Jeep 4.0L to 4.5L stroker build

RRADFORD9ER

New Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2006
Location
Asheville
This thread will document our rebuild of my 2000 Jeep WJ's engine. It had ~140k on the clock when the annoying "tick" turned into something a lot worse!
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I was already over at Chris's shop, getting my LA's repaired and had him take a listen. We knew it was bad, so he dropped the pan to take a look. He found about 1/5 of the #4 piston in the bottom of the oil pan. The picture makes it look a lot worse than it ended up being. Amazingly there was no damage to the cylinder wall!


So I decided since I needed to replace the piston, might as well upgrade while we're in there. Plan is to go with a 4.5L Simple Stroker from Dino Saava's 4.0 performance site. I modified it a little bit b/c the 677cp pistons were hard to find. Most of the work was done in Chris's shop. I had some help from a member of jeepstrokers.com and the local Carquest Machine shop.

Specs:

* Jeep 4.2L 3.895" stroke crank
* Jeep 4.2L 5.875" rods
* Sealed Power H802CP standard bore pistons (dished to 18cc's)
* 9.25:1 SCR
* 7.96:1 DCR
* Stock 4.0 camshaft
* Port & Polish cylinder head
* Mopar/Victor 0.043" head gasket
* 0.081" quench height
* stock injectors with stock 49psi FPR for '96 and later engines
* 247hp @ 4900rpm, 300lbft @ 3500rpm (thats what Dino's site says)


I also decided to bore the TB out to 62mm and replace the exhaust with a Magnaflow.

The teardown pics...

Engine out (it was a real PITA to get it out with 5" of lift and the ARB on the front):
aimg.photobucket.com_albums_v366_rradford9_DSCF3132.jpg


Getting ready for the stand, but didn't have the correct bolts
aimg.photobucket.com_albums_v366_rradford9_DSCF3134.jpg


We got it on the stand the following day and torn down.
aimg.photobucket.com_albums_v366_rradford9_DSCF3138.jpg


aimg.photobucket.com_albums_v366_rradford9_DSCF3137.jpg


aimg.photobucket.com_albums_v366_rradford9_DSCF3136.jpg
 
the parts:

H802CP standard bore pistons, dished to 18cc
aimg.photobucket.com_albums_v366_rradford9_DSCF3149.jpg


OEM throttle body bored to 62mm
aimg.photobucket.com_albums_v366_rradford9_DSCF3150.jpg


Hot tanked & Sandblasted head
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Victor Reinz Gasket Set, Melling oil pump, Piston rings, Cloyes Timing chain, Clevite Main bearings, AMC 258 Rods
aimg.photobucket.com_albums_v366_rradford9_DSCF3156.jpg


Magnaflow 12586 2.5" muffler 5"x11"x22"
aimg.photobucket.com_albums_v366_rradford9_DSCF3159.jpg



The head will go in for the port and polish and I'll have the machine shop install the pistons on the rods Monday. Hopefully we'll have her up and running sometime next week!

Also in but not pictured are the 4.2L crank, rod bearings, and hi-flow cat.

I had all of this typed up as it was ordered, but my laptop HD crashed, so this is all typed from memory/receipts I had laying in front of me. Parts list:
aimg.photobucket.com_albums_v366_rradford9_EngineBuildPricelist.jpg
 
we got the bottom end rebuilt. With the pistons installed I measured a average deck clearance of .042", which, with the .038" compressed gasket height gives me SCR of 9.19:1 with a quench of .080". I wasn't thrilled about the high quench height, but its better than the numbers in Dino's recipe so we'll see how it works out.

aimg.photobucket.com_albums_v366_rradford9_DSCF3162.jpg


aimg.photobucket.com_albums_v366_rradford9_Deckclearance.jpg


We finished up the installation today! The 4.5L started right up on the first try. The motor acted like it hadn't even been out of the jeep. Both Chris and I were pretty amazed. We'll backtrack a bit to get caught up with the pics.


Ported
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Painted up
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Re-installation
aimg.photobucket.com_albums_v366_rradford9_DSCF3165.jpg


FINALLY DONE!
aimg.photobucket.com_albums_v366_rradford9_DSCF3166.jpg


Its working great. We let it idle for a while, then changed the oil. Took it for a 10 minute test drive and everything looks good. I had 87 octane in the tank and we didn't notice any pinging, but I'm planning to run mid-grade while gas is so low! :banana:

Still need to get my exhaust installed, its too quiet right now...
 
Nice writeup. The AMC 258 is a nice engine. My lone rebuild of a 258 put it back to stock. Before headers, it was as quiet and smooth as a sewing machine.
 
