Jeep Strokers

Well i figured i should go ahead and throw my pile up here too. Unfortunantly i have yet to even finish this project and its going on two years. Its killing me, but now im taking on a D44 project and getting into a house of my own. We'll just have to see when this actually gets done. Here is some details on it, dont have all the paperwork with me at the moment.

-4.0L Block 0.00: deck / 89 head and intake (Its only on there because of CA smog)
-4.2L Crankshaft
-4.0L polished rods
-Hesco H-264-14B Camshaft and lifters
-Diamond pistons 24cc
-Toltal Seal rings
-ARP Connecting rod,mains and head bolts
-Clevite 77 Main,Cam,and Rod bearings
-JP Double roller Timing Set (0 Degrees)
-Stock Sealed Power stock rocker arms / harware
-BB Chevy performance springs, caps and keepers
-Meling HV oil pump
-Bored throttle body 60mm
-Hesco HV water pump/thermastat housing
-AC Delete/alternater relocation
-Home brewed Port/polish on head and the first 5" of intake runners
-Accel cap/roter
-Taylor 8.3mm wires
-Lots of spare time and friends @ powder coating / plating shops

Shot for:
9.25:1 Static
8.54:1 Dynamic
.051 Quench

And on with the photos:

WOW, that sure is pretty! What valves did you use with the BBC springs and retainers?

Thanks, the valves are just stock. I wish i knew the part numbers for the springs and such but never got that from the shop. Im sure i could but havnt been back there since i picked up the engine last year. Kind of sad seeing how they are a block away from my work.

Good people if anyones looking for a shop in the Bay Area California.
http://moparengineswest.com/

Do you think you could find out? Another spring and retainer combo that would fit the jeep 8mm round groove valves would be great info to post. It would be great to know what works besides the over priced mopar performance parts.

Yea ill try to swing by there sometime this week and get the numbers from them.

There is a story behind them and ill try to keep it short. When i first received my parts from Hesco and brought them down there everything looked great. Soon after the shop got going on the machining aspect i received word that they weren't happy with some of the dimensions on the crank and would refuse to assemble it that way and offered to either ship it back off to Hesco for them to rework it or they would have there guy do it for a small fee. So we hoped on the phone with Hesco told them scoop was and that they needed to re-turn and polish the crank and they took care of it and even paid for the shipping. All was taken care of and assembly went on until we got to the head. Angie @ mopars engine west was stating that the springs that Hesco supplied with my cam wouldn't work out. She was aware that she had to cut the pad down just like she had to do with the current springs i'm running but claimed that during full compression she feared that they would bind and that she wouldn't be happy with the seat pressures.

Bla Bla Bla. At this point i was just wanting my engine back after it being there for almost 8 weeks with all the crank bull. So i just said do what you would do and let me know the cost. She called me back the next day after calling around and said if i opted to let her do it, it would cost me "X" amount in which i believe was somewhere around $110.

Basically, i had Hesco not agreeing with what my shop wanted to do and i had my shop saying they didn't agree with what Hesco wanted to do. In the end i have the correct seat pressure with no binding (that i know of yet) . And i'm out $110 sum odd dollars which was a fraction of the overall build cost and i have a spare bag of Hesco springs and caps.

Well... I decided to stab the stroker in. About a week ago my radiator took a crap and was in need of replacement or repair. I decided to take advantage of this opportunity and finally install the new engine. I do more reading than posting and want to thank all the knowledgeable people that are making this possible.

You would think that after a little over 2 years since me first starting to buy parts to about a week ago, I would have had all my ducks lined up with nothing left to purchase or get ready. Boy was I wrong, maybe it’s just my type 2 kicking in, but my list seems to grown by the day. I started off with removing the radiator and getting it to one of my local and only radiator repair shops. Fixed up the leak and combed the fins along with sandblasting my stock manifold to prep for paint all for $70. The following day I drove around to at least 6 stores and exhaust shops trying to locate an 18mm 02 sensor weld in bung for my wide band. 2-3 hours later I went to the only place I should have tried and got two for free. When I came home I decided to pull the old engine, this went much faster and smoother then I expected partly due to the fact that I was forced to remove my front clip due to the height of the jeep. This made it possible to remove it fast and easy with only me and my gf as a safety spotter.

The following morning I began to get ready to put the new engine on the hoist. When I went to do the final torque on all the exhaust and intake bolts I came across a stripped out thread in the middle exhaust studs. This set me back several hours cleaning up and retapping to a larger diameter stud. Finally got everything back together and decided it was probably a wise idea to pressure check the fuel rail seeing how it would be much easier to repair out of the vehicle rather than in it. It’s a good thing I did as it was leaking at the braze between the rail and the purge fitting where I have my fuel pressure gauge mounted. I fired up the torch and tried to get it patched up with little success. So I ripped the old rail of my stock engine, sandblasted, washed, and painted it. Never did stab the engine in that night.

The next night I finally got the engine on the hoist, threw the flex plate on and got it in. Being by myself, it was quite the task with no leveler but with a bottle jack under the trans and my standard jack under the front of the oil pan with a block of wood I was able to get the angle needed.

