Stock Grand Cherokee Tech. All ZJ/WJ/WK Non-modified/stock questions go here! ZJ (93-98), WJ (99-04), WK (05+)
All ZJ/WJ/WK specific tech questions asked here!

New engine going in this week

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 04-24-2014, 05:15 PM
  #16  
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
nwagtmustang's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 68
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Model: Cherokee
Default

Originally Posted by Firestorm500
That's why I said in an earlier post to get rid of it as is and get something newer with that money.

But it's your money and your Jeep. Education doesn't come cheap.


If I have known it needed an engine before I bought it then yes I would have gotten something different. Even if I could sell the jeep for 1k and then pay 3k for another jeep who knows what problems that would have. If I sold the jeep for 1k and bought a jeep for 5k then im getti g pretty close to what I have investested now. and again who knows what problems the 5k jeep would have? Maybe you would have sold the jeep and bought something else. Thats you. I already paid 2500 for it. To me it was worth putting in a new engine. Now would you pay 5k or 7k for a jeep with a 120k, 140k, at what point would you say the jeep is not worth it. My jeep with a total of 7k in it has a brand new engine with zero miles on it. I chose to go that route. I did get an education. I learned to never get an oil flush done. I do not have one regret in getting this jeep. It is worth keeping and putting a new engine in it. I dont know if you are judging me or not. However everyone makes their own choices for their own reasons. Some choices are good. Some are bad. With a good or bad choice that person learns from it. I would never put someone down for choosing to do somethi g they think it is worth doing. How many people in these forums have put in new engines? A lot of people. Is it worth doing it? To those people it is fir their own reasons. My xj has 217k miles on it and it runs like a champ. If that engine goes I will most likely put a reman engine in that as well. Again if I had known BEFORE I bought the grand cherokee it needed a new engine then I would of moved on.

Last edited by nwagtmustang; 04-24-2014 at 05:18 PM.
Old 04-24-2014, 06:16 PM
  #17  
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
nwagtmustang's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 68
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Model: Cherokee
Default

I also dont remember asking your opinion on what I should do and you made 2 posts telling me I should do. I never asked you nor care what you think about me putting in a new engine. I ignored your first post but since you made 2 posts telling me to get rid of it I felt the need to respond.

Last edited by nwagtmustang; 04-24-2014 at 07:41 PM.
Old 04-25-2014, 01:12 AM
  #18  
CF Veteran
 
Firestorm500's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 4,734
Likes: 0
Received 11 Likes on 10 Posts
Year: 2015, 2012
Model: Grand Cherokee (WK2)
Engine: 3.6L
Default

You post on a public forum, you're going to get opinions.

Whether you like them or not.

I guess you really are convinced that that oil flush just flushed $4500 from your wallet. It's all their fault.

Have fun with your $7000 Jeep.

Last edited by Firestorm500; 04-25-2014 at 01:16 AM.
Old 04-25-2014, 02:52 AM
  #19  
Old fart with a wrench
 
dave1123's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Manlius, east of Syracuse, NY
Posts: 14,398
Received 728 Likes on 632 Posts
Year: 2000 XJ Sport & WJ Laredo
Model: Grand Cherokee (WJ)
Engine: 4.0L
Default

The reason Wranglers cost so much is because they seem to last indefinitely, and when they break, they can be fixed pretty easily.

Nobody makes money investing in a vehicle unless you buy it, restore it with original parts, and store it indoors for 20 years. My '67 Camaro SS Special Edition cost me $3200 new. It had all the good stuff like a Muncie 4-speed, 12-bolt 4.10 positraction rear, rally suspension and an HO 350 engine. I saw one in a local car show take top honors with obvious mistakes. It had an RS grill and '68 tailights! The guy told me he paid $8000 for the car! I didn't have the heart to tell him what was wrong with the car. On one fender, I could even see where the side marker light hole had been filled. ('67s didn't have side marker lights)

