Jeep Strokers

SilverXj, didn't know about the lifters being convex. I did check all the lifters on a straight edge and they were square. When I removed them, and the pushrods, and the pistons from both engines. I kept everything numbered and facing the same way it came out. Lifters and rocker arms in their own egg container and numbered. Well, the lifters from the 4.2 are in a bucket. I will be reusing the cam out of the 4.0, that is if the machine shop inspection of it is good. May "bite the bullet" and get new lifters, trying to keep this on the cheep side but not too cheep.

On another high note, just received my Victor Reinz engine gasket kit, or both kits today. So maybe Friday, all goes to the machine shop, got to go to Birmingham for cancer treatment. Cool thing about the machine shop, is the guy builds racing engines and he knows a ton of stroking V-8s, hope that comes in handy for this 6 cyl. Thinking about geting the 4.0 manual fly wheel i picked up resurfaced at the same time.

Ok, in the mean time, I need to get the chevy hydraboost power brake unit in the Chero so the 4.0 intake will clear, also from what I have heard and actually felt, the hydroboost units are great!
Need to also start working on the T176 bellhousing to have the CPS bolted onto/into it (making the bracket that will hold the CPS).

In the past few days I have been actually thinking about going V-8 but after talking with a few Jeep 360 V-8 guys, the 4.6 stroker fuel injected will be a better engine for the old girl.

Muad'Dib, "normal cam brake in"? can you expand on that please thanks

Breaking in the cam requires immediately bringing the engine up to 2500RPM's after the first start and alternating it between that RPM and 3500RPM's. You do this for 30 minutes then change the oil and filter.

Ok, more thoughts. Since this 4.6 will be replacing my old 4.2, what not try and put a Ford 300 (4.9) in the Cherokee? remember, I do not have the small cherokee, mine is an 83, last year for the big ones, Grand Waggoner style. I would make the 300 a carb'ed version though, from what I have read, that version is better for umph that the FI ones.

Also, is there anyplace that makes a complete engine bolt kit for the 4.0 (4.X)

Ok, I keep thinking this through. I am assuming that most of you on this site have the little and midsize jeeps (wranglers, grand cherokees, little cherokees) weight wise about 4200 lbs. So I guess a stroker is not bad power for these smaller Jeeps.

Well, my 1983 Cherokee, Grand Wagoneer size, is about 5200-5400 lbs. I had a 258 with the 4.0 head and HEI dizzy in the jeep and I thought that was underpowered. I have been thinking about the 4.6 stroker but that would only be a total gain of .4 so would that be enough to a difference in my full size jeep?

I am thinking that with the amount of cash I need to put into a 4.0 to stroke it to where I would actually see a power improvement, I could spend less cash and swap in a V-8,


any thoughts welcome?

Ummmm, 401 AMC or 304 AMC!

I don't know, what do you think?


318 and 360's are readily available and cheep. The 360 has a little more torque. I liked my 2002 Dodge Durango with the 360 in it.

Well I finally pulled the trigger and just got back from droping off the block, head, rods and cam (just to check and clean up) at the machine shop. This guy was excited once he got the jest of what I wanted to do beacuse he builds stroker V-8s for racing, does a lot of that. But he has never built a Jeep one.

I deceided to stick with the stroker after doing some more homework and finding the following on allpar.com (kinda long but good reading)

[ When the 4.0 burst onto the scene, it had a full 180 horsepower in the Wrangler (a German publication listed it as 172 horsepower, and, in the Cherokee, it started out with 177 hp).

In 1990, when the 4.0 still had 177 hp, the GM 4.3L V6 only made 160 hp, the Ford 4.9L I6 (used in the F150 and Econoline) only made 145 hp, the Ford 4.0 V6 made 155 hp, the Chrysler 5.2L made 170 hp, the Jeep/AMC 2bbl 360 V8 made 144 hp, and the Nissan 3.0 V6 (used in the Pathfinder) made 153 hp.

Jeep upped the ante in 1991, when the Cherokee's version made 190 hp.

The YJ didn't get the 4.0 until the 1990s (it was still using the old 258 six). When the YJ did get the 4.0, it only made 181 hp... possibly due to a more restrictive exhaust.

Peter wrote:

In 1987 I wondered why they didn't drop the 4.0 I6 into the YJ, which was still using the 112-117 hp 258 (4.2 liter) six; or the Eagle, Concord and Grand Wagoneer, which came with the four-barrel 360 V8, making just 144 hp. The 4.0 I6 made more power than the Ford 302 V8, Chevy 305, Chrysler 318, and AMC 360, as well as any of the 6 cylinder engines the Japanese were putting in their trucks... and it had comparable or better fuel economy.

