elafilos
Member
- Joined
- May 25, 2022
- Messages
- 32
- Reaction score
- 47
Hi guys!
After being by my side for 21 years and 140k miles my 3.7 Liberty KJ decided it was about time to let go.
Happened yesterday on top of a mountain range and recovery was a big challenge but we (somehow) did it. After she returned home I have started making some calls trying to figure out what to do next.
Got an instant yellow oil light, immediately the engine started knocking from the passenger side, stalled and died in a mater of seconds. Something must have terribly failed. No smoke / leaks though which brings us at the early assumption that something must have siezed.
During those past years the engine has been overheated a couple of times. Dropped a valve seat, had resurfaced heads etc. In other words it has seen better days.
This brought me to the point where replacing the whole unit with a used engine would be more cost efficient. Some rough estimates converted to USD are the following:
Finding a fair condition engine would cost approximately 1200-1800$. Given that it is an early 2003 car, most plug and play engines are pretty expensive compared to the after 2004 counterparts.
Labor for swapping in and out would cost approximately 600-800$
Getting it serviced before installation would cost approximately 200-400$
So this brings us to a total of 3.000$ to get it up and running.
Pulling out the engine just to diagnose and repair, overhaul etc. costs approx. 600$ just to remove and start looking around. Just a wild guess this would end up costing way over 3k still having an engine past it's effective life.
I have managed to find a 4.7 unit with it's ECU and trans for 3000$ which essentially means that I could get it up and running for around 4500-5000$ but the gains do not justify paying almost double price. I am guessing I would get some quality of life and drivability, but still too much of a price to pay for just 30-40 hp and a tad of more torque. This engine comes from a totally jeep grand cherokee from a friend with almost 60k miles.
Plan C is to just get the cheapest possible 3.7 engine I could find, bolt it on and pray. But even the cheapest engines hover around the 1000$ mark and do not justify the savings by taking such a risk.
I was thinking of actually finding another KJ (currently sold for around 5-6k $) and breaking down mine to parts, but I am too emotionally attached to do so.
This topic is definitely discussed countless times - but trying to make up my mind and take some decisions. Any input would help.
Thanks for you time!
Attached a photo of her last dance during the recovery.
After being by my side for 21 years and 140k miles my 3.7 Liberty KJ decided it was about time to let go.
Happened yesterday on top of a mountain range and recovery was a big challenge but we (somehow) did it. After she returned home I have started making some calls trying to figure out what to do next.
Got an instant yellow oil light, immediately the engine started knocking from the passenger side, stalled and died in a mater of seconds. Something must have terribly failed. No smoke / leaks though which brings us at the early assumption that something must have siezed.
During those past years the engine has been overheated a couple of times. Dropped a valve seat, had resurfaced heads etc. In other words it has seen better days.
This brought me to the point where replacing the whole unit with a used engine would be more cost efficient. Some rough estimates converted to USD are the following:
Finding a fair condition engine would cost approximately 1200-1800$. Given that it is an early 2003 car, most plug and play engines are pretty expensive compared to the after 2004 counterparts.
Labor for swapping in and out would cost approximately 600-800$
Getting it serviced before installation would cost approximately 200-400$
So this brings us to a total of 3.000$ to get it up and running.
Pulling out the engine just to diagnose and repair, overhaul etc. costs approx. 600$ just to remove and start looking around. Just a wild guess this would end up costing way over 3k still having an engine past it's effective life.
I have managed to find a 4.7 unit with it's ECU and trans for 3000$ which essentially means that I could get it up and running for around 4500-5000$ but the gains do not justify paying almost double price. I am guessing I would get some quality of life and drivability, but still too much of a price to pay for just 30-40 hp and a tad of more torque. This engine comes from a totally jeep grand cherokee from a friend with almost 60k miles.
Plan C is to just get the cheapest possible 3.7 engine I could find, bolt it on and pray. But even the cheapest engines hover around the 1000$ mark and do not justify the savings by taking such a risk.
I was thinking of actually finding another KJ (currently sold for around 5-6k $) and breaking down mine to parts, but I am too emotionally attached to do so.
This topic is definitely discussed countless times - but trying to make up my mind and take some decisions. Any input would help.
Thanks for you time!
Attached a photo of her last dance during the recovery.