Davemayn13's 2004 LJ Hemi Swap Project
- Thread starter davemayn13
- Start date
I did the same with my wiring harness. Got a pegboard and zip tied it all in place. It is a big bundle especially coming out of an 06 GC. So many boxes.
hardtailpan
TJ Enthusiast
So, do I understand correctly that the RR fuel pump assembly is a stock 05/06 unit with the top ring trimmed down? This allows it to fit in the screw on cover of the earlier tanks?
OP
Based on my comparison, it appears that is the case. The connector is also different, you'll want connector part number 5013978AA or comparable.
OP
Got a bit done recently.
Mail Call:
Red Rock kit: The swap book and the rear exhaust gear shipped Friday the 18th and arrived on the 24th. The book isn't bad, definitely provides some clarity on the kit items like the steering gear swap and the trans mount mockup. At this point, just waiting for the accumulator bracket and exhaust diagram, but we're getting closer to being done with each other.
Metalcloak: The tub mount tire carrier and license plate relocation kit showed up early this week. While it looks great, it had some issues right off the bat.
One of the 4 bushings was mis-drilled, not allowing the pin to go all the way through from either side.
The kit was missing both brackets for the tire mount portion.
The tubes for the license plate relocation kit didn't fit together, either wrong size pipes or too much powdercoat.
I reached out to Metalcloak the next day, and they overnighted me a return label and replacement parts. Excellent customer service from them.
Nemesis Industries: The replacement corner shipped and should be here this week. Still waiting on the rear flares to ship, but obviously not in a hurry.
PSC: Ordered a bunch of parts from PSC over the last couple of weeks. Got the power steering pump/remote reservoir kit, the big bore steering box, and the dual cooler setup for the transmission and future hydraulic ram. I figured rather than install the Red Rock kit I might as well think ahead for expansion.
Atlas transfer case: Got confirmation from Dave at Dave's Off-road that my transfer case went into building and will ship 1/6. Dave was great and called to verify a bunch of the options/measurements to make sure I got it right. 10/10 service from him.
Savvy: The front Savvy bumper showed up, I got the winch guard, light tabs, and winch plate options. I'm amazed at how light it is compared to the Warn set up that was on there previously. On the next warm day I'll get it prepped and painted in flat/satin black. The rear bumper is on backorder, again no rush on this so all is well. The original estimate was 4-8 weeks, which is why I pulled the trigger early in case it ends up being the latter.
Updates on the build:
Weather has been cold garbage the last couple of weeks. Did get some progress made though.
Transmission: It's done! Together. On the ground and ready to go. I needed the space in the garage and needed to get the final stuff done. So...yay! Fingers crossed I got it right.
I noticed I have one of those cheap Chinese knock off Rubicrawler boxes from "Advace Adapters"
I also messed around with the winters shifter. @NashvilleTJ I found that the spring loaded ball joint included in the winters kit fit the ball on the oem shift lever just fine. This would allow for the most direct routing of the cable. The issue I see right now is there's little to no adjustment in the cable itself. It doesn't have the typical double nut adjustment you see on the various cable shifter setups for transfer cases. The mounting/securing of the the winters shifter is a u bracket on both ends. What I'm currently thinking is to modify the ram 545rfe bracket with some manner of setback and adjustment to allow it all to work. I'll need to play with it more after I install the shifter and console to figure out if I need a shorter/longer cable and how far I need to push/pull the mounting point.
Steering upgrade: Pulled the intermediate shaft to get it separated. Worked it with a dremel for a solid 45 minutes and got it separated. According to the red rock book, both ends of the steering shaft will need to be ground to varying degrees to fit into the clamp and steering side brackets. On the steering box side, you need to take off the rounded ends to square it up. On the steering wheel side, it's a "grind to fit" scenario, which doesn't appear to need much to fit from my initial test fit. @Wildman Let me know if Jim includes instructions with your kit. If not, I'll shoot you his info from the book if you like.
Engine swap: Started hacking into the engine mounts. Still need to finish some finer cuts and grind it all down to clean up. I'll get to it this week to finish up. I'll need to also chop off the OEM steering pillow mounting bracket.
