Jeep Strokers

so.... my two year long stroker engine project came to a head today when, I DROVE IT!

i'm tired, sore, and have poor internet at my parents house (apartments don't like it when you take the engine out of your vehicle...) so pictures will come later.

my recipie:
old 4.2 crank and rods, long snout. bought the whole engine from a jeep guy for $100.... machined to 10/10
cp677c pistons dished (by me) to 23cc
96 block bored +.030 and decked to 0.00
96 head stock rebuild 0630 with hole drilled/tapped for temp sensor
99+intake maniford and ps pump
comp 68-201-4 mild performance cam and lifters
Luk pro gold clutch
lots of stock rebuild parts

here's the down low... started reading here a while back. which, of course, gave me an inspiration to build my own stroker... i found an engine on craigslist in Phoenix and made a trip. $320 later and a few hundred miles and i had a complete 4.2 engine never rebuilt, a 200 mile rebuilt 96 HO head, a flowmaster 40 series, and a pile of random parts. this guy was almost literally throwing parts at me.

some time goes by, i regear axles, build a bumper, etc. and fimally come back to the stroker project. at this point my engine has over 273K ORIGINAL (confirmed today, factory rod stamps, i think...) and was getting tired to say the least. so i set down and found a rebuildable block on ebay, and ordered a pile o' parts. i went with the lesser of performance cams so i could use the already rebuilt head, and not have to worry about crushing my springs.

tired and the computer is being a bitch. more tomorrow afret lots of break in.

SHIT SHIT SHIT! i touched two of the alt studs together with my knife while it was running (checking for magnetism of the rear bearing, supposed to indicate a working alt...) and sparks flew, both 60A fuses blow and the jeep dies, will not restart. now, i get new fuses, hook everything back up and when i touch the negative to the battery, the fuses blow again, like they are getting full juice from the battery all the time. i need to figure this out asap, it's my spring break and i need to drive the jeep around, and NOT be stuck at my parent's house...

if anyone knows anything about this problem, PLEASE let me know...

anyway, i'm 99% sure i got it hooked up right, turns out of the 3 large black wires ending in ring terminals, i picked the two that are grounds, and grounded the batt+ that should go to the alt. and i'm no longer immediately blowing fuses when installing them.

but now i have a new problem, the engine wont start, i've traced it back to no spark. i don't think it's getting fuel either. it definately doesn't have spark at the coil though, and i beleive the coild is good, 13,600 ohms from harness terminal to dist. terminal, and 1.5 ohms between harness terminals. granted its a little cold out.

so, i'm thinking at some point i fried something, but what should i be checking??!

so the harness to the coil also is getting about 11.5V with the ignition key on. not sure what this means though, and i have no way to test the crank position sensor, since i cant get it to operating temp with out the engine running, and can't test the cam position sensor because the voltmeter i have doesn't have the little spear things to pierce a wire and the test is with the connector connected...

so it turns out i blew the tiny engine computer fuse and couldn't tell...

back to the build.

i used ford 24# fuel injectors, direct fit plug and play.



+.030 cp677c pistons.



i dished my own pistons in the machine shop on campus, here is the rig i made to hold them. could be better, but it worked well.



here it is on the mill, a supermax with Ah-ha! controller. runs off of high tech floppy discs....





and my new weight saving heim joint, actually i just wanted to cut one up...



unfortunately i don't have any assembly shots, i was too busy and excited building the engine to take pics, but here she is all assembled.



i made a bronze crank snout spacer...



i started by taking the front end apart, and ended up with a quickly growing pile of parts...



painted the valve cover



i found a 99+ intake and ps pump to go with the stroker.



my exhaust, a flowmaster 40 and high flow cat with speed dents...



sweet threads on that exhaust clamp...



starting to look like an engine.



we're number 1!



old engine out!





had to McGuyver something to get the oil filter adapter off, a 9/16 bolt fits beautifully, but this kept happening....



finally, got the new powerplant in.









nice stock radiator, bro! actually it cools the engine TOO well, makes a big difference when you remove the a/c condenser.



everything hooked up, moment of truth...



she runs!!!! started first try too...

there were a few hours of mild panic when i thought a vlave rocker was hitting the cover, turns out i didn't tighten a valve pivot bolt at all! stupid mistake, but easily fixable. had to pull the cover again and tighten. after that it purred. i also had a little snafu with the alternator wiring, turns out of the three lage black wires right there, two are ground and one is positive battery... i of course grounded the batt+ and hooked up the grounds to the alt... which promptly blew many a 60A fuse. which are nearly impossible to find in a small town...once i finally figured out the wiring, there was no spark. which as it turns out was the engine computer fuse...

the 60A i kept blowing. they dont like full battery power....



anyway, i took apart the old engine to see what everything looked like, and the damn thing had never been rebuilt in 273K miles! I LOVE JEEPS! at least older ones....
still had crosshatch except for the top inch and a half or so, and the ridge was tiny.



stock pistons no overbore



white powdery exhaust valves in the old engine, looks like i was burning some oil...



almost all the intake valves seemed to be leaking oil.





got my clutch nice and toasty

Make sure your valve cover elbows and hoses are unclogged/clean otherwise oil will get in the air filter box>intake manifold>combustion chamber. Another one built.

yeah, i should probaabldo that, though i know they aren't clogged, but i'm sure they are nasty.

btw, how do you post a video?