I just dropped my stuff off at the machine shop the other day. I'm building a budget 4.7L. What cam did you use? I'm installing a Mopar Performance Stage 1 Purple shaft with matching valve springs. I'm porting a 99 intake to match my ported head.
 
rbo1577186 said:
Who done the head work?
Click to expand...
That was done by Chris (novacayne75 on here).

Rob, I used the stock cam. The 2000 WJ's cam is a dual pattern with a pretty broad power range. I was trying to keep the budget under 1k, so the cam had to stay.
 
RRADFORD9ER said:
Rob, I used the stock cam. The 2000 WJ's cam is a dual pattern with a pretty broad power range. I was trying to keep the budget under 1k, so the cam had to stay.
Click to expand...
Got ya, going to the 4.7L is costing me about 875 bucks when everything is done. But most of the parts I got through my job and the machine shop I'm using is the one we use at the dealership.
 
RRADFORD9ER said:
That was done by Chris (novacayne75 on here).
Rob, I used the stock cam. The 2000 WJ's cam is a dual pattern with a pretty broad power range. I was trying to keep the budget under 1k, so the cam had to stay.
Click to expand...
thats a crappy pic.final cut had not been completed here is some better ones.
ai284.photobucket.com_albums_ll35_novacayne75_100_1217.jpg

ai284.photobucket.com_albums_ll35_novacayne75_100_1225.jpg

this pic shows just how much was removed and intake ports were raised.
ai284.photobucket.com_albums_ll35_novacayne75_100_1210.jpg
 
Couple of questions

I noticed you didn't have the engine block bored. Did you have all the bores checked for wear?

Did you order dished pistons to reduce compression and to do away with the need to run higher octane gas?

Did you just lap in the valves or was a 3 angle valve job done? Upgrade on valves or OME?

What lift springs?

Did you have block and head magnafluxed?

New cam bearings?

Did you have rotating assembly balanced?

Thanks. I am thinking of doing this sometime in near future myself
 
Chris, she hasn't even noticed! I wasn't kidding when I said they never rode in it. The car seat is in the Camry, so thats what the wifey and kid ride in. I'm 99% sure I'll end up going all the way out the back with the exhaust but I wanted to test this setup out first.



upnover said:
Couple of questions
I noticed you didn't have the engine block bored. Did you have all the bores checked for wear?
Yes
Did you order dished pistons to reduce compression and to do away with the need to run higher octane gas?
Yes, increasing the piston dish lowers the CR.
Did you just lap in the valves or was a 3 angle valve job done? Upgrade on valves or OME?
I don't know, but I'm sure novacayne can answer since he did it.
Upgrade on valves or OME? What lift springs?
stock and stock
Did you have block and head magnafluxed?
No, didn't see the need to...
New cam bearings?
Did you have rotating assembly balanced?
No, cam stayed stock and didn't get touched. No balancing either.
Click to expand...

Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll help as best I can.
 
did it help? and how is the gas mpg. as compared to the 4.0 on all the other builds they claim a big improvment ? and u know i have to give u hell on the turndown but it better be fixed after we get the 9" in it :fuck-you: +a tail pipe has better low end tq. numbers than a open muffler or turn down !
 
Yeah, I was wondering how long it'd take you to start. My MPG's are within .5 mpg of what they were with the 4.0 according to the VIC. I've got about 250 miles on it so far and they're almost all stop and go so I expect it to be a little better when mixed with some HWY time. That vid clip really doesn't do it justice (at least on my computer). Its got a deep, slight gurgle to it at idle. I don't think the camera picked up the sound well.
 
I'm currently running Castrol 10w30. I've tried to take it easy on it so far, but my confidence is building that its not going to blow up. LOL I got on it today rolling from about 25 and the acceleration was definitely better. I'd like to take it over to the dyno after 1k miles. I was told the rings would take a while to fully seat with the new pistons and honing. So far it hasn't gone through much oil at all though.
 
I have always wanted to do this with a 4.0L. I just always wonder if its easier in the long run to swap in a v8. I guess for me there is so much chance for error in building a stroker if that makes any since
 
post up a video of it running now
 
cburgin said:
I have always wanted to do this with a 4.0L. I just always wonder if its easier in the long run to swap in a v8. I guess for me there is so much chance for error in building a stroker if that makes any since
Click to expand...
Just do it. Either the parts rotate or they don't. There are plenty of people on here to help with the nagging problems, but they are there whether you stroke the motor or not. All you are changing is the crankshaft and connecting rods, and assuming you use correct new parts, the likely for problems is very low.
 
so how is it? chris is buildin the eng in my brothers tj now im sure its goin to be strong i have riden in his race engines and they are nasty fast.
 
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