Blown Engine - time to stroke?

[NJTJ]

Hi All. New here. Have a 2002 Wrangler. Not a daily driver, more of just my fun wheels. I apologize if this isn't in the right forum. Last weekend I blew out a rod. Contemplating a stroker instead of just getting a remanufactured 4.0. I'd like to do it myself, but don't have time, room, knowledge, tools, time and did I mention knowledge. So I'm looking at a crate from either golan, titan (I know, I've been reading some of the posts), ATK, or Pro-mar performance. Any experiences good or bad with any of these?
Will I need to upgrade anything else with the stroker? I know about going to 24lb injectors, but will my mounts, transmission and axles hold up? I have a D30 in the front and 44 in the back. 4.56 gears and currently on 35s with a manual trans. Golan is the only one stating it will pass inspection. We only have emissions in NJ and they just plug in the OBDII and read from that.
Thanks. I hope to learn a lot from this whole process.
-Kevin

[Cheromaniac]

Last weekend I blew out a rod.

How did you manage that? Hydrolock engine?

So I'm looking at a crate from either golan, titan (I know, I've been reading some of the posts), ATK, or Pro-mar performance. Any experiences good or bad with any of these?

Golen = Generally OK, customer service good, reasonably priced. Question mark about CompCams valve springs possibly being too stiff and causing premature cam failure.
Titan = Few horror stories but may have got their act together now.
ATK/Mopar = Expensive, not many sold, but mostly Mopar parts used esp. valvetrain so long term reliability may be better than Golen.
There's also Hesco = Bulletproof reliability and excellent customer service if you don't mind spending $7000 on a stroker.

Will I need to upgrade anything else with the stroker? I know about going to 24lb injectors, but will my mounts, transmission and axles hold up? I have a D30 in the front and 44 in the back. 4.56 gears and currently on 35s with a manual trans.

The drivetrain will hold up fine to the power of a NA stroker. It only gets tricky when you bolt on either a supercharger/turbo or add nitrous.

[NJTJ]

Last weekend I blew out a rod.

How did you manage that? Hydrolock engine?

guess a lesson on how prior owner didn't maintain properly. 150k miles on the engine isn't too...still wasn't expecting this. Is a Titan that bad? kind of on a budget and wife is ready to kill me.

[Cheromaniac]

Is a Titan that bad? kind of on a budget and wife is ready to kill me.

It's hard to recommend a Titan stroker when some Jeepers have had bad experiences with them.
Since you're on a budget, it might be better just to look for a good running junkyard replacement 4.0 and be done with it. The cheapest decent stroker long block crate engine (Golen) is still going to cost you nearly $4000 so your wife probably would indeed kill you if you told her that's what you needed.
The cylinder head assembly, pushrods, camshaft, timing set, and timing cover might be the only parts that you can salvage from your existing engine so you could set those aside for now. Later on after you've saved some money you could buy a junkyard short block engine, have that built into a 4.6L modified poor man's stroker, and bolt on all the salvaged parts that you set aside. With the stroker complete you could swap it in and sell the 4.0 to recoup some of the cost.

[Retlaw01XJ]

The ATK 4.7 stroker is listed at $2999. Not a bad deal.
http://high-performance-engines.com/Mer ... _Code=HP67
Note it does require 92 octane gas.

[Cheromaniac]

The ATK 4.7 stroker is listed at $2999. Not a bad deal.

That's for the base engine with a mere 205HP and 280TQ (presumably at the crank).
If you want the Baja version with 275HP and 320TQ (which is the power level most of us would prefer to have), the price is $3999.

[NJTJ]

Thanks for the responses.
Hope you all don't mind a couple of more newb questions.
Will a stroker engine last as long as an 4.0? Do you all find values with strokers in jeeps already are higher than stock?

I am leaning toward going with a Golen. I think the price for the power gains is reasonable and one of my other cars is already running 91+ octane so I'll just buy some more exxon mobile stock to make up the difference

[NJTJ]

Any history with 505 Performance? They have a crate stroker rated at 285 hp and 350 lb/ft
http://www.shop.505performance.com/prod ... egoryId=34

[Cheromaniac]

Will a stroker engine last as long as an 4.0?

From the FAQs page of my stroker site:

Q. Will my stroker match the 4.0L engine's legendary reliability and longevity?
A. Again, there's no reason why not. The key to success is accurate machine shop work, selection of good quality parts, matching the parts to the application, and careful assembly. Some strokers have needed to be rebuilt because of poor machine shop work and mistakes made during assembly.

Do you all find values with strokers in jeeps already are higher than stock?

To achieve the 270+hp quoted for those crate stroker engines you need to have ancillary performance modifications such as a free-flow cold air intake, bored throttle body, header, performance exhaust, larger injectors and in some cases, a programmeable piggyback engine computer to optimize the fuel/timing curves. The head must also be ported.
If your Jeep is completely bone stock and you just transplant a 4.6 stroker with an unported head into it without adding the performance ancillaries, you'll end up with crank HP/TQ numbers closer to the 205/280 quoted for the ATK base engine.

[NJTJ]

Do you all find values with strokers in jeeps already are higher than stock?

To achieve the 270+hp quoted for those crate stroker engines you need to have ancillary performance modifications such as a free-flow cold air intake, bored throttle body, header, performance exhaust, larger injectors and in some cases, a programmeable piggyback engine computer to optimize the fuel/timing curves. The head must also be ported.
If your Jeep is completely bone stock and you just transplant a 4.6 stroker with an unported head into it without adding the performance ancillaries, you'll end up with crank HP/TQ numbers closer to the 205/280 quoted for the ATK base engine.

Sorry - I meant monetary value of a wrangler (or jeep) with a 4.0 vs a stroker - need to somehow sell the stroker idea to my wife before I order one. I haven't been able to find many for sale so thinking rare could equal more money if and when I decide to sell to get something else.

[CobraMarty]

I doubt that the 'stroker' will be able to sell for any more than a rebuilt 'stock' 4.0. Usually you never get your money out of it. Now a rebuilt stocker is ?2k and a stroker ?3.5k, is that extra $1500 worth it to you for your enjoyment. If you are going to sell it,I would put a used JY engine in it.

[Cheromaniac]

Sorry - I meant monetary value of a wrangler (or jeep) with a 4.0 vs a stroker - need to somehow sell the stroker idea to my wife before I order one. I haven't been able to find many for sale so thinking rare could equal more money if and when I decide to sell to get something else.

A reliable stroker engine will certainly make a Jeep more desirable come sale time but you won't recoup the cost of a stroker build in the selling price. The moral of the story here is that unless you're going to keep your Jeep for a few years to enjoy the extra power from a stroker, don't even bother building/ordering one. If you're going to sell the Jeep in the next few months, just swap in a good running junkyard 4.0.

[NJTJ]

Thanks - Not planning to replace and sell. Want to keep something fun. If I had done more research back in May before I bought this one I would have been looking for a TJ with an engine that was all ready blown and saved money on the purchase for a stroker.