v8 swap
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YouCanDoIt
New member
I found the 350 for my YJ on CraigsList at a machine shop, I dont know where you live, but seems to me right now you can find one there just as easy or easier than a yard. I had no luck finding one in Colorado Springs. But the combo your looking for I think can be found in several years of GM/Chevy trucks, blazers, suburbans etc. Kind of depends on what your looking for too, carb or EFI. Good luck in your search.
Boze
New member
Well funny you should ask. I have been researching this very topic for the last couple weeks. If you are going to do something as serious as a full v8 conversion to your jeep, you need to ask yourself a few questions before you just jump into it.
1) Is your Jeep a daily driver? (and if so, what sort of commute are we talking?)
2) Is gas mileage an issue?
3) Are you looking for mind bending torque, or more topend horse power (for sand etc.)
4) EFI or carburated?
5) Can your axels handle a v8?
6) (and nowhere near last, but probably MOST important) What kind of budget do you have?
This isn't to discourage you, just to get a better feel for what you are looking to do. I am personaly holding out for a late 90's vortec 5.7 chevy out of either a Suburban, Tahoe/Yukon, or 1500 Silverado. With the reason being, My Dad has had his '97 Burban for some time now and that engine is ROCK solid, gets good mileage (for what it is), and pulls like a monster. It pushes that 8 million ton Suburban no sweat, so I can only imagine what it would do to my YJ. Also, and most importantly to me, you can find them for a good price. Also, the install isn't suposed to be all that difficult. There are plenty of wiring harnesses etc. to make the swap easy. The only problem is, the D35 rearend on a wrangler wont last long under the load of ANY V8...So, that's my two cents. Hope it helps. SteelHeadz and BountyHunter seem to know alot more about this sort of thing than I do, I'm sure they'll weigh in. Good luck, have fun.
Boze
1) Is your Jeep a daily driver? (and if so, what sort of commute are we talking?)
2) Is gas mileage an issue?
3) Are you looking for mind bending torque, or more topend horse power (for sand etc.)
4) EFI or carburated?
5) Can your axels handle a v8?
6) (and nowhere near last, but probably MOST important) What kind of budget do you have?
This isn't to discourage you, just to get a better feel for what you are looking to do. I am personaly holding out for a late 90's vortec 5.7 chevy out of either a Suburban, Tahoe/Yukon, or 1500 Silverado. With the reason being, My Dad has had his '97 Burban for some time now and that engine is ROCK solid, gets good mileage (for what it is), and pulls like a monster. It pushes that 8 million ton Suburban no sweat, so I can only imagine what it would do to my YJ. Also, and most importantly to me, you can find them for a good price. Also, the install isn't suposed to be all that difficult. There are plenty of wiring harnesses etc. to make the swap easy. The only problem is, the D35 rearend on a wrangler wont last long under the load of ANY V8...So, that's my two cents. Hope it helps. SteelHeadz and BountyHunter seem to know alot more about this sort of thing than I do, I'm sure they'll weigh in. Good luck, have fun.
Boze
RangerRick
New member
Re: v8 swap " Life IS Good!"
My CJ had a 2.5L AMC in it originally. I was getting 12-14MPG avg I bought a 2000 Vortec 5700 V8 engine that basically is what you'd get in a Suburban, C/K series pickup or a Van. My CJ now get's 19 to 21 MPG avg. I recommend buying the entire vehicle if you use a junkyard engine so you have all the small things that you may not think about up front if possible. Stock axles won't in most cases be adequate for the swap and will need to be addressed eventually. Make sure you get everything on OBD II vehicles including the exhaust system for the up/down stream O2 sensors, catalytic converters and computer. If going with an automagic transmission, unless you have a long wheelbase Jeep such as an LJ Unlimited, CJ-8 Scrambler or CJ-6 Jeep, id avoid the 3/4 & 1 ton 4L80E because you will have a very short rear driveshaft and on a CJ-5, it's not even really possible. The 4L60E is great for wheeling and is short enough you can use it in CJ-7 YJ & TJ's without much trouble. There are cradles or engine mount adapters to install most common V8 engines and if you own a CJ, you might not even need any adapters depending on year etc. Some Ford engines convert well like 5.0's depending on transmission if you're trying to keep a Jeep manual transmission in your vehicle.
