Gonridnu's stroker build

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gonridnu
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Stroker Displacement: 4.6L
Vehicle Year: 1989
Vehicle Make: Jeep
Vehicle Model: XJ 2 door

Re: Gonridnu's stroker build

Post by gonridnu »

Spent a couple days at pik n pull this week. You know ur a redneck when you ask the kids if they want to go to "the happiest place on earth" and you mean pik n pull:) Man, the cash for clunkers thing has put a lot of xj's in the yard. I got all kinds of cool shiznit I needed. I got the HO fuel lines front to rear and throttle and tranny kickdown cables, 3 renix TPS's, a stock tranny cooler, some additional bumper brackets for the winch bumper, a ZJ pitman arm, a YJ steering box, some trim pieces to replace lost or broken ones, another throttle body or two, and all black grill and headlight doors, as well a bunch of other schtuff.

I ordered JCR's steering box kit that boxes in the frame and utilizes the 4th mounting point for the YJ box. I also ordered the passenger frame rail kit and once it is here I will tie them into the winch bumper brackets whcih have always worried me cause they only attach using the 3 stock bumper bracket bolts. It should be here this coming week.

I'm also still waiting on the 99 manifold and P/S bracket I bought on Ebay.

I pulled the whole front off the car today and degreased and pressure washed it. I'm gonna drop the tranny and put a slip yoke eliminator in it at the same time I scrub scrub scrub the underneath from head to toe. Figure until some of this other stuff gets here it would be time well spent to clean.

I found a set of bushwacker fenders on craigs list and am thinking about going to 8" lift long arm lift with 35" superswampers as well as JCR's 1 ton over the knuckle steering. That'll have to wait a little cause the funds are running low but I saw one the other day and it was Baaaaaaaaaad!!!!!!
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gonridnu
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Vehicle Model: XJ 2 door

Re: Gonridnu's stroker build

Post by gonridnu »

Soooooo....

My manifold still isn't here, tracking number sez friday but it kinda doesn't matter cause in a complete state of boredom I pulled the trans and transfer case to clean the underside of the jeep. I found I have, well I should say "had" a 242 transfer case and I really needed a slip yoke eliminator cause the XJ's lifted about 6" and I didn't wanna do the hack n tap thing on the 242 with a stroker & big tires sooooooo....lol

I went to the wrecking yard again and spent a day gathering the parts for a 231 transfer case. I got the case at Pick 'n Pull but not before I grabbed a six planetary set out of 241C, a wide chain kit out of a 231D HD, and an extra input shaft for a 91 and later trans to 231. I put all these together at the yard in my "workshop van" and walked out with a nice little t-case for $125. The best part was at pick 'n pull it appears everyone is after transmissions 'cause the transfer cases were all out of the cars/trucks (with the exception of the D HD, it was still in a durango) and laying there like rocks in the yard so I only had to pull one of the 7 t-cases I tore down.

When the SYE kit gets here from JB I'll take some pics of the transfer case build and post em here. These cases are really easy to work on and about 50% stronger than stock with the upgrades that can be found at the boneyard and a SYE, which will be plenty what we're gonna do with our jeep which is good because we don't have he dough for an Atlas (although we did see JB has 241OR's on sale for about $1100). The upgrades are pretty well documented on other sites, but are worthy of being here as well due to the increased power derived from our strokers.
03GC
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Location: Mid Michigan

Re: Gonridnu's stroker build

Post by 03GC »

Doing a similar move on my Grand Cherokee. I want to get rid of my T-Case drop, so I am converting over to a 231 from a 242 (don't care for the hack and tap SYE ). I picked up a 231 from a guy I work with that had a SYE on it with a Tera-Low 4:1 kit in it for $100......SCORE!!!!!!! I am probably going to sell the Tera kit, find another 231 for the front half , and keep the SYE. The 4:1 is a little much for the wheeling I do(sand dunes, a little mud, snow)
I wish there were more rocks in Michigan, I would keep the Tera setup.

Build is looking good....you should be happy with it when it is done.
Paul
"It's not what you buy, it's what you build"
03 Grand Cherokee
JK axle swap
5" lift
STROKER IN PROGRESS
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gonridnu
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Re: Gonridnu's stroker build

Post by gonridnu »

If U get rid of the 4:1 let me have a shot at it...we have plenty of rocks out here:)
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gonridnu
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Re: Gonridnu's stroker build

Post by gonridnu »

Just a little update on the project.......

