engine help-swap???

[yj_rookie]

hey im a newbie to jeepz and jeeping. I bought my own 91 white yj 4banger hoping i could make it into a wheelin machine. My parents dont help me out with money at all so i am on a tight budget. 8 bucks an hour digging holes doesnt help much. but anyways i am looking into swapping out my 4banger for a chevy v8. About how much does it cost to get me wheeling with a v8 or is it not worth it? My 4 is dying i think so im thinking about a swap. I am still learning about engines because my parents are clueless. I talked with my uncle and he said it sounds like the heads or something like that. What are your thoughts? I am dying to fix my precious yj asap so i dont have to roll around in a honda..YUCK!
Thanks alot
zach

 

[odjeep]

Welcome to the world of jeepin and welcome to Jeepz! If you've got the problem we'll help you with it. First off, Whats wrong with the engine specifically? The jeep 4banger is a very capable engine and coupled with the right gears can make an outstanding offroad machine. Is it auto or 5spd?

od

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

You're looking at about $2000 to do it right. I did it in an '88 YJ.

Sometimes cheaper and money better spent to gear the axles lower to compensate for larger tires and a lack of power.

 

[yj_rookie]

its a manual 5 speed that is completly stock

 

[bryanjeep]

Ditch the 4 and get an 8.

 

[odjeep]

The 4cyl 5spd wranglers had, i believe, 4.11 gears from the factory which is upgradeable to 4.56 or 4.88 gears without changing the carrier. Those gears would do fine with say a 32-33 inch tire and the 4 banger for mild offroading. Id say, since u dont have the income, put the money into the gears and tires and do the v8 swap at a later date, but thats just my $0.02. Hope this helps.

od

 

[whiterubicon]

If money is tight and you don't have much knowlage of engines yet then I think you should keep the 4 cyl and fix it if it is sick. doing an engine swap is not that hard if you know what you are doing. But it would be a nightmare to take on a job of that nature with limited funds and knowlage. Your jeep can still be a beast. Just take it one step at a time and have fun learning.