I need a motor....

[PacificEd]

As many of you know from a recent thread, my engine is high milage and has some issues with scratched bearings. While the oil pressure looks good and it seems to run fine what little time it's been run since putting it back together, I'm still leery about running it.

So I've been pondering what to do.

Stroker! Yeah, that would be really cool. But wait.....I have a Renix which opens a whole can of worms figuring out the intake, throttle body, and TPS issues that come up. It is the most expensive, even if I put it together myself. Besides the fact it HAS to run on 87 pump gas and I have no idea of how to put together a combination of parts that will guarantee driveability. The more recipes I find and read, the more questions come up about whether this will work best for me. The power aspect is a huge bright spot for the stroker. Besides, it's just cool to be able to say you have one.

Rebuild it myself! Looking at this option seems like the best route. Not the cheapest but it would be guaranteed to run since it would still be all stock, just new. My Renix engine has over 300,000 miles on it now so a freshly rebuilt stock 176 HP Renix would definitely be an improvement.

Buy a reman! Groomes sells remanned engine for about $1650. It would have a warranty and be local to me. Not cheap but the reliability factor would be great here. My 1994 has a reman Groomes engine and while an HO, it runs like a scalded dog and gets 17.5 mpg to boot.

Used! This is by far the cheapest option for me if a good running engine can be found. I know there are potential underlying problems that can't be seen and might rear their ugly head later, but.... I can buy a whole XJ and part it. I've been looking for a used engine and they are cheap but most are going to be HO engines. That leads me back to the issue of making it work in my Renix. I can't just slap on my intake and roll. None of the intake ports match. So we are back to the issue with the TPS, throttle cable, etc.

I know the TPS stuff can be sourced through Hesco or made so some of those problems can be addressed through more money (Hesco) or fabrication (or booty-fab in my case).

Right now I'm thinking used or stock rebuild to keep things on a time table that I can control. I'd like to have the engine done and installed in advance of the Crawl to help eliminate any gremlins that could pop up.

Anyone have a great running Renix engine lying around?

 

[Lowrange2]

As many of you know from a recent thread, my engine is high milage and has some issues with scratched bearings. While the oil pressure looks good and it seems to run fine what little time it's been run since putting it back together, I'm still leery about running it.

So I've been pondering what to do.

Stroker! Yeah, that would be really cool. But wait.....I have a Renix which opens a whole can of worms figuring out the intake, throttle body, and TPS issues that come up. It is the most expensive, even if I put it together myself. Besides the fact it HAS to run on 87 pump gas and I have no idea of how to put together a combination of parts that will guarantee driveability. The more recipes I find and read, the more questions come up about whether this will work best for me. The power aspect is a huge bright spot for the stroker. Besides, it's just cool to be able to say you have one.

Rebuild it myself! Looking at this option seems like the best route. Not the cheapest but it would be guaranteed to run since it would still be all stock, just new. My Renix engine has over 300,000 miles on it now so a freshly rebuilt stock 176 HP Renix would definitely be an improvement.

Buy a reman! Groomes sells remanned engine for about $1650. It would have a warranty and be local to me. Not cheap but the reliability factor would be great here. My 1994 has a reman Groomes engine and while an HO, it runs like a scalded dog and gets 17.5 mpg to boot.

Used! This is by far the cheapest option for me if a good running engine can be found. I know there are potential underlying problems that can't be seen and might rear their ugly head later, but.... I can buy a whole XJ and part it. I've been looking for a used engine and they are cheap but most are going to be HO engines. That leads me back to the issue of making it work in my Renix. I can't just slap on my intake and roll. None of the intake ports match. So we are back to the issue with the TPS, throttle cable, etc.

I know the TPS stuff can be sourced through Hesco or made so some of those problems can be addressed through more money (Hesco) or fabrication (or booty-fab in my case).

Right now I'm thinking used or stock rebuild to keep things on a time table that I can control. I'd like to have the engine done and installed in advance of the Crawl to help eliminate any gremlins that could pop up.

Anyone have a great running Renix engine lying around?

Stroker.

I don't see why you can't build a mild stroker for under $1k and still run pump gas.

I'm just now reading into it, myself. (Thanks to the links you posted in another thread somewhere.)

Swap an IH engine in it.

Also, if you don't end up building a stroker, I know a guy that would like to have that 258 crank of yours.