As far as what's best for you as a donor depends on what year Jeep you own and if you have to worry about the smog nazzis coming down on you. Generally if the year of the engine is newer than the vehicle and it has all smog equipment that was required on that year, it can be made to pass in most smog states.
Example is my 85 CJ, the motor must be equal to or newer than 85 and must have at least the smog equipment originally on an 85 light truck. If it has a newer engine and the newer engines car or light truck emissions, it will pass. However, if I tried to put a 1963 engine that has no EGR, no PCV valve, no air pump, no cats, no evap canister, has a road draft tube and an oil bath air cleaner, that would not pass obviously. If I put a Diesel engine in my CJ, it would exempt it from further inspection and that would be cool but I couldn't find a 4BT for as cheap so I went with plan V.... As in Vortec. As far as whats right parts wise, CJ's are easiest to V8 because they came with them new at one point so it's easy. Wranglers require a bit more work but YJ's are actually real easy especially pre-EFI 1991's. You will have to most likely change the transmission and that in turn will affect the T-Case and driveshafts plus you may blow up your stock driveline anyway if trying to use it with anything more than 28" tall tires. I know because I had to eventually put 1/2-3/4 ton axles under my CJ so they would live for more than 15 minutes. So one should budget all these factors before ripping the engine out because one change begot another and another down the line if you know what I mean. I am glad I dumped the 4 banger and doubled up on the number of jugs under the hood and if you ask would I do it again? That's a NO BRAINER!
In my case the net results:
Horsepower went up 2.5X
Torque almost trippled
Economy up 5 MPG
The all important FUN FACTOR Up 10 fold
One of the 7 wonders of the wheeling world: To drive a V8 powered short Jeep!
Cost: $800 Vortec Engine with 4,000 miles on the mill including sensors, computer & wiring
M.O.R.E. Bomb-Proof motor mounts $225
EFI miscellaneous stuff $300
$250 for the clutch kit and flywheel to fit the V8 engine
$180 for the new 33" TSL's after burning off the first set of BFG's in exposition 4 wheel burnouts
$LOTS$ for the replacement axles to handle the power after blowing up the AMC 20 four times!
My CJ had a 2.5L AMC in it originally. I was getting 12-14MPG avg I bought a 2000 Vortec 5700 V8 engine that basically is what you'd get in a Suburban, C/K series pickup or a Van. My CJ now get's 19 to 21 MPG avg. I recommend buying the entire vehicle if you use a junkyard engine so you have all the small things that you may not think about up front if possible. Stock axles won't in most cases be adequate for the swap and will need to be addressed eventually. Make sure you get everything on OBD II vehicles including the exhaust system for the up/down stream O2 sensors, catalytic converters and computer. If going with an automagic transmission, unless you have a long wheelbase Jeep such as an LJ Unlimited, CJ-8 Scrambler or CJ-6 Jeep, id avoid the 3/4 & 1 ton 4L80E because you will have a very short rear driveshaft and on a CJ-5, it's not even really possible. The 4L60E is great for wheeling and is short enough you can use it in CJ-7 YJ & TJ's without much trouble. There are cradles or engine mount adapters to install most common V8 engines and if you own a CJ, you might not even need any adapters depending on year etc. Some Ford engines convert well like 5.0's depending on transmission if you're trying to keep a Jeep manual transmission in your vehicle.
As far as what's best for you as a donor depends on what year Jeep you own and if you have to worry about the smog nazzis coming down on you. Generally if the year of the engine is newer than the vehicle and it has all smog equipment that was required on that year, it can be made to pass in most smog states.