Our daughter suprised us and qualified for california state finals rodeo in team roping so it put a dent in my project budget, but we're getting back on track. Still trying to recover though.....

I took everything off (within reason) of the firewall and fenderwells and cleaned cleaned cleaned. The jeep is white so guess what color the engine bay is? Yeah it sucks, but it's clean now and looks as good as a renix can. The Renix's have a lot of wiring that is not very organized compared to the later jeeps.

The Jeep has 275K miles on it so we have just been spending time cleaning, detailing, and fixing all the little things that were showing signs of age.

I alos switched over to a 96 radiator support and grill. The earlier ones were comprised of a lot more pieces and were kinda a pain to take apart. I can have the whole front off now in a matter of minutes, which is nice when ur working on it a lot like we are now.

Anyway, I grafted the JCR steering box brackets and passenger bracket to the winch bumper http://www.jcroffroad.com/Merchant2/mer ... ode=XJMISC
and got the YJ box mounted at the same time as the bumper. I kinda hope I never have to put that thing back on again 'cause even though it fits really well it's a pain, even with air tools.

I put the ZJ steering arm on and grabbed a ZJ tie rod as well....my XJ one was kinda wavy from being bent and then straightened over and over again and the ZJ is solid. Until I can afford over the knuckle steering it'll have to suffice.

I've got my eye on a Rough Country Long arm upgrade kit and some 8" front springs.... The rears are already 6" so with an add a leaf or a block I can make everything sit right. The goal is to clear 35's ...
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gonridnu
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Re: Gonridnu's stroker build

Post by gonridnu »

Well it looks like it's been almost a year....man time flies and I hope this Jeep does too. During the winter I didn't do much cause it's rodeo season and my daughter is in six different events in high school rodeo. As a Freshman she placed 22nd in all around cowgirl and recently beat the reigning National High School Rodeo barrel racing champion. We're proud parents but rodeo season is over now and it's back to the Jeep.....

During the winter I did install the Long Arm kit and tinkered with the engine but honestly I didn't do squat to get it running. That's all changed now and the engine is completely installed and waiting to fire this weekend when my buddy can come over and help. He's my old racing buddy, an ANP certified aircraft mechanic, and a good guy to have around during those first few critical minutes when you are looking for leaks or mechanical malfunctions while trying to break in a cam.

Here's to hopin'.....
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gonridnu
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Re: Gonridnu's stroker build

Post by gonridnu »

Well I did fire it the following weekend and aside from a split o-ring on one of the tranny lines everything was beautiful. It fired immediately and the Mrs. took it to a couple thousand RPM for the next 20 minutes or so to break in the cam. It leaked tranny fluid like a siv and I poured it in just as fast as it was coming out. Other than that ... perfection!

I've been driving it for about a month or two now. Due to the amount of work I did to it I've been sticking around town. When you replace the motor, trans, transfer case, drivelines, and suspension all at once it pays to be on the cautious side. I just did my first oil change the other day. I have 2 cases of the old green Kendall 20W-50 kickin around so I decided I'll use them up on the jeep. On the first change I also added a thing of E.O.S. I had from the old days as well. In fact, the old kendall green SAE 30W with E.O.S. is what I used for break in oil before joe gibbs came out with the stuff pre packaged. Back to the engine....

I have none of the issues I have read about. There is none of the engine surging for whatever reason, no funny sounds, no overheating, no nuthin' of any consequence. I have not run my exhaust sniffer on it yet but primarily outta laziness and I'll get to it soon.

Driving impression;

First I need to make note that the previous engine in the Jeep was a mass rebuilder unit. The mass rebuilders like to dump a little compression to be on the safe side and coupled with our altitude it makes for a very lazy engine. On top of that they had not put the spring loaded cam pin in and the result was a ton of timing chain slop which had to retard the cam enough to feel a difference.

On another note I'm used to driving really fast shit so test driving a jeep is going to be a kinda ho hum experience regardless of whether it has nitrous or a turbo or both, and mine has neither.

The idle quality is awesome. It idles pretty low (around 500ish) but never misses a lick when put into gear or when the A/C is turned on. It just idles at the same RPM regardless. It has a very slight lope to the idle that makes the fuel injection work a little to maintain idle quality, which as I said it does a great job of. The sound through the Borla system is very low and I have had more than one person ask if it has a V8 in it. it's got that kinda tone and why shouldn't it? It's almost 300 c.i. through a 2.5" exhaust.

