• 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.

4.6 build starts today!!!

That wasn't to bad. I was able to separate the eng/trans a few inches a "beat" the shield in between the flexplate and up/over the shuffle pins. Back tomorrow to pickup where I should have been today!
 
We'll besides finishing up the bottom side, I got the int/exh loosely mocked up and can tell you that the DE manifold heat shield is a joke so I'll re-address that area later.
 
We'll I got a few things done this weekend:

Starter is in
Oil dipstick, filter adapter, and oil filter on
Alternator, A/C comp, and fan hub on
Header, intake, and fuel rail w/ heat shield on
Throttle body on

Spent some time on "hi-flowing" my t-stat housing

and finally got to my lifter pre-load, it came in at .080" so I've ordered some .030" shims!
 
When doing a higher-end build like this do you use a torque-plate when boring the cylinder? Just curious.

My understanding is Russ uses a torque plate if he does your machine work. I am also watching this thread. If I do a stroker I will have Russ do the machine work, parts and prep as he is local to me.

PCP Phx, what kind of power/tq are you estimating from this build?
 
I never even asked him based on his reputation! My shims came in today, and I missed my calc, the new depression resulted in .035"(I calculated .032"). I never had any numbers in HP/TQ that I was shooting for other than better towing and cooling (never had a issue off-road since I have 4.10's and a 4:1 transfer case).My hopes are since this isn't a Russ "crate" motor that I can get similar performance. I have a appointment tomorrow morning for a full 2-1/2" exhaust with a new cat and muffler vs just doing a adapter/transition pipe!
 
A little update.....first I spoke w/o thinking, Russ sent me a E-mail to remind me of the fact that he didn't do the block work! It was done by my local machinist that always uses a torque plate.

Yesterday was spent finishing up all the loose ends after getting it back from the muffler shop. They did a great job!
I made my own vs of a cold intake box using stock components.

Today after priming the pump and setting the cam positioner I was able to fire it up. It hit on about a 1/4 turn of the crank. It sounds good with all major gauges reading excellent. It never got hot but my CEL came on immediately with several codes. I attribute all these with going to 2000-2500rpm (for 25 minutes immediately) with no chance to learn! I have reset the codes and will do a minor driving run after everything has cooled down!
BTW : my VHT header paint was gone in about 60 seconds.
P1080520_zpsjbqdlveo.jpg

P1080521_zps9ibzfrag.jpg
 
Last edited:
I've got 12 miles on it so far. Fired it back up and let it idle for a few minutes, it settled right in to a smooth idle. Even though it was only 110* out today the temp stayed right at 210*. Got 12 miles on it and it runs like a "raped ape", had a hard time holding it back. Will do a oil change this morning and hit it even harder after that! Even at 9.4CR and regular pump gas I saw no signs that would be a problem. Put my older Innova scanner on it to record some data. I had the muffler shop add a 3rd bung for my A/F meter and will do some logging of that later!
 
Weekend update!

Well the first thing done was to remove the Brown Dog mounts, hated them!
Been driving around taking scanner readings and waiting for a full state of "Readyness" on the scanner. I finally hit 100 miles and all is "ready".

The next step has me "lost" since I'm old school and don't understand what all the data really means to me and where to go from here. I have sent ChrisTuner a e-mail to see if he can help. I would love to actually see what's going on in real time.

Other than that it seems to be running great!

It seems to be using fuel like crazy but I haven't checked a plug yet since that's not easy!
 
Last edited:
Re: Weekend update!

Well the first thing done was to remove the Brown Dog mounts, hated them!
........................

What motor mounts did you end up using? I've been running the Brown Dog mounts on my 01 XJ for a couple years and I've yet to ever get used to the increased NHV that they created. I like that my engine stays put and my fan doesn't eat up my Aluminum radiator... but I'd like it better if it didn't make my rig shake like an '84 Camaro... :\
 
Re: Weekend update!

What motor mounts did you end up using? I've been running the Brown Dog mounts on my 01 XJ for a couple years and I've yet to ever get used to the increased NHV that they created. I like that my engine stays put and my fan doesn't eat up my Aluminum radiator... but I'd like it better if it didn't make my rig shake like an '84 Camaro... :\

I put my 17yr old set back in! They looked and worked fine. I'm trying to devote all my time to fuel management right now!
 
I'll try to post some "frameshots" later under different load conditions, but as I got it warmed up today it was reading "LTFT 24.2%"
 
Re: Weekend update!

What motor mounts did you end up using? I've been running the Brown Dog mounts on my 01 XJ for a couple years and I've yet to ever get used to the increased NHV that they created. I like that my engine stays put and my fan doesn't eat up my Aluminum radiator... but I'd like it better if it didn't make my rig shake like an '84 Camaro... :\

http://www.stinkyfab.com/heavy-duty-motor-mounts/jeep-motor-mounts/xj-mj-cherokee-and-comanche.html

Stinkyfab had their own bushings poured out of the softest material that will hold up. Very comparable to stock on the durometer. Slightly more vibe than an OEM bushing but WAY better than the competition, or even his older mounts using off the shelf bushings.
 
Re: Weekend update!

http://www.stinkyfab.com/heavy-duty-motor-mounts/jeep-motor-mounts/xj-mj-cherokee-and-comanche.html

Stinkyfab had their own bushings poured out of the softest material that will hold up. Very comparable to stock on the durometer. Slightly more vibe than an OEM bushing but WAY better than the competition, or even his older mounts using off the shelf bushings.

Interesting!! So these should give less NHV than the Brown Dog Rubber mounts I'm currently running? Do you have any personal experience w/them? I'll have to look into this a bit more as I love the 'idea' behind heavy duty Motor Mounts like the ones Brown Dog makes, but I seriously HATE the increased NHV they all seem to produce on our XJ's. I fix one area that is vibrating like a paint shaker only to have something else start up a few weeks later. :\

Sorry to thread jack...
 
I've driven on them, more NVH than stock mounts but less than brown dog rubber or SFR's old poly mounts.

As far as how much more or less, its hard to say, as I have not made the change in the same jeep so its not really apples to apples.
 
Well I've got over 200 miles on it so far. I took to emissions yesterday since my plates were due at the end of June. I didn't see the build taking 8 weeks!
I've got set of 27lb injectors ordered to see if I can get the fuel trims closer to their mid-range. Still haven't heard from Chris Jensen on custom tuning?
 
Back
Top