PhotoJared
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Las Vegas, NV
Hey Guys,
I wanted to document the build and try and be as detailed as possible to help out those that may want to tackle this swap in the future.
Here are a few threads that I'll be using to help me out.
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1108551
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1007477
A little background on me. I started with Hondas. I had a 95 Prelude that I did 2 motor swaps and built a hybrid motor for. Now those swaps were just like for like. This is an entirely different ballgame.
About our Jeep. I say "our" Jeep as its my wife's and mine. I pretty much have free reign over what happens with the Jeep, but I have to keep it "family friendly". My wife still wants to be able to go on a camping road trip and be comfortable. Hell I want to be comfortable too. So this will dictate a lot of what happens.
The Jeep: I purchased this 99 XJ in March of 2012 after our first XJ was totaled by a 16 year old kid. This thing has been great for the most part. Of course I've had some cooling issues. Replaced the entire cooling system and it was good for a while. Still overheated and I was pretty sure the head gasket was junk. I've had the thought of swapping a LS into the Jeep for a while, but I just never had a reason to. I was really wanting to swap in a reman engine, but realized i've never really been happy with my 99. I kept trying to do things to increase power and fuel economy, but never got to my goal. I have my fuel economy saved since I've purchased the Jeep. Every single fill up was entered in the app. I averaged 13.71 MPG over 45,000 miles. My highest ever was 22 MPG and lowest was 9 MPG.
Back in May of this year it started to get hot way to early in the season. I live in Las Vegas and need something that can be daily driven. I also started my career in real estate. I drive about 1200 miles per month. The Jeep wasn't the most "professional" car to drive. My wife and I agreed that we needed something that was more commuter friendly. Me being me picked a 2015 Civic Si Sedan. Something that is nice looking, family friendly, yet still fun to drive.
This is the single biggest thing I've done to a car. I'm looking forward to the challenge. I'm pretty capable with the mechanical things, but I am NOT looking forward to the wiring.
So back to the Jeep. I've changed it a few times over the years, but here's how it currently sits:
5.5" RE Coil Springs
3.5" Leaf Springs
HD No lift shackle brackets
1" Rusty's shackles
IRO Adjustable Long Arms
60mm Throttle body
Neon Injectors
JBA Header
Banks Catback
CSF 3 row
Dirtbound (like) fan setup - Put together myself
Protofab Tube Front bumper
Mile Marker 8000 winch
31" Duratracs on TJ Canyon wheels with 1.5" spacers
Napier Flares
Custom Louvers
Here’s what it looks like:
Heres how it currently sits:
Please let me know if you have any questions.
I wanted to document the build and try and be as detailed as possible to help out those that may want to tackle this swap in the future.
Here are a few threads that I'll be using to help me out.
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1108551
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1007477
A little background on me. I started with Hondas. I had a 95 Prelude that I did 2 motor swaps and built a hybrid motor for. Now those swaps were just like for like. This is an entirely different ballgame.
About our Jeep. I say "our" Jeep as its my wife's and mine. I pretty much have free reign over what happens with the Jeep, but I have to keep it "family friendly". My wife still wants to be able to go on a camping road trip and be comfortable. Hell I want to be comfortable too. So this will dictate a lot of what happens.
The Jeep: I purchased this 99 XJ in March of 2012 after our first XJ was totaled by a 16 year old kid. This thing has been great for the most part. Of course I've had some cooling issues. Replaced the entire cooling system and it was good for a while. Still overheated and I was pretty sure the head gasket was junk. I've had the thought of swapping a LS into the Jeep for a while, but I just never had a reason to. I was really wanting to swap in a reman engine, but realized i've never really been happy with my 99. I kept trying to do things to increase power and fuel economy, but never got to my goal. I have my fuel economy saved since I've purchased the Jeep. Every single fill up was entered in the app. I averaged 13.71 MPG over 45,000 miles. My highest ever was 22 MPG and lowest was 9 MPG.
Back in May of this year it started to get hot way to early in the season. I live in Las Vegas and need something that can be daily driven. I also started my career in real estate. I drive about 1200 miles per month. The Jeep wasn't the most "professional" car to drive. My wife and I agreed that we needed something that was more commuter friendly. Me being me picked a 2015 Civic Si Sedan. Something that is nice looking, family friendly, yet still fun to drive.
This is the single biggest thing I've done to a car. I'm looking forward to the challenge. I'm pretty capable with the mechanical things, but I am NOT looking forward to the wiring.
So back to the Jeep. I've changed it a few times over the years, but here's how it currently sits:
5.5" RE Coil Springs
3.5" Leaf Springs
HD No lift shackle brackets
1" Rusty's shackles
IRO Adjustable Long Arms
60mm Throttle body
Neon Injectors
JBA Header
Banks Catback
CSF 3 row
Dirtbound (like) fan setup - Put together myself
Protofab Tube Front bumper
Mile Marker 8000 winch
31" Duratracs on TJ Canyon wheels with 1.5" spacers
Napier Flares
Custom Louvers
Here’s what it looks like:
![584BD374-C023-45D6-A646-BFA47757857D_zps4edd3hbx.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi4.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fy144%2F95greenlude%2FJeep%2520LS%2520build%2F584BD374-C023-45D6-A646-BFA47757857D_zps4edd3hbx.jpg&hash=b73932b939e86cd5c9cc76c2fba7cb47)
![04BB7463-2BEB-43D3-88ED-CF13A1959BF9_zpsfrdcobuh.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi4.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fy144%2F95greenlude%2F04BB7463-2BEB-43D3-88ED-CF13A1959BF9_zpsfrdcobuh.jpg&hash=d68d776ec6eb805de65a98133d76248f)
Heres how it currently sits:
![DD9AE37A-1EB6-4921-B6C2-3E62D1639B4A_zpsxmbruedh.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi4.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fy144%2F95greenlude%2FDD9AE37A-1EB6-4921-B6C2-3E62D1639B4A_zpsxmbruedh.jpg&hash=6580d9482c3b5c39e787a90bc3c7c093)
Please let me know if you have any questions.
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