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What To Do With My New(First) Mj


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I finally after years and years have my first MJ! I've had three Cherokees and currently DD a 2000 classic.

 

The MJ I have is an '86 custom: 2.5L, AX4, 4WD. The bed has some rust but the unibody rails and underside of the cab are great. The only con besides the dirty mouse infested interior is the engine apparently blew a HG twice and won't turn now.

 

Question is should I go for another 2.5 for the time being just so I can drive it and gather parts, or should I bite the bullet and jump straight into a 4.0 swap.

 

Originally I wanted to just get another 2.5 because I wanna go HO with an AX15 and new xfer case.(I've also never gotten a straight answer on how hard 4.0 swap in an '86 would be because of the firewall)

 

Any help is greatly appreciated, it's close but this ain't no XJ.

 

John

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Agreed, now the '86 is carb'd can I get any 150CI AMC and just swap over the intake components? And the flip side of that is it easy enough to go FI or should I stick to the carb?

 

All of this setup is just get it running for the time being, ill be swapping 'cooler' parts down the road.

 

John

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The 86 2.5 should not be carbed. It has TBI which is like a carb, but not. It will already have a renix computer control system for the TBI. If you swap to port injection, you may as well do the 4.0 swap because it will be almost the same amount of work, including all underhood stuff, and all under dash stuff.

 

As far as the 86 firewall issue, I hear it is a minor issue that can be fixed with a few hammer blows in the right spot for a little extra clearance. Your bigger issue will be swapping on the 4.0 core support for the 4.0 radiator. It requires cutting and welding. Youll also need a later model hood when you do this because the latches are different in 86.

 

I say either go for the whole deal, or just get a good 2.5 longblock for the time being. Anthing in between will be a waste of time and money.

 

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out!

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Find a good 2.5 and swap it in. As I understand it, a 2.5 block is a 2.5 block no matter the year. This means AMC 2.5 or Chrysler 2.5, it doesn't matter.

 

I would strongly suggest you find a cheap 2.5 and stick in there so you can start enjoying the truck. If you find the 2.5 undesirable, then start collecting parts for a 4.0 or V8 swap.

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It's not carb'd? Oh damn, ok. A friend has a 304 he wants to sell me dirt cheap but I was planning a 4.0HO down the road but as for now I'm pretty set that ill replace the 2.5.

 

I can do some minor welding and fabbing and am a pretty accomplished hammer swinger ;)

 

I will deff post any and all progress once I actually start any work and get some pics to post.

 

John

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Your bigger issue will be swapping on the 4.0 core support for the 4.0 radiator. It requires cutting and welding. Youll also need a later model hood when you do this because the latches are different in 86.

 

You can actually modify the front and still use the stock hood. The top bolt on core support is wide enough where you can still get both of the outside bolts to bolt into the welded nuts. You will have to drop the frame rails slightly though to get the radiator under the hood or lean the radiator back, assuming you have the space to lean it back. It does require a good deal of cutting into the sides to get her to fit. There's a bunch of pictures on how I did it in my build thread and still retained the stock hood. I did go to hood pins after that though since I like the assurance that both corners of the hood are held down.

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Just find a good 2.5 and drop it in. I swapped a '94 2.5 from a XJ into a '87 MJ. Sat the two engines side by side and swapped everything that needed to be swapped for the '87 configuration. And as for the capabilities of the 2.5. My DD is a '87 MJ, 2.5, AX4 and it does everything I ask of it, and i've got a heavy foot. Gas pedal only knows two positions. All the way up or floored.

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Just find a good 2.5 and drop it in. I swapped a '94 2.5 from a XJ into a '87 MJ. Sat the two engines side by side and swapped everything that needed to be swapped for the '87 configuration. And as for the capabilities of the 2.5. My DD is a '87 MJ, 2.5, AX4 and it does everything I ask of it, and i've got a heavy foot. Gas pedal only knows two positions. All the way up or floored.

Great minds think alike. :thumbsup: :yes:

 

Stick with a 2.5 for a bit; then collect parts. The 2.5 may not have 177 horses or 190 lbs of torque, but it's still a decently endowed engine.

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  • 2 weeks later...

finally brought it home(about 2.5hrs) and gutted the interior. carpet and headliner are gone, bench is removed. plan to swap in buckets, but may throw the bench back in for now(even though it stinks)

 

after extensive searching and informing a few people a 'running' 2.5 is NOT worth $600+(one guy was asking $1100+) i've found a guy close enough selling for 150! picking up this weekend. hopefully can't pull the old 2.5 and swap within a few weeks.

 

john

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  • 1 month later...

Pulled old 2.5 and swapped most of the acc over to the newer one.

 

Oddly enough I was still thinking and thinking about what to swap to(in the future) and I was down to 4.0HO, V8(prob magnum), or a 4BT.

 

Guy I picked the engine up from not only saw the same truck I bought and was going to buy it to swap his 2.5 into, he also pulled the running 2.5 to swap a 4BT into his YJ! Think looked pretty sick! Pretty much made up my mind although its a lot of work(and may get done to another MJ) I think it's what I'm going to aim for, way down the road.

 

John

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