• NAXJA is having its 18th annual March Membership Drive!!!
    Everyone who joins or renews during March will be entered into a drawing!
    More Information - Join/Renew
  • Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

Engine guru question

MudDawg

NAXJA Member #728
Location
Central Florida
I just bought my "next" MJ...'87 model 2.5 TBI...with a rod thru the pan...

Here's the guru question...I found a low mileage 2.5 from a '98 model Dodge Dakota....looks like a jeep 2.5...obviously the dodge induction stuff won't work with my TBI...but will it otherwise bolt up??? All I can find are vague references that refer to the engine as a "jeep" engine. And for some reason, the salvage yard data doesn't show them as interchangable....maybe because of the induction and spark managment??? If anyone can clearify this, it will save me a ton of trouble since the salvage yard hours are the same as my work hours and I'm too busy to skirt work right now..tyia
 
No. The MJ engine was designed by AMC, and the Dak engine was designed by ChryCo - they're different.

That doesn't mean you CAN'T do the swap - but it's going to be more than just dropping in the engine. You'll either want the whole vehicle available as a donor (so you can adapt any engine management issues you run across, and have the whole donor driveline available,) or just find a rolled XJ with a 2.46L I4, which is still the AMC engine.

That's why I refer to our four-cylidners as "2.46" rather than "2.5" - not only did AMC list it that way, but damn near everyone has made some variation of a 2.5L inline four, and it gets confusing (for the same reason, the Pontiac 2.5L I4 is typically just referred to as the "Iron Duke." It's the oddball, at 151CID rather than 148-150.)

5-90
 
Update....I found a little time this morning to do some more checking. It appears that the valves, rocker arm assemblies, gaskets timing chain and tensioner sets, etc are interchangable between the two engines...so it looks like it will work unless the motor mount block pads or CPS mount holes or flywheel mount pattern is different.

Some other info i ran across is dodge used one kind of 4 banger from 87 to 96
and the "jeep" motor from late 96 thru 2002...another source says it was used until 2004.

I got interested in this when i stumbled across a thread where someone on 4x4 wire used a dakota bellhousing to adapt an AX-15 to a 2.5.
 
Update...I picked up the Dakota motor today after it passed a leakdown test and bearing inspection..clean as a whistle inside too...It is identical to any 98 model Jeep 2.5. The only mod needed will be to drill and tap a hole in the head for a temp sensor...I will have a complete MPI induction system including harness and distributor left over for later use.
 
Back
Top