mycherokee

So I am going to rebuild my 4.0l it has 200k miles. Shooting oil all over the place lol in my air filter and dripping everywhere. My question is that I have don't know what tools I will need to complete this. I have tons of sockets and wrenches and vice grips. Basic tools like that. What other special tools will I need to do a rebuild?

Jamie57

12 point socket set and Torx sockets and reverse Torx. Kinda looks like a gay allen head bolt.

mycherokee

I do have some torx bolts because I noticed alot of different parts are different. Is rebuilding an engine easy? I have the manual. I am sure I can take off all the stuff and pull the motor out (will the tranny need to be moved?). My question is once I get it out and start to disassemble, are the rocker arms hard to take off? What about the pistons? Once I get that out do I just take the head/block to a machine shop and they clean it up and hone it? Also what kind of things should I replace? I know a full gasket set and oil pump and o rings but what else? Who has alot of experience with this?

I have done 1 rebuild but it wasnt really a rebuild it was an engine core swap.

Jamie57

By the questions your asking, and don't take this the wrong way but your quite the newbie. Thats OK we all are at one time.
An engine rebuild on your own is a very complicated thing for a first timer.
I know it can be less expensive if you do it yourself but if you make a mistake and grenade an engine you won't have saved a dime. It's called a cost risk analysis.
Compare how much the cost would be to having the long block (Thats the head and engine block) professionally rebuilt and you just remove and reinstall them and the cost of how much you save by doing all the rebuild labor yourself. Remember that there are going to be some things that you will need a machine shop to do. Unless of course you have a Sunnen line boring machine just sitting around.
Of course there will be some savings, but will it be enough to cover the cost of doing it all over again because you didn't clean the oil passage in the 3rd Crank journal properly and a piece of the old bearing got lodged in there and starved the rest of the crank of oil and took out all the bearings and broke 2 of the piston rods?
Yes that was meant to scare you. All of us old timers started on something small or slowly built up to tackling the big project like rebuilding an engine by ourselves.
Don't take this as a put down. It's not. It's just a little warning that it MAY be a little more than you can handle on the first go round.

Can you get a hold of another engine to rebuild? If you can put it on an engine stand and take it apart. Thats a great way to start without stranding you if you take your rigs engine out and wreck it.

BTW it's going to take a lot longer than you think to rebuild an engine on your own. There are ALWAYS delays in getting the parts and the machine shop put your work aside because some other customer was standing there making a stink, and on and on and on.

mycherokee

I do have decent mechanic skills and i am good with my hands. I was debating what you said just pull the engine take out the pulleys and all the exterior equipment. Then just take the whole block assembly Oilpan,block,head,valve cover assembled to a machine shop. Then see how much they would charge to just do that portion so that way I dont risk it. But then again I WANT to learn how to do this but it would be nice to have some guidance haha.

Do you have any ballpark idea of what something like that would cost? Just to have it done? when I do all the leg work pulling it out and putting it in? I can simply buy a rebuilt engine for around 1300 bucks.

Also time is not an issue this Jeep is my secondary car but will be my DD commute to work every day once its done.

Jamie57

Man I am so jealous of you Americans. That is easily a $2500 to $3000 bit for us Canadians and our dollars are at par lately. I paid almost $600 for a head to be rebuilt.
I say go for it. You'll get a warrenty with it too.

mycherokee

I just got quoted to have my engine rebuilt for 1500-2000 dollars and thats pulling the engine myseld and taking all the external parts off. Is that kind of high? I live in the country not in a big city where the prices are jacked.

northline76

I would say so. From what Ive heard in my area if I bring both of the machine shops my block and a 242 crank I can get a stroker for 1600-1800. I am hoping that they will do a rebuild for 1300 or less.

mycherokee

Ya I was priced for a stroker rebuild for 2500-3000. CRAZY><. Maybe I should check in bigger cities about an hour away and see.

mycherokee

Found out the other person in town and he could do a rebuild if I pulled for 1200 + tax. Thats better. But I was really looking for around 1 grandish.

Silly Willy

Where are you going and finding the whole rebuilt engine for 1300?

91familyxj

Doing rebuild is fun. Sense its your sencound cr tke your time. You said you have a book right? Well I used my haynes to build mine. One more tool I didnt see mentioned was a tourque wrench(maby I missed it) but dont buy a cheap one spens some money on one and you will have it forever. Let me find a site I lost it but they have a complete rebuild for the 4.0 for kinda cheap. Ill get back to you

mycherokee

Here

http://info.automotix.net/engines/se...okee&year=1989

Its 175 for shipping and you get a 200 core exhance its actually around 1400 ish.

Silly Willy

okay that explains it, 89. Pre HO. the cheepest I have found a re manufactured engine for a 96 is around 1800 with shipping and core.