An AMC Concord with the 177HP 4.0 I6 might have been a better police pursuit vehicle than the Dodge Diplomats (140-150HP), Chevy Caprices (160-170HP) and Ford Crown Victorias (160-165HP). The Dodge Dakota, Ram, and vans would have been better with this engine rather than the 3.9L V6 or the pre-Magnum 318 V8. Compared with other contemporary engines, the 4.0 was strong up until the end.

Willem Weertman, in his definitive book, wrote that the 4.0 shared many features of the 2.5 liter overhead valve engine, including the crankshaft journal and crankpin diameters, basic architecture, bore, cylinder spacing, and valvetrain parts. Indeed, both had the cylinder heads machined on the same Kenosha lines. The 4.0, to save money on machine tools, used the same cylinder spacing as the 4.2 and 232-cid Typhoon engines, along with some other dimensions. It did have a longer stroke, achieved via a taller cylinder block deck height. Its late arrival meant that it skipped carburetors and single-point fuel injectors entirely, moving straight to mujltiple point injection.

Weertman also wrote that many changes were made between 1996 and 1998 to cut noise, vibration, and harshness from the 4.0 engines, including a new cam lobe profile to cut valve seating velocity, isolated valve cover fasteners, and adding a main bearing brace.

Starting in 1991, the Jeep 4.0 engine used Chrysler engine computers, allowing for easier diagnostics; before that, Crysler had to honor contracts with AMC's ignition system vendor, Renix. There are two yellow rubber covers on the right side of the engine compartment; dealers can use the DRBII and the Jeep adapter to get codes and do certain tests. (Codes might not be stored in the Renix system and would have to be regenerated while the adapter was connected, according to Rob Mayercik.) At the factory level, a new engine block line, from Ingersol, was installed in 1996; a new head machining line was installed later.]


After some measuring, we found out that the 4.2 that I picked up in Everett, Wa to replace my orig. 258 in the Cherokee when I was stationed up there, already had some machining done. That's another story. While swaping out engines, a guy came over to me and said he had a 258 crank that he machined and the guy never came to get it, he ended up giving it to me, I ended up tossing it because while I was deployed, some one put it outside in the weather and the poor thing had rusted bad. Back to busness......
The crank was .20 under and the pistons were .20 over. Anyone want some 20 over pistons for their 258? no rods sorry. So with the measurements done, I will need to get .30 under rod and main bearings and .30 over pistons and rings.

So now, what does that do to my 4.6 stroker?

Ok, so looking into pistons any ideas of ones in the $150-$250 range for the set? Plan on buying new lifters but then thinking about the stock 4.0 cam. I will be running a 2000 intake with the 62cm throttle body, tracking down ford #24 injectors. Should I look at a different cam?

Like I said in another post, my cherokee is 1000lbs more than the little cherokees, it may be a dd and sometimes trail, may even pull our boat. I like the low torque but also would like some highway driving too.

thoughts??

An AMC Concord with the 177HP 4.0 I6 might have been a better police pursuit vehicle

The last year for the Concord was 1983 and I would not have been intimidated by one. I wish that they would have designed it earlier so it would have been available for the Eagle. And don't forget that the French had their hands in there too.

what, I mention "little" cherokees and jeeps and I get no more posts?

Zorm wrote:what, I mention "little" cherokees and jeeps and I get no more posts?

I guess not.

I don't see the extra 1000 lbs being an issue.

Many of the trail rig XJ and TJs weigh quite a bit more than a stock Full Size Jeep and still enjoy the added stroker power.

Typical TJ weighs in at 4500-4700lbs. + on the trail + occupants. It's not all that light in my book.

Regarding little... yep you bet! You're not going where I go.

Don't get me wrong I like the ltl jeeps. Bought, rebuilt and sold a YJ about 3 years back. Had the TBI 4 banger, swaped everything out to a 4 banger MPFI, do kinda miss it, but I bought this 83 Cherokee over in Italy 12 years ago and have a good paper trail on her from the factory to the guy I bought it from.

When i was stationed up in Washing state, I took her down some ltl jeep trails behind some friends, got the matching body damage on both sides from sliding and hitting trees, if she was shorter I would have missed them.

I still would like to get a 80-83 2 door cherokee and take off the roof and make it a soft top, that would be cool actually thinking of how I can do that with this 4 door.

up in Wa state
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t305 ... erJeep.jpg

wating for the stroker
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t305 ... AG0045.jpg

found this one, but don't know where is went
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t305 ... 06_007.jpg

cast or molly piston rings?. This will be a daily driver

Zorm wrote:cast or moly piston rings?. This will be a daily driver

If you're using cast pistons, either will do fine.