Hemi Engine: I had some minor wrap up items to take care of on the motor. Got all the spark plugs and coils installed, as well as some misc sensors I needed to get in. I also put the manifolds on and found some fun items:
#1) As expected, the gaskets that came with the red rock 160 headers were hot garbage. They were mis-aligned and sloppy. Thankfully, I had the gaskets from the engine rebuild kit and used those instead.
#2) The next discovery was silly and I should have realized it earlier. The bolts for the oem ram header mounting points are way thicker than the new headers. They bottomed out with a half inch left. I went ahead and ordered some stage 8 hardware, m8x1.25 with a 25 mm length. Should work great. Part number 8916.
I got the advanced adapters motor mounts attached to the engine, and I think I got them located right. The passenger and driver sides are different, but there's no pics/markings of which is which. The longer one goes on the drivers side. Short one goes on the passenger side.
I went ahead and pulled the oem steering pump and installed the PSC pump. Silly me didn't look at the pulley before mounting. Then I made the discovery...
OEM
PSC
There's no holes for the mounting bolt access! So I went ahead and made one for future sake. Various drill bits later...voila. My ram hemi uses the 7 rib pulley system, not the typical 6 rib that the psc kit comes with. Thankfully, they'll substitute the 7 rib at no charge, but I'd definitely recommend drilling an access hole. I finished with a 3/4" hole that's big enough for my 13mm socket.
Obviously it's much nicer without the reservoir hanging off the side.
One other interesting note is the PSC pump only uses 2 of the 3 mounting holes. The middle hole does not pass through like the top and bottom.
I got the belt mounted and pretty much wrapped up all the loose ends. The intake, egr and fuel rail will need to wait until the motor is nestled into the engine bay, but they're ready to go.
Fuel Tank and skid: I got the tank in, secured, and tidied up. I got the new fuel hose and clip installed, and the sub-harness from my hotwire kit plugged into the pump. I replaced the cracked fill hose. I also got the stripped out stud for mounting tank to the body replaced. It's ready to get lifted into place now.
Genright console: I modified the rear of the top plate to allow for the bluesea power center. I used the cutout template to join/enlarge the 12v mounting holes that came with the console originally. I'll need to grind the plastic bezel to clear the button head bolts that attach the top to the sides of the console. Just waiting on a warm day to repaint the top with black enamel now that everything is cut, drilled, and ready to go.
Before
After
Rear Body: Waiting on the brackets to get here from Nemesis, when those show up I can throw the spacers under the tailgate hinges and properly drill/mount the corners. I'll also take the metalcloak tire mount brackets and get them drilled and installed. Once that's all done, I'll pull everything off again and the corners will go in the paint pile for the next warm day.
Front/Engine bay: I still need to hose down and touch up the firewall, it's just super inconvenient to drag a hose over there. Once that's done, I'll mount the new metalcloak brackets/supports, and test fit the fenders. I'll likely need to trim my rockers to make it all work, and I'll make sure to mark them during the test fit.
I've also ordered a variety of square and round plugs to seal up the firewall. One part I found was a fresh 1.75" grommet for the automatic shifter hole. This will allow me to drill for the winters cable and keep a good seal. Mopar part number 02424864.
It's a short work week this week, so I should cover some good ground in the next 7 days. Stay tuned...
Mail Call:
Red Rock kit: The swap book and the rear exhaust gear shipped Friday the 18th and arrived on the 24th. The book isn't bad, definitely provides some clarity on the kit items like the steering gear swap and the trans mount mockup. At this point, just waiting for the accumulator bracket and exhaust diagram, but we're getting closer to being done with each other.
Metalcloak: The tub mount tire carrier and license plate relocation kit showed up early this week. While it looks great, it had some issues right off the bat.
One of the 4 bushings was mis-drilled, not allowing the pin to go all the way through from either side.
The kit was missing both brackets for the tire mount portion.
The tubes for the license plate relocation kit didn't fit together, either wrong size pipes or too much powdercoat.
