High travel, high clearance & high octane, a streetable adventure LJ story

Is there a economical way to make an LS swap work with the factory gauges? If not, then a Hemi swap seems like a better solution.
The aftermarket exhaust manifold options to get the exhaust dealt with are not as well known or prevalent. You are literally building the engine swap around what you can do with the exhaust and if you can't do it, you don't do the swap.
 
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TJ parts vultures whenever toximus openly considers his next round of improvements. . .




Other than "because I can" why stroker + s/c instead of a na stroker?

Lol.

I could go with a NA stroker and have roughly the same horsepower I'm receiving now with the supercharger and would probably be alright keeping the stock 42RLE transmission. I think it comes down to my desire for more horsepower than I currently have which is why I have been thinking the last 6 months about going to a supercharged stroker (yes, I have become a HP junkie after tasting the sweet sweet power of the supercharger).
 
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Lol.

I could go with a NA stroker and have roughly the same horsepower I'm receiving now with the supercharger and would probably be alright keeping the stock 42RLE transmission. I think it comes down to my desire for more horsepower than I currently have which is why I have been thinking the last 6 months about going to a supercharged stroker (yes, I have become a HP junkie after tasting the sweet sweet power of the supercharger).
Sadly still slower than nearly every other vehicle out there.
 
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Roger that, I was thinking in comparison too lots of internal work and a very built 4.0.

I think you're right, a very built high hp inline 6 is a concern for reliability in my opinion (although I have no actual experience with one).

I talked to the engine builder who has done many of the 4600 cars and he can build for boost but he advised me to stop at stroking.

Even cost aside, I'm having a hard time justifying a built inline 6 for what my goals are.
 
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Check out these guys as they offer both LS & Hemi swaps for your LJ.

https://redrock4wd.com/conversions
Believe me when I tell you I know all about the frustrations when you get done with a build and stuff isn't working like you want or is suppose to. This is exactly what I went thru with my TJ back on 2005/6 after I built it the first time. I got a few years of semi enjoyment out of it but it was never RIGHT and I threw a LOT of money at it trying to get it RIGHT.

I'd do a Hemi swap with a good auto transmission and Atlas and be done with it. You have more choices now with which transmission you can use. And you don't have to mess with the gauges. If the LS swap is more what you want then go for it but I would ditch the stock gauges and run aftermarket gauges if you got with the LS IMHO.


I don't really have a preference of Hemi vs LS. Both seem to have similar seat of the pants feel from what I can tell?
 
I know you have a desire for HP but have you experienced diesel torque? What I realized with my f250 all I care about is torque. The R2.8 is highly desirable to me. It's a complete package meant for swapping. comes brand new for like $8k with wiring and throttle pedal. From what I've heard the Cummins guys are there on tap ready to answer questions for the swap. It's common in the jeep and 25 mpg ish! I would love that kind of range.

LS exhaust has always been a wildcard for me. Space is so limited already adding double the manifold / header seems difficult. I have always preferred to look at straight options vs V but obviously people do it all the time
 
I know you have a desire for HP but have you experienced diesel torque? What I realized with my f250 all I care about is torque. The R2.8 is highly desirable to me. It's a complete package meant for swapping. comes brand new for like $8k with wiring and throttle pedal. From what I've heard the Cummins guys are there on tap ready to answer questions for the swap. It's common in the jeep and 25 mpg ish! I would love that kind of range.

LS exhaust has always been a wildcard for me. Space is so limited already adding double the manifold / header seems difficult. I have always preferred to look at straight options vs V but obviously people do it all the time
What tranny do you choose for the 2.8?
 
I know you have a desire for HP but have you experienced diesel torque? What I realized with my f250 all I care about is torque. The R2.8 is highly desirable to me. It's a complete package meant for swapping. comes brand new for like $8k with wiring and throttle pedal. From what I've heard the Cummins guys are there on tap ready to answer questions for the swap. It's common in the jeep and 25 mpg ish! I would love that kind of range.

LS exhaust has always been a wildcard for me. Space is so limited already adding double the manifold / header seems difficult. I have always preferred to look at straight options vs V but obviously people do it all the time

I haven't given diesel much consideration since I haven't seen them work well for what trails I do and want to do. Though, I'm sure that's partly because there's not as many of them out there. And I'm sure a lot of my concerns with diesel could be solved with a correctly geared transmission.

Exhaust does look like it'd be a huge pain. Sticking the headers right out the front fender wells looks tempting. Then maybe I would be worthy enough to post in that fire breathing TJ thread... 🤣
 
I always think of horsepower as the second part of a build when it comes to Jeeps. A good amount of build threads on Pirate/other forums go stock -> axles and 37's/40's for a year -> engine swap. I'm personally wired a lot towards reward, so I would prefer to get my Jeep out for the summer worry free and then deal with power later. Use that time to figure out a plan and what you want to do for the engine. The worst things I've ever done to my Jeep come when I just want to do it now and get it over with a lot of thought.


Those R2.8's do look pretty cool. I'm not super worried about power, so they are near the top of my list when my 4.0 eventually gives out. I hope that isn't for another couple years at least.
 
