Turbo vs engine swap

yeah, a couple of times… I just saw that kit and thought one stop shop for all the parts… I have an LS, and a 4L60 and I have access to a 5.3 magnum and transmission… I’m just on the fence about it might be overkill for what I need… The little 4 banger gets the job done, it will run 65 all day long and that’s fast enough for me for the most part…I just would like to have the ability to have a little extra umph if I needed it!

Only you can decide what you want.
When I'd decided to do my V-8 swap I had these grand ideas of traveling around the US towing a expedition type trailer to camp out of and felt that the 4 popper wouldn't be enough. Plus after being wounded my right leg/foot didn't work real great and it was hard to 3 foot it anymore so I wanted to swap to a auto. Once I had the V-8 I was mostly happy with it other than all the run ability issues I had. But even then I liked having the V-8.

I do think if you're going to swap in a V-8 no matter which be it a LS or Hemi or Magnum that you need a Dana 44/8.8 as a minimum and if you're looking at going bigger than 35" tires than a Dana 60/14 Bolt/9" type axle.

If you're 80% of the time happy with your 2.5 I'd seriously look at installing a turbo. No matter what with either option you'll have to upgrade other parts of the drivetrain also. With the turbo you'll need a AX15 & a Super 35 IMO.
 
Guess it has done its job on my 98’. Looks to be original trans. Still running. It is no heavy duty trans be any means, however I think part of the bad wrap is due to being beat on with bigger tires and no gear changes.

I think a lot of the failures are driver related more than anything else.
 
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Only you can decide what you want.
When I'd decided to do my V-8 swap I had these grand ideas of traveling around the US towing a expedition type trailer to camp out of and felt that the 4 popper wouldn't be enough. Plus after being wounded my right leg/foot didn't work real great and it was hard to 3 foot it anymore so I wanted to swap to a auto. Once I had the V-8 I was mostly happy with it other than all the run ability issues I had. But even then I liked having the V-8.

I do think if you're going to swap in a V-8 no matter which be it a LS or Hemi or Magnum that you need a Dana 44/8.8 as a minimum and if you're looking at going bigger than 35" tires than a Dana 60/14 Bolt/9" type axle.

If you're 80% of the time happy with your 2.5 I'd seriously look at installing a turbo. No matter what with either option you'll have to upgrade other parts of the drivetrain also. With the turbo you'll need a AX15 & a Super 35 IMO.

So in your opinion is a supercharger not an option?… I am happy 80% of the time with the 4 cyl and am happy with the 3 Speed auto transmission (30rh) and probably going to stick with 33” tires… I get frustrated having to pull over to let traffic pass on long hills…
 
So in your opinion is a supercharger not an option?… I am happy 80% of the time with the 4 cyl and am happy with the 3 Speed auto transmission (30rh) and probably going to stick with 33” tires… I get frustrated having to pull over to let traffic pass on long hills…

The negative reviews of the supercharger for off-road have halted my research on them.
I need to do a compression check on mine. See approximately where the health of my motor lies. If I could squeeze 35ish more hp out of a 2.5 from what I have now I would be “happy ish” with it.
 
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I had a Avenger supercharger that I was going to install on my 4 cyl engine. I also had the inertia ring on my flywheel. Neither are made anymore. You can get the heavier flywheel but it's expensive.

The supercharger available now from what everyone says isn't worth it.
 
What were the negative issues with a supercharger off-road? I'd never heard of any.

I have read about more folks who ended up removing them than keeping them. It seems to be a system of constant tinkering. Some of that could be support based as well.
 
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So in your opinion is a supercharger not an option?… I am happy 80% of the time with the 4 cyl and am happy with the 3 Speed auto transmission (30rh) and probably going to stick with 33” tires… I get frustrated having to pull over to let traffic pass on long hills…

The negative reviews of the supercharger for off-road have halted my research on them.
I need to do a compression check on mine. See approximately where the health of my motor lies. If I could squeeze 35ish more hp out of a 2.5 from what I have now I would be “happy ish” with it.

I think it boils down do what type of terrain you wheel in. If mud and sand are what you play in mostly a supercharger will work well. For more slow speed technical stuff they can be a bit "twitchy".
 
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If you really wanna keep a 4 cylinder, why not look for a Neon SRT engine to swap in? Its the 2.4L, so the NV3550 should bolt up, its already been done and figured out by the OEM. You might have to swap to newer (03 and up) gages too, but in the grand scheme, that would probably be the most "Factory" looking of anything you could swap in.

Edit: Fergot the pirate link
https://www.pirate4x4.com/threads/jeep-tj-2-5l-replaced-by-srt4-neon-2-4l-turbo-motor.950435/
 
I had a Avenger supercharger that I was going to install on my 4 cyl engine. I also had the inertia ring on my flywheel. Neither are made anymore. You can get the heavier flywheel but it's expensive.

The supercharger available now from what everyone says isn't worth it.

What were the negative issues with a supercharger off-road? I'd never heard of any.

I have read about more folks who ended up removing them than keeping them. It seems to be a system of constant tinkering. Some of that could be support based as well.

Biggest problem until recently is that noone had cracked the ECM so that meaningful changes could be made so companies like Avenger just offered poorly thought out workarounds. Now that tuning options allow the ability to do things like using different sensors the chances of success have improved.
 
Biggest problem until recently is that noone had cracked the ECM so that meaningful changes could be made so companies like Avenger just offered poorly thought out workarounds. Now that tuning options allow the ability to do things like using different sensors the chances of success have improved.

Just not too many companies looking to develop products for 20-25 year old rigs. Always hope though.
 
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Biggest problem until recently is that noone had cracked the ECM so that meaningful changes could be made so companies like Avenger just offered poorly thought out workarounds. Now that tuning options allow the ability to do things like using different sensors the chances of success have improved.

Believe me I know about all the issues from 15+ years ago with the boosted world and our Jeeps. It was one of the reasons I decided to shelve the idea of the Avenger supercharger and my mighty 4 popper. Going with the magnum swap back then was the cheaper route to go. With the prices of LS & Hemi's if I was starting over I'd go a different route.
 
Anyone ever seen any dyno sheets of any internal mods on a 2.5?
I know it has been discussed how engine add /bolt ons make a bit more power until the PCM adjusts and takes it back to stock tune levels. What improvements can be made with a tune alone? Still not a cheap option.

What would mild head work, LS valves and a cam get?
 
You mentioned something earlier, about looking for 4.0L levels of power. If you're really only wanting that, Its probably best for you to look into picking up a 6 cylinder Jeep. Getting yourself into a decent automatic Rubicon with the Rubicrawler gets you the gearing you want, lockers decent for 35's, small footprint, and with some thought, a relatively light rig that is nimble and flexible.

V8's swaps are cool, I LOVE a Turbo, but I want simplicity in my wheelin rig. I don't want to think about what could fail when I'm poised precariously on the side of a mountain. So, by that token, a 4.0L is about as simple as they come and simplicity breeds reliability in this case.
 
I know it has been discussed how engine add /bolt ons make a bit more power until the PCM adjusts and takes it back to stock tune levels.
That's only a half true statement. The PCM has adaptive fuel trims for idle and part throttle only. It has no ability to learn ignition timing period. It also has no ability to learn fuel trims much over 75% throttle or so. Even still airflow mods will increase power at any point in the curve regardless of fuel trims.