1998 Jeep Cherokee

1998 Jeep Cherokee Sport

Automatic Transmission

4.0L i-6 Engine

4 Wheel Drive

4 Door

3" Lift

10/03/2025

This Cherokee was the first Jeep I bought from the Bel Air Auto Auction. I purchased it for $1,200 and took it home for $1,440 after the auction fees.

I had always wanted an older box style Cherokee because of the movie Breakdown that I saw when I was a kid. Later I realized Kurt Russell was actually driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Nevertheless, I wound up buying this XJ and that's what started Titan Off-Road.

Since the Jeep was 27 years old at the time of buying it from the auction, it was what's known as a "Red-Light" meaning As-Is. No inspections, no arbitration, no frame checks, no way out of it.

Since I hardly got a look at the Jeep before bidding on it and eventually winning it, I didn't get a chance to preview it before buying it. It probably wouldn't have done me much good either way. After paying for the Cherokee at the front desk i was able to drive it home that day.

Leaving the auction went fine, we took backroads because we were unsure of the state of this car before we could get it on a lift and take a look at it. About 20 minutes into the drive, my gauge cluster lights up and I hear a "ding" and see "CHECK GAUGES". My engine was running at about 280 degrees.

After some diagnosing we figured it needed a head gasket. Coolant was mixing with the oil and not bringing the temperature down.

So we pulled the head, only to find that not only was the head gasket cracked, so was the head itself, as well as the engine block.

Unfortunately, that meant this motor was toast. Cylinder 2 had a permanent missfire.

This led me down a rabbit hole of trying to learn how to rebuild motors. At this point I hadn't done much more to a car than an oil change and changing some wheels out. My Brother-in-Law, Brandon, opened a used car dealership which is how I was able to come to the auction with him and buy the Cherokee. I was fortunate enough that Brandon and his mechanic were able to fix the Cherokee for me enough to be able to run around with it a little bit, even if it was only on 5 cylinders.

After countless hours of YouTube and some Facebook Marketplace searching, I found a 4.0L motor out of an '89 Cherokee the next town over for $300.

I stripped this motor down to the block to get a look at the cylinder walls and the pistons. It basically looked brand new. However, '89 Cherokees were Renix / pre-OBD-11. This meant a lot of changes would need to be made, sensors wouldn't line up, emissions issues, EGR valve compatibility issues, ect.

Having already bought this engine, I was planning on making these adaptations in order to have a fully functioning car. That is until I saw another 4.0 on facebook marketplace for $100. Offered him $50 and said I could be there in two hours, and to my surprise he took it.

All i know about this motor is that it was pulled from a 1997 XJ that sat for about 10 years before it was pulled on a part out, and the seller that I met then got it on a trade. Unknown Mileage.

Which leads us to where we are today. I've ordered a rebuild kit from Titan Engines that I plan to start working on as soon as I get it. I will post updates to this project at the top of this page, to keep everything in order from latest updates.