If I spend $4000 on a vehicle, and I get 4 years out of it, I consider it a good investment. It I get more years out of it without spending more than $1000 a year to repair/maintain it, I'm good. But that's me.
Old 04-25-2014, 08:40 AM
  #20  
Member
 
po0dingles's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: South Florida
Posts: 311
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Year: 1998
Model: Grand Cherokee
Engine: 5.2L
Default

Originally Posted by nwagtmustang
I also dont remember asking your opinion on what I should do and you made 2 posts telling me I should do. I never asked you nor care what you think about me putting in a new engine. I ignored your first post but since you made 2 posts telling me to get rid of it I felt the need to respond.
Ow....Don't do that bro.

No need to be a jerk about a difference of opinion. The ****'s the matter with you? Twice now you've done this.
Old 04-25-2014, 08:45 AM
  #21  
Member
 
po0dingles's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: South Florida
Posts: 311
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Year: 1998
Model: Grand Cherokee
Engine: 5.2L
Default

Originally Posted by nwagtmustang
I also dont remember asking your opinion on what I should do and you made 2 posts telling me I should do. I never asked you nor care what you think about me putting in a new engine. I ignored your first post but since you made 2 posts telling me to get rid of it I felt the need to respond.
Originally Posted by Firestorm500
You post on a public forum, you're going to get opinions.

Whether you like them or not.

I guess you really are convinced that that oil flush just flushed $4500 from your wallet. It's all their fault.

Have fun with your $7000 Jeep.
Originally Posted by dave1123
The reason Wranglers cost so much is because they seem to last indefinitely, and when they break, they can be fixed pretty easily.

Nobody makes money investing in a vehicle unless you buy it, restore it with original parts, and store it indoors for 20 years. My '67 Camaro SS Special Edition cost me $3200 new. It had all the good stuff like a Muncie 4-speed, 12-bolt 4.10 positraction rear, rally suspension and an HO 350 engine. I saw one in a local car show take top honors with obvious mistakes. It had an RS grill and '68 tailights! The guy told me he paid $8000 for the car! I didn't have the heart to tell him what was wrong with the car. On one fender, I could even see where the side marker light hole had been filled. ('67s didn't have side marker lights)

If I spend $4000 on a vehicle, and I get 4 years out of it, I consider it a good investment. It I get more years out of it without spending more than $1000 a year to repair/maintain it, I'm good. But that's me.
I see where you guys are coming from. But how long do you guys believe a new motor would last?

I'm new to Jeeps but I'd assume the rebuilt engine would last another 170k - 200k+ miles. If this guy drives the vehicle for the next 10 years (as he's stated was his intention) then that $7,000 Jeep is only $700/year (assuming it doesn't need anything else--a big assumption i know). Of course if he continues to let cheap oil change places dictate what services he has done then that figure will be blown out of the water---along with his new motor LOL

Firestorm, knocking someone's $7,000 Jeep while other people drop large bills on lift kits, bumpers, winches, roof racks, etc is kind of hypocritical--don'tcha think?

Last edited by po0dingles; 04-25-2014 at 08:50 AM.
Old 04-25-2014, 09:41 AM
  #22  
Member
 
kikstand454's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: florida
Posts: 100
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Year: 1998
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0 I6
Default

Yes. It is hypocritical.

If you have a 5k budget for a vehicle and the one you have/love fails because of an engine..... then you are making a poor, poor decision buying a different car.

5k will get you someone else's headache and 100k+ miles.

Or it'll give YOU 100k+ miles in the vehicle you already know and love.

Like he said...... would you pay 7k for a vehicle exactly how you want it with 0 miles?

You're damn right you would.

You lose more than that driving a new one off the lot.
Old 04-25-2014, 10:34 AM
  #23  
CF Veteran
 
Firestorm500's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 4,734
Likes: 0
Received 11 Likes on 10 Posts
Year: 2015, 2012
Model: Grand Cherokee (WK2)
Engine: 3.6L
Default

The OP may already LOVE his Jeep, but it appears he hasn't had it long enough to KNOW his Jeep.

