Jeep Strokers

Hi guys - I'm looking to stroke my 95 Cherokee, manual gears, with a 258 crank and 232 Comp cam to 4.6L but my number one aim is to reuse as many stock parts as possible (budget, and my main point is I want to learn the skills in assembling an engine) and I'm not too bothered about achieving highest power output.

Engine has 200,000 km and runs very smooth, no issues at all.

I'll replace any parts that have obvious wear or are out of spec, but I want to clean, spec, and put it back in as much as possible.

So, what are the parts that I cannot re-use, no way, no how?

- crankshaft
- crankshaft bearings
- connecting rods (so I can re-use pistons)
- camshaft
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Do not reuse: Bearings, gaskets, pistons, rings, timing set
Reuse: block (including main caps and bolts), head, valve springs, valves, rockers, retainers, locks, timing cover, oil pan, valve cover.
Questionable: oil pump, lifters, cam

Everything needs to be checked for wear or other damage anyhow.

Clear, thanks.

So how does a stroker run if I keep the stock cam?

Basically change only the crank, connecting rods and pistons.

there are a few setups that can reuse the stock cam OR others that use aftermarket cams which may also require Mopar valve spring upgrades.

take a gander at the recipe page and play around with the stroker calculator (link at the top right of page)

http://www.jeep4.0performance.4mg.com/stroker.html

ive seen a couple builds where people have reused the stock cam and lifters and done nothing but throw a crank and rods at it (even used a carb!) and theyve been happy with it. other forums, not here

prossett wrote:So how does a stroker run if I keep the stock cam?

Very nicely if you follow my example.

SilverXJ wrote:Questionable: oil pump, lifters, cam

I wouldn't reuse the oil pump & lifters but I'd definitely reuse the cam if it's in near perfect condition. I reused the stock cam in my stroker even though it had already done 174k miles in the original 4.0 engine.

Probably gonna make a contrevearsy over this. Oil pumps hardly ever FAIL. 2x gears make n pressure ,that will NEVER wear out, dont cause oil pressure issues. Excessive wear can occur over time and kms, but never to the point where the OIL PUMP is to blame for low pressure. Bearing clearances are what determin overall, hot oil pressure(+ leaks ,internal and external).I have run the same oil pump( checkn clearances anually ) for over 10 years with over 350 h.p.(naturally asperated) racing in the dirt . Total lack of maintenance, or major internal componant failure (resulting in crap messn up the gears in the pump) is the only reason to replace the pump. I put a new one in ONCE. It failed(shaft ear broke) @ 15 kms, never again ! Prove me wrong!

racing89 wrote:Probably gonna make a contrevearsy over this. Oil pumps hardly ever FAIL. 2x gears make n pressure ,that will NEVER wear out, dont cause oil pressure issues. Excessive wear can occur over time and kms, but never to the point where the OIL PUMP is to blame for low pressure. Bearing clearances are what determin overall, hot oil pressure(+ leaks ,internal and external).I have run the same oil pump( checkn clearances anually ) for over 10 years with over 350 h.p.(naturally asperated) racing in the dirt . Total lack of maintenance, or major internal componant failure (resulting in crap messn up the gears in the pump) is the only reason to replace the pump. I put a new one in ONCE. It failed(shaft ear broke) @ 15 kms, never again ! Prove me wrong!

I replaced the OE oil pump in my TJ when it started to give LOW fluctuating readings, the only things I replaced were the pump and the oil!!, I even reused the old pan gasket!, the gauge told me that the new Melling M81 was putting out about 5psi better than the OE aluminum pump, then after about anther 50K on the odometer the drive shaft on the Melling pump seems to have snapped off one of the ears?, and it took out the distributor and the cam shaft!

racing89 wrote:Probably gonna make a contrevearsy over this. Oil pumps hardly ever FAIL.

It's a gamble to use an oil pump from an engine that's done 200k km (121k miles) but if that engine still has good oil pressure, the chances are that the oil pump will be OK.
You mentioned that oil pumps never fail but we've had two examples in this thread already. .