LS1 motor swap

[Metlic53]

Ive found a few ls1's I could pickup for pretty cheap, my 4.0 is getting kinda too slow for my highway use and for the price of stroking it to the max 5.0 would cost as much as a v8 and i can upgrade a v8 more. Yes ill be strengthening the entire unibody. anyone know of any places that do engine swaps/installations in Houston? I can do it but id rather pay a shop to do it since I'm so busy. If anyone knows of a place let me know thanks.

[msmoorenburg]

Eric knows his stuff no questions asked


http://www.texasperformanceconcepts.com/

[TeXJ]

Wouldnt a swap like this be in the 10k range minus motor/trans?

I would think that if you went with a motor swap that a trans/tcase swap would probably be on the list as well.

[Mudderoy]

Originally Posted by Metlic53

Ive found a few ls1's I could pickup for pretty cheap, my 4.0 is getting kinda too slow for my highway use and for the price of stroking it to the max 5.0 would cost as much as a v8 and i can upgrade a v8 more. Yes ill be strengthening the entire unibody. anyone know of any places that do engine swaps/installations in Houston? I can do it but id rather pay a shop to do it since I'm so busy. If anyone knows of a place let me know thanks.

It's been about a year I guess, but mine will do 95 mph. Driving 70 to 80 mph isn't an issue with a 179k mile 4.0l engine. Not sure what issue you're having.

[4.3LXJ]

When was the last time you changed the O2 sensor. That would affect speed through a less than optimal fuel/air ratio.

[Metlic53]

Originally Posted by msmoorenburg

Eric knows his stuff no questions

thanks i'll check him out


http://www.texasperformanceconcepts.com/

Originally Posted by TeXJ

Wouldnt a swap like this be in the 10k range minus motor/trans?

I would think that if you went with a motor swap that a trans/tcase swap would probably be on the list as well.

doubt it would be in the 10k range, i wouldn't mind spending 5k on it, ive found a few motors for 2-2500 and ive got a 4l60e tranny sitting in the garage. ive just priced doing a stroker motor and it probably wouldnt give me the power i want for the price. Their about the same price for the 5.0 stroke or just putting a supercharger would cost me 4k. i pull a small trailer with 32's and 3.55 gears, huge bumpers, winch, full size spare and it can barely do 70 on the highway, id rather not change out the gears. i get 10mpg maybe.

Originally Posted by Mudderoy

It's been about a year I guess, but mine will do 95 mph. Driving 70 to 80 mph isn't an issue with a 179k mile 4.0l engine. Not sure what issue you're having.

mine is just slow, i can keep up with traffic if i floor it everywhere and it downshifts constantly, mine will do 100 mph, but it takes about two miles to achieve that constantly holding it to the floor. I just want something unique and can cruise 80 pulling a trailer with no problems, without buying a truck, i want my jeep to do that, plus i want it to be able to outrun alot of stuff that comes up to me.

Originally Posted by 4.3LXJ

When was the last time you changed the O2 sensor. That would affect speed through a less than optimal fuel/air ratio.

o2 sensors were replaced a year ago, new exhaust all the way through, header too. shes just tired, just hit 179k miles and i do a ton of city driving and have to almost floor it with the a/c going to keep up with traffic from stop to stop. my dad has a 02 camaro with the LS1 and hes very knowledgable on that motor, im sure we could make it work, he gets almost 20mpg on his car, so im sure i would get 15 or better on mine. i drive to galveston alot and it feels like im hurting the motor flooring it to keep it at 70. i have a few vehicles so this one being down for awhile wouldn't bother me, i just want something unique ya know?

[cantab27]

v8 in a xj.............do it man......love the 8 in my tj........bit of lite reading for yall



http://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/xj_swap.htm

[4.3LXJ]

Be aware that the AW4 is a different animal from the 4L60E or 4L80E whichever is in the Camaro. The Chevy tranny has a very deep overdrive for milage, 28% vs 14% and a stall converter, the least of which is 1700 rpm for getting off the line quick.

