2000 cherokee needs new engine: Remanufactured vs used

[crackers8199]

2000 cherokee, about 128000 miles



so, here's my story...driving down the road, a wheel breaks off a pick-up going the other direction and smacks my cherokee right in the middle of the front bumper. punctures the radiator and all the anti-freeze leaks out. car is towed to garage and sits for a while...insurance fixing under comprehensive coverage.



friday they called me and said they had it done, but on their test drive it broke down and had to be towed back. crank sensor had been broken and needed replaced...which they did.



so tuesday, i picked it up. now, it was VERY cold today here...only a high of around 25 (if that) and probably around 20 or a little lower when i picked it up...i start it up, and i've got my check gauges light on and the oil pressure gauge at zero. i start driving it a bit, thinking it'll jump when it warms up, and call the dealer to let them know.



i stop at the grocery store a few miles down the road...the jeep is at operating temp by this point. turn the jeep off, then back on. as i'm turning the key, the dealer calls me back...and amazingly, the oil pressure gauge is now up in normal range and the light is off. i tell him i'll keep an eye on it and call back tomorrow if i have any issues. did my shopping and came back out, and the oil pressure still is fine. so, i drive home and park in front of my house, because i didn't have my garage door opener.



Later that night i remembered that i needed to put the car in the garage...so i go out and turn it on - no oil pressure, light on, and knocking pretty badly. drove it around the block, put it in the garage and turned it off. at this time, the temperature outside my house is down to 10 degrees.



Took it back to the dealer yesterday morning. dealer and insurance both called me today, needs a new engine. insurance will pay for them to put a used engine in (they found one with 92k miles), or i can pay the difference (about $1000) and have a remanufactured engine installed.



anyone have any thoughts on which way i should go?

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[Joliet Johnny]

Ive seen a remanufactured engine show up as junk (Jasper) and Ive seen junkyard motors that ran like new. If it was me Id try to get a check and do it myself or I would have them install the junkyard motor and see about buying the core ($300 here)

[bluedragon436]

^^ I have seen similar instances over the years.. it is kind of hit or miss.. I would find out if that engine they found with the mileage has any sort of warranty on it..

[uberxj92]

wish you lived here in central florida. family owns a machine shop we rebuild engines. in the process of building 3 4.0L strokers now. should be 4.6 or 4.7 when done. rebuilds here are the best way to go for the money. but reman's are extremely hit or miss.

[bluedragon436]

wish you lived here in central florida. family owns a machine shop we rebuild engines. in the process of building 3 4.0L strokers now. should be 4.6 or 4.7 when done. rebuilds here are the best way to go for the money. but reman's are extremely hit or miss.

Shoot I wish I lived there right now... would love to find a shop that knew their stuff like that.. Hmmmm.. field trip!!

[crackers8199]

According to the dealer off the top of his head neither had a warranty more than 30 or 60 days

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[Joliet Johnny]

30 days being worst case. Id pay someone to do a leak test and compression test once the job was done.

[crackers8199]

Way beyond my skills to do it myself...that's why I'm torn. I've had friends advise me both ways...

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[OrangeXJ]

I'd find a place in your area that sells re-man engines with a warrenty. There is a shop in Houston where I have got 2 engines 1 for my son's XJ and one for my TJ they come with a 3 year 35,000 warenty for $1095.00 each.

[msmoorenburg]

I'd go with the junkyard engine, its all on their nickel and be a scrooge about any funny noise.

[LizardRunner]

I have to agree with Matt, go the junkyard engine and immediately go back for any noises other than normal ones.

[xj9]

Which did you decide to go with? any updates?

[crackers8199]

I ended up going with the used engine...I should have the jeep back later this week.

I will keep everyone here posted once I get it back...

[crackers8199]

Just got it back and already issues...at idle it has a pretty heavy vibration. Feels like the jeep is trying to lurch forward...

Should I be concerned and take it back? Or does it just need to run a bit first?

[crackers8199]

...aaaaaaaaand the check engine light is on. Awesome.

[Mudderoy]

...aaaaaaaaand the check engine light is on. Awesome.

