Dark Days... :(

R

Rock2pus

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Malaga NJ
So, joy of joys, I took a ticket for a new job (working 6-10's!) last friday, building a new cogeneration plant not too far from me. Things went swimmingly monday, with orientation and whatnot. Things got a little rougher on tuesday with us being right in the teeth of the storm, 13" plus of snow, then, the temperature drop. Wednesday I didnt have to go in, as it is a 100% outdoor job and they needed time to clear the site of snow.
And then, this morning.
I should have known better when my heater blew nothing but cold air those first couple miles, but the temp. guage was reading right on the money, and I wrongly assumed it was just a case of the thermostat not opening yet on account of it being 2 degrees ambient when I left. 3 miles up the highway and nowhere to exit, the guage suddenly pegged and the knocking started. The curse of the 0331 head. By the time i got off the highway it was knocking like a pig so I shut it down. Had to wait to cool down, restart, and go a couple more miles, repeated twice before i got back home, all the while freezing inside.
Oil in the o-flow bottle, now it wont even turn over...I'm considering a part out or sale/trade. There is a certain 2wd Comanche in Conn. I have my eye on just buying and driving. Any feedback is appreciated.
Rich
 
If you can find a way to get it down there, I can keep my eye out for a good motor up here. There are 6 XJs in the yard as of last week and I believe one of them was a crashed 01.
 
That sucks. I would swap a motor in. You know the rest of the jeep is good. And is setup the way you like. Hell pull the motor out of the green one while its being built. And just replace that one later when its done.
 
chedisme said:
That sucks. I would swap a motor in. You know the rest of the jeep is good. And is setup the way you like. Hell pull the motor out of the green one while its being built. And just replace that one later when its done.
Click to expand...

X2... And I bet you could get a few local yokels looking for an excuse to tinker with something and BS to help you out too...
 
Sorry for your loss.

put me in the 'put a motor in' camp. 98 4.0 with 98 wiring, ignition, pcm, and exhaust manifold. You can avoid dealing with the 01's o2 sensors, the 0331 head, and bolt on an exhaust manifold that matches the ports on the head. Might be issues bolting up to the downpipe...?

Or I have a head from my 01 you can have...?
 
this aint the one on 33's you had at rocktoberfest? regardless the NAC is a tight nit family, im sure we can get the motor and peaple to help you out
 
Wilsmick who is on this site sells the adapter plate to get non 0331 head to line up with the exhaust manifolds, that way you're not just waiting for this to happen again....then just make coil mounts and you're golden
 
yes, i do have a fresh (less than 6kmil) longblock sitting here from my 98, but im unsure of any unforeseen issues dropping it into the 01. Id do it in a heartbeat if I could be sure everything's going to line up...last thing i want right now is more headaches.
Rich
 
Everything lines up except making coil pack mounts and the exhaust ports, a few write ups on every jeep forum
 
The weirdness continues...
Just for kicks, I tried to crank it over again last night..it started.
Got home from work today and let it idle for an hour while I shoveled yet more snow from the driveway...it idles and revs super-quiet, so, no internal issues, I suppose. I still suspect a cracked head overpressurized the cooling system, and the antifreeze is suddenly a foul brown color, and the heater blows cold air still...
I feel better not having to swap a motor out, heres the plan:
1. drain and flush the cooling system completely.
2. replace the head with one of those "Alabama" heavy-duty heads Quadratec sells.
3. replace the thermostat. (water pump is a Flowkooler, so I think thats ok)

what's the opinion on that? think im on the right track?
Rich
 
How's the oil look?

If the oil is still clean and doesn't have any coolant contamination, go for it. Maybe slap some new bearings in and plastigauge em if you are feeling froggy.

If the oil has a bunch of sludge in it... new engine. Or pull it and rebuild it completely. Coolant loves bearings, but it sure aint mutual.

As for putting an earlier motor in, there are a few options.
Earlier motor, that adapter plate Adam mentioned, adapt the coil pack mounting or put a Viper 6 stud coil pack in it like Talyn did.

Earlier motor, throw a new 0331 head casting or a TUPY 0331 on it.

Earlier motor, throw in an earlier wiring harness and modify your exhaust to match up with the old style manifold. Lose the precats, lose the extra O2 sensors, back to 97-99 style, the only thing I'm not 100% on is if the 00-01 dash harness will plug right into the 99-down engine bay harness or not. I've offered to help Anthony with his if he needs it, we'll go through the FSM pinout for the two connectors and repin things and document it.

Earlier motor, 00 Federal emissions ECU, 99 down header, adapt to 00+ exhaust system.

This all assumes your emissions testing won't check if the ECU is from the proper model year vehicle. I don't know if JTEC ECUs even report that.
 
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