pros and cons of V8 swap

[schmiedel]

Why use a V8? Better get all the power you can get out of a 4.0L and modify your transfer / gears / driveline to get all the torque you need and spend the money in a banging suspension.

 

[CRASH]

im talking reliability as in driving it everyday for road use, it will just be used a couple of hours a week. and the motor that is in there (broken crank) was carb'd in the first place. i was looking for real advice not people trying to dog me for a solution to a problem i thought of

I got excited when I saw a V-8 swap thread.

I thought someone was finally stepping up to the plate to do a nice overhead cam engine. Something like a Lexus 4.7 or a 5.4 Ford.

What a let down to see we are dealing with sixteen pushrods and a 100 year old induction system.

Yes it can be done, yes you can do it cheap, yes there will be major headaches along the way. And in the end, you'll have a less reiable, less responsive powertrain than the 4.0 the XJ came with. Oh well, take pics of the swap whe you are done.

 

[balloo93]

If the broken engine is crab'd then this is a 84-86 right? From what I have read you'll have issues swapping in a 4.0L as well, it's not a drop in. Not as much fabbing as a V8 swap, but some work none the less.

I would say that swapping in a carb'd motor would be pratcticle if you plan on mud mogging, but on teh inclines you'll wish you had EFI.

Ever consider a 90-93 Ford 302? The harness is pretty much a stand alone unit and would make a nice little EFI setup. That or a 3.4L.

Sorry haas, not so much help.

 

[DrMoab]

Didn't the older 2.8L powered jeeps have a weaker subframe under the motermounts too? I thought I had read that they didn't make the best V8 jeeps because of the amount of work it would take to reinforce that.

 

[VegasAnthony]

In Moab a couple of years ago at a show and shine I ran accross a guy witha LT1 it looked sweet and I thought man thats the way to go..
It was stuffed in there so tight I had no idea how he got the thing in there. It looked stock cept for the hood cowl.


If anything its quite impressive

now tha tIhave been around some time and seen some rigs

I see a guy with 60's front and rear and think
Wow now thats the way to go
Its amazing how looking around a bit and fixin your rig time after time that leans me to the way of thinking ...its not about being impressive it it about
RELIABILITY I would much rather wheel than tool on stuff hasta

 

[ashmanjeepxj]

I got excited when I saw a V-8 swap thread.
I thought someone was finally stepping up to the plate to do a nice overhead cam engine. Something like a Lexus 4.7 or a 5.4 Ford.
What a let down to see we are dealing with sixteen pushrods and a 100 year old induction system.
Yes it can be done, yes you can do it cheap, yes there will be major headaches along the way. And in the end, you'll have a less reiable, less responsive powertrain than the 4.0 the XJ came with. Oh well, take pics of the swap whe you are done.

Though Ive wheeled the 4.0 for a long time I dont have the same confidence alot of the other Jeep owners have in their stock engine/ drive train..

Im doing a 350 swap. Will be propane injected not EFI, thurbo400-203-205.
The Radiator is a big issue. A factory fit aluminum rad will run about $600 I plan to run a generic one for about $200 and cut alot.

Only the Ram style eaxhaust manifolds would fit (black ones)

Had to cut into the PS fire wall where your AC would be:

Had to cut to fit around the distributer

Had to remove the factory seat and cut most of the tranny tunnel out to fit the dual cases with a flat bellie. Mad my own cross members and motor mounts. I had to moutnt the 350 very low and back to fit the fan. My starter and exhaust are right at the factory upper control arm mount. I dont see how it coudl fit if you use the stock upper arms!

This is the 203 gear range with doubler with out the 205 bolted up yet. I woudl not run a chevy full sixe t-case do a ford 205 or do a 203 doulber to a d300 flipped or to a ford 205 like I did.

I worked on it for 9 days last week on my vacation and didnt get it done, it is very hot here 110 so its tough this time of year out in the garage.

I have a nice B&M shifter and will have tripple sticks for the t-cases.

Have fun.

