4.6L "Modified Poor man's" stroker

[Radioactivexj]

This is going to be my attempt at building a stroker. I was handed down a 1998 Jeep Cherokee from my Dad who blew it up with around 185,000 on the clock. We then decided more power sounded pretty fun since we were gonna be tearing the engine apart anyways. We'll be building it in between his work and my summer football schedule. The testing and work on the block will be done at a local machine shop owned and worked by one guy. We're hoping to have it in and running before school starts back so I can drive (fingers crossed). Just wanted to have a thread where I can get advice along the way. Here is the planned parts list....

258 crank- $200
Keith Black pistons .020 over $360
Accel 24lb hr injectors $220
Clevite main and rod bearings $96
clevite cam bearings $36
perfect circle piston rings kit $80
Melling high volume oil pump $87
Crower solid lifters $120
Flowkooler high flow water pump $111
Brown dog motor mounts $115
Victor reinz lower gasket set $40
victor reinz upper gasket set $50

Heres us pulling it out.

The block on an engine stand ready to disassemble...

And of course the head

[Radioactivexj]

Didn't have to work out today so we got a little bit done. Also added a timing cover and crank pulley to the list of things to replace To heck with buying/renting a puller...

[Radioactivexj]

Well after taking everything apart we wanted to figure out what went wrong that caused it to blow. The day it blew it was winter and around 20 degrees outside he had been driving for about 30 minutes and saw it overheating but figured he could make it home so he gave it some gas and the engine felt gutless and started squeeking loudly then the engine shut off and wouldn't turn back over. So enough backstory... looking at the pistons I saw some damage. Their was only damage to 1,2,3, and 4. Pistons 5 and 6 appeared to have worn evenly.
Piston 1



Piston 2





Piston 3





Piston 4

[Radioactivexj]

Now that I somewhat know what major parts I need to buy i'm trying to figure out what parts I can reuse (of course depending on how worn they are). But which are recommended just for longevity of the engine? I was thinking of using the stock camshaft but since i'd like for this engine to last as long as possible would it be fine to go with the Melling MC1376 and the stock valve springs? But what else should I look at replacing? I was already thinking new oil pump and lifters. Also from anyones experience is it worth letting your machine shop buy your parts or is it better to try and hunt down deals on parts yourself?

[honkysXJ]

I would definitely get your cylinders checked before ordering your pistons #s 2@3 look pretty bad in the pictures mine didn't even look that bad and it took a .30 overbore to clean up . As for letting the shop source your parts it shouldn't be an issue if you trust them they may even be able to get some of it cheaper, I sourced mine so I'd know exactly what I was getting also so I could buy it as my wallet allowed!

[dwg86]

Learn from others findings. When you install the oil pump make sure it sits flat agianst the block. There have been some clearance issues. Check silverxj's post on it.

[Radioactivexj]

Well upon further inspection we found out that our block is no longer usable. I dont know how we missed this when we disassembled it.

[SilverXJ]

Your block is fine. That is normal.

[Radioactivexj]

Your saying that is how they came? It looks like its been chipped at.

[SilverXJ]

LOL.. yes. Its an oil drain back. It does look broke, but that is how they did it.

[Radioactivexj]

Well we had a local machinist come over and pick up the block, head, and misc. parts. He said he'd take a look at the condition of it and work on any changes that need made to the parts list. He said that he could order the parts and recieve them in one big shipment to save on shipping. Any thoughts?

[Radioactivexj]

I forgot to mention that he quoted us $700 to do the machine work and assembly (Not including the price of parts). Which I assume is about usual pricewise. Should I ask him to port and polish the head or should I just get the DIY port kit and another cylinder head and get to work?

[honkysXJ]

As long as you trust them/him I don't see any issues having them source the parts,especially if you can save some money. Shipping and handling fees add up quick!
For the machine work $700 don't sound bad I'm right between $5-600 for bore & hone recondition rods press pistons deck the block and assemble short block
FYI my block has that big hole thats looks like a gunshot too ,I was worried at first as well but apparently it's supposed to be there

[Radioactivexj]

Well we learned today from the machinist that as he was leveling the head he ran into a crack and told us the head was done for. So whats the best way to go junkyard head or order one? I've heard bad things about some ebay heads. Should I get another 0630 head? I dont have $1100 for an aluminum one. The guy also said that he didn't do cylinder head porting but he knows someone who does and would do it for around $100.

[honkysXJ]

You could get a remanufactured head from advance for 3-400$ w warranty, if you go the junkyard route you'd still want to get it hot tanked and magnafluxed and possibly find that ones cracked too! I was in the same position about a year ago and I went the re-manned route and no complaints.
You'll be fine getting another 0630