[XJ4IV]

advanced adapters... or novak would be a site of MAJOR research for mating the ls motor to an AW4 transmission... but just a FYI putting the big ass motor in that means everything is moving such as the trans moves back about 2 inches therefore the t-case does... which means custom cross member... which ALSO means custom driveshaft and also... your putting 300+ HP on a dana 35 or a 8.25... thats kinda iffy at the least... Id stick with either a full rebuild like MSMoorenburg has done and do some internal tweaks like a cam and obviously might consider the stroking aspect... all of this would STILL come out more than 50% cheaper than a LS1 swap... or instead just rebuild with stronger pistons and rods and put a supercharger on it! STILL cheaper than a v8 swap!

[4.3LXJ]

Like Scott says, the work adds up. The tranny has to be moved forward, so not only crossmember, but tcase linkage must be customized, along with drivelines and one thing not addressed so far, a custom radiator and fans is a must. Don't even think that stocker will cool it. Ask me how I know

[cantab27]

na do the v8............................

[Metlic53]

Originally Posted by XJ4IV

advanced adapters... or novak would be a site of MAJOR research for mating the ls motor to an AW4 transmission... but just a FYI putting the big ass motor in that means everything is moving such as the trans moves back about 2 inches therefore the t-case does... which means custom cross member... which ALSO means custom driveshaft and also... your putting 300+ HP on a dana 35 or a 8.25... thats kinda iffy at the least... Id stick with either a full rebuild like MSMoorenburg has done and do some internal tweaks like a cam and obviously might consider the stroking aspect... all of this would STILL come out more than 50% cheaper than a LS1 swap... or instead just rebuild with stronger pistons and rods and put a supercharger on it! STILL cheaper than a v8 swap!

She has a Dana 44 and a supercharger is like right at 3 grand, kinda high for not much gain don't you think? Also, why would the tranny be moved back? I saw one with a LT1 Without all the custom stuff...hmmm I'll research, I just don't want to stroke or supercharge and still want more power

[bigjim350]

Nah its a simple swap. All you need is:LS rad from novak for xj, LS motor mounts from novak, LS motor, Harness/ECM, Trans(don't even think about using the AW4), adapter from trans to tcase, custom trans crossmember, custom driveshafts, upgrade axles to atleast D44's, lots of mods to fuel system, custom gauges, custom exhaust and headers. Then your done, should take about a day . Although I dont think it would cost anywhere near 10k including motor and trans if you did it yourself. Now having a shop do it might cost that much.

[cantab27]

cant be that hard ,,,theres a few down here and running around in aussie

[KH96XJ]

Originally Posted by Metlic53

doubt it would be in the 10k range, i wouldn't mind spending 5k on it, ive found a few motors for 2-2500 and ive got a 4l60e tranny sitting in the garage. ive just priced doing a stroker motor and it probably wouldnt give me the power i want for the price. Their about the same price for the 5.0 stroke or just putting a supercharger would cost me 4k. i pull a small trailer with 32's and 3.55 gears, huge bumpers, winch, full size spare and it can barely do 70 on the highway, id rather not change out the gears. i get 10mpg maybe.



mine is just slow, i can keep up with traffic if i floor it everywhere and it downshifts constantly, mine will do 100 mph, but it takes about two miles to achieve that constantly holding it to the floor. I just want something unique and can cruise 80 pulling a trailer with no problems, without buying a truck, i want my jeep to do that, plus i want it to be able to outrun alot of stuff that comes up to me.



o2 sensors were replaced a year ago, new exhaust all the way through, header too. shes just tired, just hit 179k miles and i do a ton of city driving and have to almost floor it with the a/c going to keep up with traffic from stop to stop. my dad has a 02 camaro with the LS1 and hes very knowledgable on that motor, im sure we could make it work, he gets almost 20mpg on his car, so im sure i would get 15 or better on mine. i drive to galveston alot and it feels like im hurting the motor flooring it to keep it at 70. i have a few vehicles so this one being down for awhile wouldn't bother me, i just want something unique ya know?

Just owning an XJ is unique in itself.

In my opnion I feel your problems would be alleviated with a regear of the axles to 4.11 or 4.56. It will be much cheaper and you could even get a locker put in the front/back and get chromolly axles for the cost of the LS1. Plus I bet you would see an improvement in you mileage since your motor wouldn't be working so hard to get it up to speed in city driving/hwy. Your mileage will only be as good as how you operate the gas pedal anyway.

You really want to be unique, go diesel.