My Jeep GC 4.7L......RIP
- Thread starter fcjeep
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Bore scope or not, How can a piston crown be all right and the bore be trashed? What does the head look like? If you can DIY this, then it may be worth it. If you have to pay someone, then probably not.
So I got the names of 2 more shops today and was able to stop by one of them cause I was in the area.
This shop only does remanufactured engine installations. They don’t like Jasper so they use ATK instead. The owner was a very personable guy and gave me a tour of their large work area where they had about 7 or 8 engines installs going on. Impressive shop from what I could tell: neat, organized, clean considering what's going on there and well lit. Lots of room between jobs. The kind of work environment I’d like to be in if that was my occupation.
He went over several options with me including remaned, new heads, rebuilding my engine and used . Reman is the only thing that seems to make sense to me so far.
This engine is a fairly technical piece of equipment, enough so that it drives up the cost. Just pulling the heads off isn’t so easy with 3 timing chains and head mounted cams. Whether its new heads , which is a gamble cause I don’t know the condition of the pistons and walls, or a remanufactured engine, it looks like it’s gonna cost me some bucks if I want to keep my Jeep.
Just pulling the engine out and dropping another one in isn’t too bad but the engine itself is.
The ATK reman would run about $4,800 pl tax installed. Better than $5,900 but still a lot.
I’ll check another shop on Friday if I can. My Jeep is back home for now and I’m driving another car for the time being so that takes some of the urgency out of the equation which helps a lot.
I’ll keep you all posted.
Thanks again to everyone for your input.
This shop only does remanufactured engine installations. They don’t like Jasper so they use ATK instead. The owner was a very personable guy and gave me a tour of their large work area where they had about 7 or 8 engines installs going on. Impressive shop from what I could tell: neat, organized, clean considering what's going on there and well lit. Lots of room between jobs. The kind of work environment I’d like to be in if that was my occupation.
He went over several options with me including remaned, new heads, rebuilding my engine and used . Reman is the only thing that seems to make sense to me so far.
This engine is a fairly technical piece of equipment, enough so that it drives up the cost. Just pulling the heads off isn’t so easy with 3 timing chains and head mounted cams. Whether its new heads , which is a gamble cause I don’t know the condition of the pistons and walls, or a remanufactured engine, it looks like it’s gonna cost me some bucks if I want to keep my Jeep.
Just pulling the engine out and dropping another one in isn’t too bad but the engine itself is.
The ATK reman would run about $4,800 pl tax installed. Better than $5,900 but still a lot.
I’ll check another shop on Friday if I can. My Jeep is back home for now and I’m driving another car for the time being so that takes some of the urgency out of the equation which helps a lot.
I’ll keep you all posted.
Thanks again to everyone for your input.
Originally Posted By: JeepWJ19
I don't know if I'd consider ATK a notch above Jasper. I've heard plenty of bad things from both.
Then it gets down to the quality of the shop putting it in, since they will administer the warranty.
I don't know if I'd consider ATK a notch above Jasper. I've heard plenty of bad things from both.
Then it gets down to the quality of the shop putting it in, since they will administer the warranty.
Had a chance to visit another shop today. Got a bad feeling as soon as I pulled into the lot though.
Run down and sloppy outside. The office wasn't much better with stacks of papers and catalogs all over. Not a computer in sight. The guy (a very pleasant fellow however) used handwritten notes from a notebook to try to figure an estimate based on prior jobs.
But a tour of the shop really sealed the deal. Heads, cranks, pistons, cams etc and tools scattered all over the place on work benches, carts, parts on top of parts, dimly lit and filthy all over. No sign of any organization at all. I don't know how any kind of precision work could get accomplished there. Absolutely nothing about this place inspired any confidence in their work.
I wouldn't trust this place to wash my car much less rebuild my engine.
Next...............
Run down and sloppy outside. The office wasn't much better with stacks of papers and catalogs all over. Not a computer in sight. The guy (a very pleasant fellow however) used handwritten notes from a notebook to try to figure an estimate based on prior jobs.
But a tour of the shop really sealed the deal. Heads, cranks, pistons, cams etc and tools scattered all over the place on work benches, carts, parts on top of parts, dimly lit and filthy all over. No sign of any organization at all. I don't know how any kind of precision work could get accomplished there. Absolutely nothing about this place inspired any confidence in their work.
I wouldn't trust this place to wash my car much less rebuild my engine.
Next...............
Wish we could all just show up, pitch in and rebuild it. I’m sure there’s more than enough talent here to do it.
How far are you from Avoca, New York? There's a guy up there who's an excellent mechanic.
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
How far are you from Avoca, New York? There's a guy up there who's an excellent mechanic.
No where near it. I’m kinda far out on Long Island.
That’s not the problem though. I have a good mechanic. It’s just that apparently it’s a complex engine which makes the cost high considering the year and mileage. I’m slowly adjusting to the fact that I may never drive my Jeep again. Not happy about that at all.
It was such a reliable truck. Even with morning temps around 13 degrees the last 2 days and only running on who knows how many cylinders, it still started right up. Shook like crazy though.