I reached out to Metalcloak the next day, and they overnighted me a return label and replacement parts. Excellent customer service from them.
Nemesis Industries: The replacement corner shipped and should be here this week. Still waiting on the rear flares to ship, but obviously not in a hurry.
PSC: Ordered a bunch of parts from PSC over the last couple of weeks. Got the power steering pump/remote reservoir kit, the big bore steering box, and the dual cooler setup for the transmission and future hydraulic ram. I figured rather than install the Red Rock kit I might as well think ahead for expansion.
Atlas transfer case: Got confirmation from Dave at Dave's Off-road that my transfer case went into building and will ship 1/6. Dave was great and called to verify a bunch of the options/measurements to make sure I got it right. 10/10 service from him.
Savvy: The front Savvy bumper showed up, I got the winch guard, light tabs, and winch plate options. I'm amazed at how light it is compared to the Warn set up that was on there previously. On the next warm day I'll get it prepped and painted in flat/satin black. The rear bumper is on backorder, again no rush on this so all is well. The original estimate was 4-8 weeks, which is why I pulled the trigger early in case it ends up being the latter.
Updates on the build:
Weather has been cold garbage the last couple of weeks. Did get some progress made though.
Transmission: It's done! Together. On the ground and ready to go. I needed the space in the garage and needed to get the final stuff done. So...yay! Fingers crossed I got it right.
I noticed I have one of those cheap Chinese knock off Rubicrawler boxes from "Advace Adapters"
I also messed around with the winters shifter. @NashvilleTJ I found that the spring loaded ball joint included in the winters kit fit the ball on the oem shift lever just fine. This would allow for the most direct routing of the cable. The issue I see right now is there's little to no adjustment in the cable itself. It doesn't have the typical double nut adjustment you see on the various cable shifter setups for transfer cases. The mounting/securing of the the winters shifter is a u bracket on both ends. What I'm currently thinking is to modify the ram 545rfe bracket with some manner of setback and adjustment to allow it all to work. I'll need to play with it more after I install the shifter and console to figure out if I need a shorter/longer cable and how far I need to push/pull the mounting point.
Steering upgrade: Pulled the intermediate shaft to get it separated. Worked it with a dremel for a solid 45 minutes and got it separated. According to the red rock book, both ends of the steering shaft will need to be ground to varying degrees to fit into the clamp and steering side brackets. On the steering box side, you need to take off the rounded ends to square it up. On the steering wheel side, it's a "grind to fit" scenario, which doesn't appear to need much to fit from my initial test fit. @Wildman Let me know if Jim includes instructions with your kit. If not, I'll shoot you his info from the book if you like.
Engine swap: Started hacking into the engine mounts. Still need to finish some finer cuts and grind it all down to clean up. I'll get to it this week to finish up. I'll need to also chop off the OEM steering pillow mounting bracket.
Hemi Engine: I had some minor wrap up items to take care of on the motor. Got all the spark plugs and coils installed, as well as some misc sensors I needed to get in. I also put the manifolds on and found some fun items:
#1) As expected, the gaskets that came with the red rock 160 headers were hot garbage. They were mis-aligned and sloppy. Thankfully, I had the gaskets from the engine rebuild kit and used those instead.
#2) The next discovery was silly and I should have realized it earlier. The bolts for the oem ram header mounting points are way thicker than the new headers. They bottomed out with a half inch left. I went ahead and ordered some stage 8 hardware, m8x1.25 with a 25 mm length. Should work great. Part number 8916.
I got the advanced adapters motor mounts attached to the engine, and I think I got them located right. The passenger and driver sides are different, but there's no pics/markings of which is which. The longer one goes on the drivers side. Short one goes on the passenger side.
I went ahead and pulled the oem steering pump and installed the PSC pump. Silly me didn't look at the pulley before mounting. Then I made the discovery...
OEM
PSC
There's no holes for the mounting bolt access! So I went ahead and made one for future sake. Various drill bits later...voila. My ram hemi uses the 7 rib pulley system, not the typical 6 rib that the psc kit comes with. Thankfully, they'll substitute the 7 rib at no charge, but I'd definitely recommend drilling an access hole. I finished with a 3/4" hole that's big enough for my 13mm socket.
