Way out there question...

[Caish]

Anyone read of or seen where someone has swapped a WJ dash/seats into an MJ or even XJ. 
Later plans, day dreaming,  would be interior swap, build a Grand Comanche, 
4.7L HO, (265HP) V8, five speed automatic, and a 242 case. 
I have a WJ LIMITED parked outback, kinda rough,  so make a good donor. 
I have no doubt the Wiring swap would be a nightmare,  PCM, BCM, ABS, 
use the Quadra-Drive limited slip axles.  

[derf]

Don't waste your time on a WJ 4.7.  It's not a good swap candidate for many reasons.  It's too big to fit, it doesn't make much power, and the heads like to drop valve seats.  Also, there is zero aftermarket for them.

 

A stroker 6 cylinder will come out to about 4.6/4.7 and give you more power and reliability.

 

[Dzimm]

I'm sure it's possible to do but it would likely require a ton of fab work.  The reason 97+ swaps are common is because the firewall and a-pillars are identical between the XJ and MJ.  A WJ or any other dash is unlikely to fit very well but really there is only one way to find out for sure.

[Caish]

2 hours ago, derf said:

Don't waste your time on a WJ 4.7.  It's not a good swap candidate for many reasons.  It's too big to fit, it doesn't make much power, and the heads like to drop valve seats.  Also, there is zero aftermarket for them.

 

A stroker 6 cylinder will come out to about 4.6/4.7 and give you more power and reliability.

 

Don't want a stroker, 4.0, would just go with a 258 and cam,  less work.
The 4.7 Ho vs 4.0 I have both in WJ's is night and day, 
4.7 just requires regular oil changes and don't get them hot.... 
The HO has better cams, forged pistons, and I think its a forged crank if I remember right. 
It would be a bit tight but no more so than most other v8 swaps. 
As to 4.0 swap, my MJ is the throttle body injected, so its completely different critter than the REnix 4.0 
If wanted to go automatic I have all the parts could drop one in it, but the four is good for now. I rebuilt one a couple months ago in a TJ, was surprised it wa as spunkty as it was. with 31x10.50's. 

DZIMM: Yea I know all the to well the 97-01 XJ is almost bolt in, I have a 99 parts rig out back minus the seats, and a 98k mile engine. 
But the WJ is a lot nicer than the XJ ever was, my wife daily drove a 99 model for 4 years. Build quality was alot better than my old 87, but also had more gremlins. 
 

[cruiser54]

Sounds like you have your mind made up.

This would make an interesting build thread.....

[Dzimm]

11 hours ago, Caish said:

DZIMM: Yea I know all the to well the 97-01 XJ is almost bolt in, I have a 99 parts rig out back minus the seats, and a 98k mile engine. 
But the WJ is a lot nicer than the XJ ever was, my wife daily drove a 99 model for 4 years. Build quality was alot better than my old 87, but also had more gremlins. 

One other thing to consider I forgot to mention is the depth of the dash.  Just going from the 96- to 97+ dash eats up a ton of leg room and pushes the steering wheel closer to the driver a tiny bit.  I have absolutely no idea what the WJ dash would do so be sure to test you'd actually have room to safely sit in the cab before committing to it.

[75sv1]

Another is the width of the dash. I was going to swap in a ZJ dash and steering column. The ZJ dash is a bit wider. The steering column projects a bit longer and deeper into the engine compartment. So, the shaft angle is not correct. I have seen writeups for WJ seat swaps in XJs. I want to go with that at some point. But, I do wonder on the seat height. At 5'11" to 6 ft, not much head clearance presently. 

[Smokeyyank]

15 hours ago, Caish said:

don't get them hot.... 

 

Biggest challenge swapping in a V8 to a MJ. Tight squeeze to get a proper cooling system in there. If you do swap it in I'd put new heads or at least have someone pin the valve seats. 4.7's aren't cheap to rebuild I know. 

 

As for the rest of the swap, WJ is bigger so you're going to need to figure out a way to make those parts fit if that's what you want to do. Seats are going to be tight as they are taller than XJ/MJ seats. I personally would junk the 247 and quada-drive and swap in a 231 or 242 and either XJ axles or something other than the WJ ones. Low pinion 30 with CV axles and faux 44 just isn't an ideal option to swap in. 

