To build or not to build? That is the question.
Posted: July 25th, 2017, 11:50 am
Hanging here with you guys is giving me the bug. So here is the situation.
2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited Quadradrive 4.0L in good general mechanical condition with 250k+ miles on original engine.
Engine is still oil tight with good pressure, uses about a quart every 1200-1500 miles.
It is making worn cam/lifter noises, so not a lot of miles left on it as is.
It has been overheated a couple of times when I had some radiator issues, but it hasn't been driven that way longer than needed to pull over and let it cool down before adding water to it. No obvious issues resulted from those incidents, It has about 20-25k miles on it since the cooling system rebuild and is still running strong and smooth even with the valve train noise. Lot of highway miles.
For now I'm shopping the local parts yards for a used engine to swap in.
What to do with the old one?
I'm thinking mild stroker for general daily all roads/all weather use with a good fat torque curve for towing. Nothing too radical. Smooth idle, good mileage. Rarely see the high side of 4000rpm.
My off roading consists mainly of camping trips into the regional national forests over well maintained logging roads that don't challenge the stock ground clearance. I tow a boat that weighs in around 3500lbs.
Would prefer to have it built by a reputable engine builder. There is one that I know of here in South Carolina that mostly builds NASCAR and street rod engines, haven't talked to them yet about Jeep sixes.
Should I build on what seems to be a pretty solid core?
What about the head? I know these have some reputation for cracking, but this one has never had a problem, even after some severe heat stress. Rebuild or replace with a new casting?
Open to suggestions for crank, cam, pistons, rods, lifters, etc.
Open to suggestions for engine builders. I've been drooling over Golen's 4.6 strokers. Something similar to their basic model would be ideal. Do they and similar shops rebuild owner's cores?
This is my fourth stock Jeep over the last 20 years or so, usually I just trade up a few years. But I really like this one enough to build it into a custom ride. I've learned a bit just being a fly on the wall here for a few weeks. Enough to know there is a lot I don't know.
Thanks in advance for any contributions to the conversation. I'm all ears.
Razz
2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited Quadradrive 4.0L in good general mechanical condition with 250k+ miles on original engine.
Engine is still oil tight with good pressure, uses about a quart every 1200-1500 miles.
It is making worn cam/lifter noises, so not a lot of miles left on it as is.
It has been overheated a couple of times when I had some radiator issues, but it hasn't been driven that way longer than needed to pull over and let it cool down before adding water to it. No obvious issues resulted from those incidents, It has about 20-25k miles on it since the cooling system rebuild and is still running strong and smooth even with the valve train noise. Lot of highway miles.
For now I'm shopping the local parts yards for a used engine to swap in.
What to do with the old one?
I'm thinking mild stroker for general daily all roads/all weather use with a good fat torque curve for towing. Nothing too radical. Smooth idle, good mileage. Rarely see the high side of 4000rpm.
My off roading consists mainly of camping trips into the regional national forests over well maintained logging roads that don't challenge the stock ground clearance. I tow a boat that weighs in around 3500lbs.
Would prefer to have it built by a reputable engine builder. There is one that I know of here in South Carolina that mostly builds NASCAR and street rod engines, haven't talked to them yet about Jeep sixes.
Should I build on what seems to be a pretty solid core?
What about the head? I know these have some reputation for cracking, but this one has never had a problem, even after some severe heat stress. Rebuild or replace with a new casting?
Open to suggestions for crank, cam, pistons, rods, lifters, etc.
Open to suggestions for engine builders. I've been drooling over Golen's 4.6 strokers. Something similar to their basic model would be ideal. Do they and similar shops rebuild owner's cores?
This is my fourth stock Jeep over the last 20 years or so, usually I just trade up a few years. But I really like this one enough to build it into a custom ride. I've learned a bit just being a fly on the wall here for a few weeks. Enough to know there is a lot I don't know.
Thanks in advance for any contributions to the conversation. I'm all ears.
Razz