Jeep Strokers

Rebuilding my 4.0 and looking for opinions on which route I should take

1. 258 crank and rods with stock 4.0 pistons what kind of power would this make? This make it a 4.5L?
2. 4.6L Low-buck, low CR "rockcrawler" What would this cost?
3. 4.6L "poor man's" stroker What would this cost?
4. 4.6L low-buck stroker What would this cost?

What fuel is required for each setup?

Unless your 4.0 block is low mileage (less than 50,000) with cylinder bores that are within factory tolerances for taper and out-of-round, I suggest you strike out option no.1 'cause the minimum rebore you'll need is +0.020".
The low buck, low CR rockcrawler was conceived as a budget build designed to run on 87 octane gas.
The poor man's stroker is the cheapest build but I've updated that one into a modified poor man's by changing the piston/rod combination to 4.0L rods/IC944 pistons. It's a little more expensive than the original poor man's but offers a lower quench height and less reciprocating mass. I run mine on 91 octane but that's probably overkill on a 9.25:1 CR engine.
The low buck stroker is an evolution of the poor man's with an aftermarket cam, valve springs/retainers/keepers, and a 0.020" block shave thus making it more expensive and more powerful. With a 9.6:1 CR it'll probably require a diet of 91 octane.

My motor has 115k miles still think it will need to be bored over? I'm just tearing it apart because its burns oil might just need rings

In that case I can cross out number 4 as well. Now im looking at low buck, poor mans and poor mans modified.

What will the price difference be of each? So your saying the poor mans modified will require a lower octane than the poor mans

2fst4you wrote:My motor has 115k miles still think it will need to be bored over?

Yes

If for some reason it doesn't need to be bored over will I have any issue running that setup?

Yes, because it will be a cheap ass way to put an engine together with corners cut at every step of the way.


Save up you money and to once, correctly.

Definatly have it rebored. I went the modified poor man's stroker and it cost me around 3 grand for machine costs and all the internal parts.

2fst4you wrote:If for some reason it doesn't need to be bored over will I have any issue running that setup?

You are talking about ~$250 to have it bored. Are you planning on using the same pistons and rings? If not it would at least need to be honed or the new rings will not seat. 0.030" pistons are the same price and stock. It is not worth it.

2fst4you wrote:My motor has 115k miles still think it will need to be bored over? I'm just tearing it apart because its burns oil might just need rings

Depends on whether you want your stroker to last at least 100k miles. If you want to cut corners and reuse the stock pistons in the stock bores, that's up to you, but don't expect the engine to last another 100k miles before it starts burning oil again.

2fst4you wrote:So your saying the poor mans modified will require a lower octane than the poor mans

With a 0.018" lower quench and all else being the same, it might.

Why will it be cutting corners because it won't last as long due to the pistons getting old?

I planned on redoing the motor with a 258 crank and 258 rods then reusing the current pistons unless they need to be replaced. I want to do this as cheap as possible and only will bore it and get bigger pistons if needed. I don't want to spend more than 1k. I drive my jeep about 1,000 miles a year so I don't need it to last forever

I plan to replace the rings just not the pistons unless there bad and need it

With 115k miles your bores won't be round any more, the crosshatch that help seat the rings will be mostly worn down, there may be a ridge from the rings at the top as well as a tapper going toward the bottom and the pistons will be worn as well. There would be no reason to even put new rings on that as they will take a long time to seat, if ever.

Cutting corners in an understatement. Making a POS is what it is if you go that route.

2fst4you wrote:Why will it be cutting corners because it won't last as long due to the pistons getting old?

I planned on redoing the motor with a 258 crank and 258 rods then reusing the current pistons unless they need to be replaced. I want to do this as cheap as possible and only will bore it and get bigger pistons if needed. I don't want to spend more than 1k. I drive my jeep about 1,000 miles a year so I don't need it to last forever

If your already tearing everything down and rebuilding it then why not bore it? Cheap and reliable don't mix well. With the extra power the motor will be putting out those old stock pistons aren't the best choice because their already pretty worn out. I know what mine looked like when they came out and theirs no way I would have been able to put them back in. If your trying to stay under $1,000 maybe a regular rebuild would be better for you. That way you could reuse your crank, cam, injectors, and most of the other stuff that can get expensive when doing a stroker build. Even then new pistons and a rebore are what most shops will require at the least. Unless you can save up and get the parts you need.

Radioactivexj wrote:

2fst4you wrote:Why will it be cutting corners because it won't last as long due to the pistons getting old?

I planned on redoing the motor with a 258 crank and 258 rods then reusing the current pistons unless they need to be replaced. I want to do this as cheap as possible and only will bore it and get bigger pistons if needed. I don't want to spend more than 1k. I drive my jeep about 1,000 miles a year so I don't need it to last forever

If your already tearing everything down and rebuilding it then why not bore it? Cheap and reliable don't mix well. With the extra power the motor will be putting out those old stock pistons aren't the best choice because their already pretty worn out. I know what mine looked like when they came out and theirs no way I would have been able to put them back in. If your trying to stay under $1,000 maybe a regular rebuild would be better for you. That way you could reuse your crank, cam, injectors, and most of the other stuff that can get expensive when doing a stroker build. Even then new pistons and a rebore are what most shops will require at the least. Unless you can save up and get the parts you need.

Thank you for clarifying that for the OP.

Could I just get it honed then reuse the pistons or get new OEM pistons?

Will boring it slightly over with new (larger) pistons but retaining my crank and rods give me any more power?