Jeep Grand Cherokee SE Engine Swap

Engine 16 tooth ring or the 32 tooth ring Engine model

Jeep Cherokee Engine Swap

Bellhousing bolts

United States 2004 Jeep Cherokee


Q: Replacement Engine For 04 grand Cherokee that has a bad 4.7 engine.
16 tooth engine or 32 tooth engine?

A: Engine details:

16 Tooth Crank Tone Wheel 

If the replacement engine comes from a 2004 or older WJ body style Grand Cherokee then it will have a 16 tooth crank tone wheel for sure. The 16 tooth tone wheel was used with the JTEC type engine controller (PCM), which was the only one used on the WJ.


32 Tooth Crank Tone Wheel

The 2002 and newer Durango and Dakota was the start of the NGC PCM, which used the 32 tooth tone wheel. These engines will physically fit in the WJ and are externally the same, but will have a different crank tone wheel and won't run. If there is a question about what year or vehicle the replacement comes from then you can remove the crank sensor and physically look at the tone wheel and you'll have no question which engine you have.

Bell Housing Bolts:

Removing bellhousing bolts:

The bellhousing bolts is not very difficult to remove with right tools. You can get them all from the bottom, but to get to the top ones you'd have to drop the trans crossmember and drop the back of the trans to lower it far enough to access the top bolts. Either way the bolts are all best accessed using a long extension and swivel socket.

Another way to get at the top bolts is pull the intake, which there is a good chance you'll want to do anyway when pulling the engine. With the intake out of the way then you can access the bolts from the top with a wrench (Gear Wrench works best).


Regarding Engine Swap:

You can also use the different engines by swapping the tone wheel but it's labor intensive. Swapping the cam sensor tone wheel isn't bad, you just have to remove the right valve cover, wedge the timing chain and replace the cam sprocket.

Crank Tone Wheel Removal:

The crank tone wheel is more of a big deal though. It's a one piece design that goes over the end of the crankshaft to remove and install it, so to swap it out you'd have to remove the bed-plate and the crankshaft. It's certainly doable if you can't find the correct year engine or you find a great deal on a low mileage newer engine or something like that, but it's more work than you may want to get into.

This details will help.
Thanks.