Will an engine from a 98XJ drop in and work on a 2000 WJ?

[deisenba]

Been doing some searching but can't find an answer. I am purchasing a 2000 WJ Grand Cherokee with a bad engine. Head gasket failure and over heated. Thinking about putting the engine from a 98 XJ that I have and was going to stroke into the WJ. Does anyone know if it will drop right in? I assume I'll have to change some of the components/sensors over. My main concern is the cam sensor vs the distributor. Will that be an issue?

[dwg86]

I think the biggest problem will be the engine mount bosses on the block. I know there are some differances there. The 98 head will not have the mounting bosses for the coil rail. That is no big deal. Just make some mounting straps and mount them to the valve cover bolts. Thats what I did with mine(7120 head in 2003 TJ).

[SilverXJ]

There is a thread on here that shows some differences between the XJ and WJ blocks. Block mounting brackets and bosses are one thing that is different. The other is that the WJ block has some accessory mounting bosses that the XJ block doesn't. IIRC you would actually need to add mounting bosses to the XJ block to get it to work in a WJ. The distributor vs. cam sensor is the least of your problems as that would drop right in.

[deisenba]

Thanks for the info. I found the thread about blocks, and it states that the bosses are in different locations, but I was not sure if the motor mounts end up in the same spot or not. I couldn't find in the post or related links that info. I am planning on making some new brackets to mount the bosses to hit the motor mounts on the WJ.

[Plechtan]

The XJ motor mounts will not work on the WJ block. You will need a set of mounts for a 2000 and up Wrangler. Make sure you get the bolts as well. The XJ has inch bolts the WJ uses metric. The 10MM threads in the block are a little larger than the 3/8" bolts used on the XJ . because the holes are a little bigger the 3/8" bolts will go in, but will strip the threads when you try and tighten them.