1984 cherokee 5.0HO

[av4xj]

hey, guys i have an 84 xj equiped with the original 2.8L that is nuked and i have a 5.0HO out of a '92 t-bird availible for a swap. what would you think about a C6 teamed up to a dana 20 out of a 66-72 bronco? i believe that that would make a stout combo, or even a C4 (which is what the broncos originally had) and the dana unit. comments, thoughts, suggestions... all would be helpful....

[john mitchell]

plenty of discussion on this on previous posts, A search for engine swap will give you lots to read… although some threads got kind of nasty with name calling.

The 5.0 would be a tight fit but I would think it should go in.

This would be a big project but if done well, it would be fun to drive.

Keep us posted.

[AZ XJ]

Since I'm not a fan of general motors, IMHO swapping a 5.0 motor into your jeep would be one of the coolest things you could possibly do. Although rare, you can find C6's with the smallblock bellhousing, but really a C4 is all you would ever need. I'd love to see how it turns out.

Edit: Oh I just saw that your in Phoenix...even cooler!

[dfreeman616]

it has been done, but i have no experience doing it. and yes, that should be a good drivetrain.

[av4xj]

thanks for the support guys, i think i will go with the c4 since it would be cheaper and easier to find than a c6 and should suffice

[The Blu Yak]

hey if you have the carb from the 2.8 and your trying to get rid of it shoot me a PM.

[bajacalal]

Though I haven't actually seen one in person (in an XJ that is), the 5.0 motor is purported to be relatively simple to wire up, cheap and plentiful, lots of aftermarket parts avaliable, compact in size and doesn't throw off a ton of heat, good things. I agree, its irritating how people think performance = building a small block chevy.

I believe theres someone on the board with this setup, maybe if you search you can send a PM.

Personally, ditch 3spd autos, I would like to see one mated to a 5 speed and there is an adaptor kit to the AX15. That probably isin't helping if you have an earlier XJ. Or theres ford m/trans from an F-150 but I don't like ford 5spds.

[JaysXJ]

Sorry, but Ford never put a 5.0HO (high output) in any T-bird or Cougar. All 5.0 in theres cars were SO. (? output). The HO were only in Mustangs and Mark V, IV, etc...

[av4xj]

Sorry, but Ford never put a 5.0HO (high output) in any T-bird or Cougar. All 5.0 in theres cars were SO. (? output). The HO were only in Mustangs and Mark V, IV, etc...

well.. i must beg to differ, because the motor im pulling is out of a '92 t-bird and it is stamped right on the name plate on the top of the manifold
also, heres an example in this link to a used t-bird with one

http://www.alpinemotorswyoming.com/car/1993_Ford_Thunder_Bird_V8.html

[AZ XJ]

Though I haven't actually seen one in person (in an XJ that is), the 5.0 motor is purported to be relatively simple to wire up, cheap and plentiful, lots of aftermarket parts avaliable, compact in size and doesn't throw off a ton of heat, good things. I agree, its irritating how people think performance = building a small block chevy.

I believe theres someone on the board with this setup, maybe if you search you can send a PM.

Personally, ditch 3spd autos, I would like to see one mated to a 5 speed and there is an adaptor kit to the AX15. That probably isin't helping if you have an earlier XJ. Or theres ford m/trans from an F-150 but I don't like ford 5spds.

A buddy of mine's dad has a 5.0 in his Jeep Commando Rockcrawler, and it has plenty of power to turn the 42" Iroc's he's got on it. It's also very easy to wire up. Ford's fuel injection system is FAR superior to any GM system of the same era. Gm's is basically a carb with 2 injectors on top, and is very difficult to make work correctly and is in my experience, marginally reliable at best. There is just as much stuff available for the 5.0 as there is for a chevy 350.

For simplicity sake, go with a 3 speed auto. Simple, strong, and readily available. If you go overdrive, make sure to get the Ford AOD tranny and not the AODE. If you decide to go 5 speed, the T-5 that came in the Mustangs is a pretty decent unit. The one's that came in the trucks are manufactured by ZF, and I've only heard that they are junk.

It's good to have somebody consider another alternative with a motor swap other than a chev 350. They have been done to death, and are SO boring to me at this point. HTH man. Let me know if I can help in any way.

[MudDawg]

OK...I'll try to not post spobi....i'm not real up on fords. But...if the bellhousing is the same on a 4.9 I6 the C6 tranny was pretty common on 3/4 ton vans...I have 3 in my fleet. Much more reliable than AOD...maybe as tuff as my personal fav...the GM TH400. You most likely won't find a 4wd van, so you will need to change the output, etc. But this may be a source for a hard to find core.

[JaysXJ]

well.. i must beg to differ, because the motor im pulling is out of a '92 t-bird and it is stamped right on the name plate on the top of the manifold
also, heres an example in this link to a used t-bird with one

http://www.alpinemotorswyoming.com/car/1993_Ford_Thunder_Bird_V8.html
Thats a Mustang intake plenum transplanted onto the stock 302 or somebody transplanted a complete Mustang motor into it. Either way, its not stock. I'm a member of a local T-bird/Cougar club. I know a little about the Fox body and MN12 body style Fords. But if you can get it for a good price, buy it...

[av4xj]

Thats a Mustang intake plenum transplanted onto the stock 302 or somebody transplanted a complete Mustang motor into it. Either way, its not stock.

well ive seen it on more than one tbird and ive seen the car that im pulling the motor from, also my mom used to have an '89 with the same motor, so id have to say that it is since ive seen the same thing more than once. but to give you the benifit of the doubt, it is fairly hard to find published info on it, yet if you notice, the HO 302 in the tbird has the same hp and torque numbers as a stock mustang which had the HO motor.

[av4xj]

A buddy of mine's dad has a 5.0 in his Jeep Commando Rockcrawler, and it has plenty of power to turn the 42" Iroc's he's got on it. It's also very easy to wire up. Ford's fuel injection system is FAR superior to any GM system of the same era. Gm's is basically a carb with 2 injectors on top, and is very difficult to make work correctly and is in my experience, marginally reliable at best. There is just as much stuff available for the 5.0 as there is for a chevy 350.

For simplicity sake, go with a 3 speed auto. Simple, strong, and readily available. If you go overdrive, make sure to get the Ford AOD tranny and not the AODE. If you decide to go 5 speed, the T-5 that came in the Mustangs is a pretty decent unit. The one's that came in the trucks are manufactured by ZF, and I've only heard that they are junk.

It's good to have somebody consider another alternative with a motor swap other than a chev 350. They have been done to death, and are SO boring to me at this point. HTH man. Let me know if I can help in any way.

yes, amen to the whole ford vs chevy thing, ive always been a ford fan in a ford famliy and it WAS frustrating only finding chevy conversion options on the web for my cherokee. from what i hear though, the AOD/E transmission is fairly weak and isnt for serious power. so if i ended up with a c4 + dana model 20 from a 66-72 bronco, about how much does that combo usually run from a junk yard?

[AZ XJ]

Yea, the AOD/E tranny's aren't up to the task stock, I've seen some that were built up pretty burly, and held up to stroker motors in 5.0's, but If I were you I'd keep it simple and run a C4 or C6. I think a mild C4 would be more than up to the task for your application. As far as junkyard prices go, I really couldn't give you a good quote due to the fact that there just aren't any 65-77 Bronco's in the yards around here that I've seen. And also, it seems to vary from yard to yard, but fwiw, I'd say probably under 250 bucks for all that your looking for. My buddy runs a pretty gnarly 351W in his 72 bronco with fullsize axles and 38's with just a rebuilt junkyard C6 with not a single problem, so if you can't find a C4, a C6 might be overkill, but would more than likely never break on you. With a little digging around I can find out what it would take to make that work. Anyway, I come from a Ford family too, I've never had success with Chevy's. They have always given me problems. All my buddys that bleed that ugly ass chevy orange, are ALWAYS fixing their stuff. IMHO, Ford just makes a better vehicle.