It's not just going to be his engine. There are all kinds of mechanical and electrical components on his vehicle, and most of them are probably all the same age. 170,000 miles and 16 years or so old. As I know all too well by experience, stuff can and does fail. Just sticking in a reman engine does not make everything else reset to 0 miles.

If you could economically make a vehicle last forever by only replacing a $4500 engine every once in a while, there would be no need for new car lots or even late-model used ones.

I've done it all ways--new, used, older used, restore classics, refurb/rebuild used, you name it.

One of my points being that the OP, and quite a few responders, seem to think that he would be trading a $2500 Jeep plus a $4500 engine for a whole new set of problems if he took the $7000 and bought something else. But when he bought this one, it already had an engine that was worn out at 170,000 miles. When he found this out, I still maintain that he could have immediately sold it for close to what he had in it (maybe) and took that money and his $4500 and gotten a newer vehicle with less miles for him and his family to enjoy. That vehicle would have been worth more, immediately, than his '98 (?) with a reman engine. What other problems may be lurking that he doesn't even know about yet? If you don't think there can be other problems, check this forum and the one on the XJ Cherokees sometime.

Oh, and will a reman engine last as long as a new original? I wouldn't think so. A reman engine has used components in it. Everything has a certain life expectancy and some of that has already been used up.

It's kind of like putting a $20,000 swimming pool in at your house. It will not make your house immediately, or ever, worth $20,000 more just because it now has a pool.

There are way too many nicer $7000 vehicles out there, Jeeps and others. He would have been starting out newer and with less miles. The less age components have on them, the longer the remaining life they should have. Sure, buying used is sometimes a crapshoot. Even buying new can be.

I was trying to give this guy some friendly, but realistic advice. I'm not trying to tell him how to spend his money. He already knows how to do that. Did he spend it wisely? Or will this thing eat him alive? Only time and miles will tell.

Last edited by Firestorm500; 04-25-2014 at 12:36 PM.
Old 04-25-2014, 12:54 PM
  #24  
CF Veteran
 
Firestorm500's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 4,734
Likes: 0
Received 11 Likes on 10 Posts
Year: 2015, 2012
Model: Grand Cherokee (WK2)
Engine: 3.6L
Default

Quote: "Firestorm, knocking someone's $7,000 Jeep while other people drop large bills on lift kits, bumpers, winches, roof racks, etc is kind of hypocritical--don'tcha think?"

No. All that stuff can be more or less easily moved to a newer vehicle of the same type if need be. All that stuff is visible and functional and adds value to the vehicle to some degree. Not as much as the original cost, of course. Or it could be sold used through classified ads and Craigslist.

Most everyone is missing the main point. In my opinion the OP is throwing good money after bad on his Jeep. For the same money he has decided to spend, he could have had a better Jeep for himself and his family. Once he found out the Jeep had a bad engine, in my opinion he should have cut his losses, walked away, and chalked it up to experience. The first loss is the cheapest.

I wish now I would have done that sometimes.

I was trying to save someone else from that.

Last edited by Firestorm500; 04-25-2014 at 02:43 PM.
Old 04-25-2014, 06:25 PM
  #25  
Senior Member
 
muffinman's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Johnson County, Kansas
Posts: 701
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Year: 1995
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0 HO
Default

As the owner of a 02 Overland with the 4.7 H.O. I am surprised no one commented on the 170,000 miles the OPs 4.7 had on it. I will be thrilled if mine holds together that long and it is very well maintained.
Old 04-25-2014, 07:30 PM
  #26  
CF Veteran
 
Firestorm500's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 4,734
Likes: 0
Received 11 Likes on 10 Posts
Year: 2015, 2012
Model: Grand Cherokee (WK2)
Engine: 3.6L
Default

I guess they're just not as tough as the 4.0. Although they started out as an AMC design, believe it or not.

There is a 2006 Grand Cherokee Laredo in my local paper for $3500 right now.

