I don't belong to any Jeep forums so I figured some of you guys probably had experience that I could learn from.

I'm needing a new 6 cyl engine for my 97 Grand Cherokee.

Nothing too hopped up.....in a jeep it's more about reliability (getting home) than it is about going fast.....as far as I'm concerned anyway.

Anyone have a good place to shop?

I'm in Colorado....close is better ;-)

Thanks

Thread moved to Other Vehicles forum.

good used 4.0's can be had for peanuts. Ive had buddys that couldnt even give them away. Id suggest some Jeep forums classifieds....or craigs list.

If you were closer I'd set you up with one. Are you looking for a built engine or looking to build one up for it? Being a 97 you can use any engine from 91-about 04 in it so long as you swap over your accesories, water pump, and intake manifold. 91-95 is the early style HO with a better cyclinder head and camshaft. 96 went to smaller valves in the head and a slightly less aggressive camshaft for the new OBD2 emissions, but the tuning changed to make up for it. I've put a 91-95 engine(added in the 96+ main girdle though) into a 97 before and it was an impressive runner compared to the stock engine due to the 96+ tuning differrence. Just remember to use the correct water pump, accesory brackets, and intake manifold so it will all bolt in and work.

thefermenator - thanks for the reply....very interesting and much more than I know about Jeep engines.

Are you in that business?

Shipping a motor by truck isn't that expensive really.....so Florida isn't that far away I suppose.

I'm interested in that pre 97 motor now....nothing replaces horsepower ;-)

I used to play with JEEPS alot, but have recently gotten out of em. I do have a 97 engine outside in an old CHEROKEE that is in decent shape, and a 91 that I bought for the head. The 01-05 engines made there HP via the engine tuning, whereas 96+ engines had to use much more aggressive PCM tuning to get it since the emissions for an OBD2 engine were so much stricter. All of the 87-95 cams use the same basic lift, but 93-95 grand cherokee engines got a camshaft with a much more agggressive lobe profile and more duration. Many will argue all the cams are teh same, but I put a 94 cam in my 88 and it really woke it up(and didn't cost me a dime as I had the parts). You can actually use just about any of the 4.0L short blocks in them, but cylinder heads are where the changes really happened. Many also say the 96+ engines are better due to the hyperatic pistons, but I prefer the earlier cast pistons as I have yet to see a cast piston break but threw away a 5 gallon bucket full of cracked 96+ pistons recently.

Man you are in Colorado. Shound be able to find a good 4.0 cheap there. Check local wrecking yards, craigslist, Local adds ect. They dont cost that much to get rebuilt either. If you do the R&R

Yea, I can find tons of used.....I'm kinda looking for a nice quick replacement.
I like the idea of the older heads on the new motor so I'm trying to find someone to build one for me.

Otherwise it's just a quick drop in motor and live with the horsepower.

Dependable is really the most important thing for that ride....it goes a LONG ways from civilization sometimes :)