318 swap?

coming back from a roadtrip my oil pressure tanked in my 1990 Xj.. not surprising with 300K

I happen to have a 318 sitting in the floor of my garage with the entire wiring harness, I know people are gonna freak out but i want to run my AW4. Its been replaced and seems to be in great shape.

So will the 318 bolt up to the AW4 so i can run both ECU's and make my gauges happy?


Motor mounts and fabrication are not an issue since i work in a very nice shop

This should get you started
http://www.backwoodsoffroad.com/cgi-bin/imcart/read.cgi?article_id=2&sub=2

ok after reading that... still not sure about the ability to bolt the 318 to an Aw4.

Im more comfortable piggybacking the old ecu to the new one to make te jeep run. since i have a 1990 the TJ swap info doesnt help. I have a 21 spline NP 242 T-case that i am rather fond of and my best solution for keeping it is sticking with the AW4... I also have a 440 just laying around but i DD my cherokee so the 318 would be wiser as far as MPG goes

440

MoparManiac said:

440

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I've heard those suck wicked bad especially when trying to use fuel injection

318 with ECU/PCM for manual trans car... AW4 with TCU from 1995 or older so it doesn't send any signals to the 4.0 PCM.

Verify all that but it might be a direction to research.

I'd rather stick another 4.0 in instead of a 318. 318 is one of the most "meh" engines on the planet.

Root Moose said:

I'd rather stick another 4.0 in instead of a 318. 318 is one of the most "meh" engines on the planet.

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that's exactly what I came in here to say

If you are going to do a V8 swap, do it right. The 318 doesn't have much more power than the 4.0L. Sell the 318 and get something better.
I am going to be doing an LSx swap when I have the funds available.

I'm a mopar dude and I wouldn't go through all that work to do a 318 swap. Not worth it.

would probably be worth it if it were a 360. 325 lb/ft sounds pretty nice! but in 92 it looks like a 318 was only cranking out 280 lb/ft, something probably easily achievable by a mild stroker.

I've been a tech 26 years.

I'm currently dropping in a 98 5.9 magnum truck engine in my 95 XJ. Using a 95 grand cherokee as a donor for the harness, pcm, trans and exhaust manifolds/y pipe.

If you don't have very strong fab skills and the tools (welder, torches/plasma cutter, grinder, drills ect) and heavy auto tech skills with access to, and very skilled at, interpreting wiring diagrams, to blend the harness, don't do it.

It has been a (fun) challenge and a long time to prep for.

You cannot use the AW4. The bell housing bolt pattern is different. No one makes an adapter plate.
You will need to fab engine mounts.
you will need to fab a new crossmember/ modify the current one
you will need 2 new drive shafts, or at least used ones that are lengthened/shortened.
you will need aftermarket or fabbed t-case linkage
the water pump outlet is on the opposite side so you will need a custom radiator or plumb hoses and pipes to reach.
slight 'frame' customization to fit the factory manifolds or buy block huggers then custom exhaust
I bought dirtbound's 3 fan setup for cooling, other options are out there but a mechanical fan will not fit. There is 1/2" of room between the center fan and the nose of the water pump pulley.

It's a very tight fit but it is doable. the upper rad hose is my last road block as I have only 1/2" of room between the top of the engine and the hood.
Note, I am retaining everything including the a/c so custom hoses and fitment are required.
I think I will end up having to custom make a t-stat housing that exits behind the alt.

I had also relocated my battery to a custom box under the rear seat to install TNT's inner fenders. I have more room to relocate items than I would if the battery was still there.

There's something to think about.

If I had to do all that, I dont see how I couldnt kick myself for not going LSx

Ls swap is even more difficult. Look up FrankZs swap.

Digger87xj said:

Ls swap is even more difficult. Look up FrankZs swap.

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It CAN be, but learning from his and John D's mistakes helps. If you have the coin, Novak conversions has turn-key setups that will bolt right in. But seriously, they have all the adapters, etc that you need for the swap, whether it be motor mounts, radiator, headers. They got it.

Guess I'm cheap. Don't want to pay for all that crap

Why spend extra coin for adapters?
LSx \ t56\ atlas

i bet there isn't much wrong with your 4.0.... i'd swap in a stock 4.0 or even build a stroker before messing with a v8 swap in an xj. it's too easy to get good power and torque from a jeep motor, and you won't have to change nearly as much stuff. i think that in the long run you'd be glad you just stayed with the inline six.

Digger87xj said:

Guess I'm cheap. Don't want to pay for all that crap

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im with you here. i'd like to do a 360 swap some day into my MJ. seems cheaper, still decent power compared to stock 4.0, it keeps it chrysler, and i work at a chrysler dealer so i have tons of resources to help me do the swap. doesnt make sense to me to go with a GM motor when i have all the resources and knowledge with chrysler stuff.

since im a fabricator in a multimillion dollar "Obama stimulus" funded shop i dont think fab work is going to be an issue... i also have the entire drivetrain out of a chevy 2500 at my disposal.. guess ill just slap a 231C transfer case to it and lose my 242 (really liked it for winter driving)

thanks guys, ill start a build thread once i have all the parts accumulated. I really wanted to stick with a Chrysler drivetrain but ohh well.. ps a 440 would be entirely too much even tho i did just stick one in a dart i keep eyeing this ford V10 sitting in the floor of the shop too but... that would be entirely too much for my heep

440 is not too much at all. It churns 40s like nothing.

But I'm retarded.