Looking for some advice for those of you that have been around the “block” a few times (get it? It’s an engine block joke) I have a 2000 xj and it needed a new engine. PO wore out the cam bearings and lost oil pressure. Instead of taking it apart and rebuilding it I found an already rebuilt engine off Craigslist. The guy said the block was from a 99 and it had a few differences I could notice but I jumped on it any. On my block the oil filter is parallel with the block and the oil pressure sensor hole sits right on top. This new block the oil filter is perpendicular to the block but had no hole for the oil pressure sensor. I found a threaded hole back near the trans on the same side of the block that seems to go straight threw into the block. Is that where I put my oil pressure sensor? I know this is confusing. Pics to follow.

Here you can see the oil filter screwed right into the block. No hole for the oil sensor

This is my old block. You can see how it’s parallel with the block and the oil pressure sensor sits right on top

This is my best guess as to where the oil pressure sensor going now. That’s the sensor towards the back of the block

 

This 1999 XJ block has it in the same place you expected it to be. Did that engine come out of an XJ or something else? What is that gray thing next to the filter mounting area?

 

Yeah, that's a 99 "clean side" block from a WJ. The oil pressure sensor is rearward from the filter and at the same height. The motor mounts have different mounting holes and require special mounts. You'll have to install your distributor and coil on it to get it to work since the 99 WJ engine uses a coil rail system. Also you need your intake manifold and other hardware because the WJ accessories mount differently. There may be a problem with the fitment of the exhaust header as well. Remember the 99 WJ has that 0331 head on it, but you can use the head off your old engine and solve the problems with that.

OH!....Wait! I just realized you have a 2000 XJ which does use the coil rail system. The 2000 also uses the cast iron exhaust manifolds as well. It still uses the older block so the only problem is the special mounts to put the "clean side" block in. It also still has the 0331 head.

I got confused because 99 XJs used a distributor and the 0630 head and the 2000s used a coil rail and the 0331 head. BOTH still used the older block. NOW, you're using the new block where it's not designed to go. The confusion starts in 99 with the WJ and the 4.7 V8 they put in it. In order to balance that engine, they had to move the engine mounts rearward. In order to still use the 4.0L I6 in the WJ, they had to move the mounting bosses rearward on the 4.0's block. For the last 2 years of the XJ's production they used the new head and ignition system on the old block. I understand it gets even more complicated with the TJ since they made them up until 06.

 

Thanks for all the info! The accessory drive brackets do NOT fit correctly as you described nor did the motor mounts. I had to modify them a little to make it work but I would like an actual proper set of motor mounts. Is there a website that sells them? I’m not even to sure what I’d search for. Maybe like WJ to XJ motor mount brackets? I’m not sure. Everything else seems to work well. I’ll start saving for a new head now. They are both stamped 033.

 

There are several aftermarket heads made specifically for replacement of the 0331 head. There is also Chrysler's remake of the head called the "TUPY" head which was cast in Brazil by the Tupy Foundry. This head was used in production in late 2002 and beyond. It has a large TUPY cast into the surface of the head just under the oil filler cap and can be seen with a flashlight looking down it. The most commonly used aftermarket head is the "Clearwater" head made by Odessa Cylinder Heads in Clearwater FL. I think today's price for that head is $525, complete with valves, springs, and seals.