Refresh or Rebuild: One Cooked 4.0

sireland67 said
Start by calling some wrecking yards out east, they will ship.

Majority won't. I've already called about large parts in the past (fenders, seats, etc.) and 90% of the yards say they don't ship oversized parts. The ones that would ship charged so much for it, it's cheaper just to pay the higher prices for a shop to track them down for me.

sireland67 said
Jeeps are everywhere around here, there are tons of the in junkyards.

I can buy an XJ off my co-worker for around $1000, and it has 83,000 miles on it, just today he told me to came and get it.

Yeah, that's definitely not happening on our side. A solid XJ that doesn't need work is a $10k vehicle any day of the week. More if it had a nice option package. You can get ones with minor mechanical or cosmetic issues for ~$5k. At that price level, you should expect to replace a clutch, or rebuild the suspension, maybe replace a fender or door panels. Sub $4k and you start getting into "issues". Jeeps where the doors have ripped hinges and need welding, or major crash damage.

For instance, on craigslist right now there's 15 XJs up for sale and I can guarantee every single one has nothing as far as rust is concerned. Every bolt will come off every part on every Jeep. Personally, I'd rather have no rust but deal with the higher prices. There are gems out there: a unicorn '96 2DR Manual 4WD for only $6500. Has a blown motor (listing says cylinder #1 is shot) though.

harrisonm said
My input is a complete rebuild! That way you will know EXACTLY what you have, and it will last forever.

We'll see how this motor holds up long-term, but she's running wonderfully right now. Turned out to be a much stronger motor than I anticipated I'd get out of it.