[Pete M]

as has been said, there are reasons I cannot find a single example of this swap to share with you.   If you think this will be a good project and the ends will justify the means, I say go for it.   if you think this will be cheap/easy because you just so happen to have a WJ on hand, then you should probably rethink it.  you will be inventing it all as you go and not everyone is up for that level of dedication.

[derf]

The most expensive and frustrating swaps I've done have been trying to make free parts work.

[Caish]

6 hours ago, Smokeyyank said:

 

Biggest challenge swapping in a V8 to a MJ. Tight squeeze to get a proper cooling system in there. If you do swap it in I'd put new heads or at least have someone pin the valve seats. 4.7's aren't cheap to rebuild I know. 

 

As for the rest of the swap, WJ is bigger so you're going to need to figure out a way to make those parts fit if that's what you want to do. Seats are going to be tight as they are taller than XJ/MJ seats. I personally would junk the 247 and quada-drive and swap in a 231 or 242 and either XJ axles or something other than the WJ ones. Low pinion 30 with CV axles and faux 44 just isn't an ideal option to swap in. 

 

10 hours ago, cruiser54 said:

Sounds like you have your mind made up.

This would make an interesting build thread.....

 

Nice to meet you Cruiser, used your pages a bit over the years, I drove an 87 XJ for nearly 10 years. 
Renix can be fun to troubleshoot. But to be honest short of CPS it was reliable to a fault. 
CPS.. mine would get polarized, have to unplug it, plug it back in and would restart. 
Happen once every 6 to 9 months. Should have seen the Wifes face when I did it the 

first time, she was like it will start in 30 minutes. I laughed, and she wanted to know 

what i did, I guess it left her waiting a time to two. 
Its not a certainty yet, one of the biggest issues is PCM/SKIM the chip key has 

been the bane of many WJ owners, had it deleted on my other WJ #BastardHeep, 
then BCM alarm discovered it it didn't have a matching vin in the PCM, and 

would not shut off....  $250 later to get reflashed a third time. 

 

 

10 hours ago, Dzimm said:

One other thing to consider I forgot to mention is the depth of the dash.  Just going from the 96- to 97+ dash eats up a ton of leg room and pushes the steering wheel closer to the driver a tiny bit.  I have absolutely no idea what the WJ dash would do so be sure to test you'd actually have room to safely sit in the cab before committing to it.

Very true part of why the later XJ's  feel so much more cramped than the early years, Then add in they lost an inch of both sides from those fancy door panels. 

 

6 hours ago, Smokeyyank said:

 

Biggest challenge swapping in a V8 to a MJ. Tight squeeze to get a proper cooling system in there. If you do swap it in I'd put new heads or at least have someone pin the valve seats. 4.7's aren't cheap to rebuild I know. 

 

As for the rest of the swap, WJ is bigger so you're going to need to figure out a way to make those parts fit if that's what you want to do. Seats are going to be tight as they are taller than XJ/MJ seats. I personally would junk the 247 and quada-drive and swap in a 231 or 242 and either XJ axles or something other than the WJ ones. Low pinion 30 with CV axles and faux 44 just isn't an ideal option to swap in. 

The 2.5L MJ/XJ's use a completely different radiator than the 4.0, its actually bigger than the 4.0 radiator. Or looks like it, like they borrowed it from a YJ. 
Also have to remember the 4.7 V8 is not much longer than a 2.5L so actually more room for a radiator than a 4.0

 

all good info. Was just tossing around the idea. Really think if I could get the PCM to play nice, would be nice to have it replace the mini-van 3.8L in the JK. I hate that engine, and the 6 speed. the AX15 and even the NV3550 have better gearing, and cjheaper to work on. 
The shift fork assembly on the 6 speed is nearly $500 where AX15 and others can buy individual pieces. 

Yea the 247 would never been kept, I have a few NP231 and NP242 cases around here. 
Did you know our XJ/MJ 231 cases use aluminum forks? Others had steel/cast iron forks, what I installed in my XJ 231, so it will never wear out again. the ears was worn off the aluminum one when I got it. of course seller neglected to tell me he had stuck in low range. 

Just the 270HP/330 torque would sure be fun in an MJ... :) 

[Pete M]

1 hour ago, Caish said:

 

Just the 270HP/330 torque would sure be fun in an MJ... :)

 

cannot argue with that.   if you peruse the Epic Tech section, you'll find some very fun v8 swaps.