 

[Aaron D]

this is what i came to this site to see

actual pics and stuff getting done


not a bunch off pussyfoot bull allmost every post was just a waste

ive been into chevy for years and there super reliable , cheap and easy to fix on the trail

i built a one ton truggy 454/th400/203205

and now i want to buy jeep for mild trail duty and dd
put some axles under it and drop in a 350
im not saying it should be easy


but if i asked for pros and cons as in INFO a couple cons would be ok but not a bunch of crap talkers saying the same thing

 

[jlake1]

I would vote for a V8 swap. And I HAVE done it. 5.0 in my 90XJ. Now, I will admit that the 5.0 is probably the EASIEST motor swap available, but here are the pluses:
- cheap
- runs cool (very important on an XJ)
- small
- lighter than the 4.0
- readily supported by the aftermarket
- runs upside down if you want
- 5 wires make it run
- can run on the intank fuel pump

Also, for those who say that you have to spend $7000 plus on a V8 swap....I guess if you are going for a new LS1 crate motor, maybe, but here is a rundown of what I spent on my swap:
5.0 - $550
C6 w/ B&M shifter - $300
NP205 - $Free
MORE motor mounts - $179
Electric fan setup (1 stock aux., 1 cheapo electric modified to fit the GoJeep! shroud trick) - $150
DC Control fan controller - $150 (this thing is baddass! Jeeps stays right at 210 all day long, even beating on it in the sand with temps of 85+!)
Fuel lines and adapters - $100
Autometer gages - $250 (I think this should be in here because it's required with the swap)
Misc steel, wiring, etc - $200
That gives me a grand total of just under $1,900.

Of course, I spent some more money on a new torque converter, higher amp alternator, etc., but I really don't think that should count in the swap cost.

Anyways, to each his own. I still think strokers are cool. I just wanted to post some real world numbers and impressions of a person who did the swap.

Thanks,
Jay

 

[langer1]

The easiest thing to do and the best, (if you must have a V8) is to bolt your XJ body onto a V8 truck frame and drive line.

 

[uspsamaster]

I worked on it for 9 days last week on my vacation and didnt get it done, it is very hot here 110 so its tough this time of year out in the garage.

9 days last week I wish I could pull that off even more so when it is vacation time. Now that would be worthy of a good tech write up... just joking with you. Thanks for the many great posts ashmanjeepx.

 

[Ridr]

I would vote for a V8 swap. And I HAVE done it. 5.0 in my 90XJ. Now, I will admit that the 5.0 is probably the EASIEST motor swap available, but here are the pluses:
- cheap
- runs cool (very important on an XJ)
- small
- lighter than the 4.0
- readily supported by the aftermarket
- runs upside down if you want
- 5 wires make it run
- can run on the intank fuel pump

Also, for those who say that you have to spend $7000 plus on a V8 swap....I guess if you are going for a new LS1 crate motor, maybe, but here is a rundown of what I spent on my swap:
5.0 - $550
C6 w/ B&M shifter - $300
NP205 - $Free
MORE motor mounts - $179
Electric fan setup (1 stock aux., 1 cheapo electric modified to fit the GoJeep! shroud trick) - $150
DC Control fan controller - $150 (this thing is baddass! Jeeps stays right at 210 all day long, even beating on it in the sand with temps of 85+!)
Fuel lines and adapters - $100
Autometer gages - $250 (I think this should be in here because it's required with the swap)
Misc steel, wiring, etc - $200
That gives me a grand total of just under $1,900.

Of course, I spent some more money on a new torque converter, higher amp alternator, etc., but I really don't think that should count in the swap cost.

Anyways, to each his own. I still think strokers are cool. I just wanted to post some real world numbers and impressions of a person who did the swap.

Thanks,
Jay

no way in heck would I give up an overdrive tranny for a C6 !! ,

 

[jlake1]

no way in heck would I give up an overdrive tranny for a C6 !! ,

Yeah, obviously with twin transfer cases it's meant more for crawing than hauling....you could just as easily put an AODE in there instead....