i've had my 85 cherokee for a little over a year now and done plenty of wheelin in it..i recently lifted it and got more serious and now i don't agree with the power it's got...it's just the 2.5L. any suggestions?

 

Buy a 4.0 and swap over your parts.

 

you talking bout buyin the entire jeep or just the engine?

 

You could swap the engine, but it would be a PITA, or so I've read. Chances are it'd be easier to buy a new Jeep with the 4.0 already in it and swap your lift over to the new one.

 

that's what i was afraid of...is there possibly a fuel injection system you know of that would replace my carb...if so i think i will just gear the hell out of it!

 

IDK about the fuel injection to replace carb. Unless you're gonna do the gears yourself you could probably find a half decent jeep with the 4.0 for the same or less. Depending on what you plan on expanding to in the future investing in the 4.0 now may be a good idea. I've been able to get in/out of 2.5s directly into 4.0s, and the difference is quite noticable, and these were stock vehicles, except the TJ has better tires. (TJ with 2.5/5spd, XJs with 4.0/AW4/AX-15).

 

that's not a bad idea i see what your sayin. i've got a buddy with an 89 cherokee that had the 4.0 and swapped it out for a chevy 350 and he's been trying to get me to do the same thing..he's happy with it..what are your thoughts?

 

I don't know the process of swapping to a 350, but if your buddy is willing to help you do it then I'd say go for it. I personally just love the 4.0, if you do manage to blow it up a used one isn't too bad, there's enough people with know-how on the 4.0 in XJs that any problems you have usually can be answered and theres more than enough power for my needs.

 

A couple of ways to go:

1) Transplant the entire FI system from a later-year donor rig (TBI was used for a couple of years, then the AMC 2.46L went to port fuel injection.)

2) Transplant your engine. Candidates include the 3.1L/3.4L 60-degree V6, 3.8L/4.3L 90-degree V6, or the Small Block Chevvy (to make for the easiest swaps.) The 90-degree V6 and Small Block Chevvy should both be able to use the Advance Adapters Small Block Chevvy mount cradle, and the 3.1L/3.4L can be dropped in using OEM parts (they're externally the same as the 2.8L, except the other two engines are actually worth a damn.)

NB: If you go with the 3.1L/3.4L swap, you can get the entire drivetrain from an S-series truck/blazer, and pick up an overdrive transmission as well (the THM700R4 isn't a bad box - from about 1987-forward. Don't bother with the earlier ones. The 4L60 can also be used - it's the "new" designation for the THM700R4 - but the 4L60-E is electronically controlled and can make for a difficult swap.) The 4.3L was used in the K-10 series trucks, K-10 series Suburbans, and some late K-5 Blazers, so it's possible to grab an entire drivetrain there as well. And the SBChevvy can be found with the 4L60 or 4L80 in 4WD trim in the K-5/K-10/K-20 series.

If you go with a passenger car donor and try to piece it all together, look for a donor in an F-body (Camaro/Firebird) first, but don't pass up the FWD cars. While the OEM FWD block has the starter motor mounting pad on the wrong side, slide under and look - if it has an unused starter motor mounting pad on the backside of the engine (as mounted,) it's a Goodwrench Service Replacement block, and can be used in FWD or RWD/AWD/4WD applications. Just clean up the other pad and put the starter motor there, then source the RWD transmission (1987-up THM700R4/4L60 in 4WD configuration) and transfer case (the S-10 made a lot of use of the NP231. You'll have to do some adapting to make the THM700R4/NP231 combo mount up properly, but it shouldn't be overly difficult.)

The GSR 2.8L V6 is "hit-or-miss" on decency, but it is marginally better than factory/production. The 3.1L/3.4L is a huge improvement in both power and reliability (it's telling that the AMC four-cylinder is rated for nearly the same output as the GM V6 in the XJ. I've owned the 2.8 and 3.1 in FWD cars back-to-back, and it was night and day. And the car with the 3.1L had 200-300# more pounds of kerb weight! Same transaxles, same gearing in the final drive.)

 

well looks like i just need to decide which approach i want to take with it. thanx for the help

 

Just do a write up on whatever you decide to do!

 

when i had a 4cy i was gonna turbo it, to save weight of a swap and to get some more power, plus ppl claim to get 3-5 more mpg, might be interesting to try. there was a article i found a while back, but here is a guy on car domain i just found with a tj http://www.cardomain.com/ride/445604

 

any idea on whether it needs any mods to hold up to a turbo?