What is the easy/cheap engine swap in a 94 Wrangler

Speed Freak

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Jun 28, 2005
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High Point
I know this has probably been covered 1000 times but I am new to this and short on information and horse power. I also know nothing in the wrold of 4x4 is easy or cheap but just humer me and let me know how to get more power for my YJ with out missing the season or breaking the bank. I have a 94 YJ with a 2.5 and ax-5 (grinding going into 3rd gear). I hate the lack of power in 2wd. 4wd seems to be ok but leaving a red light or riding the trails in 2wd is a crap shoot. I love the FI and would like to stay that way. I see guys on the trial that can't keep their rigs running when in a difficult situation and I don't want that. So what do I do V8, V6, 4.0 shoot myself in the head?
 
Buy the adult model, sell the kids Jeep
 
Possible upgrades are largely Dependant on how deep your pockets are and how much of it you can do yourself.

IF the 2.5 runs well, you might want to keep it, and go deeper with your gears. CYJKrawler in this board still runs a 2.5 and goes great with one ton's and 7 somethings in the pumpkins. But, it's more or less a trailer queen like mine.

a 4.0 is a good swap, and plentiful. You will need the wiring harness and putor from the donor though.

as mentioned above stroking a 4.0 is a great upgrade, needing a 4.0 to build and a crank and rods from a 4.2(258) gives great power.

a small block Chevy is another way to go, cheap to build, but you will also need another tranny and t-case, but if you find a whole donor rig, it won't be too costly, if you can do some of the work yourself. IF it's a trail only rig add propane and like FI it runs great on the trail.

the possibility's are endless really, if all depends like I said before on how much you can do, and how much you are willing to spend.
 
Anything you swap with fuel injection you will need the donor computer.

Small block Chevy's seem to be a popular swap and there is alot of information on it. You can get into thousands of dollars with this swap according to what needs to be done to the new motor and how much you can yourself.

4.0L Jeep engine is a good swap. Stroke it out and you get twice the power and torque from it. Plus it will blt into a Jeep with no problem. Again this swap can run into the thousands of dollars according to how much you can do.

With any swap you will need to get a new transmission, new motor mounts IMO, new cooling (radiator), sometimes new alternator for more output, and new exhuast.
 
chevy 4.3 & a sm 465
 
you could do a Northstar or Shortstar, or a buick v6... all those would technically bolt up to the tranny, but i wouldnt really recommend using the stock tranny with anything.....
 
if you are going to spend the money you might as well go with a chevy V8. just as easy as anything else and tons of power. no motor swap is going to be cheap nor will it be easy. unless you happen to find some parts or know somebody that has something you could use then it is going to be pretty expensive.
 
I was looking for a motor for a yj project too. I picked up a wrecked 94 ZJ and pulled the 5.2L out of it. Using a tf727 tranny and a np242 xfer case. good luck with the build
 
I know everybody loves that fuel injection

but I would like to see somebody going old school

maybe building a carbed 360 and putting it in a YJ or TJ

not sure what you would do with all the computer crap though
 
I have a '93 4.0 w/AW4 auto for $250.00. You'll have to use your own t-case, though.
 
Speed Freak said:
I know this has probably been covered 1000 times but I am new to this and short on information and horse power. I also know nothing in the wrold of 4x4 is easy or cheap but just humer me and let me know how to get more power for my YJ with out missing the season or breaking the bank. I have a 94 YJ with a 2.5 and ax-5 (grinding going into 3rd gear). I hate the lack of power in 2wd. 4wd seems to be ok but leaving a red light or riding the trails in 2wd is a crap shoot. I love the FI and would like to stay that way. I see guys on the trial that can't keep their rigs running when in a difficult situation and I don't want that. So what do I do V8, V6, 4.0 shoot myself in the head?
Click to expand...

You are absolutely right that nothing will be easy OR cheap. Easiest and cheapest route will be to swap in a new AX5 and regear your existing setup to match the larger tires you put on. I'd go with 4.88's to put you back in the power band of the 4 cyl.

Now, assuming you want more power than that, start looking for deals on Chevy powertrain components. There is a TON of aftermarket support for Chevy stuff. When I built mine, I found a deal on a 50,000 mile TBI 4.3 liter with computer but no harness for $400. I missed the deal by 10 minutes. The next deal I found was for a Tuned Port Injection 305 out of a Formula Firebird with 40,000 miles on it, complete with AC compressor, computer and harness for $500. I also found an SM465/ Dana 20 combo out of a 70 Chevy Blazer for $200 complete with shifters.

This put the front output on the wrong side, so instead of buying an adapter to adapt my NP231 to the SM465 (which in hidn-sight, may have been a smarter move), I scored a pair of Scout II Dana 44's for $200. They were geared 3.07, which really sucked off-road, but was livable because of the low granny gear.

All together, I probably had about $3000 into my re-build, but was able to space out paying for stuff as I went. The total build time was about a year. Just remember that one upgrade usually leads to several more.
 
upnover said:
CYJKrawler in this board still runs a 2.5 and goes great with one ton's and 7 somethings in the pumpkins. But, it's more or less a trailer queen like mine. /QUOTE]
Thanks for the complement, Chip :) The 2.5 actually worked so good at Tellico this weekend that I will be selling the V8 and propane stuff I have been accumulating for a swap. Rode School Bus, Guardrail/Helicopter Pad, Lower and Upper 2 and Slick Rock Friday with NO problems. Used a 1/4 tank of gas for two days riding!
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Jon!
Well I fixed my power problem and my axle problem yesterday all at the same time. I bought a 94 YJ with a 4.0,AMC20 Rear and a Dana 44 up front. With the little I have driven it I am super happy with the performance. I hate I didn't actually build it, but the price was right and it's what I was going to do anyway. I will be testing it out at URE this weekend. Thanks guys for all the help and advise.

Hey John,
You know how to make a guy feel bag! LOL
 
I'm heading down for the workday on Saturday I think. Come on out and help with the bridge and then we'll ride some, no trail pass required!
 
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