Rebuild or buy new

If want you have is a sound vehicle that you are otherwise happy with, you can rebuild the engine a whole lot cheaper than you can buy another vehicle. If you can pull it and install it yourself you will be WAY cheaper.

Take a peak down the throttle body and see if there is a layer of oil down there. You might just need a seal replacement.

(Or are you burning that much?)

Maybe it's only dripping. These are good engines. I would keep it. If you add up the new car cost, insurance premiums, interest at the bank and your state's sales and vehicle tax you could get a new engine from the dealer.

I think your first priority is to hunt down the oil leaks and fix them.

Earle

The last 318 I had went about 300,000 miles.... Is that what they use?

I think I would address the leaks which is a driveway afternoon or two job and then check the real oil consumption.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view! Jan/06 (More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

i assume you will have trans done also?

writesoon!

When the engine in my Suburban went bad I had more money than time. I wound up spending around $3,000 at the Chevy dealer for a NEW crate engine, installed. It was blowing a quart every 300 miles, and I had installed aftermarket breathers to get the oil spray off the windshield. Prices for a Jeep engine are going to be more, because DaimlerChrysler is awfully proud of their products, some say without reason, but this should give you a ballpark idea of the most you could spend.

The best option for a rebuilt is to find a local or at least in-state rebuilder with a good reputation. If you post where you live, perhaps people here will know a good one nearby. People report problems with some of the "factory rebuilders", perhaps because the people who trade in cores wait too long.

Spend some time diagnosing the problem first. You could just have a bad valve cover gasket or a plugged PCV system.

Earle

If it needs a new seal, is that difficult to replace, or is that a simple fix?

Seals and gaskets are relatively easy to replace. I'll bet if you go and just try with your fingers you will find a bunch of valve cover and oil pan bolts finger loose. Sometimes all it needs is a little tighten here and there.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail > If it needs a new seal, is that difficult to replace, or is that a simple > fix?

Valve cover gaskets are straight forward, oil pan and main rears are more problematic but the one that I was thinking of when I asked about peeping into the throttle body is the plenum gasket which is under the intake manifold.

It appears to be ........ more common..... in the newer 318 and 360s than in the older engines of the same family series.

Any competent backyard mechanic should be able to do the labor, the hardest part will be disconnecting and correctly reconnecting all the stuff attached to the manifold. Be sure to take lots of pix and label everything.

A FSM will be invaluable for this (as well as any other) project.

If the previous owner(s) kept the oil changed regularly you should have many more years faithful service with that marvelous engine. It was in use for more than 30 years.

Not to inflate your ego, but you are so smart. I crawled under my jeep, and poked around the valve cover, and those areas were visibly wet with oil. Now I just have to figure out how to get to all of the bolts with a wrench.

First would be to determine if it is leaking or burning or leaking thru valve guides or such. Compression, leak down test, etc.

That few miles shouldn't be burning that much oil...

Crate motor might be cheaper than a rebuild.

YouGoFirst proclaimed:

A quarter inch socket set with universals and wobblies and, of course, a torque wrench that measures Inch-Pounds.

A normal open/boxed end wrench can come in handy to fit the open end on those suckers hidden under the starter and mounts. It doesn't take much to turn them tight.

My book says 5 to 9 ft lb on the 1/4" screws and 9-13 for the 5/16" ones, but that is for the AMC engine. I would think the Chrysler engine should be close to that but am sure someone here has the proper specs.

Mike

billy ray wrote:

What torque should I tighten things to?

The torque specs are for replacement of the gaskets with new parts. I don't believe they are valid for an old gasket or to slow down a leak.

I use a 1/4" drive socket wrench and my small finger on the end of the handle applying the pressure on the old ones. I stop if I see the slightest deformation of the metal happening. I have large and strong hands and figure my last finger can put the 3-5 or so ft lb of torque on them.

When I sneak the open end of a wrench onto a bolt head vertically in a tight space, I use mini vise grips clamped onto the wrench shaft close to the box end to turn it. This is tons of power for those bolts.

Mike

YouGoFirst wrote:

That sounds about the same to me.

'I' might be able to go way too tight your way, which I know from experience, so I stick to holding it with the first two fingers and thumb and using the little finger for power on pans and valve covers.

I can 'easily' crack the plastic valve covers with just the little finger pushing and regularly gut worm gear clamps when I use a nut driver on them. I am the kind of guy that snaps sider cutter handles off when using them. I have snapped two in the last couple months, one was a cheapie, one wasn't...

Mike

L.W. (Bill) Hughes III wrote: