Parts interchange

I have an '89 4-door & can get a '96 with good engine and axles. Will these parts swap easily?
Thanks!

complete drivetrain swap........yes

89 and 96 engine/tranny mix........no

Thanks!
'89 has 193,8xx miles w/5-spd; '96 about 128,xxx no xsm (was auto). I'm thinking of engine/harness swap.

scorpio_vette said:

complete drivetrain swap........yes

89 and 96 engine/tranny mix........no

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You should have no trouble putting the 1996 transmission behind the 1989 engine - but be sure you use the 1989 CPS and flywheel/flexplate (because the RENIX and HO CPS work on different principles, and the "teeth" on the wheel are also slightly different.)

But, I've got a 1989 Limited out back with a 1995 AW4 and a 1997 torque converter, so I don't see that it should be a huge problem to mix and match (it still uses the 1989 CPS and flexplate.)

Actually, I was hoping the '96 engine would drop into the '89 as a backup powerplant. Eventually the '89 engine will poop out...but it's my only vehicle and working 6-7, engine swap is quicker than rebuild/overhaul.
Thanks for your quick response!

i stand corrected.

Boomer89 said:

Actually, I was hoping the '96 engine would drop into the '89 as a backup powerplant. Eventually the '89 engine will poop out...but it's my only vehicle and working 6-7, engine swap is quicker than rebuild/overhaul.
Thanks for your quick response!

Click to expand...

The engines should swap readily, but there will be some incompatibility issues with top-end parts (the short block will swap easily, and it's probably easier to put the RENIX head on the HO block than it is to adapt the HO intake to RENIX throttle body and sensors, or the RENIX intake and setup to the HO head.) Also, the 1996 fuel rail is "returnless" - the regulator was relocated to the fuel tank. So, you won't be able to connect the fuel return line in the 89 to anything...

I'd say it's easiest to swap the short block over and ignore the knock sensor (which can be added to the 1996 block, but it only generates a signal when something goes wrong - most drivers will pick up on spark knock anyhow, and I've covered how to correct it once you've detected it...)

scorpio_vette - just to let you know, the basic engine block casting hasn't changed much 1987-2001. There were some revisions for reasons of NVH in the 1990/1991, 1995/1996, and 1998/1999 breaks, but the castings are nearly identical externally. The bellhousing bolt pattern is the same all the way up (taken from the AMC 150, which was, I think, taken from the pattern shared by the GM 60-degree V6 and Pontiac 151ci I4,) so that's not a significant problem. The boss that was drilled and tapped for the knock sensor on RENIX (driver's side oil sump rail, around the middle third of the engine,) was still present on later engines - just no machine work done to it. And, the cylinder heads all use the same screw pattern (from the "wide deck" AMC258, circa 1975 or so. The head screws were just increased in size from 7/16"-14 to 1/2"-13. Putting the 242 head on a later 258 engine is actually a fairly common swap, and nets a decent torque increase.)

i know that the block design of the renix and new ones are the same. i was thinking as far as mating the tranny and engine. but after thinking about it some more, it's the tranny/tcase that doesn't work from old to new.

as far as the engine swap, if he has a complete 96, wouldn't it be easier to swap the complete engine including the 96 intake/exhaust and gas tank instead of trying to swap heads??? that's the way i would go if i had 2 complete jeeps.