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Well I'm only days away from finally reviving my 99 xj after finding a pond a little over a year ago... needless to say it was a bad day! Luckily I wouldn't let my baby die that easy, after a lot of consideration and a lot of budgeting I came to a conclusion: bye bye 4.0, hello 5.3! Knowing LS engines fairly well and having one in my 04 Silverado dd, it was a pretty easy decision, but it honestly took a lot for me to finally accept I just wasn't going to build a stroker with the reliability and power of an LS engine for a price I could ever handle. So the search began, and although my plans have changed several times over the last year I finally have a set up! 5.3l and 4l60e from a rolled 2000 suburban, $200! Gota love knowing the right people. Well in the process of drowning my jeep we managed to rip my hitch clean out of the frame...yes it was that stuck! So instead of letting her sink to a watery grave we dug down to the rear axle and pulled it out by the axle, resulting in my wore out 8.25 bending. So I knew an axle swap was on my hands as well. At first I was going to run a modified np231 like frank z had done, but I ran into one major problem. Finding a pair of ford axles for under $1200 is about impossible around here, so I made another though decision and decided Chevy axles were my only option, found a pair for $100 with 4.10 gears that I go pick up next weekend. Now I had the problem of not being able to run any of the transfer cases that I've seen ran in this swap. I decided to go with a np208 case, light aluminum over a heavy cast 205. Plus a direct bolt up to my 4l60e! Although I will probably go to a built 205 in the future the 208 keeps my build cost down. Found a case for $50 and another for $100 and I'll pick up one or the other Thursday. Just a matter of if the guy still has the cheaper one lol. Also I went with the Novak motor mounts, and will see if I end up with their headers or not but I think I can possibly build my own or modify a set of camaro manifolds my buddy gave me. Which brings me to my next change in the engine, I'm running a camaro intake and holley LS swap brackets so that I can clear the hood without modification. Intake $125, billet fuel rails $120, brackets about $70. Also I decided to redo the top end of my 5.3 so another $100 for gaskets. I start my days off on Thursday and my Novak motor mounts should be here by then as well! so Thursday I'll be pulling my engine trans transfer and the swap will begin!
Well I kinda knew, didn't know there was no bottom haha. It was more peer pressure of '' we have six other jeeps we can pull you out, just do it'' well 7 hours, 20 tow straps, and 15 different vehicles pulling. It came out lol
I was just talking to my buddy about putting a 350 into my 95 Country and messing with all the Crustangs around here so I'll be lurking this thread for sure
I was just talking to my buddy about putting a 350 into my 95 Country and messing with all the Crustangs around here so I'll be lurking this thread for sure
The 350 is a popular swap.
oP, take alot of pics. Im looking forward to following you on this
I thought about a 350 as well. Mild cam and a little work, but fuel injection is sooo much better to have on the trails. Plus wiring isn't a big deal, I have a friend whose a genius with ls engines and I actually just help him put a 4.8 Vortec in his 86 blazer. Plus ls engines are far more dependable than an old small block, and higher output by far. I'll be taking a lot of pics, I'm pretty excited to get started on it!
Well delay and progress all in one. Got my motor mounts, fuel rails, and picked up a transfer case Thursday. But workin overtime this weekend so it will be Monday before I start tearing into her
Sorry it's been a while since I've done an update. Works been interesting lol so had to work some overtime. Picked up my axles yesterday and I have everything now, if the weather starts to cooperate tomorrow I'll be pulling my engine, trans, and transfer. If anyone is interested in them in the Wyoming area or wherever I guess let me know. I need to order my head gaskets still but other than that I'm ready to drop everything in. Will post pictures later
Well all the old is out, but back to work so January is when it will be finished! Also had to order injector extensions in order to run my 5.3l injectors in my f body intake. Another 50$ instead of 300$ for different injectors.
Well it's been over 2 years since I started. So many hiccups along the way and a lot of changing of plans. It's been on the back burner due to a new job and buying a house and all the other fun stuff that comes with being a young adult. I ended up with so much changing from my original build that I have a lot of other details, but I'll skip to the important things. Motor trans and tcase are all sitting in the jeep, trying to figure out my trans mount now. This Friday I will order my truss kit from tnt so I can get my hi pinion 44 under the front as well as a u-bolt eliminator kit to put my 60 under the rear. My radiator setup is the same a Jeremy Bristols, and I need to finish getting it mounted. Wiring has been on the back burner since my friend who was helping me moved back home. But I will be starting on it in the next couple weeks. I've been lucky enough that the current coal economy hasn't hit me to bad and I'm still getting overtime. For now... But I have the money to button things up at this time and I've finally decided I need to finish this thing before April. I don't have many pictures but I'll post what I have.
10-29-2013, 01:17 AM
bringing her back from the dead
so Thursday I'll be pulling my engine trans transfer and the swap will begin!
