Aftermarket Strokers

[HamishHay]

Hello All.
I'm a long time reader of the stroker email list, and finally made the transition to the forum. Thanks to everyone who puts in the effort to keep this forum going.

I have a 2000 Cherokee Sport which is used for mild off-road, towing an off road trailer, and daily driver. Currently has 210, 000km(150, 000 miles) on. Looking to replace the stock 4.0 with an aftermarket stroked engine. Currently looking at a Mopar Performance 4.7L, built by ATK, with additional porting work on the head.
Seems like a quality build, at a reasonable price.
Is there anyone who has used this engine, and can provide any feedback? Any recommendations for other brands?

[jsawduste]

Hesco

http://www.hesco.us/

[Cheromaniac]

No doubt Hesco build the best engines but they're also the most expensive (you get what you pay for).
If your budget won't stretch that far, Golen Engine Service offer stroker long blocks at a lower cost. They're reputation is good but not as good as Hesco's so pick your poison.
Alternatively you could pick up a junkyard 4.0 long block, slowly gather the parts you'll need to rebuild it into a stroker as your budget allows, and swap the new engine into your Jeep over the course of a weekend. That's the route that I took when I built my engine almost a decade ago.

[SilverXJ]

Hesco or go directly to ATK. The Mopar stroker is greatly over priced.

[jeff06220]

Mopar prices:

http://www.moparproshop.com/jeep_stroker_engines

[the_wrench116]

ATK for the win

[HamishHay]

Thanks All,
For your input. I've gotten a quote from Hesco, and the prices seem a little more expensive, but more to the point, don't seem to be what I'm looking for. My current thought is that the ATK motors are more appropriate for a daily driver/towing/offroad application.

Any suggestions about the AW4 transmission? I've been told not to rebuild it, just to reuse it. Apparently they don't rebuild well. Any truth to this rumour? I'd prefer to use a new tranny when swapping for a new engine...

I'll keep you posted on the project, as it goes forward.

Best Regards,
Hamish

[vashxj]

I would not get the mopar one the power output to cost doesn't do it any good. most of us are building 4.6's in the mid to high 200hp range for about the same price, and your trans should be fine mine is holding up with my stroker on n2o

[Cheromaniac]

Any suggestions about the AW4 transmission? I've been told not to rebuild it, just to reuse it. Apparently they don't rebuild well. Any truth to this rumour? I'd prefer to use a new tranny when swapping for a new engine...

If your AW4 still works perfectly, just reuse it. However I'd highly recommend that you add an auxiliary external tranny cooler 'cause heat is the auto tranny's worst enemy and the torque converter generates plenty of it.
In my limited experience of auto tranny rebuilds, many don't go well 'cause the rebuilder either did a poor job or he used inferior quality parts to the originals. The AW4 isn't unique in that respect.
As far as the ATK engines go, it seems that the base models come with a mild cam and stock unported head (hence the low outputs) whereas the more expensive Baja higher output models probably come with a bigger cam, some head work, upgraded valve springs, and possibly a higher compression ratio.
The Golen 4.6L 270hp stroker long block is comparable to the Baja model in performance and price so you could give it some consideration:

https://www.golenengineservice.com/engi ... long-block