With only a few hours each day after work it’s been a long painful process. Last night I made 4 trips to the store trying to find a good length for my new belt routing. For anybody who decides to take on a new belt routing endeavor and you’re going to use a new length. Save your last belt, cut it and use it to take your measurements. My fancy twine trick is not reliable and stretches too much for an accurate measurement. I ended up with a 77inch belt which is significantly shorter than the stock and extremely easy to route.

Tonight I am going to wrap up all the vacuum lines and some missolanious wiring that I have to do for some sensors, wideband and new alternator. From there I should be able to index the dist (thanks to dwg86 for your tip) prime the pumps and hopefully be able to fire it up Sat morning if weather permits.

Bla… Bla… Bla…

I know everyone has heard of different ways to break in the cam and lifters vs. seating the rings, but I’m curious what a trust worthy process is for these engines. I have been told by several people that I should fire it up, give it a few blurps while checking pressures, A/F ratio, and leaks, and if all is well bring it up to 2-2.5k for about 15min. Turn it off, drain the oil, split the filter and inspect, refill and hit the open road and drive for a good amount of time varying the RPM, load, and speed, while being gentle on it. No wide open throttle, no full pulls, and no heavy loads for the first 1000 miles, and do an oil change at 500 miles. Does this sound right? Do you guys recommend something different? Any help would be appreciated.

I’ll get some better pics up here tonight or tomorrow.

I disagree for the post-cambreaking : I will personally push the engine full throttle up to 4500-5000 rpm and then let off the pedal to let it slow down to near idle without braking. You do this 10-12 times, in 2nd or 3rd gear (manual). You need a long road with no traffic. This is the right way to seat the rings, IMHO.

My reference : http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

That's the way to seat in CRHOME rings, plain iron and molly will be seated in before the cam and lifters.
And he plainly states those engines he's built are MOTORCYCLE engines, if he did that to a big bore engine it would seize right up!

Thanks Exos. Interesting read, but with little experience on breaking in an engine i'm sceptical of just going out and doing a bunch of WOT passes. He makes some valid points on the process of seating the rings and hes obviously got more experience with this then me but i'm not 100% convinced.

Whats the break in procedure that you recommend IH? If i read correctly, your saying that my rings will be seated before or during the cam break in. Does this mean my break in procedure is done after 15 min of breaking in the cam? i'm not trying to judge or even question anybodys opinions or experience, just trying to gather as much educated data before i fire the thing up and attempt to drive it to work on monday.

Not to get off subject and interject on IH big bore statement, but wouldn't a 110ci V-twin be considered big bore. I've heard that you can't go hammering on a freshly built v-twin for several thousand miles. Is this just a characteristic of a air cooled engine?

Once again all input is appreciated.

im interested in the alternator mounting and style. it looks like a delco CS series? or am i not seeing it right. either way, more info on the alt, mounting and belt routing please!

I captured this from "The Motor Manual Guy", a document I have in PDF that looks exactly like a Haynes manual :

Damn... thats a nice looking engine. I must have missed it, but whats the info on the oil pan?

Also, I would not use that break in that Exos posted for the initial cam break in. Prime the oil system, bleed the fuel rail (key on/off/removing air from fuel rail), check all fluids, then get it started as quick as possible and immediately bring it up to 2000-25000 RPM for 20 or 30 minutes. Change oil and filter immediatly after cam break in. I suggest you talk to your cam manufacturer regarding what they recommend too. Molly rings will seat mostly before the cam break in is finished. There so many different proposed ways to break in an engine. I would drive it normally after the cam break in and do a few WOT runs after you have a few miles on it and are satisfied that it is running right. Change oil at 500 miles and again at 1000 miles.

amcinstaller wrote:im interested in the alternator mounting and style. it looks like a delco CS series? or am i not seeing it right. either way, more info on the alt, mounting and belt routing please!

Me too!

What paint/coating did you use on the valve cover and intake manifold? I like that look.

SilverXJ wrote:I would not use that break in that Exos posted for the initial cam break in. Prime the oil system, bleed the fuel rail (key on/off/removing air from fuel rail), check all fluids, then get it started as quick as possible and immediately bring it up to 2000-25000 RPM for 20 or 30 minutes. Change oil and filter immediatly after cam break in. I suggest you talk to your cam manufacturer regarding what they recommend too. Molly rings will seat mostly before the cam break in is finished. There so many different proposed ways to break in an engine. I would drive it normally after the cam break in and do a few WOT runs after you have a few miles on it and are satisfied that it is running right. Change oil at 500 miles and again at 1000 miles.

I agree with the exception that I've NEVER changed the oil immediately after the "cam break in", I assemble my engines with MOLLY assembly lube on EVERYTHING! and generously on the cam lobes and lifter bases! I also believe in CLEANING!!! the living crap out of an engine BEFORE assembly too, but you will never get it all.
And as for fresh operation, most certainly do not baby it, but don't drive it like you stole it either!