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I always think of horsepower as the second part of a build when it comes to Jeeps. A good amount of build threads on Pirate/other forums go stock -> axles and 37's/40's for a year -> engine swap. I'm personally wired a lot towards reward, so I would prefer to get my Jeep out for the summer worry free and then deal with power later. Use that time to figure out a plan and what you want to do for the engine. The worst things I've ever done to my Jeep come when I just want to do it now and get it over with a lot of thought.


Those R2.8's do look pretty cool. I'm not super worried about power, so they are near the top of my list when my 4.0 eventually gives out. I hope that isn't for another couple years at least.

I agree R2.8 is tops of my list as well. A lot of the diesel swapped jeeps are TDI's and i prefer to keep my distance to VW engines, so all diesels are not created equal.

My driving style on road and off, I'm all about that torque down low. I saw @toximus hitting in the 4K's RPMs i NEVER drive like that. I rarely go above 3K RPM so the R2.8 with 270 ft-lbs at 1800RPM without a tune sounds absolutely perfect for jeeping. Really for me, engine swap talk is all about on-road driveability. I have zero issues with the 4.0 at my local ORV parks.
 
I agree R2.8 is tops of my list as well. A lot of the diesel swapped jeeps are TDI's and i prefer to keep my distance to VW engines, so all diesels are not created equal.

My driving style on road and off, I'm all about that torque down low. I saw @toximus hitting in the 4K's RPMs i NEVER drive like that. I rarely go above 3K RPM so the R2.8 with 270 ft-lbs at 1800RPM without a tune sounds absolutely perfect for jeeping. Really for me, engine swap talk is all about on-road driveability. I have zero issues with the 4.0 at my local ORV parks.

I definitely wish my 4.0 had more low end, but I'm sure my 35's/2.72/4.56 gearing combo isn't helping it. I like the R2.8 because it seems like a great engine for crawling while also having enough umph to spin the tires on muddy hill climbs when needed. Slow crawling at idle is the most fun for me, so I think the R2.8 would fit that. I need to do some more up to date research now that it has been out for a few years.
 
I don't really have a preference of Hemi vs LS. Both seem to have similar seat of the pants feel from what I can tell?

Well those guys would be worth a phone call and see what advice they can offer.

As far as the 2.8 Cummins goes it's a option that should be looked at. I don't know enough about it to offer any help.
 
I'll just leave this here...

https://golenengineservice.com/jeep-engines/jeep-4-point-6l-270hp-complete-stroker-engine/
How much power was that S/C putting out? This is 80 HP more than factory. Strokers are also known for the torque output, this build is over 300 ft-lbs by 3000 RPM. Drop it in and go. I think its less than 10,000 bucks, you don't have to worry about exhaust, intake, gages, transmissions, motormounts, etc. Swap over the weekend and wheel it, man! Its reliable too. I have a buddy with a 4.6 stroker...it wasn't built by Golen, but by some local hacks. That thing just keeps tickin...we have beat the SNOT out of it in his Cherokee. You might even call Golen and see what they say about boosting it. Have it built for boost, run it for the summer N/A. See if you need the extra power from an S/C.

That is my path forward when my current 4.0 pops. I've contemplated building one myself, but I don't know if I have the patience to do so.
 
My driving style on road and off, I'm all about that torque down low. I saw @toximus hitting in the 4K's RPMs i NEVER drive like that.

I think growing up on back roads I learned to brake into turns and go hot out of them to get places faster. So depending on the day and how I'm feeling I'm frequently hitting 4k+ coming out of every turn. Sure, if I'm feeling relaxed I'm between 2-2.5k.

Offroad I definitely rev high momentarily in order to find/use traction in loose stuff to avoid getting stuck or use traction quickly while a tire is on a rock before it goes into sand. The supercharger was great for jumping into those higher RPMs fast before it's too late and not dilly dally getting up there.
 
How much power was that S/C putting out?

According to other people dynoing, about +75hp and +75 torque across the entire range at the rear wheels.

Drop it in and go. I think its less than 10,000 bucks, you don't have to worry about exhaust, intake, gages, transmissions, motormounts, etc

I did price out a Golen: $7500 for the NA stroker. The plug and play aspect is certainly appealing and one of the main reasons why I'd stick with the inline 6!
 
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I need some wheel speed for the midwestern mud we get around here ;)

You guys do have more of the slick clay than we have. Even if you keep the 2.72:1 I still think deeper gearing in the axles would work well. See if anyone else around has deeper gearing that you can ride along with to see how good/bad they are in comparison.
 
You guys do have more of the slick clay than we have. Even if you keep the 2.72:1 I still think deeper gearing in the axles would work well. See if anyone else around has deeper gearing that you can ride along with to see how good/bad they are in comparison.

I definitely should re-gear down to 5.13 with my 5 speed, but considering I have 230k on my 4.0 and I don't know what I'm going to do when it blows, I'm holding off for now. Jeep doesn't wheel all that often anyways. Put about 500 miles on it since last summer.