Actually that is good news, they can clearly see there is a problem and run a scanner on it to get the code. I would stop by an autoparts place and get the code myself first though. ;)

[crackers8199]

Actually I just remembered that I bought a Bluetooth obd2 scanner when I bought my new car in august.. just scanned it myself. Here's the result...

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/48900802/Screenshot_2012-01-24-21-46-46.png

http://db.tt/qAgHBNiS

[4.3LXJ]

That pretty much narrows it down to a plug, plug wire or injector on #5. Check the easy stuff first. Pull the plug wire and turn over the engine a couple of times with a screw driver in the end next to a ground to see if you can get a spark

[crackers8199]

Well I dropped it back at the shop since they should have to fix it...

Would something like that be causing my vibrations at idle too?

[crackers8199]

Got an update from the shop...its a misfire (we already knew that) but its only misfiring at idle. They are still working on figuring out why...

[bluedragon436]

Wow.. glad they took a few days to tell you what you already knew, and figured out in minutes of hooking up a scanner.. LOL..

That is a pretty nice scanner screen.. is that an app/kit for the Droid phone??

[crackers8199]

That is a pretty nice scanner screen.. is that an app/kit for the Droid phone??

Yep, the app is torque. Connects to a Bluetooth obd2 scanner...

The scanner cost me about $25, the paid version of torque is around $5.

https://market.android.com/details?id=org.prowl.torque

There is a free version too though...

Btw they actually told me that the day I dropped it off lol, just took me a few days to remember to update the forum. I was planning to update when I got it back, but I don't have it back yet so I figured I'd post now instead. :)

[Cheromaniac]

That pretty much narrows it down to a plug, plug wire or injector on #5.

Don't forget the coil as a potential culprit. The 2000 models have DIS with individual coils for each cylinder.

[crackers8199]

Update: the used engine they put in had a cracked cylinder head. They ordered another engine, it should be there today.

What a nightmare this has turned into...

[4.3LXJ]

Tough break. That is the thing about used engines. You never really know. When I got my 4.3 I ended up replacing the injectors and doing a valve job and rebuilding the trans I got with it. That is why I prefer to rebuild my own stuff, that way I know what is there.

[crackers8199]

Yeah...the problem is that I don't have the knowledge nor the time to do it myself. :(

[crackers8199]

okay, got it back again this morning and it seems to be running great. so far, so good...

except that there's a minor whistle / chirping noise every second or so, seemed to be coming from the serpentine belt when i opened the hood. slow chirp at idle, gets faster when the engine is revved. should i be worried about it or is it likely nothing? anything i should check on myself?

[4.3LXJ]

Check the belt tension

[Mudderoy]

okay, got it back again this morning and it seems to be running great. so far, so good...

except that there's a minor whistle / chirping noise every second or so, seemed to be coming from the serpentine belt when i opened the hood. slow chirp at idle, gets faster when the engine is revved. should i be worried about it or is it likely nothing? anything i should check on myself?

You can spray the belt with WD40, or belt squeak spray. If the chirp goes away then you may just need to tighten it.

[crackers8199]

I'll see if I can find anything tonight...but when I got to work this morning the noise seemed to have gone away (once the jeep was good and warm).

[crackers8199]

Is it normal for the 4.0 to have a slight vibration at idle? While the whistle seems to have subsided once the jeep warms up, its also slightly vibrating at idle again. Nothing anywhere near what the last one did, and not really noticeable if I turn the radio up even slightly, but its still there...

[crackers8199]

Ive also got a tapping sound coming from the engine area for 15-60 seconds after I turn the engine off.

[Mudderoy]

Ive also got a tapping sound coming from the engine area for 15-60 seconds after I turn the engine off.

I've heard popping noises after turning off the engine, but that usually during the summer and before I put the new radiator in. In other words the engine was getting hotter than normal. Popping noise seemed to be the metal, probably the exhaust manifold cooling off.

[Cheromaniac]

You can spray the belt with WD40

Oh no. Don't use WD40. That'll make the belt slip. Use belt dressing. That stuff becomes tacky so if the belt is slack and slipping on any pulleys causing a chirp, the belt dressing will stop it (albeit temporarily).