86 XJ engine swap question...

I've got an 86 XJ with a 2.8 - the motor is wasted.. I'm looking for the easiest path from point a (2.8l) to point b (4.0 jeep / 3.4 gm fuel inj). Does anyone have a roadmap to a conversion that is simplistic or at least not a nightmare?

pic - http://www.sija.org/pepper/1986Cherokee.JPG

Easiest path? Sell it and buy a 4.0L equipped XJ. old_man went through a similar conversion when he put a 4.0L block in his early XJ. There's a lot of body work involved, but check out some of his posts using Search to get an idea of what it took.

The 3.4L is the same block as the 2.8L so that is by far the easier route to follow with an '86.

Did 2.8L to 3.4L conversion and am quite pleased. I went one step further and bought a new ( zero miles) engine from Scoggin Dickey (www.SDPC.com). The swap is an easy one day if you have two people and get your parts all together.

I then installed a new Weber 38DGES 2bbl carb and Ramflo air filter.

Two big mods that are necessary:

You need to install an electric fuel pump and an low oil pressure switch so it shuts off when you lose pressure stopping the flow of gas to the carb or your FI. This was about 75 bucks.

Next is the flex plate. Get a new one for the 2.8 and then have it neutrally balanced with the one of the 3.4L. The 2.8s were externally balanced, and the 3.4L are internally. The flexplate on the 3.4L is neutral. This was about 150 bucks



If you google, you can get a lot of results. Most of them are for camaros, and chevrolets (s-10s, blazers, etc.).

It's not really difficult. The hardest part I had to do was swapping the actual block out. No help did it by myself. That really sucked

PM me with questions.

Here's one site:
http://members.shaw.ca/betterthanyou/2.8l to 3.4l/engine swap.htm

The swap takes a bit of work but is definately dooable if you have skills. The biggest thing is that the front facia and sheetmetal have to be removed. The sheetmetal actually has to be cut off. You then get a donor and cut off the sheetmetal you need, and move it over. Being a body man, I used some special glue to put things back together rather than welding. You end up replacing the radiator, the radiator supports and the hood. You also need to use a BFH on the firewall to clear the #6 cylinder.

You then need to swap the entire wiring harness over. I recommend the wiring harness for the dash as well. It will be a lot easier.