Jeep Strokers

Remeber that every valve job comes out slightly different, I have two different sized pushrods in my engine, I replaced the exhaust valves only, and the valve stem tips had a little more metal in the chamfered area, just gotta double check your machine shop and ask questions.

I think what you are saying is that I better check them all and take the average. I'll do that tonight. I am in no hurry at this point as my garage is currently filled with a 1976 MG Midget waiting to get an engine as well. I think it will breath before the jeep. Plus, I will have to save up for the pushrods. Although they are only ~7.00 bucks a piece...less than 100 USD for all 12 from Trend Pushrods. Im glad I decided to not cut this corner and just get custom pushrods. Thanks jsawduste. You were right on.

I was not too busy at work today so I brought my adjustable pushrod in and made it exactly 9.550" or as close as I could get. It is pretty freekin close to 9.550". I marked it with a sharpy so as not to loose the precise length and when I got home I triple checked preload across every valve of every cylinder. My longest was at ~.051" and my shortest was at .035" preload with most between .030 and .050. I am now 100% confidant in 9.550", 5/16 diameter, 210° ball end, .080 thick wall PushRods. Im going to call around in the morning and see what I can find in town before I order from Trend or Smith Bros.

This morning I set out to find ~9.550" pushrods. First I went to NAPA and asked if they had a 9.550" PushRod. They were unable to look them up by length and could not figure out how to use their reference book. It must have been their first day. I then went to Auto Zone and they again were unable to look them up by length. Auto Zone could not even tell me how long my OEM PushRods were. So my last stop before ordering from Trend was to stop by the machine shop and ask them what they could find. They were able to reference the length and found me a stock replacement set at 9.547" for under 2.00 bucks a piece. I should have them in an hour. But I still have a midget in the garage so no install for now.

I have oil pressure!!! I made a tool out of an old screw driver to turn the oil pump using a drill. It works. I have oil all the way to the top of the push rods. Now all I need is injectors, a bigger TB, and to install it in the WJ. whew...that was a long build.
Final recipe...
2000 WJ block, decked -.025, Bored +.030, Aline Honed, Maged and Jet washed. ~700.00
2000 0331 cylinder head, Milled .006, CCed to 53.5ccs, pocket ported, intake is port matched, and exhaust is polished, 3 angle valve job ~350.00
1988 4.2 4 cw crank ~75.00
1988 4.2 con rods came with the crank
Sealed power 802CP+.030 hyper pistons ~101.00
Comp 68-235-4 cam/Lifters/Timing set ~226.00
mopar performance Valve Springs/Keepers 5642464 ~300.00
Stock valve Locks
9.547", 5/16 diameter, 210°double ball end, .080 thick pushrods ~20.00
stock valves Free
Molly rings ~90.00
clevite bearings ~75.00
fel pro gaskets ~120.00
Melling oil pump ~79.00
oil and ZDP aditive ~45.00
So far I have spent around 2000 and I anticipate another 2000 before it is running and tuned properly.
Question....
Can I do my cam break in with the stock tune? Will it even run with this huge cam in it?

akadeutsch wrote:Can I do my cam break in with the stock tune? Will it even run with this huge cam in it?

You should be able to. It won't be under load and won't be running at idle.

Great. Thanks for all of your help Silver. I will put it back in the WJ this weekend. I am kind of nervous to start it up...I hope I measured correctly

Today I got all of the accessories bolted on. all of the pulleys line up as expected but I have a problem with my HB. It appears to be the wrong one...it is half an inch out of alignment with the rest of the pulleys...it sticks out too far. I may have gotten it mixed up with a 258 HB. Is there a difference between them?

Where is the spacer?

No spacer. It's a short snout crank.

It was indeed the wrong harmonic balancer, the gap was on the inside of the grooves. The 258 HB will apparently not fit on the 242. I pulled the new one off of a 93 ZJ and the gap was on the outside of the grooves. It will be a good fit. Now, after inspecting my old motor mounts it was not hard to see that they were shot. So I will need to save up for those as well. They are pretty cheap on ebay. I'll keep you posted. I moved the midget out of the way today so I may have this thing in back in the WJ this weekend. it may still be next week though

Good luck and have fun!

Cheers

Chris

Progress... waiting for motor mounts.

I found a good set of motor mounts at the yard yesterday, along with a pretty complete 99 WJ with a 4.0l and select track 4x4 just like mine. While I was there I also pulled two sets of injectors from two 1998 dodge neons. part # 0280155784; they should give me a couple extra pounds of fuel. I hate the idea of running lean during break in. Plus the injectors have a 30 day warranty so if they dont work I'll just bring them back. And I got 8 just in case. Ill be running the stock Throttle Body to do the cam break in, unless I can find a parts V8 WJ in the next few days and then magically create an adapter plate. I'll also be running stock exhaust for the break in period as I can not yet afford a header. I'll take some pictures of the install.

If there is a need for more flow I will switch and use the 96-98 Taurus/Sable 3l V6 DOHC injectors, 0280155715 256cc(24 lb )