I still don’t have a clear head about this problem but I have access to another vehicle for awhile so I have some time to make a decision.
How far are you from Avoca, New York? There's a guy up there who's an excellent mechanic.
No where near it. I’m kinda far out on Long Island.
That’s not the problem though. I have a good mechanic. It’s just that apparently it’s a complex engine which makes the cost high considering the year and mileage. I’m slowly adjusting to the fact that I may never drive my Jeep again. Not happy about that at all.
It was such a reliable truck. Even with morning temps around 13 degrees the last 2 days and only running on who knows how many cylinders, it still started right up. Shook like crazy though.
I still don’t have a clear head about this problem but I have access to another vehicle for awhile so I have some time to make a decision.
I remember the good old days when mechanics used to: pull the engine out - disassemble it - send it to a LOCAL machine shop - get the engine back - paint it - assemble it - and install it in the customer's car.
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
I remember the good old days when mechanics used to: pull the engine out - disassemble it - send it to a LOCAL machine shop - get the engine back - paint it - assemble it - and install it in the customer's car.
A local engine shop can rebuild MY engine with everything new from top to bottom for approx $6500 to $7000. That’s even more than a remanned motor.
Yep I wish the good old days were here right now too. If this was my old, simple 1968 307 Chevy Impala, or even some of the other cars from the 1960s and 70s that I worked on, I might’ve tried to pull the heads myself and see if I could save the motor. Simple engines and lots of room to work.
Those days are gone.
I remember the good old days when mechanics used to: pull the engine out - disassemble it - send it to a LOCAL machine shop - get the engine back - paint it - assemble it - and install it in the customer's car.
A local engine shop can rebuild MY engine with everything new from top to bottom for approx $6500 to $7000. That’s even more than a remanned motor.
Yep I wish the good old days were here right now too. If this was my old, simple 1968 307 Chevy Impala, or even some of the other cars from the 1960s and 70s that I worked on, I might’ve tried to pull the heads myself and see if I could save the motor. Simple engines and lots of room to work.
Those days are gone.
Well I'm bringing up a bit of an old thread here but I wanted to post a final update since so many
BITOG-ers tried to help me out with this last December.
I said good-by to my beloved Grand Cherokee today. There was no feasible way to make this a reliable running vehicle again without spending $5,000.00 plus. Even throwing that much money at it did not guarantee I would get a good running motor out of it. Too many shady rebuilders etc. out there.
I sold it to a salvage place for a few hundred bucks. I don't have the time or patience to deal w CL or anything similar right now.
2018 has been a tough year in my house (getting hit left and right with various issues) and it took all this time to come to a resolution with this but it’s done now. Time to move on.
I say “Thank you” to everyone who offered suggestions back in December. It is very much appreciated.
That was a great truck. It still ran almost as smooth and comfortable as my wife’s 2016 GC.
Q- How do I put a strikeout line through that vehicle in my signature?
BITOG-ers tried to help me out with this last December.
I said good-by to my beloved Grand Cherokee today. There was no feasible way to make this a reliable running vehicle again without spending $5,000.00 plus. Even throwing that much money at it did not guarantee I would get a good running motor out of it. Too many shady rebuilders etc. out there.
I sold it to a salvage place for a few hundred bucks. I don't have the time or patience to deal w CL or anything similar right now.
2018 has been a tough year in my house (getting hit left and right with various issues) and it took all this time to come to a resolution with this but it’s done now. Time to move on.
I say “Thank you” to everyone who offered suggestions back in December. It is very much appreciated.
That was a great truck. It still ran almost as smooth and comfortable as my wife’s 2016 GC.
Q- How do I put a strikeout line through that vehicle in my signature?
Such a shame, but I understand doing what you had to do. With the hookups out here, I would have gladly doubled the salvage yards offer. Getting the Jeep here would have been another story.
Funny this was brought up. I have a co worker with a 99 WJ that lost it's gas tank due to rust. 220k on the OD. I was just at a junkyard the other day and they have a decent skid plate for $30. He offered it to me for "a few hundred." I was tempted, but this thread reminded of what could happen. I honestly don't know how his Jeep is still running.
Funny this was brought up. I have a co worker with a 99 WJ that lost it's gas tank due to rust. 220k on the OD. I was just at a junkyard the other day and they have a decent skid plate for $30. He offered it to me for "a few hundred." I was tempted, but this thread reminded of what could happen. I honestly don't know how his Jeep is still running.
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
Originally Posted By: fcjeep
Q- How do I put a strikeout line through that vehicle in my signature?
Put your Jeep's info between what I have below and paste it in your signature
Edit: It won't show it. I'll take a screenshot, just type the brackets
Q- How do I put a strikeout line through that vehicle in my signature?
Put your Jeep's info between what I have below and paste it in your signature
Edit: It won't show it. I'll take a screenshot, just type the brackets
I do not know where the engine came from, the whole engine was painted with red oxide primer including under the valve covers and timing cover. The cam and rocker arm issue were not related to the valve seat, I think the parts just failed. The inside of the engine was clean, the needle bearings in the rollers probably just went bad. Poor metallurgy or something.
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