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How durable are stroker motors?

Posted: April 22nd, 2018, 11:48 pm
by Bonkers
Hey guys, newbie here! Let me start off by apologizing for me
being here. I am not a gearhead, i dont understand any of the
technical aspects of building a motor of any kind - might as
well be all Latin to me... (in fact i think one of the threads i just
read here was actually written in Latin...)

But i digress. I have an 88 Mj that i am in the prep stages of a
complete restoration. Im trying to keep it as factory-appearing
as humanly possible, but the end result is going to be a jeep
i travel cross-country in. Highway speeds, different terrain,
11+ hrs at a time are certainly all possible. It will also need to
deal with emergency flood conditions, but no rock climbing.

The truck as its original 250k Renix 4.0L which is not up to the
task. The motor and wiring harness will be removed. My plan
was to swap in a complete 1991 4.0HO drivetrain from a donor
and simply rebuild/replace the motor. I was told repeatedly that
the 4.0HO was the way to go because "the 4.7 stroker could not
handle those kind of driving conditions." For the past 3 years i
have been collecting the nessecary parts for this swap.

However. Last week when i started asking questions about the
swap, everyone told me that the 4.6L stroker would be far better
suited to handle the kind of driving i want to do. Now i find
myself in a predicament - i have a running Renix and a running
HO both ready to be rebuilt, but if a stroker can handle the
endurance i would need, seems only logical to go that route.

The guys at the comanche club said to come here and ask -
money not being a concern, should i rebuild the HO, stroke
the Renix, or Stroke the HO?

Re: How durable are stroker motors?

Posted: April 23rd, 2018, 12:25 pm
by Cheromaniac
You could do something similar to the 4.6L HO low buck recipe from my site. A properly built stroker should last well beyond 100k miles and handle just about anything. Our resident stroker whisperer Russ Pottenger can supply you the parts and provide more detailed expert advice.

Re: How durable are stroker motors?

Posted: April 23rd, 2018, 1:35 pm
by Bonkers
Money isnt so much the concern as reliability. I have no
qualms about dropping cash on spare-no-expense well
built stroker, so long as it doesnt leave me stranded two
thousand miles from home. If i didnt have issues with
Hesco (whom im told is currently the best builder on the
web) i would have just bought from them originally. Now
Im playjng catch-up...

So is there such a thing as a bullet-proof 4.x build thatll
give a nice boost in power without compromising the
legendary damn-the-torpedos reputation of the OEM 4.0?

Re: How durable are stroker motors?

Posted: April 25th, 2018, 11:04 pm
by Cheromaniac
It all depends on the combination of accurate machine shop work, selecting correct good quality parts, careful assembly, and following the correct break-in procedure.
Get those details right and just about any 4.X stroker should have bulletproof reliability.

Re: How durable are stroker motors?

Posted: April 26th, 2018, 8:48 am
by Russ Pottenger
Cheromaniac wrote:It all depends on the combination of accurate machine shop work, selecting correct good quality parts, careful assembly, and following the correct break-in procedure.
Get those details right and just about any 4.X stroker should have bulletproof reliability.
X2 Definitely agree with Dino.

With the premium parts that are available, and to just highlight some of the parts such as forged piston's and rod's, billet gear double roller timing sets, and nitrided cams.

With the correct cam, injectors, tune, oil, and precise machine work, with attention to detail during the build process and engine break-in procedure, there is absolutely no reason why you wouldn't receive hundreds of thousands of trouble-free miles out of your stroker