318 in a TJ?

aidanm

TJ Enthusiast
Original poster
Joined
Jan 18, 2023
Messages
216
Location
Virginia
Hi all,
I’m looking to get some more power out of my TJ and thinking of swapping in a 318 instead of doing a 4.6 stroker since they’re like 12k for one from a decent company and was wondering if anyone has done this with an 02 TJ with the 5 speed and if the 318 would mate up to the nv3550 that’s in it already? Also what would you have to do in terms of the fuel system and the electric side of things(pcm)?
Thanks!
 
We swapped the 5.9 (360) out of a ZJ 5.9 Limited to my brothers '97 TJ. It took a custom wiring harness. We swapped in the factory auto that was behind the 5.9 too. There are companies out there that build the custom wiring harness and supply the motor mounts. You will need fab skills. It was easiest to remove the body completely from the frame and then fit the engine in. We did the majority of the swap in 2 weeks, but took an entire winter season to get it all completed.
 
Hi all,
I’m looking to get some more power out of my TJ and thinking of swapping in a 318 instead of doing a 4.6 stroker since they’re like 12k for one from a decent company and was wondering if anyone has done this with an 02 TJ with the 5 speed and if the 318 would mate up to the nv3550 that’s in it already? Also what would you have to do in terms of the fuel system and the electric side of things(pcm)?
Thanks!

Yes you can do a 5.2 or 5.9 Magnum V-8 swap into your 02 Tj fairly easy. And yes you can keep your NV3550. To do so you need a Dakota V-6 bellhousing which are getting more rare so the prices have gone up over the years.

This is one of the better threads on the subject.

https://www.jeepforum.com/threads/wrangler-magnum-v8-discussion.1365878/

Advance Adapters makes the motor mounts for the swap also.

A thread on here

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/magnum-engine-questions.59417/

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/97-tj-with-a-manual-heart-of-a-5-9l-magnum.56182/#post-984990

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/questions-on-the-magnum-v8-swap.53411/#post-932717

There are more Magnum V=8 swap threads on here. I have a 5.2 in my 97 TJ and then was building a 5.9 for it but the block cracked so now I'm finishing up a Hemi swap.
 
Also what would you have to do in terms of the fuel system and the electric side of things(pcm)?
Thanks!

Forgot to answer this in my other post.

Your current fuel system is just fine for the Magnum engine. You're making 42 PSI and that is fine for a stock engine. As far as PCM goes it looks just like your Jeep PCM & mounts in the same spot that your current PCM does.

Finalwiring[1].jpg


You then take a Ram wiring harness and blend it with your Jeep wiring harness. Since you're keeping your manual it's a little easier.
You need to add 2 injector wires & then maybe extend some of the other wires. That thread I listed above covers most of your wiring but you'll want to have the FSM for your Jeep & the one for the Dodge Ram. Once you start looking you'll see there's about 19 wires total you'll have to blend together. It's not that hard to do.

20210923_171325.jpg