Also, give Randy a call at Driven Auto Parts, they specialize in Bronco and Jeep parts and he's always got the kind of stuff your looking for laying around. I'm honestly not sure about pricing though, because my afformentioned buddy's dad is real good friends with Randy, so I've always gotten a little "deal" if ya know what I mean.

[blkbird95]

Hi,

I own 2 Thunderbirds, so I had to step in with some facts...
Ford produced the T-Bird with a 5.0 HO from 91-93 only, and also in the Mercury Cougar of the same years. The Fox Body T-birds (88 and older) never got the HO. The MarkVII did. The upper intake from the TBird HO is the same that was later used on the 94 and 95 mustangs, but the lower is the same as any year HO. The accessories are tighter to the motor in the T-birds and 94-95 mustangs, so this would be a benefit over the fox body accessories when swapping into such a confined space. For more info on T-birds check out www.tccoa.com. I'd love to swap a 5.0 into my 92 XJ, but I keep blowing them up in my 95 T-bird (swap of coarse!)

Thanks,
Brad

[PapaPump]

how are you blowing them up? i have never met an unreliable one...guess i got lucky

[user name]

Ford .... The one's that came in the trucks are manufactured by ZF, and I've only heard that they are junk.




There were two hydraullic clutch trannies put in the fullsize ford trucks. One, mazda varient considered a light duty tranny and the second, ZF, heavy duty wide ratio/ granny first, not junk.

Small bellhousing C6 are NOT rare.

[blkbird95]

PapaPump,

Long story short...too much nitrous, fuel system could not keep up. The 255lph intank couldn't maintain the pressure and things got a little hot.

If the truck 5.0 intake would fit under the hood of an XJ, that would help with some low end torque, also it faces the driver side like the stock intake. Just a thought...

[AZ XJ]

Small bellhousing C6 are NOT rare.


Not nessecerly rare, but less plentiful than C6's with the big block bolt pattern. It's not that you cant find them, it just requires a little bit more searching.

[fordtech]

Hi,

I own 2 Thunderbirds, so I had to step in with some facts...
Ford produced the T-Bird with a 5.0 HO from 91-93 only, and also in the Mercury Cougar of the same years. The Fox Body T-birds (88 and older) never got the HO. The MarkVII did. The upper intake from the TBird HO is the same that was later used on the 94 and 95 mustangs, but the lower is the same as any year HO. The accessories are tighter to the motor in the T-birds and 94-95 mustangs, so this would be a benefit over the fox body accessories when swapping into such a confined space. For more info on T-birds check out www.tccoa.com. I'd love to swap a 5.0 into my 92 XJ, but I keep blowing them up in my 95 T-bird (swap of coarse!)

Thanks,
Brad

I know the newer body mustangs(94-) and markvii used pretty hefty electric fans.... not sure about the old stangs. Try to get the engine harness and pcm too.... you will need a manual trans pcm.
The truck 5.0 or 5.8 would be cool, but they are tall!!! Arent the zf's kinda large?? I would say a 5.0 HO with ZF (if it would fit) or c-6, and BW t-case from a f150 to keep it simple....

[AZ XJ]

Ford Taurus electric fans are the hot setup as well. From the 3.8 equipped cars iirc. The Borg Warner t-cases have an issue with the atf fluid pickup spinning on the mainshaft and pulling it out of the pump. The case no longer gets lubricated and goes to junk, plus there really isn't much aftermarket out there for them. If you go C4 or C6, try to find a 1970 or newer tranny. The gear ratios are identical in both tranny's, the C6 is just longer and stronger. But you gain some driveshaft length with the C4, and if you keep the weight down strength isn't an issue. I don't know if you could make it work, but I had an NP435 4-speed in a 79 Bronco, and it would craaaawl with that granny gear. 6.69:1 first gear ratio. Plus, that bitch is bombproof. And an NP205 bolts right up to the back of one.