how is a 92 4.0 different from a 96 4.0?

Hi!! 1st post for me as well as I am owning my 1st xj.It's a 92 5 speed 4.0. only 167,000 miles but unsure of previous usage and is using oil and smoking. I tried a search,but couldn't find anything similar to this subject.which brings me to the reason of this post. I have been looking for a used engine for a decent price and have found one with low miles for cheap. It is a 96 4.0. how hard would this be to swap into my 92? what are the differences between these 2 engines? is there a difference in the computers used? I can also get the computer with the engine. how hard would the 96 computer be to swap into my 92 wiring harness if I do need to switch computers? any other differences I might be overlooking? the engine is about 100 miles from here and I am just trying to get a feeler for how hard this swap would be to see if it is even worth my drive to check it out. i am by no means a mechanic. I have done a couple tranny and engine swaps on older carbed vehicles,and I do all my own maintainance. thanks in advance,Ben

forgot to mention that the 96 xj had an automatic tranny. would there be any problems in the pilot bushing area for the clutch for my 92 tranny? any other differences in the auto tranny and manual tranny engines? thanks again,Ben

surely someone has done this swap or one similar? Or am i just asking silly questions? just trying to get an idea if this engine will work before the owner of the 96 sells it to someone else......thanks, Ben

Should be a straight forward swap, no need to swap harness or computers...just swap your 92 intake and assorted 92 accesories to the 96 block...wont know about pilot bushing and auto tranny crank differences until you get it out...maybe call the dealership and see if the parts number is different for a auto vs manual crank...

'96 was the first year the XJ had OBD-II. The computer is different from the '92, and there may be differences in the injection. Somewhere in there they changed from having a return line to not having a return line.

But the basic engine is the same and you could simply swap over the externals from the '92 to the "new" engine.

thanks for the help guys. I had thought about swapping the 92 stuff onto the 96 engine,but was hoping the 96 would just be a plug and play job. guess it'll be a little harder than I thought. thanks again,Ben