97 TJ engine replacement

[Foxgluv]

Taking inspiration from https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/4-0-rebuild-or-scrapyard.81775/ we're thinking about putting a re-manufactured engine in my daughter's stock 1997 TJ 4.0L 5 spd. It has over 200k, valve issues (intake and exhaust on cyl 5), oil leak and coolant leak. She goes camping occasionally, but no serious off-roading. It's mostly used for her daily driving vehicle. Originally we were just going to do a valve job, but given the mileage and that she didn't replace the oil for 1+ years, we're considering swapping out the engine. Before diving into it I thought I would ask this forum for advice on the engine and anything else we should consider doing while we have it apart. Also, she lives in CA, so no rust or body damage and it is in good shape outside the engine. Is it worth the effort?

Would appreciate any advice on brands for the components, especially the engine re-manufacture company. We're looking at S&J Engines since they are semi-local (we're doing the work in Oregon), but have seen mention of Jasper, Titan, etc. on these forums. The engine they have in stock is a 1998 Grand Cherokee 4.0L, which according to other forum posts should work and I'm assuming no special bracket needed. We're only planning on adding the Balance Rotating Assembly unless anyone has a strong argument to add more.

Here's our current parts list:

1. 4.0L engine
2. Clutch kit
3. Radiator Hoses
4. Belts
5. Fuel Pump
6. Water Pump
7. Thermostat
8. Filters: Oil, Fuel, and Air Filters
9. Rotor & Distributor Cap
10. Spark Plugs and wires
11. PCV Valve

Items we're considering based on comments in the forums and YouTube, but was wondering if any of the following were required or just a good idea while everything is apart:

1. Timing Chain tensioner
2. Fly Wheel
3. Harmonic balancer
4. Engine mounts & bolts
5. O2 sensor (NGK / NTK)
6. CAM synchronizer
7. Fan Clutch
8. Temp sensor
9. Oil pressure switch
10. Crank position sensor
11. Exhaust manifold
12. ARP Fasteners

I've worked on cars in the past as a hobby, but never did anything this major on a car (swapped a motorcycle engine but they are a lot easier to work on), so any general recommendations would be appreciated!!

 

[KennethS]

Mechanical Fuel Pump

Am I missing something? Mine is a 98 and has an electric pump in the tank.

 

[Foxgluv]

Am I missing something? Mine is a 98 and has an electric pump in the tank.

My bad, it should have said Electric. I fixed it in the post.

 

[Bammo68]

Foxglov here is my $0.02c worth having just finished rebuilding an '02 TJ block and installing it into my '99 TJ. Here are my takeaways:

1. I did it myself (everything except honing / decking the block and head - went to a machine shop for that) despite never really tackling anything bigger than minor maintenance before. The cost I saved allowed me to buy the few tools I needed like an engine crane and stand and I still came out in front plus it was a ton of fun and easier than you might think.

2. Not all engine blocks are created the same. The '97/98 blocks are slightly different to the '99 block and different again to the 00-06 blocks. Whilst the main engine tie down points etc are the same its the mounting bosses for accessories that vary and from what I have seen the differences between XJ and TJ accessories are not 1:1 - in other words they moved accessories around on the two engine lines at different times. So you need to research really carefully unless you are comfortable modifying the block to mount the original 97 accessory brackets you have.

3. I have a separate thread about the engine block mods to do this, it wasn't that big a deal so dont be scared of it.

4. I ordered mostly Enginetech parts for my build - some I bought from Rock Auto, some from Enginetech direct and some from Summit Racing.

5. A quality camshaft is a must and breaking it in properly is critical.

I know you are probably going to say that you don't have the skills or time to do the build yourself (I was the same initially) but in the end it cost me about AUD$2500 (US$1500) including the donor block and took about a month to do and was extremely fun and not as hard as I thought. You do spend a lot of time watching YouTube videos though

 

[Rickyd]

Basically if the accessories are the same it will work. I have a 96 zj block built into a stroker in my 97. You can also look into block casting numbers that interchange.

Thread '4.0 Cylinder Block Interchangeability'

Dec 27, 2018

@UPJOHN recently ran into an issue thinking that a 2001 Cherokee XJ 4.0 would be a direct swap into his son's TJ. He ran into a number of issues as outlined in this thread: XJ 4.0 into TJ: Hardest engine swap ever. Because of that thread, I wanted to make a FAQ resource out of this topic, since it may help others in the future.


So which 4.0 blocks will interchange, and which ones won't?
Here is some information on 4.0 cylinder block interchangeability:

• XJ and ZJ Grand Cherokee 4.0 engine blocks interchange.
• 2000+ Wrangler TJ and WJ Grand Cherokee 4.0...

• Chris
• Replies: 28
• Forum: TJ Resources

• 

 

[Foxgluv]

Thanks Bammo68 for the info! I checked out your thread on converting a block, very impressive work! More than I'd like to take on right now, but it's great motivation in case I need to.

Thanks Rickyd for the 4.0 blocks interchange thread. Looks like I should be fine w/ the '98 Grand Cherokee engine.

 

[R-Mac]

I was looking for a kit with the following when I came across this thread. I just received a full reman from Frasier Engines for my 97 4.0l. I got the upgraded build and believe I will be very happy with it and Frasier. I just pulled the front off yesterday to start the project. As for the items below I was told that Rock Auto had this all in one kit but cannot find it on their sire (which is not user friendly IMO). Is there a Kit that has this somewhere or will I need to start ordering one piece by piece? Thanks!