 

[PacificEd]

I have a 12 wt crank and short rods already. I guess what confuses me is when you read the stroker recipes, that low compression doesn't equal 87 octane fuel.

I guess all the formula stuff can be figured out by running numbers through the DCR and SCR calculators. What worries me the most is dealing with the throttle body, TPS, intake, throttle cables, and making sure that it will all work after dropping the money to build it.

A binder motor would make silage out of the Jeep drivetrain..lol!

 

[Ghost]

I think we need a dedicated stroker thread Ed. I'm right there with you on the motor stuff but mine is a I need more power. I'm just not sure the stroker will do what I need.......

 

[PacificEd]

I would like to have more power too. Hopefully I can learn a few things about stroker engines during the wrenchfest. That may help me figure out the best way to go.

After doing a bit more reading, I'm finding that there are a lot of guys who are running Renix heads on their strokers. This can simplify things greatly.

 

[Alexia]

Stroker.

I don't see why you can't build a mild stroker for under $1k and still run pump gas.

Even if the general parts can be acquired for under $1,000 budget at least $1,500 for it. After items such as new timing chain, new seals, bigger throttle body, replacing stretch to yield bolts, bearings, and other bits the cost starts to get higher than expected.

 

[thechief86]

You can run an HO head with renix electronics, by the way, just use the early intake and it's fine. My old blue xj had an 01 4.0 in it, with the renix intake and distributor. Ran like poo through a goose!

 

[PacificEd]

The intake ports on the Renix and the HO ports don't match up well at all. Maybe they fit okay but I put the '99 intake up to a '89 head and I could see a noticeable gap. Maybe the gasket would cover it but that doesn't sound good to me.

 

[thechief86]

The intake ports on the Renix and the HO ports don't match up well at all. Maybe they fit okay but I put the '99 intake up to a '89 head and I could see a noticeable gap. Maybe the gasket would cover it but that doesn't sound good to me.

I took a die grinder and made the intake match a little better, and used the renix log
Exhaust manifold. Just used a new fel-pro gasket and never had an issue. I even had a couple of people notice the bosses for the coil rail bolts and the sheet steel valve cover.

That jeep got really decent fuel mileage with an ax15, 4.10's, and 32's as well. It was close to 25 mpg IIRC, and would bark the tires going into 3rd gear

 

[043500]

Ed PM CABZ (Carmine) on here. I believe he put an HO motor into his daughter's '90 renix XJ...kept it renix and it worked very well.

 

[MT Mike]

I run an HO block and head in my 89. Used the Renix intake and exhaust manifold and distributor with no issues. I wanted to have my engine stroked but could not find a decent crank in time. I settled for a 0.030 overbore, 4 angle valve job, decked the block 0.020, and a bigger cam. With the bored Renix throttle body it runs really nicely. I plan on having a full 2.5" exhaust installed as soon as Uncle Sam gives me back some of my money.

 

[PacificEd]

The intake ports on the Renix and the HO ports don't match up well at all. Maybe they fit okay but I put the '99 intake up to a '89 head and I could see a noticeable gap. Maybe the gasket would cover it but that doesn't sound good to me.

Ok, I may have been looking at this a bit wrong. I tried putting a 99+ intake upto a Renix head and saw that the Renix intake ports were just a bit on the low side.

Today I put a HO head on the table and set a Renix log intake on it. It looks like it fits really well. There seemed to be good coverage all around the intake ports.

So this potentially looks like a good option now as I have seemed to locate several possible swap candidates. Thanks to those who have been looking for an engine for me!

I have a couple of questions. What did you guys do about the lack of a knock sensor on the HO block? Can you use an 00-01 engine? I figure you could just swap in the distributor and intake and it should be fine.

 

[MT Mike]

I bought Brown Dog motor mounts and Brown Dog heavy duty engine brackets when I installed the HO engine in my Renix. I ordered the brackets with the mounting boss for the knock sensor. Worked like a charm.

 

[thechief86]

I just snipped the wires for the knock sensor. It didn't change anything. All the knock sensor does is retard or advance the timing on startup to avoid pinging, and help deal with the issue of a long start since the renix system requires something like 400 rpm before it will spark. It literally did not change anything (that i noticed) to run without a knock sensor on my 87 with an 01 longblock for a little over 5 years. I sold the jeep when the second ax15 I installed stuck in 4th gear. I regret that now...