'03 4.0 swap into a '88 cherokee??

[B-Krew]

Hi guys,

I just purchased a 1988 Jeep Cherokee Limited. Everything is perfect but the motor. I pulled it and found that the head gasket was blocking off half the water jackets. Is that normal? The head has several good sized cracks so it's toast. I don't know how to tell if it is an H.O. motor or not.

I purchased a new motor from a friend for a screaming deal. Got it home, started to swap some gear from my engine to the new one and realized the motor mounts aren't the same. There are a few dissimilarities. Is there a way to stuff that '03 motor in there without too much trouble? Will the pistons and head swap over?? Been looking for another motor but it's not as easy as I had hoped.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[SilverXJ]

See here: http://www.jeepstrokers.com/forum/viewt ... ?f=34&t=52

Since its a 03 its from a WJ or TJ and won't work in an XJ with out major modification. See last post in the block faq (above) for a person that tried to put a TJ block into an XJ.

[Muad'Dib]

I pulled it and found that the head gasket was blocking off half the water jackets. Is that normal?

Short answer .. Yes

[holeski]

I pulled it and found that the head gasket was blocking off half the water jackets. Is that normal?

Short answer .. Yes

Long answer/ Is this good??

[SilverXJ]

I don't know. Its the way the head gasket is from the factory and I have never heard of anything against it. You could always try to modify the gasket and let us know how it works.

[holeski]

Well on my 87 that I just pulled the head off of there are no water jackets on the block other then the front and rear. The head has them all around and the gasket just blocks them up. This seems to be where mine was leaking coolant into the cylinders. I have seen where the JB weld them up to do a HO head swap on the 258, thinking this might be a good idea to do on mine too.