regular rebuild or stroker???

[tom9193]

i am new to this forum this is my first post i have a '99 xj limited my baby is getting up there in miles and i have the magical disapearing anit freeze and im thinking my cylinder head may be shot still need to get that checked ive done what i can ... if i need that much work done i was thinking about a engine rebuild and was wondering if a normal rebuild would be best or i have been reading up on stroker engines and they sound sweet and i would love to get my engine stroked but im still not sure if its right for me ....i do not do any kind of wheeling my xj is a daily driver i would like to keep using 87 octane fuel or 89 if really neccesary. i want the best for my cherokee performance/m.p.g.'s/longevity/legernadry 4.0 dependablity.. i have all the usual upgrades 63mm T/B , flowmaster super 40 , 2 1/5 inch exhaust pipes , hi performance cat , msd ignition coil , header, neon 784 injectors , k&n fipk air intake , 235/75/15 goodyear duratrac's everything thing else is stock... i am good with my hands but far from a mechanic i do not understand compression,ration's,quench etc. etc . and do to the lack of tools or a garage i am very limited in what i can do to my xj...i am getting a 3 inch lift , the biggest tires i would ever get is 32's no armour or bumpers to add extra weight .. i guess my question is can someone just dumb it down for me and tell me what parts/sizes , i need excatly?

[rammit11]

Hi, on your disappearing antifreeze I would look at the freeze plugs under the manifold. I found I was having the same thing happening to my 98 and found one leaking while removing the engine to install my 4.6. I will say this as far as building a stroker , take your time and do your homework. I will also say that finding a good competent shop to do your machining is a very important step. The members on this site a great when it comes to answering questions as well. Good luck on your choice.

[Cheromaniac]

i am new to this forum this is my first post i have a '99 xj limited my baby is getting up there in miles and i have the magical disapearing anit freeze and im thinking my cylinder head may be shot still need to get that checked

Unless your engine is consuming oil, making funny noises, has a power loss, or has a low oil pressure, it'll still be in good health even with a high mileage.
The '99 and earlier 4.0 isn't known for cylinder head problems so I'd say your coolant leak is more likely to be from either a freeze plug, hose, heater core, water pump, and the likeliest of all, the radiator. If you aren't seeing any white smoke coming from the tailpipe when the engine's warm, and there's no white emulsion on the inside of the oil filler cap, your head gasket and head are OK.
Since you're going to do a 3" lift and add 32's, you could consider increasing the torque multiplication to the wheels with 4.56 axle gears (if you have the AW4).

[knever3]

You can buy a pressure tester or have some place like Belle Tire pressure test it for you. They remove the radiator cap and pressurize the system to around 16psi or whatever the cap is rated for. They will also pressurize your cap to see if it's bad. This way they can see if the pressure drops on the gauge and can locate the leak when the truck is cold instead of warming it up to get the pressure up.

[SilverXJ]

Depending where you are you can rent a pressure tester from advance auto or autozone or oriellys. I would look for external leaks first. Also, consider the freeze plug on the rear of the head and the one on the back of the block covered by the transmission. How many miles on your XJ?

[tom9193]

ok so i finally!!! had a chance to take my '99 xj to the mechanic last week for him to do the pressure test and they come up with nothing , my systems pressure was fine but yet i still have disappearing coolant .....i did notice the other day i got home from work and i got out and walked around the front and i could smell coolant...my mechanic wants to use dye... any ideas what it could be??

[tom9193]

Depending where you are you can rent a pressure tester from advance auto or autozone or oriellys. I would look for external leaks first. Also, consider the freeze plug on the rear of the head and the one on the back of the block covered by the transmission. How many miles on your XJ?

i have 122k

[tom9193]

i am new to this forum this is my first post i have a '99 xj limited my baby is getting up there in miles and i have the magical disapearing anit freeze and im thinking my cylinder head may be shot still need to get that checked

Unless your engine is consuming oil, making funny noises, has a power loss, or has a low oil pressure, it'll still be in good health even with a high mileage.
The '99 and earlier 4.0 isn't known for cylinder head problems so Id say your coolant leak is more likely to be from either a freeze plug, hose, heater core, water pump, and the likeliest of all, the radiator. If you aren't seeing any white smoke coming from the tailpipe when the engine's warm, and there's no white emulsion on the inside of the oil filler cap, your head gasket and head are OK.
Since you're going to do a 3" lift and add 32's, you could consider increasing the torque multiplication to the wheels with 4.56 axle gears (if you have the AW4).

if it is either a freeze plug, hose, heater core, water pump, and the likeliest of all, the radiator what are the signs,clues,tell tail hints that one of these are the culprits?

[MoFo]

Antifreeze on the garage floor under the vehicle, with either the bottom of the radiator wet, or a trail of AF up the side of the block to the leak..

[DaemonForce]

'99 xj limited

This looks ideal. You won't have to crawl the ends of the Earth looking for better parts.

i have the magical disapearing anit freeze and im thinking my cylinder head may be shot

New head gasket?

if i need that much work done i was thinking about a engine rebuild and was wondering if a normal rebuild would be best or i have been reading up on stroker engines and they sound sweet and i would love to get my engine stroked but im still not sure if its right for me

Concerning the swap type, you have two donor options: A 232 crank or a 258 crank. The snout causes a minor complication with your serpentine belt arrangement in either case but if you pick the 258 crank then you'll almost certainly have to pull the whole engine apart just to change out the rods. The stock connecting rod length is simply too long to do a quick swap and considering high miles on an engine makes me weary of doing any of this without inspecting the cylinder walls. You'll probably have a nasty ridge up top of each cylinder wall that needs reaming and light honing(or in worst case, serious boring). I avoid this when possible since I suffer from the daily driver situation on top of perpetual poverty but when it needs to be done my advice is to get it in and out of the shop as quickly as possible. You don't have time to be screwing around hunting parts while your main vehicle sits for several weeks or you're going to suffer in ways that only I can relate. If you're happy with your current cam profile and RPM band, keep your cam, lifters(mark them), pushrods, rocker arms and valve springs. All the bearings and gaskets get a refresh. Retain as much of the stock parts as you can from your 4.0 as you'll at best reuse them and at worst, need them for reference when ordering new pieces.

I would avoid messing with the engine at all unless your 4.0 is approaching the point where there's a problem or scare every week like my 258 was with antifreeze, oil level and detonation. In which case you can choose to either run it until it no longer works or start writing a bill of materials for the parts you need and order them sequentially. Sometimes these are worth modifying but if you're used to chasing down one problem after another, it needs to stop or you're just driving a headache. That's been my take on the whole thing. My previous engine was a tired 258 and I'm going to swap in a radical 4.7 stroker when finished. So much is changing but I have no experience with a stock 4.0 engine to offer any comparison or speculate with what behaviors to expect when finished. The 4.0 is superior to the 258 in all ways but durability so I have no business telling you to expect anywhere near the performance jump that I am. Especially since it sounds like you're the same kind of driver that I am. I don't do rock climbing or offroading. My car is street and highway use only. I treat this like a hot DJ-5.

[Cheromaniac]

my systems pressure was fine but yet i still have disappearing coolant .....i did notice the other day i got home from work and i got out and walked around the front and i could smell coolant

There's a fair chance that you have a coolant leak from the radiator but it's so small that most of the leaked hot coolant evaporates and you can't actually see any dripping onto the ground. Evaporated coolant leaves telltale light brown stains and accumulated crusts so look around.