1. Clutch kit
2. Radiator Hoses
3. Belts
4. Fuel Pump
5. Water Pump
6. Thermostat
7. Filters: Oil, Fuel, and Air Filters
8. Rotor & Distributor Cap
9. Spark Plugs and wires
10. PCV Valve

 

[Foxgluv]

I was looking for a kit with the following when I came across this thread. I just received a full reman from Frasier Engines for my 97 4.0l. I got the upgraded build and believe I will be very happy with it and Frasier. I just pulled the front off yesterday to start the project. As for the items below I was told that Rock Auto had this all in one kit but cannot find it on their sire (which is not user friendly IMO). Is there a Kit that has this somewhere or will I need to start ordering one piece by piece? Thanks!

1. Clutch kit
2. Radiator Hoses
3. Belts
4. Fuel Pump
5. Water Pump
6. Thermostat
7. Filters: Oil, Fuel, and Air Filters
8. Rotor & Distributor Cap
9. Spark Plugs and wires
10. PCV Valve

I did not see any kits, but I found the site easy to use after spending a couple minutes looking around. Once you set up your car, they give you an option to just look at parts for that car. The link I start with for a '97 Jeep Wrangler is: http://rockauto.com/en/catalog/jeep,1997,wrangler (then select your engine)

Then the items you want are in the following sections:

1. Belt Drive -> Belts
2. Cooling System ->
   1. Radiator Hoses
   2. Thermostat
   3. Water Pump
3. Engine ->
   1. Oil Filter
4. Exhaust -> PCV Valve
5. Fuel & Air ->
   1. Air Filter
   2. Fuel Filter
   3. Fuel Pump
6. Ignition ->
   1. Rotor & Distributor Cap
   2. Spark Plugs and wires
7. Transmission-Manual -> Clutch kit

Good luck and have fun with your project!!

@R-Mac - I'm a little slow today and just now realized you cut-paste my prior list. I have a full list with all the parts numbers I used if that would be helpful.

Edit: Added a comment for R-MAC at the end...

 

[R-Mac]

Foxgluv that would be super helpful as I am not sure the parts I selected are the best ones. Also don't want to be wasting $$!

 

[BathiasRei]

I've worked on cars in the past as a hobby, but never did anything this major on a car (swapped a motorcycle engine but they are a lot easier to work on), so any general recommendations would be appreciated!!

Glad the thread is insightful! I think swapping the 4.0L is pretty straight forward and do-able as a first swap if you're doing the work.

I think in terms of parts, I got away with not replacing a lot but it mostly comes down to how much you're willing to spend for peace of mind. I reused most of the parts you're considering in your second list besides a new flywheel and an exhaust manifold (only because mine was cracked) but I was on a tight budget.

If I could do it again, I would likely invest in a new oil pump and ARP fasteners for peace of mind and I wish I did a better job at doing the RMS since mine seems to be leaking a little despite replacing it... I would also take the time to flush your heater core while everything is out of the way and you have the coolant out regardless

I'd also note that if you're doing the swap yourself, the biggest PIAs for me were the top inverted torx bolts at the top of the bell housing (I rounded one like an idiot), trying to time the distributor after putting the accessories back on, and getting the engine to line back up with the transmission with a cheap cherry picker.

 

[Foxgluv]

@R-Mac - sorry about the delayed reply - below is the full list of parts I used for the engine swap. I had a remanufactured engine so it came with a new oil pump and gasket kit. I also reused my radiator since it was fairly new.

@BathiasRei - Great advice! I already completed the swap and it was very straight forward. Only issue (other than those torx bolts) was I didn't notice the thermostat housing cracked and had to troubleshoot it. (Mopar Parts Giant sold me the defective part and wouldn't refund it without a note from a local mechanic - I won't be buying from them again!)

Parts list for a '97 4.0L manual Wrangler engine swap. The remanufactured engine was a '96, so there was an extra part needed (an engine plug). While I tried to get the best parts available I had to do with what was available:

For reference: Cooling System, AUTOLITE XP985

Parts:	Part Number:
Belt Drive:
Belt	ACDELCO 6K790 (No A/C version)​
Cooling System:
Coolant / Antifreeze (10.5 Quarts)	VALVOLINE ZXG051
Radiator Manual	MOPAR 55037652AA - if you can find one
Radiator Automatic	MOPAR 55037653AB - if you can find one
Radiator Fan Clutch: 68065080AA	HAYDEN 2737
Radiator Hose Lower: 52079670AA	GATES 22900
Radiator Hose Upper: 52028264AB	GATES 23183
Thermostat	MOPAR 52028186AC
Waterpump	MOPAR 68382489AA
Engine:
Gasket Kit	Came with remanufactured engine​
Harmonic Balancer	MOPAR 33002920AC
Motor Mount (Left & Right)	"Bomb Proof"
Oil Drain Plug	DORMAN 090058
Oil Filter	MOPAR 5281090AB - lots of other options - get what you like​
Oil Pump	Came with remanufactured engine​
RMS	Came with remanufactured engine​
Exhaust & Emission:
Exhaust Manifold Hardware	FEL-PRO ES75116 - Optional, but nice to have new parts for this​
Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV)	MOPAR 53030495
PCV Grommet	SMP GV31
Fuel & Air:
Air Filter	WIX 46081
Ignition:
Distributor Cap	MOPAR 56026876
Distributor Rotor	MOPAR 56027019
Ignition Coil	SMP UF97
Spark Plug	AUTOLITE XP985
Spark Plug Wire	MOPAR 83507178
Transmission-Manual:
Clutch kit	LUK 05065
Clutch Release Bearing	SACHS 3151600567 - Not needed since one is included in the LUK kit, but I like this one better.​
Clutch Pilot Bearing	SKF FC69907 - Not needed if you can pull the old one out, but it's a lot easier to just buy a new one.​
Flywheel	LUK LFW193
Flywheel Bolt	ARP 1462801
Extra:
1/8" NPT Engine head plug	Needed since new engine was a '96​

Edits: Had to refill the table since many fields dropped out when posting.