Hey everyone!
Sorry I have been off the forum for so long, life certainly can get crazy sometimes. Anyways, pretty soon I will be out of training in the Air Force and have some time to work on my Jeep again, and boy do I have some plans for it! Just as a refresher, I have a 1998 TJ with the 2.5L 4 cylinder and the AX5 transmission. I will say that I love how that motor works off-road in sand, crawling, and mud. However, the Jeep is my daily driver, and that 2.5L is AWFUL on the Highway! Even just driving it around town is miserable as it is so low on power. Also, beginning of 2020 I put a rebuilt engine, trans, and transfer case in it because the old one was so worn out. Long story short, I want to put a 6 cylinder in it...specifically the 4.6L Stroker. I have done some reading on it, and if you can get one that is built correctly they can last as long as a regular 4.0L with all the benefits of power to weight ratio. It is very hard to find any information regarding this motor though, so I figured I would make a post asking anyone who has this motor in their Jeep of their opinion. Is it worth the extra money and can you actually tell the difference? How is the reliability?
That brings me to my second issue. With a bigger motor comes the need for some bigger tires. I want to make the jump from 31/10.5/15 to 37/13.5/17. Now I know my rear Dana 35 is a timebomb, especially because it has close to 190,000 miles on it and it makes some noise. So I have been considering running Dana 60s. I want to build it once and forget about it, and the 60s seem to be the answer. I know that a Dana 44 is already a much better option than a Dana 35, but the problem is a few of my buddies have blown D44s with only 35" tires. So my question is what do you suggest? Would a Dana 44 with Chromoly shafts be better? Or should I just go right to D60s? I would also like to run E-Lockers in them. What is yalls experience with them? I guess the drawbacks of a Dana 60 are the ground clearance, weight, and fabrication required to install them. However, I feel that D44s would not last as long.
Anyways, any comments would be greatly appreciated! I am super excited to get this build rolling next year sometime.
Thanks in advance!
Patrick
Sorry I have been off the forum for so long, life certainly can get crazy sometimes. Anyways, pretty soon I will be out of training in the Air Force and have some time to work on my Jeep again, and boy do I have some plans for it! Just as a refresher, I have a 1998 TJ with the 2.5L 4 cylinder and the AX5 transmission. I will say that I love how that motor works off-road in sand, crawling, and mud. However, the Jeep is my daily driver, and that 2.5L is AWFUL on the Highway! Even just driving it around town is miserable as it is so low on power. Also, beginning of 2020 I put a rebuilt engine, trans, and transfer case in it because the old one was so worn out. Long story short, I want to put a 6 cylinder in it...specifically the 4.6L Stroker. I have done some reading on it, and if you can get one that is built correctly they can last as long as a regular 4.0L with all the benefits of power to weight ratio. It is very hard to find any information regarding this motor though, so I figured I would make a post asking anyone who has this motor in their Jeep of their opinion. Is it worth the extra money and can you actually tell the difference? How is the reliability?
That brings me to my second issue. With a bigger motor comes the need for some bigger tires. I want to make the jump from 31/10.5/15 to 37/13.5/17. Now I know my rear Dana 35 is a timebomb, especially because it has close to 190,000 miles on it and it makes some noise. So I have been considering running Dana 60s. I want to build it once and forget about it, and the 60s seem to be the answer. I know that a Dana 44 is already a much better option than a Dana 35, but the problem is a few of my buddies have blown D44s with only 35" tires. So my question is what do you suggest? Would a Dana 44 with Chromoly shafts be better? Or should I just go right to D60s? I would also like to run E-Lockers in them. What is yalls experience with them? I guess the drawbacks of a Dana 60 are the ground clearance, weight, and fabrication required to install them. However, I feel that D44s would not last as long.
Anyways, any comments would be greatly appreciated! I am super excited to get this build rolling next year sometime.
Thanks in advance!
Patrick