This past July I happened to run across a 2001 Cherokee with only 116,000 miles on Craigslist for just $500. The people had been in the process of a move and it had overheated, so they just wanted to get rid of it to pay off the bills for the tow and diagnostic. They didn't have the title with them, but I had it checked out and it was clear in their name. They were supposed to come back for another load and to bring the title the following weekend, but of course they disappeared (I know, I know!). Fast forward 6 months and one private investigator later, and I finally had the title in my hands and could start working on it.
As an aside, if you ever find yourself in this situation, I was pleasantly surprised by how affordable and FAST the PI got results. I've tracked down some pretty hard to find people before, but these people were seriously off the grid. The PI had the title in my hands in less than a week for a total fee of $60!
Digging into the Cherokee, I found that it suffered from the notorious cracked 0331 head. After a lot of research, and weighing all of my options, I opted to replace the head with an older one from a TJ.
It's nearly impossible to see, but there's a crack there.
Once tore down I found that the cylinders looked like new.
A header was required to adapt the older large exhaust port head to the new style split manifold. I couldn't mod the downpipe to use an old style header, because the '01s have cats in the downpipes. Luckily the header manufacturers are lazy and didn't see it necessary to make new flanges for the small port heads when the ones for the older heads worked fine!
The oil pressure sensor decided to fail during the process and gave me a scare when the oil pressure light wouldn't turn off on initial startup. I was worried that the bearings had been destroyed when the oil become diluted by antifreeze, which is pretty common. I went and picked up an oil pressure gauge and new sender, and luckily my fears were unfounded. Nearly 50 PSI of oil pressure at idle!
I installed a Grand Cherokee fan/clutch while it was apart, and had the coolant flushed again at a shop after a few heat cycles. I'm going to run it about 1000 miles, then change the oil again just to be safe.
After a couple days of driving, I replaced the old worn out tires with some new stock size Kenda all seasons. I haven't decided if I'm going to keep it or sell it, so I don't want to do any off road mods or expensive tires.
Some other things that I've ordered but haven't changed yet:
High flow water pump
Engine mounts (preventative so the GC fan clutch won't eat the radiator)
Radiator shroud
As an aside, if you ever find yourself in this situation, I was pleasantly surprised by how affordable and FAST the PI got results. I've tracked down some pretty hard to find people before, but these people were seriously off the grid. The PI had the title in my hands in less than a week for a total fee of $60!
Digging into the Cherokee, I found that it suffered from the notorious cracked 0331 head. After a lot of research, and weighing all of my options, I opted to replace the head with an older one from a TJ.
It's nearly impossible to see, but there's a crack there.
Once tore down I found that the cylinders looked like new.
A header was required to adapt the older large exhaust port head to the new style split manifold. I couldn't mod the downpipe to use an old style header, because the '01s have cats in the downpipes. Luckily the header manufacturers are lazy and didn't see it necessary to make new flanges for the small port heads when the ones for the older heads worked fine!
The oil pressure sensor decided to fail during the process and gave me a scare when the oil pressure light wouldn't turn off on initial startup. I was worried that the bearings had been destroyed when the oil become diluted by antifreeze, which is pretty common. I went and picked up an oil pressure gauge and new sender, and luckily my fears were unfounded. Nearly 50 PSI of oil pressure at idle!
I installed a Grand Cherokee fan/clutch while it was apart, and had the coolant flushed again at a shop after a few heat cycles. I'm going to run it about 1000 miles, then change the oil again just to be safe.
After a couple days of driving, I replaced the old worn out tires with some new stock size Kenda all seasons. I haven't decided if I'm going to keep it or sell it, so I don't want to do any off road mods or expensive tires.
Some other things that I've ordered but haven't changed yet:
High flow water pump
Engine mounts (preventative so the GC fan clutch won't eat the radiator)
Radiator shroud
