Stroker vs Rebuilt with upgraded Head

I'm having trouble deciding which way I should go with upgrading my engine.
For starters my engine runs fine but it's tired and has a lot of carbon build up. So it could use some attention.
The original plan was to get a new cylinder head (which I did) and my brother (outlander560) was going to do a valve job with a port and polish. Santa brought me a new Camshaft, valve springs, seats, lifters and I also got a new intake manifold out of a 97 and up XJ. So the head was going to be cleaned up and swapped in along with the cam and also new 4 port injectors. With what we were going to do I was getting half a brand new engine. We were not going to touch the crank.
As we started to discuss everything it seemed like the best option was to pick up a 4.0L and build it up then swap that in, instead of just swapping the head. Mostly the reason is cause this needs to be done over the weekend, plus we wanted to change out the cam bearings so I could not only get some HP and torque but longevity as well.
Since the option of picking up a 4.0 from someone who is selling one for $300 with 15,000 miles on it seemed reasonable. We started discussing doing a Stroker. My brother currently goes to school for auto and has access to machines that could do a huge amount of work for us, like boring the block. My current engine does run well so I'm not exactly in a hurry to get this installed. I just don't know if its worth it to do the Stroker or if I should just rebuild the stock 4.0 with the head and cam upgrades.
I'm still currently reading whatever I can get my hands on for this since my auto knowledge doesn't cover this yet. So any opinions and help would be appreciated. So far I have read a lot of Pro's and Con's for the Stroker. It seems like the numbers for the 4.7l are 250/270. Is this worth the money and work?

What year XJ?

1996

I did a stroker while driving my perfectly good running 4.0. Just need to do the swap some time.

at TDC each cylinder at a minimum of 25% leakage. Going further into each cylinder with a bore scope I was able to see the amount of carbon build up on each valve. Tried various cleaners just for the hell of it and to my surprise (sarcasm) they did very little.

So going back to the top yea that is the story. I wanted to get into the bottom end of the motor as well (crank/connecting rod bearings, new piston rings) the whole 9 rather build it right for longevity reasons.

So if we pick up a block like he asked what do you guys thing of the 4.7's is it worth it? Power wise. or should I just get a new short block for him, rebuild it with a stock bottom end and do the upgrades to the valve train.

the cam is not aggressive

Depends how much torque you want and how much money you want to spend.

Bearings hold up well in 4.0s. Oil pressure good? Using oil?

The oil pressure is good and it doesn't burn it either

This is my DD so we would most likely pick up a donor engine to build

XJwheelman said:

This is my DD so we would most likely pick up a donor engine to build

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Definitely the way to go.

Google "poor man's stroker"

IMO, 25% of your gain comes from stroking, and 75% of your gain comes from cam selection and doing a good port and polish. There are some 300 horsepower 250 cubic inch (not stroked) motors out there.

Its up to you, stroker is not a bad way to go. Another option is to have your brother look into a 232 crank if you can snag one from ebay. .040 longer throw..

Still weighing the pro's and con's. I have read that strokers aren't really known for longevity. Like around 50,000 miles or so. I'm going to read up on Poor Man's Stroker. Is that from JeepForum?

My strokers been running strong since 2005, and runs like new still.

Its like anything else, you get what you pay for.

Cal, how much of a gain did you get? Was it around 50 more HP? I saw some numbers for the 4.6 and it was 245/270

I don't know, on that one. Its a budget stroker (originally Goatmans, I bought his old rig).

On the highway its like driving a V8 pickup. Around town, I can spin 37's into 2nd gear.

I'd say its probably 260 or so, runs on 91 but can run on 87 if I need it to. Its got a cam similar to the Comp 235-4 currently available.

You can spin 37's in 2nd!? I just leaned a little towards the Stroker side. I'm probably going to have to flip a coin to decide

my only experience with strokers is a few friends that all had Golen-built units and i wasnt impressed with them, and they spent a good amount of time chasing warrantee issues.
in general, better over-all performance is gained by making the engine breathe and rev a little better, so best bang for the buck is top-end work. i'm a fan of the right tool (or engine) for the job. a 4.0L gets the job done with power to spare, if you really want something faster, that will be driven harder, start thinking about an LS swap.

I was curious, because I to am thinking about doing the top end on my jeep, that was until I heard someone say LS swap. why is everyone wanting to do this now days. I just don't get it. Sorry to hijack your thread, but this is really starting to annoy me, that everyone wants to run to gm when it comes to a v8 swap. If im gonna spend that kind of money on a swap Im gonna do it right and put a 5.7 in. Again sorry for the vent.

moparman96 said:

I was curious, because I to am thinking about doing the top end on my jeep, that was until I heard someone say LS swap. why is everyone wanting to do this now days. I just don't get it. Sorry to hijack your thread, but this is really starting to annoy me, that everyone wants to run to gm when it comes to a v8 swap. If im gonna spend that kind of money on a swap Im gonna do it right and put a 5.7 in. Again sorry for the vent.

Click to expand...

There's some Yahoo on this forum that posts goofy crap about V* swaps alot. Apparently he's been don the stroker trail numerous times and learned many expensive lessons along the way.

Anywayzzzzzz...
I'm 99.9% sure he did a swap and used a 5.3 instead of the 5.7 because the 5.3 is a lighter motor, makes more power, has better aftermarket support.

Now where did I see that thread....

I, unfortunately, don't know enough about this but I'm trying to stay with the 4.0 or some variation because I'm trying not to have to replace computers and modules. I'm just trying to squeeze some more power from my 4.0
Thanks again for all the replies. I think I'm going to building a Stroker after all but I'm going to do it slowly over time just so I get and use the right parts. I need this engine to last and from what I have read you definitely get what you pay for.

If you're after reliability, stick with a 4.0L.