Higher horses, higher revs & even higher torque, a streetable LJ engine swap

Upper radiator hose is completed.

Parts list:
  • 1-3/8" x 1-1/4" 90 degree reducing elbow
  • 1-1/4" I.D. 90 degree elbow
  • 1-1/4" aluminum hose joiner
  • Gates PowerGrip SB41 clamp
  • (2) Lined hose clamps

These Gates heat shrink clamps help keep things tidy looking. You just slide it over the joint and shrink it down with a heat gun. They are one time use so I only used them for the non-serviceable center junction.

20221004_upper-radiator-hose.jpg
 
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toximus said:
For the engine radiator I mounted a Spal brushless cooling fan (Spal 30107125). Based on my research it should handle water crossings better than the brushed version without having to worry about turning it off... but we'll see. The wiring harness part number is SBL-YAZ-PT10.

It will be controlled by the ECU via PWM signal.

View attachment 365484
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Ahhhh, does it blow in the right direction????

😊
 
I got the interior harness roughly in its place (there's not much to show for pictures since it's all behind the dash). To optimize the path of the wiring through the firewall, so the interior and exterior harnesses can connect, I drilled out the old throttle cable hole to 2-1/4" and put a grommet in.

I'll be moving all of my wiring from that lower hole up to this new one and plugging it.

20220926_firewall-grommet.jpg
 
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toximus said:
I got the interior harness roughly in its place (there's not much to show for pictures since it's all behind the dash). To optimize the path of the wiring through the firewall, so the interior and exterior harnesses can connect, I drilled out the old throttle cable hole to 2-1/4" and put a grommet in.

I'll be moving all of my wiring from that lower hole up to this new one and plugging it.

View attachment 365522
Click to expand...

Where’d you mount the ECU?
 
I see you have got rid of the stock Jeep PCM. What are you using for an instrument dash panel? The stock panel requires the mopar PCM.
 
5632 said:
I see you have got rid of the stock Jeep PCM. What are you using for an instrument dash panel? The stock panel requires the mopar PCM.
Click to expand...

I didn't want to double up on sensors to make the stock instrument panel work.

My plan is to first make a simple dash with warning lights, gear indicator, and a bluetooth OBD reader on my phone for speedo and temps.

Once I have everything running correctly I'm going to try and get an AiM digital dash working.

https://www.aim-sportline.com/us/products/mxg-1.2-1.3/index.htm
20220925_151423.jpg
 
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Test fitting the reverse terminal AGM battery. I think I had mentioned this before, but by sliding the battery over to make room for the AC the positive terminal became uncomfortably close to the fender if it ever gets damaged and caves in. Now it has plenty of safety margin if things get damaged.

20220929_reverse-terminal-battery.jpg
 
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toximus said:
I found what may be the best $80 purchase ever. A part that actually fits!

This 6L80e dipstick tube came from blueracer1976 on eBay: http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5337789113&icep_item=293932480622

The benefits of having the plastic handle vs a metal one like the Lokar has is that it won't be hot to the touch when checking it. For a little while I had been considering not having a dipstick since the transmission really shouldn't leak and I'd see if it was and could crawl under to add, but the transmission to Atlas adapter doesn't have a weep hole so it's possible that it could leak past the output shaft seals into that area and I'd never know until it's too late. This tube will also make fluid changes a breeze.

View attachment 214271

View attachment 214272

View attachment 214273
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Tox, do you recall which tube you bought? I don't see any specifically for the 6l80 to an LS under Blueracer's listings

https://www.ebay.com/sch/blueracer1976/m.html?_dkr=1&iconV2Request=true&_ssn=blueracer1976&_oac=1
 
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This site contains affiliate links for which Jeep Wrangler TJ Forum may be compensated.
The TJ radiator overflow bottle still fits in the stock location. However, I'm not happy with how the hose will have to run across the radiator to the neck on the other side. And it's not possible to change sides with the OEM bottle due to where the AC condenser piping comes out.

This also means that the windshield wiper fluid would have to be located on the other side, which is where I previously had it. And that hose had to be run across the grill too which feels sloppy and unintentional.

So, to shorten the hose lengths required and to try and keep things on the "correct" sides, I did some research into cooling systems and learned a lot. There are many different types of systems out there, the two main types are expansion tank, and overflow tank. This is a decent article that covers the main differences between them: https://blog.championcooling.com/2018/06/08/overflow-tank-vs-expansion-tank/

I actually like the idea of an expansion tank and how it can be a sealed system. But the overflow system will be simpler to package into my engine bay.

So I ordered a shorter overflow tank to fit on the non-stock side of the radiator.
 
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Fenders and grill came back off for easier access for some things. Some oils leaked on the grill so I degreased it and the radiators out in the lawn.

20221005_wash-grill.jpg
 
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