1986 cherokee chief
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
From: Pleasant Dale, NE
Year: 1988
Model: Comanche
Engine: 4.0l
1986 cherokee chief
i'm new to these forums so bare with me here. first off i just got this jeep it has the gm 2.8l v6, with the ax5 transmission, d30 front and d35 rear axles, factory 4.10 gears, its a 2 door and a Chief. The plan is swappin out the lil v6 for either a 305 sbc or a 4.0l out of a 98 both are free for me to get but not sure which would be the cheapest and easiest? need opinions! then a 4.5in lift with either 31s or some 33s havnt decided yet on that either, gonna make custom front and rear bumpers and thats about it sofar i think.
Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 77
Likes: 0
From: Bend, OR
Year: 1996
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0
Unfortunately neither swap would be easy. There is alot of fab work that would need to be done, and you would need to swap out everything, at least for a 305. In terms of price and ease, I'd say go with a 4.0, you'll still need to fab up motor mounts, and swap everything out of the engine bay for newer model year 4.0 parts, but you won't have to mess with the running gear. Neither are really cheap, or easy, but if you stick to it you can probably get it done.
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
From: Pleasant Dale, NE
Year: 1988
Model: Comanche
Engine: 4.0l
BendXJMan: thats what i figured i would need to do, but do you know if like a intake manifold off the 4.2l in a cj bolt up to the 4.0? if so that would make the wiring much easier.
redlion: nothing is wrong with the motor im just lookin for a lil bit more power for it for when i wanna pull my boat. or is there really anything to do to the 2.8's to make a lil more power?
redlion: nothing is wrong with the motor im just lookin for a lil bit more power for it for when i wanna pull my boat. or is there really anything to do to the 2.8's to make a lil more power?
Newbie
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 13
Likes: 0
Year: 1990
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0
Is just get a good ol 4.0L, I'm not a fan of a 2.8. I had a comanche with 423xxx miles and it smoked like a tar pit but couldn't blow it up. I haven't seen a 2.8 in a jeep over 200xxx yet. Lol but that's my opinion. Id go with 4.0.
Junior Member
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 44
Likes: 0
From: Colusa california
Year: 1986
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 2.8
the 2.8v6 is a good motor. people bash it because its standing next to the awesome 4.0.
there is nothing actually wrong with it. lack of power is the only down side. here's some ideas for some more power.
http://www.4x4wire.com/tech/60degreeV6/
how big of a boat are you talking?
with the age of our vehicles and how many of them that are. out there you shouldn't deal with an engine swap just get one with a 4.0 and call it a day. would be the cheapest way.
there is nothing actually wrong with it. lack of power is the only down side. here's some ideas for some more power.
http://www.4x4wire.com/tech/60degreeV6/
how big of a boat are you talking?
with the age of our vehicles and how many of them that are. out there you shouldn't deal with an engine swap just get one with a 4.0 and call it a day. would be the cheapest way.
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Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 77
Likes: 0
From: Bend, OR
Year: 1996
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0
BendXJMan: thats what i figured i would need to do, but do you know if like a intake manifold off the 4.2l in a cj bolt up to the 4.0? if so that would make the wiring much easier.
redlion: nothing is wrong with the motor im just lookin for a lil bit more power for it for when i wanna pull my boat. or is there really anything to do to the 2.8's to make a lil more power?
redlion: nothing is wrong with the motor im just lookin for a lil bit more power for it for when i wanna pull my boat. or is there really anything to do to the 2.8's to make a lil more power?
CF Veteran
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 1,152
Likes: 1
From: La Habra, CA
Year: 1988
Engine: 4.0 RENIX
the 2.8v6 is a good motor. people bash it because its standing next to the awesome 4.0.
there is nothing actually wrong with it. lack of power is the only down side. here's some ideas for some more power.
http://www.4x4wire.com/tech/60degreeV6/
how big of a boat are you talking?
with the age of our vehicles and how many of them that are. out there you shouldn't deal with an engine swap just get one with a 4.0 and call it a day. would be the cheapest way.
there is nothing actually wrong with it. lack of power is the only down side. here's some ideas for some more power.
http://www.4x4wire.com/tech/60degreeV6/
how big of a boat are you talking?
with the age of our vehicles and how many of them that are. out there you shouldn't deal with an engine swap just get one with a 4.0 and call it a day. would be the cheapest way.
are we talking about the same 2.8? that engine is a turd, like said before i don't think i've ever seen one make it past 200,000 miles. AMC dumped it for a reason.
from wikipedia:
Originally Posted by wikipedia
LR2
The longitudinal LR2 was a truck version ("B-code") produced from 1982 to 1990. It used a 2-barrel carburetor and produced 115 hp (86 kW) and 150 lb·ft (203 N·m). This engine is often revered as the most unreliable version. It's plagued with bottom end issues which range from spun bearings to compression loss related to engineering flaws in the lubrication system. Many auto parts stores sold crankshaft kits for this motor due to its original popularity and likelihood of failure. Many people claim this to be one of the worst engines ever made taking into account the power output, longevity, and terrible fuel efficiency.
Applications:
1982–1986 Chevrolet S-10/Chevrolet S-10 Blazer
1982–1986 GMC S-15/GMC S-15 Jimmy
1984–1986 Jeep Cherokee
1986 Jeep Comanche
The longitudinal LR2 was a truck version ("B-code") produced from 1982 to 1990. It used a 2-barrel carburetor and produced 115 hp (86 kW) and 150 lb·ft (203 N·m). This engine is often revered as the most unreliable version. It's plagued with bottom end issues which range from spun bearings to compression loss related to engineering flaws in the lubrication system. Many auto parts stores sold crankshaft kits for this motor due to its original popularity and likelihood of failure. Many people claim this to be one of the worst engines ever made taking into account the power output, longevity, and terrible fuel efficiency.
Applications:
1982–1986 Chevrolet S-10/Chevrolet S-10 Blazer
1982–1986 GMC S-15/GMC S-15 Jimmy
1984–1986 Jeep Cherokee
1986 Jeep Comanche
::Regional Moderator::
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 2,912
Likes: 6
From: Over here...
Year: 1986
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 2.8
AMC didn't dump the 2.8L, Chrysler bought out AMC and introduced the 4.0L. AMC as a whole was notorious for using whatever they could find to throw into their vehicles. In 1985.5 the 2.8L had the bottom end re-worked, so in theory he has the better of the 2.8L blocks. I've seen plenty make it past the 200k mark in my years as a mechanic. Also 3.1 and 3.4s are nothing more than stroked out 2.8L blocks. Yeah, my V6 is a dog, but last time I checked my Jeep wasn't a sports car. It does everything I ask of it on the road and off. Whenever my motor pops, I'm swapping in a V8, but I see no point in pulling out a perfectly good motor that does what I ask of it before it's time.
::Regional Moderator::
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 2,912
Likes: 6
From: Over here...
Year: 1986
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 2.8
If the motor doesn't work for him, by all means he can swap it out. I think he would of been better off finding a 87+ platform though. One thing that he may have lucked out on is that many of the '86 xjs I've seen have the 4.0L firewall hump. The core support area will still need to be addressed. With a little searching, I'm sure he can pull a few build threads up. There's a guy on here with an '86 who did a v8 swap build thread. I'd look it up, but I got chicken wings waiting for me. 
Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 77
Likes: 0
From: Bend, OR
Year: 1996
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0
AMC didn't dump the 2.8L, Chrysler bought out AMC and introduced the 4.0L. AMC as a whole was notorious for using whatever they could find to throw into their vehicles. In 1985.5 the 2.8L had the bottom end re-worked, so in theory he has the better of the 2.8L blocks. I've seen plenty make it past the 200k mark in my years as a mechanic. Also 3.1 and 3.4s are nothing more than stroked out 2.8L blocks. Yeah, my V6 is a dog, but last time I checked my Jeep wasn't a sports car. It does everything I ask of it on the road and off. Whenever my motor pops, I'm swapping in a V8, but I see no point in pulling out a perfectly good motor that does what I ask of it before it's time.