Obviously it's much nicer without the reservoir hanging off the side.
One other interesting note is the PSC pump only uses 2 of the 3 mounting holes. The middle hole does not pass through like the top and bottom.
I got the belt mounted and pretty much wrapped up all the loose ends. The intake, egr and fuel rail will need to wait until the motor is nestled into the engine bay, but they're ready to go.
Fuel Tank and skid: I got the tank in, secured, and tidied up. I got the new fuel hose and clip installed, and the sub-harness from my hotwire kit plugged into the pump. I replaced the cracked fill hose. I also got the stripped out stud for mounting tank to the body replaced. It's ready to get lifted into place now.
Genright console: I modified the rear of the top plate to allow for the bluesea power center. I used the cutout template to join/enlarge the 12v mounting holes that came with the console originally. I'll need to grind the plastic bezel to clear the button head bolts that attach the top to the sides of the console. Just waiting on a warm day to repaint the top with black enamel now that everything is cut, drilled, and ready to go.
Before
After
Rear Body: Waiting on the brackets to get here from Nemesis, when those show up I can throw the spacers under the tailgate hinges and properly drill/mount the corners. I'll also take the metalcloak tire mount brackets and get them drilled and installed. Once that's all done, I'll pull everything off again and the corners will go in the paint pile for the next warm day.
Front/Engine bay: I still need to hose down and touch up the firewall, it's just super inconvenient to drag a hose over there. Once that's done, I'll mount the new metalcloak brackets/supports, and test fit the fenders. I'll likely need to trim my rockers to make it all work, and I'll make sure to mark them during the test fit.
I've also ordered a variety of square and round plugs to seal up the firewall. One part I found was a fresh 1.75" grommet for the automatic shifter hole. This will allow me to drill for the winters cable and keep a good seal. Mopar part number 02424864.
It's a short work week this week, so I should cover some good ground in the next 7 days. Stay tuned...
Last edited:
My steering still hasn't shipped yet if their website is correct so I'll be calling them tomorrow to see what is going on and the why of it.
I've got 4 phone calls I need to make tomorrow now.
1) Red Rock- Status of steering shaft
2) TNT Customs- Order Front Stretch kit
3) PSC Steering- Order new remote reservoir & some hose and fittings
4) ORO- Order bushing for SwayLoc need this to work with the TNT parts
That should be about another $1K gone-——— POOF like that.
Then save more money as I have more parts I need.
I've got 4 phone calls I need to make tomorrow now.
1) Red Rock- Status of steering shaft
2) TNT Customs- Order Front Stretch kit
3) PSC Steering- Order new remote reservoir & some hose and fittings
4) ORO- Order bushing for SwayLoc need this to work with the TNT parts
That should be about another $1K gone-——— POOF like that.
Then save more money as I have more parts I need.
Hell of an update there, Dave.
I had that same issue with the PSC 7 rib pulley - but I just pressed it on in place. It was definitely a pain, though.
Good call on going with the PSC pump out of the gate. I started with the OEM pump and it could not keep up with the ram and the hydroboost.
I had that same issue with the PSC 7 rib pulley - but I just pressed it on in place. It was definitely a pain, though.
Good call on going with the PSC pump out of the gate. I started with the OEM pump and it could not keep up with the ram and the hydroboost.
OP
Thanks! Should cover some good ground with the abbreviated work week. Got to crack the whip now that my transfer case has a ship date, the only thing holding up this project is me!
How's the clearance on the PSC pump once the motor and radiator/fan are in there? Are you able to get a puller in there if you had to pull the pump for some reason? That was my biggest worry. I don't plan on doing the ram right out the gate, but with a deal I couldn't pass up the upgrade on the pump happened sooner than anticipated.
Also, did you chop the threaded nub/snout on your water pump or did you leave it and have enough clearance between the fan and radiator?
