Jeep Strokers

I started off with a plan. Build a 4.5 stroker out of my 4.0 in my Jeep with a blown head gasket. It has 179K on the block. I wanted to do a 4.5 stroker because I do not have a ton to spend, but I know what building a stroker costs. The Jeep is a daily driver so, my logic was to build a motor with a little extra kick of power (hence the 4.5, not larger) Well......I talked to a friend yesterday who is a mechanic. He's ASE, 20 yrs exp ect. I trust him. I asked what he thought and he unraveled my tight knit plan pretty quick. He suggested that I have the block stripped down bare and have it tested by a machine shop for wear in the cylinder walls since I have 179K on my block and he informed me that if I use standard bore pistons and new rings, there's a good probability that my engine won't last near as long as one built with freshly bored cylinder walls. My main concern (besides money) is doing this stroker the right way. I do not want to take the easy way out and pay for it 10K or 20K miles down the road. However, I am a little nervous about jumping right into a 4.6 or 4.7 stroker and having to make adjustments in my plan and spend alot of extra money on parts to compensate for a hotrod motor. I posted this here, because this site is a wealth of stroker knowledge and I just want to make sure that my mechanic friend is sending me on the right track. Jeeps are not his specialty, so I want to be sure that there isn't something I'm missing that could keep me on track in building a 4.5 budget stroker.

Having a friend with over 20 years of experience willing to help is a great asset and you are fortunate to have him around. By suggesting a bore / hone he is certainly steering you in the right direction. The only difference between a 4.5-4.6-4.7 is how much, if any, you bore the cylinders. I can guarantee that if you have 179k miles on the engine you will have a fair amount of wear on your cylinder walls. By boring it out .030" you will now have a 4.6L that is actually CHEAPER in the long run than a 4.5L with no bore / hone. Why would you want to spend the money building a 'new' engine when your major wear surfaces have 179k miles on them? Some guys do this to 'freshen' up an engine but do not expect it to last another 179k miles... If you spend the extra on fresh pistons and a bore/hone then you will have that much less to worry about and fewer unexpected surprises down the road.

it all depends, when you have your head off look at the cylinders walls and se if there are still cross hatches. mine did with 183,000 miles, and if it has them then there cant be any ware in the bores because there only fine scratches to begaine with