Jeep Strokers

Well My 4.0 in my 2003 wrangler started ticking pretty good. It has 104,00 miles. I bought it brand new and started using mobil 1 at 18,000 miles. I didn't know about the low zinc in oil until a few months ago. So I don't know if I have cam going bad, or maybe rockers, or both. This is my daily driver. The only vehicle I could use for a spare is my 1979 401 cj5. It's a blast to drive, but with 10.5:1 compression and 8-10mpg it wouldn't be very practical to drive everyday. So its time to speed up the stroker project. I have been gathering parts here and there when a get some overtime and a few extra bucks. I have everything I need except roller rockers and an oil pump. I took 1 of my the 12 wt standard cranks to the machine shop to be turned along with the 258 rods and 21cc dished hypereutectic pistons for balancing. The block will be going to the machine shop early next week for boring and a zero deck.

Has anyone done the distributor drive gear oiling mod. Is it neccasary?

I haven't heard of anyone doing it, but from past research it appears that a groove is cut in the base of the distributor housing to drip oil on the gear. I thought about doing it on the my cam sensor (no dizzy on my rig) but there was already a flat spot on the body for the oil to drip down. Perhaps it is the same on the distributor?

Has anyone seen or have a picture of the distributor oil line mod?

Still can't figure out what's ticking. Sounds really bad when the engine is cold, and it's real faint when engine is warm. Once in a while I can't even hear it.

I am getting my stroker together and ready just in case my 4.0 craps out. I took the block to the machine shop today for a bore and zero deck. Got some good news on the 12 wt junkyard crank. The rods journals are perfect and don't need turned, just polished. The mains were turned .010. The only reason the mains were turned was the #1 main was .0015 under.

This engine was suppossed to be for a Jeep Brute that I am going to build, but will put in my DD 03 Wrangler. This is a short rod engine with hypereutectic pistons. The next stroker I build will be a long rod, KB forged piston engine(for the Brute).

dwg86 wrote:Still can't figure out what's ticking. Sounds really bad when the engine is cold,

sounds more like a cracked exhaust manifold, mine does that.

I'll check it out. Thanks

Definitely sounds like a cracked manifold. By chance even when it gets warmed up does the ticking come and go with no relation to the engine? Thats a problem i'm having and cant figure it out (already replaced the manifold). I could have sworn it was my injectors (thats where the sound is the loudest with a mechanics stethoscope), but i swaped them out with some ones that looked very new from the Junk yard, and still have the same issue.

Mine ticked (loudly). I built my stroker. It still ticks. Oh well. As long as the internals stay that way, I'll ignore it.

Muad'Dib wrote:Definitely sounds like a cracked manifold. By chance even when it gets warmed up does the ticking come and go with no relation to the engine? Thats a problem i'm having and cant figure it out (already replaced the manifold). I could have sworn it was my injectors (thats where the sound is the loudest with a mechanics stethoscope), but i swaped them out with some ones that looked very new from the Junk yard, and still have the same issue.

Yeah, it does come and go. But when it's warm, when it does tick, its still not as loud as when its cold. The engine always runs smooth. It's hard to see the exhaust manifld, so my next days off I will use a mirror to try to locate a crack or bad gasket. It does sound like its coming from the lt side of the engine.

On a positive note...it gave me a reason to get the stroker together(kitchen clearance from the wife).