL the mods you would like, and refine that list to necessary/affordable, etc. I use Numbers on my Mac for a professional and detailed list when I start a project like this. You'd be surprised how some kind of spreadsheet makes things so much easier and keeps it down to earth.

Me? I'd find a 4.7L kit from a reputable source and aim for 280-ish H.P. and 320 ft/lbs torque. I'd also consider a $500 dollar port/polish head job pretty much necessary(unless you can do it yourself), and then Extrude Hone the exhaust manifold and maybe a Borla set up for the finish. It wouldn't hurt to give your rear end some attention with a rebuild and LSD too.
 
#20 ·
Wow, I miss a lot when I cant get on here for a day or 2. Sorry to hear about the WJ, bring her back even stronger! :thumbsup:
 
#21 ·
If your intent is to keep the Jeep for awhile, and everything else is in good shape, it's investment time. If your intention is to get out of it soon, hunt for a used motor. I replaced the 4.0L in my TJ awhile back. The new ones will come with a warranty and look good when you go to sell it later...keep all the paperwork. IF you want to upgrade while in the process, you can also get into a pre-stroked replacement that will simply drop in and bolt up. If you google search for it, there are a few manufacturers that have them ready to ship. Do yourself a favor and consider replacing the header while you're in there. It will be another $300ish for the part, but it's one of those things you should really do while you're in there to save a big labor bill later. Keep us posted on what you end up doing!
Sorry about your luck man...that sucks.
 
#23 ·
#24 ·
WHOO! somebody else in my situation!! i rebuilt my 4.0 not too long ago. (like, two months ago. maybe you remember seeing my first post about my Jeep idling rough lol)

anyways, the water pump went bad, the previous owner had kept putting water (not coolant) in it, warped the head, warped the block, and i ended up having $715 in block/crank milling and $150 for one new valve, all new seats and seals, and shaving the head.

I got my block machined at R&R Engine (in Ohio. did a BEAUTIFUL job on it) and my changes were:
Cylinders: =.020
Crank: =-.010
Rods: =-.010

i used this rebuild kit:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-0-242-Jee...es&hash=item3cb06eb870&vxp=mtr#ht_3834wt_1135

only $525 WITH CAM AND LIFTERS! they dont list .020 over pistons and rings, but you can call and special order them for NO additional charge.

everything went together well, and i have no complaints about this at all!!

my rough idle and dead cylinder was a torque spec issue.

if you decide to go the rebuilding route, i high recommend this rebuild kit. only thing i would change, go the autoparts store and get a different head gasket instead of the 3 layer metal one. i used a Fel-Pro gasket.

although, im very sorry to hear about your engine issues, i know they can be a heart breaker :(
 
#30 ·
welcome :)
if you decide to go with that route and reach a road block, ill help any way i can (especially since i have first hand experience)

as for the side note,
thank you! i just figured out how to change that user title and i thought that was fitting since i already have an empty wallet and plan on spending more! I keep tweaking the signature until i get it how i like it :thumbsup:
 
#27 ·
^ ALL of the previous is good sound advice. You just need to sit down and figure out your goals. I am from the Stacey David school of automotive endeavors. If you're going to tear it apart, might as well go for broke. Make it look and perform as best as possible, but that's me.

Some things to consider;

Do you have access to another vehicle for work and errands, or is the Jeep you're only ride? Whatever you do, it could be down for a while.

Do you have the disposable cash for a project like this? I think it'd be safe to allocate a minimum of $1K for this, and could be much more.

Do a LOT of research. Very often buying new and pretty is only a few dollars more than rebuilding old and worn. In this economy, there are incredible deals to be had.

I would also say upgrade whenever possible.

Just sayin...
 
#28 ·
Forgot this;

A few cans of engine enamel go a LONG way to making things look amazing under the hood. Straight six engines look great with polished accessories and painted valve covers.
 
#33 ·
I agree with and did what S.O.T.I. mentioned, I made a list with prices, etc. Pretty much, a spreadsheet lol. But my time is limited, so I take it bit by bit and check off an item whenever I actually get something accomplished lol.
 
#38 ·
CONGRATS!!!

just beware about knocking and such, depending on how hot it was you could have bad bearings.

hope all is well and good luck! that head is a heavy bitch! :lol:
 
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