2.5l to what

ok heres what it is i have a 1985 xj 5 speed 4x4 with a 2.5l i would like to put a v-8 in for painful pounds of horses. people tell me it cant be done, others say it can. what is yall's input on this and what all woul d i need and what all would i have to do for it.

i want to get it up and running fast so i can get back in tha mud help me please :bawl: :bawl: :bawl: :dunno: :helpme: :helpme:


if yall could give me ur input and tell me how to do this swap i would greatly appreciate it:worship: :worship:

dump your ENTIRE drivetrain and start from scratch.

grab the tranny/transfercase from a 4wd 4.3L S10/S15 (driver drop, 90* bolt pattern.

grab/build SBC of your choice.

bolt together, drop in.

look to advance adapters for motor mounts/exhaust or measure and fit together stuff from other sources.

80s monte carlo manifolds are supposedly a good choice.


you could also go 302/whatever/D20 and use bronco tranny/t-case.

basically, anything that's driver-side drop and that you can shove in there will work. you just gotta make it work

It is easier to transplant a V-8 into an XJ than to transplant a 4.0L into a pre-87 XJ. It has been done. Biggest issue, aside from needing adapters from Advanced Adapters or Novak and obscene quantities of cash, will be cooling. There simply isn't enough frontal area to fit a radiator that will effectively cool a V-8.

As for CheapXJ's suggestion -- the 4.3 is nothing but 3/4 of a small block Chevy V-8. It needs all the same adapters and custom mounts that a SBC V-8 would require, so you might as well go all the way.

However, I think you have conflicting requirements. You wrote that you want to get it up and running fast. That ain't gonna happen if you do a V-8 transplant.

BTW -- this type of question belongs on the Modified forum, so it is being relocated.

I jsut happen to have a complete AA kit to adapt to theearly 5 speed to a 350 v8, bell housing and all, 150.00 plus shipping

If you want fast swap then forget the V-8....

Go with a 3.1 or 3.4.

You can scavenge the engine mounts and odds-n-ends from a scrapyard 2.8 equipped jeep to fit the 3.4....just be sure the donor motor is from a RWD car..that would be by far the cheapest way to go...not as much power as a smallblock or a 4.3 for sure, but relatively easy compared to the V-8...and you won't have to mess with the drivetrain...