Quite The Conundrum

[mvusse]

I would trust a junk yard before I trust a yahoo on Craigslist.

[shelbyluvv]

A MOPAR swap is not easy. There are no off the shelf motor mounts, you have to decide if you want OBD-I or OBD-II. That means either a HO dash harness and gauges or a 97+ conversion. You will also need to get real friendly with a few different FSMs to work out the wiring. It is fun though!

[jpnjim]

If money is an issue,

Another 4.0L is the best answer.

 

I don't think you said what was wrong with the original,

but from the other thread you seem to prefer to keep your Jeep all Renix,

so I suggest you clean up your Renix head at home,

ship it out for a valve job.

 

Go look around for an 87-95 HO (96+ have smaller cams)

Hopefully you get to hear it run first,

get the first one with decent oil pressure, and without the worn piston skirt diesel noise

 

Do a compression test (you can even do this on a stand)

 

Pull the head (yours will be going on)

 

Yank the pistons/rods out,

clean everything like you plan to eat off it.

Clean up the threads, get all the gunk out of the coolant passages,

If the cylinder walls & pistons/rings look ok, slide them back in.

 

If the compression test was ok, remember the budget & use the rings that it came with.

 

Change the rod & main bearings.

I never saw a used AMC 6 that didn't have the rod bearings worn down to the copper.

 

Bolt it all back together, with your machined head, and hopefully you stayed in your budget.

 

Drink beer (if age appropriate ;) )

[ftpiercecracker1]

If money is an issue,

Another 4.0L is the best answer.

 

I don't think you said what was wrong with the original,

but from the other thread you seem to prefer to keep your Jeep all Renix,

so I suggest you clean up your Renix head at home,

ship it out for a valve job.

 

Go look around for an 87-95 HO (96+ have smaller cams)

Hopefully you get to hear it run first,

get the first one with decent oil pressure, and without the worn piston skirt diesel noise

 

Do a compression test (you can even do this on a stand)

 

Pull the head (yours will be going on)

 

Yank the pistons/rods out,

clean everything like you plan to eat off it.

Clean up the threads, get all the gunk out of the coolant passages,

If the cylinder walls & pistons/rings look ok, slide them back in.

 

If the compression test was ok, remember the budget & use the rings that it came with.

 

Change the rod & main bearings.

I never saw a used AMC 6 that didn't have the rod bearings worn down to the copper.

 

Bolt it all back together, with your machined head, and hopefully you stayed in your budget.

 

Drink beer (if age appropriate ;) )

 

 

 

I appreciate all the advice, but unfortunately fate (mostly my own doing) has dealt me a cruel blow.

 

Some of you may know that i am attending college at this current time. Last semester, I lost my scholarship , through which was my only means to afford paying tuition without taking out a private loan. This past fall i decided to make a last ditch effort to regain said scholarship by taking out a small subsudized (the one without interest) loan to pay for the necassary credits it would take for me to reach the next scholarship evaluating benchmark, basically to see if my GPA was high enough to re-awarded. As luck would have it, i was no where near the neccassary GPA come semesters end. So, now i faced the choice of either being a sod laying grunt for the rest of my life or forking over money via loans to pay for college. Going into dept is something i fear more than death. Now here comes the REAL kicker, after wasting 9 months of my life researching, studing, working, and saving so that i could finally build my own jeep stroker, i find out all the money i have saved won't be enough. Soo, dishartend and depressed i ask my money be returned and vow to return with the proper funds at a later, unknown, date. Now with $2000 in my pocket, i think to myself, at least i can buy my family some nice christmas presents, something that i have not done in years. But even this single moment of happiness is stripped from me when i find out about my scholarship, and realize the sacrafice i must now make. Either use this jeep money that i spent a year saving up to continue going to school or lose the chance to regain my scholarship permantely.

 

 

Sorry, I know that was a little long winded and if you havent guessed yet, it will be many seasons before the MJ is once again moving under her own power. :cry:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

but from the other thread you seem to prefer to keep your Jeep all Renix,

 

 

Couldnt resist could you? :laughin:

[mvusse]

Take it from someone who has made almost every possible mistake in life, and - surprisingly - actually learned a little from them:

 

WORRY ABOUT FINISHING COLLEGE FIRST. Take out a student loan if necessary. Worry about everything else after you're done with college. This one thing will affect the rest of your life.

 

Unless, of course, you want to be a sod laying grunt.

[jpnjim]

 

Couldnt resist could you? :laughin:

 

Lol

Absolutely was not a shot at you (seems you know that from the :laughin:)

 

Just clarifying since I normally wouldn't suggest doing the extra work to keep the Renix head.

 

My advice would be something like;

1)swap in a random, of the millions available 91-95 4.0L HO

2)if that dies, refer to step 1

 

Keeping it all Renix does have its good points,

if/when my daily driver Renix craps out,

I'm pretty sure I WILL be keeping that one all Renix for originality reasons.

 

 

Ok

Since this is an advice forum,

and you did post your financial situation,

 

I would use the money for school.

Since you said your GPA was no where near where it needed to be,

you need to figure that part out as well, or you'll have to eventually go down the road you don't want to (student loan debt)

 

And don't knock being a sod laying grunt either ;)

 

As a life long sod layer (electrician)

working with your hands AND mind has some benefits too.

 

Good luck!

[ftpiercecracker1]

Ya don't get me wrong, i have done hard manual labor since i could walk. Only slightly overstated. I love to work with my hands and if i knew i could make 100k a year being a mechanic, building custom rigs or performance engines I would never have given college a second thought. But since i don't see to many jet setting grease monkeys i figured my best bet would be a college degree.

 

 

Just a little background, my first job in high school i spent a year working on a sawmill for 9/hr. Only employee except for the owner, all winter long, outside 5 F* snowing and sleeting and still pulling 80lb 2x10s of the mill.

 

A few years later i worked for a summer at a Plant nursery for 7.50/hr, hands down the worst job i have ever had. 101* daily laying pallets of red ant infested sod, moving 100 gallon pots of half grown trees and gertting yelled at daily about how poor of a worker i was by the owner. I personally attribute my back problems to my time working at this place.

 

Then just this past spring/summer I worked as grounds keeper at a apartment complex, 9/hr not a bad job at all. I actually liked it for the most part, execpt for the occasional freak out of my boss when the big bad regional manager stopped by. Had to quit so i could do "better" in school, but as you know it didnt really make a difference.

 

 

 

All said i Truly enjoy working hard and knowing that i have earned my money, but as it would seem the more difficult the work the less the pay, how messed up is that? :nuts: