1999 Jeep Cherokee XJ 4.0 Engine and Transmission Swap Guide

Here we're replacing our blown motor and trans, a lot of the stuff we do is probably not recommended but we don't know the difference.
Our first youtube video so I apologize for any issues.
For future videos of the xj be sure to Subscribe, Thanks for watching.

[@nigelnigelakiraakira]

The fact that you guys did this in 36 minutes is impressive. Bravo!

[@EstaDePiPi]

lol it’s obviously edited and not just raw 36 minute footage, very impressive nonetheless

[@andrewkrogsund330]

This is great as a reference video for all of the connector/bolt/bracket locations. I pulled my engine out for a rebuild 8 months ago and am finally going back together and I keep coming back to this video to check where little things go. Thanks for taking the time to document all of this, might seem like overkill to some but it's definitely a ton of useful info

[@w.c.6678]

"Safety rope engaged."

[@boogieman277]

I think it's great that these young men actually took on such a job. Great work men!

[@Scott00]

I've watched many different videos over the years from professional mechanic shops showing how to do certain jobs and this is the best tutorial video on a project I've seen to date. Good job!

[@randyosborne6381]

I agree 100 percent they did a good job

[@BuildBreakRepeat]

It's a pretty long video so here are some time stamps for the best/funniest parts. 3:25 Spilling coolant everywhere 30:50 Trans removal 33:30 Engine Removal 35:00 Some more issues 35:50 First start

[@BuildBreakRepeat]

Haha didn't even notice that, that's some poetry right there.

[@HocusFocusProductions]

I watch videos like this and think back to my parents not wanting me to work on my car (something I knew nothing about anyway) in our driveway. I understand their viewpoint a bit better with every spill now.

[@charleshodge1873]

build_break_repeat Great job on the engine swap. What was wrong with the old engine, rod knock or piston slap?

[@BuildBreakRepeat]

Charles Hodge It overheated and blew the head gasket, and that caused rodnock and some other issues, we probably could have fixed it but we didn't want to go down a rabbit hole so we just fixed all the issues by getting a crate engine.

[@charleshodge1873]

build_break_repeat Where did you source your crate engine, and how do you like it so far?

[@ohthelawd]

Super impressed. You guys did an awesome job. There's no better feeling than when it fires up for the first time and you know all that work paid off.

[@MrWallyrooster]

One of the best ways to learn is by DOING. They took action and learned along the way.

[@rudygaona7506]

you guys did a great job . im impressed you don't see to many young guys doing their own work . you can do as many upgrades as you want . good job

[@JonsRegularStuff]

Excellent vid guys. Thanks so much for documenting the whole process. My pride and joy, '98 XJ, has died - overheated and engine blew, and i was about to scrape the whole car. You'all are an inspiration. Cheers.

[@TylerDaSilva522]

I watch this video every time I take something off my Jeep. Thank you so much.

[@sincitydude7296]

270k on my 96 zj and finally the engine has to be swapped. You three are brave for taking on such a complicated project but kudos to you for following through and completing the job. I'm sure victory was sweet once she turned over!

[@BobSmith-yb2lw]

Great to see other kids that are around my age (17ish) wrenching on them XJs. Especially that u guys don’t know much shows just how easy they are to work on (minus the damn siezed/rusty bolts)

[@dennisbo5004]

I have to hand it to ya guys. Great work, not a single curse word on this video. This country needs more young men like you guys. Absolutely wonderful video. Now if I could just get my son to help me out doing my motor.

[@stupidsnek]

If you'd let him cuss maybe he would.

[@msage002]

35:00 that feeling when you get it started for the first time. love this

[@mrantihippie]

Blew up my 5 Speed XJ having a bit too much fun on a trail, here i am.

[@larretta88]

Me too! Yesterday!! 😥

[@sethmorton8539]

Aren’t we all lol pulling a boat off road down some trails 😑

[@md_randoms2429]

My dads Jeep was rod knocking in his 4.0 so then he decided to see how much longer it will run so he decided to daily it for like 2 months and 5000 miles later it finally blew up, he had an extra 4.0 from a half Jeep in our back yard, lol

[@melancholybrocoli9868]

Nice job guys. Seriously, this is awesome.

[@sundance561]

Great video...you guys rock Dedicated to wrenching ... one day when your old your gonna remember that day it fired up after all the crap you went thru ... It reminds me of my youth, pulling a motor with my friends ... Been wrenching for 45 years .. I’m 58 now and gonna pull out my 4.0 outta my 2000 Cherokee This video will help a lot .. thanks guys Keep the videos coming ....

[@jeremyroman8067]

This video brings me so much joy, I am 40yrs old and have just started working on vehicles. I am a certified youtube mechanic and seeing you guys knock this out in the driveway, not only give me hope for me. but hope for our future generation.

[@eliaslopez3426]

You guys have taught me so much more than any other person or video

[@thealphabeaver298]

There's no "pipes" on a vehicle. Hoses and lines. I commend you young men. This is awesome!!

[@robertweirjr3196]

Exhaust hoses ? I would argue that a vehicle has pipes

[@warrenharrison9490]

Inspiring. Been putting off pulling engine from old 2000 xj to swap to new/old 2000 xj. Thanks for the engine pull video 👍👍

[@johnhillmann9586]

I’m just now seeing this video. It’s awesome!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to shoot this video. It can be a teal pain in the butt to get work done and also video everything. So thank you guys!!!! Just awesome! Where can I send you a few bucks? Nothing says thank you like $$$!!!👊👍

[@dylanbatie1545]

I love the excitement on the first start

[@codabros]

Good job guys, way to team effort the project. It’s a lot of work but the mission was accomplished! Did it myself on a 88 runs great 👍. Definitely worth the effort, the jeep is gonna last a long time.

[@livergen]

Outstanding Guy's, you brought back good memories of myself back in the day...!!! We are all super proud of you-all (( team-work )) for sure & a job well done ... This is how you Learn Things,, get in there and just do it ------ No matter what happens you learn (( try & learn from others mastakes )) ,,, Good Job Guy's.....!!!!

[@richardgillespie3829]

Good learning experience and teamwork! Very nice, i just subscribed.

[@SheDevilsGarage]

I never knew yall did a xj build where have i been haha love the videos you guys are awesome for having the knowledge yall have now lol

[@NaturallyCaffeinated]

Great job guys.

[@antoniofernandez8372]

Fantastic job and video Amigos!!! I'm doing this right now on my daughter's 1998 XJ.

[@Shawncsc]

Subbed, liked, downloaded. This will definitely come in handy. Good job and thanks guys.

[@patriot72]

Awesome job guys! Well done!

[@justincrasi4638]

This is why jeeps are amazing

[@0GSkywa1ker]

thanks for the helpful info, im fixing to do a transmission swap with my 91.

[@BuildBreakRepeat]

0GSkywa1ker Glad we could help, good luck

[@hayzersolar]

I'm ready to do this in my 99 here next few weeks. Every helpful thanks

[@coreyferguson2455]

You gives are the best!! Keep up the great work and stay friends for life!!! Thanks for the knowledge my Bros

[@flatbushtentcity]

Awesome work fellas!

[@anthonyramirez4874]

That was cool to watch! Thanks for the advice

[@brucea822]

these guys remind me of ..ME when I was there age . way to go guys

[@justintime2277]

Good job boys!!

[@danieldelgado5469]

You guys are awesome please make more videos like this. owning a Jeep xj is my dream

[@dylangreen9819]

Daniel Delgado They are pretty cheap to find

[@letstalkcaliber704]

That is one clean xj.

[@jackburner8107]

Good work guys....looks good

[@somsaksomprasong583]

You did a good job, guys!

[@candelariocalderon1210]

nice job awesome video

[@BastardX13]

Well done fellas!

[@wilsnich02]

Well done and thankyou for posting

[@jimmyghersi]

Excellent video

[@isaacbentley4925]

Well done, fellas.

[@ni7suj]

Amazing job

[@Josealvarez-pz3mh]

Excellent video, Thank you

[@axeldaniel4328]

Awesome bro !!

[@rmnorton2]

Great job. Thanks for the video.

[@rick252007]

Well done fellas

[@pavlohassan9281]

Good work!!!

[@waelpauomi]

Good job guys

[@nicderemer1]

nice video very detailed

[@termike55]

good job!

[@robplotts9412]

Feels good dont it boys when you accomplish something like that. Nice job

[@lakmalfernando2004]

good work guys. thanks.

[@vincentshaw5914]

You guys are awesome

[@TylerDaSilva522]

You guys rock!!! Thanks so much.

[@eugen0776]

хорошее состояние!Я из России и у меня XJ 92 4.0 сделал сам капитальный ремонт двигателя. Вы молодцы

[@shaimran8933]

Good job mate

[@1949ala]

Nice job

[@MrDlang0982]

Awesome guys

[@weaponizedmemes3461]

Great video. Nice to see such young lads taking on a project this big. How did you fix the timing issue?

[@NeilKudro]

You have no idea how lucky you are for having friends to help you out. Great video and great work. One question is why are changing the original engine? Are replacing it with a bigger block? Thanks

[@BuildBreakRepeat]

Kudro Rico I know man...definitely something we take for granted. It overheated, and blew the head gasket along with some other internals and cooked the torque converter, so we decided instead of just throwing money at it to try to fix it we should just replace it altogether with a new 4.0 crate engine.

[@jackdooley8732]

@@BuildBreakRepeat Friends, i wish I had friends.

[@amari5435]

@@jackdooley8732 stop being cringey get a life

[@WetWater_]

@@BuildBreakRepeat where did you get the crate motor if you don’t mind me asking? Ik this is a 3 year old video lol but I’m struggling rn

[@jackpistone8015]

@@WetWater_ try titan engines on ebay

[@baldomerogarza1458]

awesome job! about to hit 200k on my xj so I'm expecting to do this soon👌

[@BuildBreakRepeat]

Baldomero Garza Haha yeah, you never know though, it just depends on how it was maintained before you owned it.

[@WILSON.1]

I met a guy recently that had 500k miles on his xj. It has since died, but quite a milestone! It's all about how you maintain it!

[@baldomerogarza1458]

WILSON! that's awsome!

[@skl1cent]

great video guys, going to be pulling a 4.0 from a XJ this summer to put in my TJ upgrading my 2.5L loll

[@BuildBreakRepeat]

Skl1cent Haha thanks, looks like you've got quite the project ahead of you....good luck!

[@skl1cent]

Thanks! I need to start collecting some parts like an AX15 manual and a ford 8.8 rear going to build it up nicely.

[@BuildBreakRepeat]

Skl1cent No way, we just bought an 8.8 out of an explorer that were gona be building. It's a limited slip with 4.10 gears. We're just waiting on some more money lol. Yeah but we'll totally make a video of it.

[@skl1cent]

build_break_repeat sweeeet thats exactly what i need also bc my tj has 4.10s in it. awesome ill keep an eye out for that video I subbed.

[@steveevans1205]

Doesn't work that way. Different motor mounts on the 2.5

[@imasamplesix266]

Man this is so lit

[@steventure7939]

Ahhh, thank you. I'll be doing this in a few weeks for the first time. Wish I could give the video 20 more likes.

[@Amarillobymorning777]

YES, YES👍👍 S O L I D . GREETINGS FROM TOLUCA MEXICO.

[@CopeManMTNDEW]

nice xj. I had a black 98 that looked similar to that one. 5.5 inches. stock steel wheels and 31s. I had KC lights on it too. what's ironic is I did a motor and tcase swap on it too lol

[@BuildBreakRepeat]

Colton Doyle Nice man! Sounds a lot like ours.

[@joegasparro2395]

Congrats on the job..Great video, learned alot. One suggestion though, when talking about buying the torx socket set...its like $20. You are doing a couple thousand dollar project, if u need a $20 tool, just buy it, not worth driving around to save $2 on a $2000 job.

[@RepublicanJesusthe2nd]

I like how they call the hoses "pipes".

[@Zoofactory]

Nice job guys. What size lift are you guys running on this XJ? Any adjustments were made for that during/ after the swap? Pure curiosity. I'm pulling a 4.0 right now from a 98' XJ to put in my 94' YJ 2.5L. and the video giving me great help. The 2000 XJ 4.0 daily driver I run is ready for a lift and that's why I'm asking. I'm just glad I don't have to pull my XJ motor from the 00' to learn how to pull the 4.0 I'm using for the YJ rebuild. Both motors are pretty close with respect to removal. Good Effort. It's good to have friends.... (I'm screwed. Sons aren't old enough to for engine swaps).

[@BuildBreakRepeat]

Chris Bridges It's a 6.5 inch lift and we didn't have to mess with it at all during the swap. Glad the video has helped you out so far!

[@TheRossillini]

That's cool

[@redneckswitwheels]

Fun fact...replace the e12 socket head bolts with 3/8-16 x 1.75 long flange bolt. Then use a regular socket or wrench 🔧 🤔 simple upgrade for the next time u gotta pull that 4.0

[@blueskycrying]

I have a 99 grand cherokee 2wd with a good 4.0 I6 engine and another very nice grand cherokee 4x4 with a blown v8 engine was gonna swap the good engine for the blown engine my question is whether the automatic transmissions are the same. Or do I have to swap them as well ? Any help appreciated.

[@sincitydude7296]

What oil did you use to break the new engine in? Did you just use regular oil or did you use a break in oil?

[@dcarden3031]

What are you swaping it to the 4.0 is all you need in the trail or off road. I port and polish head new at performance off road heads. full exhaust. Cheap banks gen1 T/4 turbo kit making 344 horsepower 450 torque low boost all low end power 2 years no problem. 230k miles on stock block

[@hallhouse5098]

I’m hoping to pull mine this weekend. I’ve got no help so it’s just me and my tools. I’ll also be rebuilding it myself. Never did it before but youtube videos have been great although I can’t stand youtube ads any more. I don’t know how many more Michael Bloomberg ads I can take before shooting my AR at big empty big gulp cups I just drank.

[@giovannilopez6529]

I need that lift 😳🤔

[@brandenb3093]

12 minutes in and I already forgot how to put together most of the things 🤣 I'd have an anxiety attavk

[@carlh2022]

yo just a heads up I use a Home depot Mud tub its big black rectangular shape catches alot of stuff so you dont get it on moms driveway or on her garage floor!!

[@Himithor]

36:34 SHE'S ALIVE! ALIVE!!!!!!!!!

[@lelandharper2099]

A lot of people don’t know there is a drain plug in the radiator it’s on the bottom side to the left (facing the jeep)

[@delinquentdesign]

Yeah in the stupidest place ever I swear I don’t know wtf is wrong with jeep engineers but they have the most design flaws I’ve ever seen in any make vehicle. They should just be a cab/carriage designer like the old Fischer company and leave the rest to someone that knows how to design the power plant/cooling system. It’s so stupid it must be planned obsolescence.

[@Himithor]

Guys yall saved about $4-5k on that job!!!

[@mactheslovac8673]

This is what all younger people shouldn't be doing instead of drugs... Nice looking keep btw🥴🤘🤘

[@HarryKananKiri]

Keren good

[@flutetubamorg]

Pump it down boys!

[@FromAllowed2Aloud]

What company did you use for the remanufactured engine? How has it performed?

[@yurdp]

About to do this on my ‘96 SE. 260K on the original engine.

[@maxslifer1391]

Good luck i want to buy one want to know what i am getting into

[@kevinmarshall8951]

My question is where did you rent the engine hoist?

[@bocolocoversionX2]

Soo i am doing this on my 98', and need to know if its possible to remove the motor, trans, and T case as a whole. And also, is it necessary to remove the intake and header for the removal?

[@ImpalaConvertibleSuperSport]

bocolocoversionX2 I am getting ready to pull mine with trans and transfer case. I will you know how it went.

[@catiachick]

You can, just remove trans xmember and make sure everything is disconnected. Have a buddy keep an eye on clearances as you pull it.

[@skl1cent]

How did you guys disconnect the AC lines? was there a tool that you push into those donut connectors? or just yank em off I'm trying to take the ones off my xj donor jeep but no luck yet.

[@BuildBreakRepeat]

Skl1cent yeah we used a quick disconnect tool, just a little plastic thing you can get at autozone, we used it on the transmission lines to the radiator if you want to see what they look like.

[@skl1cent]

ahh ok I see it that little red circle tool awesome! thanks guys!

[@dcarden3031]

However, Nice video only one on KZbin. Where they do the work

[@MedicatedOMO]

Blowing a bulletproof engine sounds hard to do. How did it happen??

[@eldobleerres7661]

How did u removed the ac condenser lines??

[@tsdxsavage9222]

What kind of engine did you take out of it and what kind of engine did you put in it