The first one is on my XJ and seems to have been forever in the making...stroked 4.0.
1996 4.0L HVH block bored .060 over


Crankshaft and head also back fromt he machine shop


Comparing pistons, stock 4.0L on the left the new replacement on the right.


Cylinder head ported and polished I forgot to blend the bowls

 

Intake manifold off a 99 WJ


Intake ported


Pistons installed


Close to zero deck height .055


No clearance with the crankshaft and main searing support


A few washers and all is good

 

Bottom end in, head on just sitting there


No cam or lifters I had ordered a Mopar Performance Stage 1 purple shaft but I was informed by my parts manager that it will not be in untill late April early to mid May.


I ordered a Competition Cams Extreme 4x4 cam 4254H cam.

So this weekend I had pulled out the original 4.0L to install my 4.7L with a 99 WJ intake

 

Nice. I use to be a cylinder man in Texas. Big air compressors like Quincy, ADL's, IR's.

 

looks like a nice motor when done should be pretty powerful compared to the 4.0 lots more torque

 

Old engine hanging on the engine hoist next to the new 4.7L


Ready to install


Installed in the XJ


Out of the shop and home


AHHH she runs


The difference is night and day compared to the old 4.slo, it now spins the rear tires very easily but it has been raining too.

 

nice looking xj!

 

Thank you.

The other project is the 96 Grand Cherokee I had bought.


Rear axle in the ZJ


Bent rear suspension components

I bought the ZJ for a steal at $400 the previous owner had lost control in a turn and slammed it into a ditch. He then traded it in for a 09 Jeep Patriot.
His loss my gain. It is insanely clean.

The plans are to fix the rear axle and suspension, already done pics to follow. The rest is to lift it 4.5" a set of 33 12.5's on a set of Street Locks(my wife likes them for it). The build a set of rock rails for it a set of skid plates etc. I'm getting a set of limited bumpers from a friend of mine and one of the guys in our paint shop is going to paint them to match the ZJ.

The frame has already been pulled out the guys in our body shop said I will pay them back later with a favor too, not a bad deal.

 

Frame damage, the whole front end was shifted over to the right about 1/4-1/2"


Does this engine look like it has 128000 miles on it?


Interior


No more broken rear axle, don't worry it is going where it belongs the junkyard it was a Dana 35


I did have to remove the suspension brackets first...a plasma cutter works great for that

 

Fitting the brackets onto the new rear axle a Ford 8.8 from a Explorer


New but used control arms from my friend Sean


All tack welded


Track bars the original one is on the top, replacement one on the bottom $5 at a pull a part


Test fitting, all but one mount lined up right


Finish welded and primed


Painted and ready to install


On the ground again

 

I got the wrong U-joint from the parts store so it was a front wheel drive Jeep for a few days, no big deal since I still had alot more work to do to it.


I did end up getting a Spicer flange for the stock ZJ 1310 u-joint.

Looking better


The rear does sit higher then the front due to the bigger axle tubes, I have since replaced the rear bumper and installed the taillight


No pics but the rear shocks turned out to be bad from the wreck too, so I installed a set of 08 JK Rubicon shocks that I had. I removed the bar pins from the rear shocks and installed them in the ZJ and the fronts I installed the ZJ bar pins and installed them too. Around the parking lot at work it rides alot firmer.