Ok, so I"m good with the I6 4Litre but was looking at possibly swapping engines to like a 5.7HEMI, the PentaStar that's in the new Wrangler, or something like those. I'm leaning more towards like a crate engine right from a dealer.


I'm not very technical so obviously it'd be done by a pro. What I was wondering was if anyone has done this type of a swap before on their Cherokee? If you have any advice? If you know of any snags (ie: I know I'll have to have motor mounts changed, but what about marrying it up to the tranny, etc, that's already in the Cherokee?)?

 

Sounds like you'll need to do a lot of research on this. The most common V8 swap is a 5.3, and is by no means easy. There are kits from Novak (possibly others) that take care of a lot of the problems you'll run into.
What are you wanting to do with this XJ? The 4.0 is one of the best motors ever built and perfect for most XJ's. If you want a Hemi or Pentastar, it will be pretty tough and probably cost a fortune, but it's your jeep, I'm all for seeing something different.

 

If your paying a shop to do it you should budget around 8k to 10k for it.Swaps take a lot of time to do right and paying for labor is not cheap at all.A 4.6 stroker is a cheaper option for more power it bolts right in.

 

http://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge..._and_rules.htm

http://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge...es_general.htm

There is a TON of free good info there to be read.

I have a Golen4.6 stroker and I am very pleased with it. Very easy all the way around + a warranty. Kinda pricey though and you can build a stroker for 1/5th of what I paid. If you go this route, ATK (used to make the mopar strokers), Hesco and Golen are the only three I would buy one from (crate.) Titan and some of the others have terrible reviews.

Serious offroad(vendor on here) has a vortec in his... you could ask him what it cost/how difficult it was.

I have two JKs in my immediate family and dont know why you would want that motor. My stroker makes more power, will probably last longer, and doesn't use half of the electronics. I guess If you could get it worked out, the Rubicrawler is pretty awesome.

People have put all kinds of motors into them.. Just have alot of work ahead of you if you dont have someone like Novak selling the adapters for it.

 

Swapping or building an engine can be as cheap as you want (be realistic). When I get my 5.7 in I shouldn't have more than $5k in the swap, that's with a rebuild and all accessories including axles and regearing. Now it'll take me a long time to complete it and I'll be doing all the work myself. If your rig is a DD I'd honestly just get a rebuild or do a mild 4.2 stroker. You will be suprised at the power of new motor vs one with 200k miles

 

I know there was a lot of negative golen reviews a couple year back. How do you like yours? I really want that engine due to the bolt in factor and it really is not that bad of a price(considering I dont have the skills(more time) to do this on my own and my jeep is my dd) What kind of numbers do you get out of the 4.6? did you do any other upgrades with it? Thanks

 

I didn't find any negative golen reviews for their stroker when I was researching mine... just for the one ls motor they make. One guy on jeep forum had over 150,000 on his.. still running strong. Couple on the forum here

I am happy with mine. Significantly more power.... no issues at any point. I used 24# accell injectors, an AFE header, 3" exhaust, got rid of the AC, flowkooler water pump, Hesco high flow tstat housing, new hoses/harmonic balancer etc. Brown Dog Motor mounts, 62mm Throttle body and I already had the spectre cowl intake.

No actual dyno numbers yet as there is not one anywhere near me. I am happy with the purchase all the way through.

 

Buy a late model Corvette and take it along with your checkbook to Lingenfelter (http://www.lingenfelter.com/), you'll be a lot happier.

 

Just buy a 4.7L Stroker crate engine.

 

I have a Golen 4.6L, and I had Golen break it in on their engine dyno. It maxed out on the dyno at 274.3 Hp at 5000 rpm and 320.9 ft-lbs of torque at 3900 rpm. You might be able to squeeze out more by building one yourself, but not with a 100K mile warranty.

Other engine/power mods:

Spectre cowl intake
BBK 62mm throttle body
24 lb. injectors (the ones Golen sells to go with this engine)
Banks Torque Tubes header - I had the header and down pipe ceramic coated at Swain
Magnaflow high-flow cat
Gibson stainless exhaust
Brown Dog full mount and bracket kit

The rear suspension has long since gone flat on this truck, and with all this torque I get serious axle wrap if I put my foot in it. It's kind of funny, though, how the front end raises way up when I floor it. It feels like opening up the throttle in a boat. I keep getting delayed, but at some point in the very near future it's going into the garage for a lift with all new suspension, which should help put that torque into the pavement where it belongs.

Found my dyno graph:

 

One other thing to consider: I have the naturally aspirated version of Golen's stroker, but he sells another version of it that has had the head beefed up for forced induction. It costs more, but you can put a supercharger on it and pull another 50 Hp out of that engine. Considering how light XJs are, a 325 Hp supercharged Jeep would be pretty formidable.