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$400 Jeep Fiasco

20K views 142 replies 31 participants last post by  Harriedtwo 
#1 ·
How could I back out? I'd called about a 2000 WJ with 100K miles and "engine problems" advertised for $2000. THe owner said he'd take $1000 for it. I priced moving it (it was in Salt Lake, I'm in Idaho) and priced some engine options. When I talked to the owner again he said he'd take whatever I'd give him over what the scrapper would pay him. Which was 400 bucks. I picked it up on Sunday. Now I'm into it for about $800.

What's wrong with it? I don't know yet. The owner said he'd taken it to a shop where he was told "It's got a bad lifter, gonna need a new engine." :confused:
On the way home "it died."

My plan is to pull the engine and take it down to find out what the real issue is. I'm tempted to pull the radiator, but don't know if it will be necessary.

My first question is, which manual should I get? I'll probably rebuild the engine myself. This will be my first.

Anyway, here are some pics. I'm happy with the jeep. I thought it was a base Laredo, but it is the "Up Country" package. Nice speakers, suspension, skid plates, heated leather seats, sun roof. I think it will look nice with a 3" lift and some 265/70/16's.

http://imgur.com/PtEhwEv,hWGKXwx,bAV0Dn6,zOA6DEE,VnmjDIx,0VNcoHn,W1PjwV2
 
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#8 ·
I found the jeep on the last day it was on KSL. I need 25 posts? Guess I'll put some frivolous/opinionated/presumptuous comments over in the tech section.

"You're low on blinker fluid"

"Sure, that Cummins 24valve is a direct swap into a Wrangler, no modifications necessary"

"My brother's old chemistry teacher's neighbor says his came with factory lockers, so it must be true"
 
#13 ·
May have a few different things going on. I doubt the two are related.

I've had a VSS stall the truck. Maintaining throttle pressure kept it running- when coming to a stop lower throttle pressure while staying on pedal and brake a bit harder to compensate.

Since the cams are the highest point- I think they'd be more likely to wear than the lifters. If you wind up needing motor parts, you may want to chat with Nick at airram.com.
 
#19 ·
It's also a fairly common problem on the 4.7 to have a valve seat drop if you let it get low on oil or overheat at all. Unfortunately you might have to pull the head off to inspect it further. That or find a shop that has the equipment to run a camera down there and look at it if you don;t mind spending a bit of money to diagnose your problem.

You should be able to inspect the lifters with only having to remove the valve covers.

Have you done a compression test? If so what numbers are you getting?

I woudl start with a compression test and inspection of the lifters before doing anything else.
 
#21 ·
I hadn't heard of valve seats dropping because of low oil. Can't think of the oil affecting the seats, which are a non-lubricated surface.

I have the VC's off, and I can see that the springs are all intact, but I can't inspect the lifters without taking the cams off, which gets pretty serious. Is there a way to inspect the lifters without spending a bunch of money on specialty tools?
 
#30 ·
i got my jeep for about the same price with a knocking motor that locked up 2 days later. i thought it was lifter tick, but was knock. (4.0, not 4.7) i just sourced another motor local, and inspected replaced seals and whatnot and swapped it in. $450 for a motor with all accessories except alternator also netted me a working A/C compressor after swapping clutch on new one, as original was seized, and new one had been in accident and clutch was bent.

having a whole motor with good parts while doing swap made it better. now i have a 99 WJ with 230k+ miles on it and a 2002 motor with 130k+ miles.

while i was at it i changed out injectors, top and bottom gaskets, inspected bearings and valve springs, new spark plugs and at this point have all new fluids except trans, and i am working on that. it gave me a greater knowledge of what is going on. and i have a piece of mind that i have done more regular maintenance that probably was required.

now i am "building" this jeep to do what i want/need out of an SUV and know it is solid.
 
#32 ·
well mine isnt getting lifted, at least for now. i am trying to get everything right. and doing some cosmetic stuff. i got some 17" commander wheels and got them painted. getting some tires mounted on them, and painted my stock "chrome" grille. i want to get a painted limited grille to match my grey jeep and get some window tint put in. i have already added most of the tow package parts. hitch, trans cooler, upweighted syn diff gear oil, syn transfer case fluid, and have the heavier springs to install hopefully this weekend. still need to get the hitch wiring, but havent had the luck to find one in the junkyard yet, with time to get it or tools present. i have the akebono brake calipers that i painted to swap in with new ceramic pads, and a front drivers side axle to replace. it is at shop right now getting a/c system vac tested and then i will have the a/c going again. then i plan on dropping transmission pan and changing more atf and gasket/filter. then it is just regular maintenance for a while.

i have a 98 BMW 328i project i want to get heavier into, and that is where i am going to put my money for awhile once i get the jeep up to "standard" as i have big plans for it that include some track events, but it has a way to go and the funding is not there right now.
 
#33 ·
Well, That didn't take long to get from $400 up to $4,907. New water pump, rear sway bar, p/s pump, engine, oil sender, tune up, polished TB, battery, belt, filters, fluids, thermostat, tools. I still need to go through the front end to check for wear, and add some new tires. I'll have the newest 15 year old WJ on the block when I'm done. Here's hoping that all is well when I turn the key.
I'll try to get the engine in this weekend and let everyone know how it goes.
 
#36 ·
I feel for you. I thought of a sub 4k cheap beater which is now in the 5k range.
 
#39 ·
Running great now that I plugged all my coil pack connectors in all the way.:laugh: Still have a CEL, but I didn't disconnect my battery after the initial problem. IDK if the light will go out by itself, or if there is another problem. The good thing is, I did a little test drive and found out the ball joints are shot, :rofl: so I'll be going by the parts store and can have them put it on the reader.
 
#40 ·
For future reference, you can pull the codes without a reader in most Jeeps. Turn the key on until the odometer comes on, turn off then on again till odo comes back then off then back on. It will display the codes where the mileage is usually at, then say done when done.
 
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