This is what I like to hear. And if you're already making over 200 horses, I can't wait to see what you can get with a turbo attached. Will you be intercooling as well?

Personally, I love the 4.0 in my Pioneer, but I'd never knock the Buick 3800. Those things pull with authority, as you've obviously proven.

 

supercharger. bolt-on using a FWD grand prix intake manifold and s/c plenum...but it puts the throttle body into the firewall on a RWD so I need to move the motor forward 6"...perfect for the ax15 swap with dodge dakota bellhousing, allowing me to retain stock driveshafts. not sure on anything intercooler related...there's not exactly room for that up front, unless it gets a taller front bumper (jeep 2500 would be about perfect, but I'm not buying something i can't get readily available parts for).


on topic...the point is that there are plenty of mods available for a 3800, and it's a better and more economical option than a 4.3 (if you're stuck on a v6 swap). if you're looking for real power, drop in a 350. toss the 4.3 idea in the *****can.

 

Yeah, I think that point's been made.

 

Just a couple of points here. The 3.8 is a chopped down V8 also. The 4.3 is a truck engine while the 3.8 is the car version. The V8s are harder to install because the power steering pump will be in the steering box and extra length makes it tough to put fans on the radiator. Also you will always be sucking hot air from under the hood because you can't make the bend on the intake to get air from somewhere else. Also if you stick a camshaft in a 4.3 it will respond in the same way as a 3.8L and will go to 290hp and be smog legal

 

As far as physically getting it in, it bolts in. You will have to use the 3.4 flywheel or flex plate though because the 2.8 flywheel and flex plate have a counter balance on them to balance the engine. The 3.4 is internally balanced. If you use a electronically injected engine, yo will need the wiring harness and ECU for it. To get your temp and oil pressure gage to work you will need to drill the intake for your sending unit and tee off the oil pressure switch for your jeep sending unit. You should use a 2 core radiator also.

 

I'm pretty sure california smog checks are making smog worse, not better. I've never been smogged out on the drive back from work until this week in socal.

back home, we have no emissions testing on anything older than 96.

 

I'm in NorCal. We smog every two years. There are some tricks to getting the extra horsepower to pass.

 

*shrug* I don't even have an evap system or functioning EGR on the 96 camaro engine in my 86 MJ...nor did I report the swap or anything of that nature. at the point I did the swap, i still had to do emissions tests with it, and it didn't pass with the 2.8 liter but did pass with with the 3.8 with no evap, no catalytic (I put a straight pipe through the cat that was on it). passed with flying colors actually. later I replaced the cat with a n0x catalytic converter and it passed so well that it may as well have been putting h2o into the air.

my theory is that your smog restrictions increase use of gasoline and therefore increase the amount of smog in the air.

 

If you are in CA, how did you pass the referee that way? They are usually very particular about the visual inspection. Evap and stock air boxes are a must.

 

....wow lot of long posts on here.... but i have two words and only two words for you....Liberty.Diesel..... yeah the diesels from the liberty will be what i swap in when my heeps engine gives out.....just my 2 cents....

 

I'm in socal for work, as stated...I live in wisconsin.

never heard of a referee....CA sucks.

 

Before I say anything else, you are right about the packaging issues involved in a V8 swap - that always has to be a consideration, especially considering that the XJ was never designed for that configuration. But there's enough good information out there about V8 swaps that a little research should clear most of that stuff up.

And now I have to clarify some info with a little history, because I don't like things getting confused.

Buick designed their original 225 V6 engine in the mid-1960s - and you are correct in that it was also cut down from a V8 design (Buick's own 300 small-block, in this case). However, Buick knew from the get-go that the design would be used for both layouts and engineered it accordingly. Then, as only GM could do, they decided the V6 variant wasn't worth the trouble and sold it to Kaiser-Jeep - only to buy it back from AMC-Jeep and make some engineering adjustments during the 1970s. Specifically, they adjusted the displacement and changed the firing order for smoother-running performance. It was this much-improved 231 V6 that became the basis for the widely appreciated 3800 V6 of the 1980s and 1990s.

Chevrolet's Vortec 4.3, however, was created decades after the introduction of the Chevy small-block V8. It appeared during the late 1970s as the 229 V6, used heavily in the then-new Malibu and Monte Carlo G-bodies of 1978. The 229 was eventually dropped in favor of Buick's 231 for manufacturing simplicity, but the design returned in the mid-1980s as the new 262/4.3 V6, with numerous efficiency improvements and much better performance. Most of these were found in Chevy/GMC S-series pickups or SUVs (as well the Astro/Safari vans), but quite a few were also installed in later versions of the last RWD Monte Carlo and El Camino.

The difference, really, is in the level of separation from each engine's original concept. The Chevy small-block was designed in 1955 solely as a V8, with no other intended purpose (Chevy was still using the classic Stovebolt six during that time). However, the Buick small-block was designed in 1964 for a variety of uses, including the V6 version. Hence the 4.3 was more of a compromise by default, though Chevy did a very good job of getting everything right during the conversion process. (Compare this to Oldsmobile's diesel conversion of the SBC, which was not nearly as thorough nor as reliable.)

You're also right that the 4.3 is generally regarded as more of a truck engine, but that's kind of a recent development. Somehow the SBC V8 is considered both a car and a truck engine - which is fitting, since it was used in both cars and trucks from the start - but the Buick V6 spent most of its formative years in Jeeps before becoming a GM mainstay. So which, then, is really more of a truck engine in the end?

Really, one could easily choose either the 4.3 or the 3.8 and be equally happy, provided proper upkeep is performed and similar mods are used. Both engines will support a lot of horsepower - witness either the GNX 3.8 or the Syclone 4.3 for proof. And it's a bit of a compliment to GM that they were able to design and use two exceedingly good V6 engines in their lineup at the same time, when many makers struggle just to have one really good six-cylinder design.

Long post, I know, but hopefully informative. And I think (I hope) we're making the point that either of these engines would be a better swap than the 2.8/3.4. I know that was the original intent of this thread, but I think the original poster would be happier in the end with a more substantial choice.

 

I love this idea, but good luck finding one - they didn't make that many for the States. There's probably more overseas (read: Europe or Australia), but I don't know if it's legal to ship one over here with all the emissions regs, etc.

 

well thats not good..i guess ill just have to ram the next one i see off the road and buy it from them lol.. but for all i know diesels could be illegal by then cause my 2.5's got 100,xxx on it and aint quitin no time soon....hopefully...

 

They do make a turbo kit for the 2.5 now...