Jeep Strokers

Hey everyone,

I'm new here but have been on Jeepsunlimited and Jeepforum for about a decade. Just now looking into the world of strokers.

Is it possible to do the 4.5 "poor man's simple stroker" from underneath the truck without touching the top of the engine? Lets say I have the front axle out anyways because I'm putting a lift in. In case anyone needs a refresher, below is the component list for said stroker.

(It looks like only the bottom of the engine gets replaced?)

4.5L "Poor man's" simple stroker

~ Jeep 4.2L 3.895" stroke crank
~ Jeep 4.2L 5.875" rods
~ Speed Pro 677P standard bore pistons
~ 9.05:1 CR
~ Stock 4.0 HO camshaft
~ Stock HO cylinder head
~ Stock 0.051" head gasket
~ 0.097" quench height
~ 2.25" exhaust
~ Ford 24lb/hr injectors with stock 39psi FPR for '87-'95 engines, stock injectors with stock 49psi FPR for '96 and later engines
226hp @ 4600rpm, 304lbft @ 2000rpm

The head has to come off, so no.

Pardon my ignorance, but why does the head have to come off exactly?

The piston come out of the top, even if you could get them out the bottom you'd never get them back in from the bottom.
And you cant get the crank out with the trans installed either.

Ah. Gotcha. So there's not even really a way of doing it with the motor still in the truck even if you remove that 100lb beast of a head.

Your need to pull the motor. Speaking from experience, I have found its usually much easier to pull out the motor, pull the tranny, or remove the blah blah blah, instead of trying to do it the "easy" way for most things mechanical in general. Pulling a motor was very intimidating for me as I'm sure it was for most people their first couple of times, but if you aren't willing to do that, you shouldn't be attempting to build a stroker. It's honestly not that bad. Draw diagrams, take pics, and put all your bolts in labeled Ziploc bags. Also use cardboard to stick bolts and whatever else into in order.

The "easy" way on a budget would be finding a a cheap used motor on Craigslist, put it on an engine stand you bought at the same time as the engine hoist you will also need from harbor freight, and buy parts/build as you get the time/$. When it's all put together, an engine swap is a half day affair with a set of helping hands, and you are only without a vehicle for 1 day.

German_cargo wrote:Is it possible to do the 4.5 "poor man's simple stroker" from underneath the truck without touching the top of the engine?

Nope. The head needs to come off so that you can pull out the piston/rod assemblies, so the job will be much easier if you pull out the entire engine and mount it on a stand.
My stroker recipes have evolved since I came up with the one you referred to more than a decade ago. You might wanna check them out (link in sig.).

Working on the 4.0, while in the chassis's a big PIA. The engine bay is so tight.
Much better to buy a Harbor Freight engine stand and engine hoist (or rent) and to take the engine out.
It will be easier, faster and you will have a much better chance of doing the job right.IMO

So how is the build coming just started mine and looking for as much info as possible