best engine swap

[comancheee87jax.fl]

I think a 2jz turbo AWD WOULD BE THE BEST SWAP CUZ U GET high tq and whp 600 for cheap 

[Jesse J]

I would also like to take this time and appreciate how cool really build xjs look with the old body style

[Pete M]

600 horses is never cheap unless you're already a master fabricator (which itself has cost to get there). 

 

having said that, turbos are fun  

[Crash]

An LSx based swap is probably cheaper, and potentially plug n pray, if you have the cash.

[comancheee87jax.fl]

On 2/7/2021 at 8:05 AM, Jesse J said:

I would also like to take this time and appreciate how cool really build xjs look with the old body style

 

On 2/7/2021 at 4:04 PM, Pete M said:

i’m thinking a f20 s2000 swap is good too 

 

[Pete M]

whatever you choose to go with, if you can make it fit and work, it's all good.   you might get some friendly jabs, but we're all MJ lovers here and creativity is the spice of life.   I went with old Ford axles just to make a project out of it. 

 

but fair warning, in my 20 years of being in the online Jeeping community I've seen a lot of the more creative engine swaps loose steam and never get finished because there were just more engineering hurdles than the owner wanted to deal with.    but I'm happy to lend any assistance I can to make it happen.  

[derf]

Yeah, I'm a big fan of doing something that other people haven't done.

 

But I also recognize why "everyone does an LS swap".

[comancheee87jax.fl]

I'm working on it . slow and right and looking at all ways to make it easy thanks guys 

[Pete M]

take lots and lots of pics and document the adventure in your build thread  

[thecodemonk]

On 2/8/2021 at 11:02 PM, Crash said:

An LSx based swap is probably cheaper, and potentially plug n pray, if you have the cash.

 

LS based swap is not nearly as plug and play as people proclaim.  That said, it's well supported and probably requires the least amount of fabrication compared to most other swaps.

[derf]

4 minutes ago, thecodemonk said:

 

LS based swap is not nearly as plug and play as people proclaim.  That said, it's well supported and probably requires the least amount of fabrication compared to most other swaps.

Yeah, the LS swap is definitely "some assembly required" but it has the most off-the-shelf parts available to support it.  Motor mounts, exhaust, cooling, wiring harness, computer flashing, etc. are all readily available and make the swap easier than a build-it-yourself swap.

[ghetdjc320]

I always thought it would be neat to try an import I6 like a bmw, Supra or skyline engine. That being said, I’d go diesel. That new 3.0 dodge diesel v6 they got going into the JLs now would be a neat swap. 

[derf]

6 minutes ago, ghetdjc320 said:

I always thought it would be neat to try an import I6 like a bmw, Supra or skyline engine. That being said, I’d go diesel. That new 3.0 dodge diesel v6 they got going into the JLs now would be a neat swap. 

I looked at that.  The engine/trans/tcase works better as a single unit because of the computer.  Swapping in JK or JL axles to get the speed sensors needed for controlling the transmission would be needed.  Doable for sure but it's not a quick and easy swap for sure.

[ghetdjc320]

1 minute ago, derf said:

I looked at that.  The engine/trans/tcase works better as a single unit because of the computer.  Swapping in JK or JL axles to get the speed sensors needed for controlling the transmission would be needed.  Doable for sure but it's not a quick and easy swap for sure.

So I’m guessing they must be the same axles used for Dodge as well. Hmmm, interesting setup. One would need a good wrecked JL diesel 

[ghetdjc320]

The only thing that would make me sell my MJ is either to put food on the table or if they came out with a 2dr diesel gladiator. 

[derf]

24 minutes ago, ghetdjc320 said:

So I’m guessing they must be the same axles used for Dodge as well. Hmmm, interesting setup. One would need a good wrecked JL diesel 

You just need compatible ABS sensors.  There's no more speedo sensors in almost everything these days.

[dasbulliwagen]

It probably too new to consider at this point, but I really liked GM's new 3.0 inline 6 diesel Duramax. It appears to be similar in dimensions to the Jeep 4.0

[AZJeff]

ghetdjc320 got me thinking....anothe cool straight six that would be an interesting transplant would be the old Pontiac OHC that they put in the Tempest and Firebird in the late 1960’s.

 

They were more powerful than any pushrod six of the era, and with modern EFI, they might really shine.

[ghetdjc320]

2 hours ago, AZJeff said:

ghetdjc320 got me thinking....anothe cool straight six that would be an interesting transplant would be the old Pontiac OHC that they put in the Tempest and Firebird in the late 1960’s.

 

They were more powerful than any pushrod six of the era, and with modern EFI, they might really shine.

The straight 6 is a great design on paper. An overhead cam and cross flow head design would really make quite a difference in what we could do with one. Direct injection, coil on plug and a good tuneable efi system could really get things going in a NA engine. 

[Buddy Brantley]

I want a 3.0 hurricane in my mj. Will it fit? 

[ghetdjc320]

4 hours ago, Buddy Brantley said:

I want a 3.0 hurricane in my mj. Will it fit? 

With the time money and skills, almost anything will fit. Do you have a source for one? If you’re looking at diesel, a cummins 2.8 is another viable swap candidate. 

[cruiser54]

Grab a tape measure and a buddy and head down to the local Jeep dealer. 

[pizzaman09]

On 2/11/2021 at 4:42 PM, ghetdjc320 said:

I always thought it would be neat to try an import I6 like a bmw, Supra or skyline engine. That being said, I’d go diesel. That new 3.0 dodge diesel v6 they got going into the JLs now would be a neat swap. 

I've looked at this a couple times.  If the right MJ came along, I'd try and do a BMW S52 or S54 swap, which are the engines from the 96-99 M3 or 01-06 M3 respectively.  The later being an 8000+ rpm screamer with great torque across the rev range.  The adapter plate to an AX-15 is available in Europe.  Those BMW engines are pretty easy to swap due to the electronics packages being well self contained, maybe a speed sensor would be the challenging part.

 

The Supra engine is also tempting as if I remember correctly the transmission used in those cars are closely related to the AX-15.

 

In general the challenging part to most exotic engine swaps are the ECU and controls.  Swapping the ECU is easiest if you can get all inputs satisfied.  Doing a custom stand alone ECU is a science project all it's own.

[Torq_Shep]

I fit (and got running) an Ecotec LHU (Turbo 2.0L 260hp rated) that fit pretty well but there was definitely oil pan concerns and I never took it out on the street. Sold the truck and lost contact with the new owner on that one. I have done several SBCs to LS motors on random vehicles. Worked in an auto lab swapping random motors into test stands all of the time for 7 years and worked for Perkins as an applications engineer for an additional year. 

Engine swaps should not be taken lightly. If the conversion kit does not exist and you are anything less than completely confident with a plasma cutter, grinder, and welder along with a multimeter and a very good knowledge of electrical diagrams, I would not attempt it.