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hardtailpan
TJ Enthusiast
To add to this, I've heard that in some instances the engine driven fan can be used with a durango fan blade and shroud. I'm curious what you guys think about this claim with the setups you have, if it appears that this is possible?
hardtailpan
TJ Enthusiast
If memory serves, I did have to pull the fan and shroud to get the pulley puller in there, but not a big deal at all. 4 screws and a weatherpack plug in my case.
I did cut the nub on the water pump. I put in the most powerful 17” fan I could find, and it’s tight - so I needed all the clearance I could get.
hardtailpan
TJ Enthusiast
I think the use of the mechanical fan on the hemi came from this thread:
https://www.pirate4x4.com/threads/1997-tj-2-5-l.850159/
See post #16, it says a Durango 4.7 fan will work. I have no way to confirm this.
OP
There's a bunch of durangos in the junkyard locally, I may go see if I can snag one...you know...for science...
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hardtailpan
TJ Enthusiast
I, for one, would find this information very interesting. It's not clear to me whether you need to use (and I assume modify) the Durango shroud, or the TJ shroud.
Please let us know what you discover, and keep the great thread and progress going, glad to see someone is getting something done lol!
OP
I've probably read that thread 40 times, and what's interesting to me is that he went with the electric fan ultimately. Still, be curious to see if the mechanical setup fits/works. I'll keep you posted.
It's interesting to me that he said it was a fan from a 4.7. I always find it interesting when parts from other engines and stuff fit other engines.
I know with the magnum swap some guys have used the mechanical fan but I think it was from a Grand Cherokee.
I know with the magnum swap some guys have used the mechanical fan but I think it was from a Grand Cherokee.
OP
Mail Call:
Atlas transfer case:
Got confirmation it shipped today, ETA of 1/6! Yay!
Nemesis Corner:
The replacement drivers side corner and tailgate brackets showed up last week, and everything fits!
PSC Dual Cooler:
Got a screaming deal from Dale's Superstore on the dual cooler setup for the TJ/LJ. $125 shipped, which is usually the retail price of just the single cooler setup. See below for a comparison to the red rock kit.
Work Done:
Engine Bay:
Got the remaining bits of the engine mounts and steering mount off the frame.
A little time with a sanding wheel and away we go! Got it all covered up with weld-thru primer.
After all the chopping, there was metal dust/shavings everywhere. Thankfully, it was a great day, so I got the motivation to drag out the pressure watcher and hit everything in the engine bay. I also took the opportunity to wash out years worth of dirt and grime under and around the rest of the tub.
Before the wash
After the wash, before respray
I'm going to tape it up and re-spray the firewall before I drop the motor in. Better take the opportunity while it's there! I'll also touch up the frame and shock towers too.
The butt:
With the corners arrived, I took the opportunity to mount it all up and make sure the fit was good. I also needed to drill the holes into the tub for both sides.
One note, I hate nutserts. HATE them. I was able to use bolts and nuts at all mounting locations except the two holes closest to the doors on each side. I could drill through the second piece of the inner tub to bolt through, but I'm afraid the threaded nubs would be shin busters or leg scratchers. Nutserts it is then. For those holes at least. I snagged some new stainless flat mount bolts to avoid nutserts. 2 rear bottom holes required a 4" 1/4x20, and the mid top hole needed a 1.25" bolt to make it through the interior rail support bracket.
Tire Carrier:
Prior to painting the corners, I figured I better drill, mount, and test fit the carrier. It definitely took longer than I thought it would, but I was able to get it all done. Pretty nice honestly, I think it'll look great when we're all done.
I also snagged the license plate relocation kit. Since I am using 4 T pins for the carrier, I needed to make sure my wiring was easy to connect and disconnect quickly. I added a 3 pin DT connector to the wiring, which I'll mount to the inside of the carrier to conceal it. I'll post more on that later when it's wired up and good to go.
PSC Dual Cooler:
Got the dual cooler setup, the bracket was bare steel so I primed and painted it for longevity. Each cooler is roughly 7.5"x11". The kit came with a length of hose (continental 3/8" hose @300psi), double ended barbs, and hose clamps.
As you can see, each PSC is larger overall than the red rock, which measures roughly 5.5"x11"
I'll take it out and mount it to the core support later. I'm going to seal the ports on the power steering cooler for expansion once I do the ram.
