Grand or Cherokee: pros and cons

[mbryson]

I'm to the part of removing the old engine from the Cherokee. I've got the tranny unbolted (it's a manual)... is it going to be hard to get the engine out without pulling the tranny first? I had to unbolt the rear crossmember in order to get to the upper bolts of the bellhousing. But now, it looks like I will have to unbolt the mounts from the frame in order to pull the engine far enough forward to clear the input shaft, unless I can lift the engine enough to clear them.

If anyone has tried this before and has some advice, I'd appreciate it. I'm trying to avoid pulling the tranny and transfer case.

Every engine I've ever unbolted (no experience with 4.0L) has been able to come out without pulling the trans. I believe you'll bring the pressure plate with the motor, but don't know why you couldn't pull the motor and leave the trans in there. You will have to pull the motor forward enough to clear the bellhousing, though.

It MAY be easier to bring the trans?

 

[Tacoma]

I would just unbolt it. Save yourself a LOT of trouble, mostly with trying to tilt the motor as much as you have to. You could always pull the front clip..... not that bad on older trucks, uncertain about XJ's.

I hope you were very, very careful with the pressure washing around the sensors and everything.....

 

[dungbeetle]

I managed to get the engine out without pulling the transmission with it. The problem with the motor mounts was easier than I thought because the Cherokee has two more bolt than the Grand Cherokee which allow the rubber engine mount to be removed from the frame mount. Otherwise, they might have been problematic in getting the engine separated from the transmission.

I made one screwup... I disconnected the crankshaft sensor from the wiring harness, but neglected to pull it out of the hole that it mounts in. When I pulled the engine, I broke the wiring of the sensor. That'll cost me about 90 bucks. Oh well... C'est la Vie.

There was one other interesting discovery. This is the cold air intake that came on the Cherokee:

This is the throttle at the front of the intake manifold. The shiny part is where I rubbed the sand and grit away with my finger.

Can you say "mexican bore job"?

 

[I Lean]

...or is it dirt that got through the filter? (I've had similar results with oiled-cotton filters)

 

[dungbeetle]

...or is it dirt that got through the filter? (I've had similar results with oiled-cotton filters)

That's what I think it is. The XJ is running now, and one of the first items on my agenda is to find a stock paper filter airbox.

 

[dungbeetle]

The resurrection of the XJ is complete now. The conversion of the ZJ engine to work in an XJ wasn't trivial... I had to swap over all of the mounting brackets for the alternator, A/C pump, and the power steering pump. I even had to change the water pump as the ZJ style pump was designed to have a fan attached to it while the XJ has the fan mounted more to the passenger side of the car. Getting the engine reconnected to the transmission bell housing wasn't as difficult as I thought it might be. Although once the transmission was reconnected to the engine, it was necessary to unbolt the rear crossmember so that the rear of the transmission could come down as far as possible. This allowed sufficient access to reinstall the top two bolts of the bell housing.

I've only driven the XJ about 20 miles so far, but the lack of room in the driver's seat is very apparent in comparison to the ZJ. The legroom is cramped enough that I might relocate the seat.

 

[dungbeetle]

oh...and D 35

Are you sure? Somebody told me that if it has a rubber plug in the housing, then it is a Chrysler 8.25. But, I have no idea if he is any authority on the subject. To me, it looks like mine has a rubber plug.

 

[I Lean]

Chrysler 8.25 has a rubber fill plug, but so does a D35. That one is clearly a D35.