Highway driving is just as normal as can be. I have 4.10's with a 31.5" tire so the gearing is very near stock when all the calculations are done. Shift points are the same as stock and the XJ justs cruises down the road. It hardly ever shifts up a gear unless I am towing or climbing a steep grade. In other words the additional power from the engine is keeping it from working harder than it needs to with the larger tires and lift.

Acceleration ... As I said I have a locker with 4.10's and a 31.5" tire so it will not do any great burnouts for youtube but it does get with it! One of my buddies said it is the fastest Jeep he has ever been in V8 or otherwise. Your opinion may vary, but I have done some wheeling on some very steep shit I used to need 4low for and the new engine just powers through it.

My overall impression is this is exactly what the Jeep needed. It has the power to accelerate from a light with the best of them. It cruises at 70 without hunting for the right gear, and it's a brute when it's wheeling. All of that with a leather interior, A/C, and power windows makes for a pretty comfy mall crawler that the Mrs. is very happy with.
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gonridnu
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Re: Gonridnu's stroker build

Post by gonridnu »

I Guess I should have posted some pics of it installed.......
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Re: Gonridnu's stroker build

Post by SilverXJ »

Looks good, But damn.. easy on the flash!

Is that a block heater?
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gonridnu
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Re: Gonridnu's stroker build

Post by gonridnu »

Yeah...with the forged pistons and the extra clearance KB gave me I figured it would be for the better during the winter. I've used them before and never had the problems I hear other people have. Think they wanted it in the back of the block but I put it in that position so I can keep an eye on it and it had plenty of clearance in between the cyls.
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Re: Gonridnu's stroker build

Post by SilverXJ »

Thats where I put mine too. The directions didn't indicate a preferred position. Seems logical for cable routing and clearance from the header.
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gonridnu
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Re: Gonridnu's stroker build

Post by gonridnu »

Found this video on our camera of it's maiden voyage in the hills. Damn the camera made it sound good! It's a Borla exhaust and is not near as loud as it sounds on the camera....at least from the inside:)

http://youtu.be/NIQHLH62GfA
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gonridnu
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Re: Gonridnu's stroker build

Post by gonridnu »

According to my posts it looks like this engine is going on 4 years old now. It doesn't have a ton of miles on it but it still runs like new.

As for the Jeep, I just purchased a Rubicon 4-1 transfer case and am getting ready to buy a dana 44 front and 6 lug axles for the Chrysler 8 3/4 rear at which point I will put this thing on 35's.....

We're getting ready to move to Vegas so I'm gonna get an aluminum radiator and cross my fingers.

Good Luck to everyone else.....
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Re: Gonridnu's stroker build

Post by beiwulf »

Appreciate the great thread and a all the feed back given from the other people on the forum. Thanks for following up with build thread.

How many miles do you have on this now? I know some people have touted the reliability factor on doing these builds. Speaking with my cryogenic guy who bought the shop for his racing habit a few years back. He stated something along the lines of " so many post negatives regarding build and product on the net without regard to there assembly work ". I am the rookie here today and like the details laid out here on the site and the support of it's members.
95 Silver ZJ 4x4 4.0L (soon to be stroked/boosted) currently DD
1999 Victory V92 (first year production) street bike/cruiser

95 ZJ Turbo Boosted Stroker build threadhttp://www.jeepstrokers.com/forum/viewt ... f=8&t=4342
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gonridnu
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Vehicle Model: XJ 2 door

Re: Gonridnu's stroker build

Post by gonridnu »

It doesn't have a lot of mileage on it as it is not a daily driver. The most miles it got were during the first year. Having owned a machine shop and having watched several customers assemble their own stuff and later have problems, I would agree with the assembly assessment. On a mild build there is absolutely nothing different on these engines than adding a tiny bit more up-down motion in the piston. That in and of itself is not going to make them prone to failure.

On another note, we just moved to Southern Nevada where the temperatures soar to 110+ during the summer. It will be interesting to see how much heat this thing makes. I'm going to try and scare up a Reflexxion steel cowl hood and probably get an aluminum radiator. It has a 3 core copper-brass rad now, a late model electric fan, and a Napa fan clutch. It ran nice and cool in Northern Nevada even when wheeling, but I know the heat down here will cause issues if I do not take further actions to compensate for the increased compression I built into it for the high altitude.

More to come....
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