Upcoming:
Assuming tomorrow is another nice day, I'm hoping to get the following done
Prep and primer the front fenders, rear corners. Paint if time/weather allows.
Paint the holes I drilled in the tub to avoid rust. Clean up some surface rust at a few of the fender holes.
Tack in the engine mounts to the frame
Drill and install genright tunnel cover, fit for prime and paint. It's definitely going to take some beating to conform to the tub. Once it's in, I can install the console and shifter cable.
Remove OEM steering box, install PSC steering box
Atlas transfer case:
Got confirmation it shipped today, ETA of 1/6! Yay!
Nemesis Corner:
The replacement drivers side corner and tailgate brackets showed up last week, and everything fits!
PSC Dual Cooler:
Got a screaming deal from Dale's Superstore on the dual cooler setup for the TJ/LJ. $125 shipped, which is usually the retail price of just the single cooler setup. See below for a comparison to the red rock kit.
Work Done:
Engine Bay:
Got the remaining bits of the engine mounts and steering mount off the frame.
A little time with a sanding wheel and away we go! Got it all covered up with weld-thru primer.
After all the chopping, there was metal dust/shavings everywhere. Thankfully, it was a great day, so I got the motivation to drag out the pressure watcher and hit everything in the engine bay. I also took the opportunity to wash out years worth of dirt and grime under and around the rest of the tub.
Before the wash
After the wash, before respray
I'm going to tape it up and re-spray the firewall before I drop the motor in. Better take the opportunity while it's there! I'll also touch up the frame and shock towers too.
The butt:
With the corners arrived, I took the opportunity to mount it all up and make sure the fit was good. I also needed to drill the holes into the tub for both sides.
One note, I hate nutserts. HATE them. I was able to use bolts and nuts at all mounting locations except the two holes closest to the doors on each side. I could drill through the second piece of the inner tub to bolt through, but I'm afraid the threaded nubs would be shin busters or leg scratchers. Nutserts it is then. For those holes at least. I snagged some new stainless flat mount bolts to avoid nutserts. 2 rear bottom holes required a 4" 1/4x20, and the mid top hole needed a 1.25" bolt to make it through the interior rail support bracket.
Tire Carrier:
Prior to painting the corners, I figured I better drill, mount, and test fit the carrier. It definitely took longer than I thought it would, but I was able to get it all done. Pretty nice honestly, I think it'll look great when we're all done.
I also snagged the license plate relocation kit. Since I am using 4 T pins for the carrier, I needed to make sure my wiring was easy to connect and disconnect quickly. I added a 3 pin DT connector to the wiring, which I'll mount to the inside of the carrier to conceal it. I'll post more on that later when it's wired up and good to go.
PSC Dual Cooler:
Got the dual cooler setup, the bracket was bare steel so I primed and painted it for longevity. Each cooler is roughly 7.5"x11". The kit came with a length of hose (continental 3/8" hose @300psi), double ended barbs, and hose clamps.
As you can see, each PSC is larger overall than the red rock, which measures roughly 5.5"x11"
I'll take it out and mount it to the core support later. I'm going to seal the ports on the power steering cooler for expansion once I do the ram.
Upcoming:
Assuming tomorrow is another nice day, I'm hoping to get the following done
Prep and primer the front fenders, rear corners. Paint if time/weather allows.
Paint the holes I drilled in the tub to avoid rust. Clean up some surface rust at a few of the fender holes.
Tack in the engine mounts to the frame
Drill and install genright tunnel cover, fit for prime and paint. It's definitely going to take some beating to conform to the tub. Once it's in, I can install the console and shifter cable.
Remove OEM steering box, install PSC steering box
Looking great. Good to see you are getting parts in and congrats on a delivery date for your Atlas.
I wish I could push my Jeep out and clean the firewall before I install my new engine. It'd be nice to be working with a clean one.
I wish I could push my Jeep out and clean the firewall before I install my new engine. It'd be nice to be working with a clean one.
hardtailpan
TJ Enthusiast