Got a line on an 04 Rubicon with bad engine should I?

Clubbs

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Jun 15, 2008
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Blounts Creek
As cool as it is for my 17 year old to daily the CJ7 on 40's and a Mopar 440 - I don't know if it's the right rig to drive states away for college.

Got a line on an 04 Rubicon with a "bad engine." Haven't seen it but have first right of refusal when I go see it later this week. Supposed to be a 6 speed, no rust, mall crawler. Don't know the miles. Asking price is $8,500 seems high to me considering it doesn't run...

Since I've only done CJ's I don't know much about these snooty falooty new TJ's other than the frame rusts in half... Read through the which 4.0 fits my jeep thread so I suppose I could rebuild the motor that's in it or swap in another 02+ 4.0. or what else is an ideal and yet relatively easy engine swap for a tj? Would want to keep the trans and the rest of the drivetrain as is and I'm fresh out of Mopar big blocks so that's out.

Or anyone got a decent Rubicon for sale?
 
Seems like a decent price for a Rubicon if it doesn’t have like 300k miles.

The answer to your motor question is stroke the 4.0. Probably can do it for $1500 or less. And gives a shit ton more power for way less than a V8. Plus everything else still works and fits just like stock.

 
I think the current Jeep would be better if he was staying close. States away? Not so good. Something more tame would be a better choice. I think $8500 with a bad motor is a bit high. Maybe its a cream puff but $6500 or less sounds more in line if all else is good.
 
Back in the day I used to part out TJ rubicons that had been wrecked. I’d pick them up for about 3k and make about 10k off parting them out. I also agree that 8500$ seems high for one with a blown motor. Mine had about 30k of work done to it and with a blown motor I picked it up for 4,200$. It’s for sale now with a high price but that’s because I’m expecting someone to lowball me a price closer to what I really want.
 
For 10k you could get into a jk or jku with a bit of miles ready to hit the road. Not sure how open you are to other wranglers.
 
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I know Kannapolis machine sells remain engines with 30k warranty for $1600. That's what's going to go in the wife's wj eventually. Its had missing piston skirts for a while...
 
shawn said:
Are you thinking $1500 additional over a normal rebuild?
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I'm talking parts since he said "I suppose I could rebuild the motor that's in it" and doing a stroker is basically just rebuilding with a different crank. $400 worth of pistons, $400 crank, $400 rebuild kit, $400 in machine work. Yeah yeah yeah, thats $1600, but I assume you can get the pistons and rebuild kit for less.
 
jeepinmatt said:
I'm talking parts since he said "I suppose I could rebuild the motor that's in it" and doing a stroker is basically just rebuilding with a different crank. $400 worth of pistons, $400 crank, $400 rebuild kit, $400 in machine work. Yeah yeah yeah, thats $1600, but I assume you can get the pistons and rebuild kit for less.
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then injectors, tuning and other fun things to deal with when you're putting a non stock engine back in I'm assuming ?
 
Bebop said:
then injectors, tuning and other fun things to deal with when you're putting a non stock engine back in I'm assuming ?
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Nope, mine has been running stock cam, injectors, intake, tuning etc since 2003 without missing a beat.

Edit: One other thing I did forget is the stock radiator is not really up to task when you run AC in the summer.

Edit edit: With that said, the reason I rebuilt mine and stroked it to begin with is because the stock radiator failed, so when I stroked it, I put in an "ultra super heavy megaduty 3 core aerospaceship" radiator that was probably too thick and didn't flow well. The stock one might have actually been better (had the plastic tank not split and dumped the coolant and melted 6 pistons while I was going down the interstate). I now have a Novak aluminum radiator and Taurus fan that work great.
 
The more I think about this, the more it's sounds like another project. I'll still go see it later this week, but unless it's low mileage and in great condition I'm probably not going to get involved.

Would be cool to have a stroked 4.6, or v8 swap it, but if the purpose is for my son to have a daily driver light wheeler then I probably need something that doesnt need an engine swap day one - I can't just do an engine swap once I get that deep.

@untchabl saw yours for sale and it's tempting too, got a soft spot for a clean tj though, but maybe
 
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Saw the tj last night. Jumper cables to the batt leads to find out it has 165k miles. New radiator, plugs and coil pack laying off to the side (suspicious). Try and start it and get 1/4 slow turn before over current on the jumper cables and the thing goes dark. Try this a few more times and engine doesn't move again. No top, no carpet, NO RUST anywhere, all lights, radio, ac fan, seemed to work fine, no lift, looks like it was a decent rig till overheat and then previous owner tried to play mechanic, but I think the bottom end got cooked too. Going to pass on this one. If anyone is interested pm me and I'll give you the present owners contact. Price is now $7500.
 
benXJ said:
Why not just get a nice running TJ for $8k and rock on? Need HD axles and lockers to drive to college?
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This is the thought... was hoping this was more of a deal, and whatever he drives will likely have larger than stock tires so the deeper Rubicon gearing would be nice. He will probably wheel the thing at college too, but hopefully dear old dad can come along and bring the CJ too
 
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As mentioned I'd think for the 9-10k total you were looking at total after the engine rebuild + all the various fix-ups you could get a decent JK that's ready to bolt on a budget lift and tires and rock on,
Despite soft spots for certain fun vehicles... college kids in another state need reliability and minimal work to worry about.
 
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