I'd call on it, but I have too many vehicles as it is now.

Last edited by Firestorm500; 04-25-2014 at 07:32 PM.
Old 04-25-2014, 08:18 PM
  #27  
Senior Member
 
CPLSeraphim's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 690
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Year: 1988
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0
Default

Keep on keeping on with your jeep. I did the same thing, except the engine blew a piston. It would have cost more to take to a shop, but it would be running now. lol. You are like me. I bought my 02 Grand Cherokee for 900 bucks. needed an engine. bought an engine (junk yard for 950). I didn't know enough, mainly because it is automatic, and messed it up. Probably gonna need a tranny pump replaced as well. my buddys shop can do that for around 1500, including going over the rest of the transmission. so, once it's done, I got a 3350 Jeep Grand for the wife, and looking back, I could have probably bought one for that, but I know this jeep will be a decent runner for a while.

Also, about the wranglers. Short Story, I had an 01 TJ, 6" susp, 3" body, 38" Super swampers, snorkel light bar, so much other crap. I owed about $5500 on it when I traded it in. Guess what They offered. $500. They said it needed a transmission, which is but, it worked well, and I just put a clutch and pressure plate in, which they also said needed replaced. Frankly, they wanted to rob me. Didn't help them when I pulled out receipts and records of maintenance.

Jeeps are pretty great, especially because they are all pretty customizable. For the owner.

Anyway, Best of luck with your Jeep. But, we are going to need a picture.
Old 04-25-2014, 08:21 PM
  #28  
Seasoned Member
 
Hayden98XJ's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 312
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Year: 1998
Model: Cherokee
Default

I have to disagree. If the OP has already put money into regular maintenance and happens to like his jeep how it is then why can't he just put in a new engine if he wants? Either way he's going to get plenty of life out of it. Properly maintained a reman can get at least 200,000 miles if it's from a decent company.
Old 04-26-2014, 01:24 AM
  #29  
CF Veteran
 
Firestorm500's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 4,734
Likes: 0
Received 11 Likes on 10 Posts
Year: 2015, 2012
Model: Grand Cherokee (WK2)
Engine: 3.6L
Default

In this case, the OP had just bought the Jeep without having it checked out by his mechanic.. It had a bad engine, but he didn't find out until he OKed Jiffy Lube to do a flush. The Jeep started smoking because the flush got rid of the crap holding the engine together. The OP blamed Jiffy Lube for his worn-out engine. He then elected to spend another $4500 for a reman engine.

Read post #25. A 4.7 owner doesn't expect his original engine to last 170K miles, even with proper maintenance. Read post #23 for comments on what a reman engine really has in it.

Last edited by Firestorm500; 04-26-2014 at 01:28 AM.
Old 04-26-2014, 10:33 AM
  #30  
Senior Member
 
muffinman's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Johnson County, Kansas
Posts: 701
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Year: 1995
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0 HO
Default

I am post # 25. I have no dog in this fight. If OP wants to spend his money on new engine that's cool with me. After all it is his money. The only thing I am saying is the 4.7 is a proven turd. You can find/buy WJs everywhere with blown 4.7s. Dodge trucks also. That wonderful d44hd also known as the 44a is a weak unreliable thing also, keep an eye on your bearings.If it's not whining with 170,00 on it and it probably is, it will be soon. You want to talk 545 rfe? If you can keep sensors and solenoid blocks in it you might keep it alive awhile longer. And finally the transfer case. The 247 is a major piece of crap. The VCs don't last very long. Mine is shooting craps at 125.000 miles despite changing the fluid with the mopar stuff every 24,000 miles. Right at 500 bucks for a replacement VC. I bought this with 850 miles on it. I know how it was maintained. Don't get me wrong when everything is working I love my WJ. But when it dies it will be good riddance. Forgot to mention high oil use and collapsing lifters,lol

Last edited by muffinman; 04-26-2014 at 11:25 AM. Reason: .


Quick Reply: New engine going in this week



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:40 AM.