Second guessing 4.7 recipe. Stroker won't start

[Rinkrat456]

Hey folks. I've been in the garage for 5 straight days swapping a '97 4.7L stroker into my wife's '98 Cherokee. I wanted so much for this to run tonight but I'm left defeated until tomorrow.

Can you guys just look at this parts list and let me know if I'm fighting parts that aren't meant to work together? I've done the reading, I've done much of the research and I think my engine is built with parts that should work together but after tonight's flop to get the engine running I'm wondering if something isn't right.

-'97 Cherokee NVH block & Head (block freshened up, bored over, decked for almost 0 deck, new cam bearings installed.... head rebuilt with stock valves, new guides and new seals, stock springs)
-3214723 casting number stroker crankshaft from a '78, which makes this the heavy 12ctw long nose version and we cut off 10mm from the snout
-'97 long rods
-Icon 944 0.060" over Forged pistons
-1987-95 4.0L camshaft, Melling part number MC809 (adv duration 270in/270ex, duration @ 0.050 197in/197ex, lift .397"in/.397"ex, LSA 110/114, ICL 112)
-Napa high volume oil pump (massaged pan a bit to get it to fit)
-Stock '98 Cherokee injectors, fuel rail and pump running 89 octane ...has a 1/2 tank at the moment
-Stock exhaust header, stock downpipe, cut off cat and OEM muffler for a straight pipe feeding into 4" round x 18" long Magnaflow muffler w/turn down
-Stock intake
-'98 ZJ 136 Amp alternator with smaller pulley

We're using the '98 XJ distributor with new cap, rotor and plugs/wires. We found cyl 1 and TDC by the air blowing out plug hole method. Hard to verify on crank balancer but could try harder tomorrow. We got the distributor set a little past 1 and the engine cranks over very easy but it's blowing crap out of the throttle body and it smells really fuely. Fuel pressure at the rail is great, seeing 48-50psi at the rail petcock. Not sure what else to think of/try.

Any suggestions? Ideas?

[Rinkrat456]

What my buddy is wondering, is if the camshaft is alright to use? Again this is Melling MC809 being used in a '97 stroker in a '98 Jeep XJ.

[IH 392]

It should run with that cam, interesting that it shows for a 258 and a 4.0??, either way it's not the choice I would have made for a stock replacement cam.

[Rinkrat456]

I'm starting to wonder if, when building the stroker on the engine stand, my wife and I got the cam gear and crank gear mis-aligned. We aligned the two dots pointing towards each other like this:



They point perfectly at one another...but what I'm wondering is if the crankshaft is 180* off. Without taking the whole front end of the jeep back off, removing all front accessories and timing cover and spending a whole day making a big mess, is there a way to verify that the crank timing gear is aligned properly with the cam gear? Like I said, we got the dots lined up during the engine build, but now reading a few other posts I'm starting to wonder if we got the crank 180* off. Not sure, just a theory.

[Rinkrat456]

It should run with that cam, interesting that it shows for a 258 and a 4.0??, either way it's not the choice I would have made for a stock replacement cam.

This is the thread where I bounced back and forth between cams.

http://www.jeepstrokers.com/forum/viewt ... =15&t=3946

[Rinkrat456]

After thinking about it a little more, the crankshaft doesn't know whether it's on the compression stroke or the exhaust stroke...it just goes up and down. It's all in the timing of the valves and fuel/spark. So I'm resting a little easier. I'm certain we got those dots on the timing gears correct.

So what the heck am I doing wrong on indexing the distributor?

[Cheromaniac]

Your timing marks are correctly aligned so that isn't the problem. The cam you used is a stock replacement (actually 0.424" lift with 1.6 ratio rockers) so you effectively have a modified poor man's stroker.
Are you absolutely sure that the dizzy isn't off by 180*?

[Rinkrat456]

im not absolutely sure the distributor isnt off by 180...i dont have a great way to know if its at tdc on the compression stroke without taking the valve cover off.

but i tried both ways today twice, and im still shooting fumes through the throttle body. i cant even get the engine to catch and 'kind of run', it just cranks. like i said, ive got great fuel so now im wondering if its spark. i tripple checked all grounds are bolted down and everything on the wiring harness is plugged together.

[SilverXJ]

Definitely check for spark.

[turbojeeper]

I had a wj that did the sane thing. Found the crank sensor was to far from the flywheel. Got one of those stick cardbord pads and adjusted it correctly. It fired right up.

[cruiser54]

Setting Your 4.0 at #1 TDC


With #1 spark plug removed, turn the engine over clockwise using the 3/4" front crankshaft bolt. You will see the degree marks on your front cover. Mark the 0 with chalk or white-out.You will see the timing mark on the balancer. Mark it with chalk or white-out. While turning the engine over, put your finger/thumb over #1 spark plug hole. As the mark on the balancer approaches the marks on the front cover, if you are coming up on #1 TDC, pressure in the cylinder will push on your finger. If there's no pressure, you're at #6 TDC and need to crank the engine over until you see the marks coming together and you get pressure. Set the mark on the balancer to the 0 mark on the front cover.

[Rinkrat456]

Well....bad news.


Did a compression test. Numbers are in psi. No I'm not forgetting a 1...before the numbers (such as 157, 150..)

1 -57
2 -50
3 -65
4 -60
5 -58
6 -65

So. Camshaft/timing chain related. What are the chances this Melling cam isn't supposed to be in a 4.0L?

[IH 392]

The same chain timing on all AMC 6's, it's likely you do indeed have it a tooth off?

[Rinkrat456]

The same chain timing on all AMC 6's, it's likely you do indeed have it a tooth off?

Can anyone verify the camshaft I chose? MC809 is the part number. I just want to know if the 91-95 cam works in the 96-04 engines.

I originally found the camshaft on this site.
http://www.angelfire.com/my/fan/Jeep4.0Camshafts.htm

From there I called up a buddy of mine who runs an engine shop and he ordered the cam from Meling, then shipped it to me.

[Cheromaniac]

MC809 is the part number. I just want to know if the 91-95 cam works in the 96-04 engines.

That cam will work in ANY Jeep I6 but it was really designed for the 4.0. Something's wrong either with the distributor indexing or your cam timing.