Example is my 85 CJ, the motor must be equal to or newer than 85 and must have at least the smog equipment originally on an 85 light truck. If it has a newer engine and the newer engines car or light truck emissions, it will pass. However, if I tried to put a 1963 engine that has no EGR, no PCV valve, no air pump, no cats, no evap canister, has a road draft tube and an oil bath air cleaner, that would not pass obviously. If I put a Diesel engine in my CJ, it would exempt it from further inspection and that would be cool but I couldn't find a 4BT for as cheap so I went with plan V.... As in Vortec. As far as whats right parts wise, CJ's are easiest to V8 because they came with them new at one point so it's easy. Wranglers require a bit more work but YJ's are actually real easy especially pre-EFI 1991's. You will have to most likely change the transmission and that in turn will affect the T-Case and driveshafts plus you may blow up your stock driveline anyway if trying to use it with anything more than 28" tall tires. I know because I had to eventually put 1/2-3/4 ton axles under my CJ so they would live for more than 15 minutes. So one should budget all these factors before ripping the engine out because one change begot another and another down the line if you know what I mean. I am glad I dumped the 4 banger and doubled up on the number of jugs under the hood and if you ask would I do it again? That's a NO BRAINER!
In my case the net results:
Horsepower went up 2.5X
Torque almost trippled
Economy up 5 MPG
The all important FUN FACTOR Up 10 fold
One of the 7 wonders of the wheeling world: To drive a V8 powered short Jeep!
Cost: $800 Vortec Engine with 4,000 miles on the mill including sensors, computer & wiring
M.O.R.E. Bomb-Proof motor mounts $225
EFI miscellaneous stuff $300
$250 for the clutch kit and flywheel to fit the V8 engine
$180 for the new 33" TSL's after burning off the first set of BFG's in exposition 4 wheel burnouts
$LOTS$ for the replacement axles to handle the power after blowing up the AMC 20 four times!
Last edited:
Collin the Hen
New member
Re: v8 swap " Life IS Good!"
Using my highly coveted math skills, I have concluded the following:
Dumb driving = broken parts
Using my highly coveted math skills, I have concluded the following:
Dumb driving = broken parts
SteelHeadz
Super Moderator
sorry guys, i left out some valuable info i have a 2005 LJ, auto, front is a d35,rear is a d44.
I dident find what i was looking for yet.
So, whats a good doner truck/suv for a 350/trans combo ?? (gm/chevy or ford) make, modle, year. please.
My jeep is my daily driver gas is not an issue considering my jeep is 4yrs. old and i only have 13200 miles on it.Iam looking for more power and torque.I do trails and lots of stick,gooey, mud.I havent tried rocks yet not a fan of going slow.Iam just looking gathering parts for now ,the big install will be in late fall or a winter project.
thanks for the help
tyler.
I dident find what i was looking for yet.
So, whats a good doner truck/suv for a 350/trans combo ?? (gm/chevy or ford) make, modle, year. please.
My jeep is my daily driver gas is not an issue considering my jeep is 4yrs. old and i only have 13200 miles on it.Iam looking for more power and torque.I do trails and lots of stick,gooey, mud.I havent tried rocks yet not a fan of going slow.Iam just looking gathering parts for now ,the big install will be in late fall or a winter project.
thanks for the help
tyler.
Collin the Hen
New member
At the cost of a swap, you might as well modify your engine with the breathing goodies. You could even try stroking it using 4.2 parts. Tossing a 13000 mile 4.0 in favor of a 100000+ mile 350 would, well, be just flatout dumb. :???: It's your Jeep, though.
That's for sure!!! But my choice for a swap (down the road) would be a 318! they put em in Grand Cherokes; so it should not be all that hard to retro fit one into a YJ/TJ; once my nephew hets doen tearing up his TJ (4 cyl lmajor lack o maintenance drive it til it's so hot it dies, kind of kid) I may just have a guinea pig for the swap but I'd be very tempted to go CARB'D! (though a factory GC harness and computer oughtta be a plug n play) Mopar bought the Jeep brand; Keep your mopar ALL Mopar!
