ZJ stroker build

[Jeff B]

it also mentions that it is not for fuel injected engines which throws me off

I put a "not for fuel injected" cam in my stroker. I did have to upgrade springs and retainers. No issues.

 

[98zjstroker]

I put a "not for fuel injected" cam in my stroker. I did have to upgrade springs and retainers. No issues.

Ok so does that mean the springs, retainers, and locks in the kit will work? Or do I just get the cam and order the rest separately?

 

[Jody Treadway]

In my experience, I have used their cam and lifters along with their springs (or the OEM upgrade ones that we have mentioned a few dozen times). No need for the different locks. Buy your timing chain kit wherever you please.

I have never bought their "kit". I have dozens of times done exactly what I just posted.

 

[98zjstroker]

I ended up going with cleggs stage one camshaft kit. after talking with Russ more I learned that his cams have a custom grind to make the lobe separation angle at 114 degrees. Per Russ although you can throw in a off the shelf cam, it will not run optimally and will in fact have vacuum issues. This is why he has the 114 degrees to fix this. After checking out the specs of cleggs who use a performance howard cam, they also have this same lobe separation angle Russ recommends. The whole kit just made it easier because it had everything I needed (howard cam, howard performance lifters, pushrods, timing kit, and springs) for under $400.



Cam installed

 

[98zjstroker]

timing gears and chain installed



new oil pump installed

 

[98zjstroker]

mild port job done myself, part of me wanted to go a little more crazy but since this is the first port job I did I figured I wouldn't just incase. Pic isn't all that great



valves installed (3 angle valve job done at the machine shop.



Springs and retainers installed with how they did the valves. The retainers now have three grooves along with the valves.

 

[98zjstroker]

Been a while since I have updated anything. Been doing small stuff here and there a little at a time.

 

[98zjstroker]

Got the timing chain, gears, cover and balancer on

 

[98zjstroker]

Had some fitment issues with the oil pan. Like most already know you have to put some washers in to get the girdle to clear the rods. Got a cheap set and lowes. This caused the oil pan to not fit. Tried banging it out with a mallet like I saw others do but didnt really make progress. Ended up just using my body weight to form it around

 

[98zjstroker]

My fat ass seemed to have worked better. After bolting it on I turned the motor over just to make sure there were no issues. Dont have any pics of the push rod install but let me say boy that was fun figuring out. But its finally done with valve cover installed

 

[98zjstroker]

Originally I was going to order some flow daddy headers off of rusty's website. After shipping itnwould be $280. Found a review video on YouTube for a blackhorse racing header install on a zj. Looked more into it and it looks like the exact same design without any fitment issues. And for only $71 so I ordered one

 

[98zjstroker]

When they came in I was impressed with how well they looked. Would lie if I said I wasnt worried about fitment issues still but everything fit like a charm! Obviously have to wait after running the motor for a while to see how it performs and lasts but as of now I definitely recommend. Shipping was free. Said 1-10 business days so I figured it would at least be two weeks. Turns out it shipped from Atlanta so after ordering it on Tuesday I arrived on Thursday that same week. So less then a third of the price with no fitment issues and 2 day arrival it's worth trying

 

[skyhighZJ]

I bought and ran a chinesium ebay header on mine. Good quality, fitment, and quick shipping. I think there are lots of places a dude can save $$ if they pay attention and do the research.

 

[98zjstroker]

Going to run to the junkyard Wednesday because I need a new ac/alternator bracket that had been damaged before I started this project. Thinking I might pick up a 99+ intake as well. Heard it does great even on a stock motor.

 

[98zjstroker]

I bought and ran a chinesium ebay header on mine. Good quality, fitment, and quick shipping. I think there are lots of places a dude can save $$ if they pay attention and do the research.

I was looking at those but was worried about quality and fitment. A local shop here in Concord that does 4.0 builds used an Ebay special with no complaints

 

[98zjstroker]

The old damaged bracket vs the new one

 

[98zjstroker]

Ouch! Damage to myself trying to get this intake off the junker. All the bolts were rusted and one of the bottom middle ones didnt want to break free. Of course I forgot the breaker bar I use. Only took a week to heal but it was worth it for my 99intake

 

[98zjstroker]

New 4 pin injectors came in and finally got around to porting out the 99 intake. Also increased the throttle body opening to 63mm. Looking to eventually get an upgraded ported out throttle body once the jeep is up and running.

 

[WOTWJ]

Really digging the build. I like the home porting you've done on the head and the 99 intake. Have you thought about porting the stock TB? I have home ported almost every TB I've owned with good success. I typically always half shaft them, if not eliminate the shaft altogether. Nice research done on the cam as well. Are ford injectors 4 hole? What lb/hour injectors are you using? I might have to look into the Blackhorse racing header myself, mine has cracked and I almost hate to pull the one off my parts WJ for that price.

 

[98zjstroker]

Really digging the build. I like the home porting you've done on the head and the 99 intake. Have you thought about porting the stock TB? I have home ported almost every TB I've owned with good success. I typically always half shaft them, if not eliminate the shaft altogether. Nice research done on the cam as well. Are ford injectors 4 hole? What lb/hour injectors are you using? I might have to look into the Blackhorse racing header myself, mine has cracked and I almost hate to pull the one off my parts WJ for that price.

Thanks! I was worried about the home porting job just because you always here about horror stories doing it yourself. But when it came down to the price ($1000) just for the head and that is with everything disassembled already I had to try myself. It was really not that bad. I got a little worried when I took the motor back to the machine shop and the guy was complimenting how great it was. I actually thought that he was being sarcastic because of how excited he was. Honestly I wish I would have spent a few more days opening up the head more but since its put together I am not bothering with it.

I thought about doing the TB myself but it seems a bit more complicated. I have heard that if not done right you can get some kind of "whistling" noise and that you can also end up loosing a lot of power. Not sure what that's about. Not even sure what I would use to do it, maybe the cylinder honing tool? half shafting is a good idea and you have might peaked my interest in doing that myself. Another issue that I would have if I ported it myself is a larger size plate after porting. Leigh Performance Machine has the ported TB from the stock 55mm to 63mm for $100. That price seams reasonable for what your getting. ( I could be wrong)

the injectors themselves I ordered from Remanufactured: 4 Port Injector Upgrade ZJ. I was debating about the 4/6/12 pin holes and the benefits/cons of each. The research I did and info I was able to find is that for the most part they flow the same (actually watched video review with someone checking the flow of each at the same time). there was very little to no difference in flow rate except for when you got the cheap crap that was all over the place. Another thing I found was that even though a lot of people recommend the higher flow 24/lb injectors often times they lead to the ECU staying in an open loop and running rich. A problem I read a lot of jeeps already do. This same person was able to use I believe 19/lb injectors without any issues with his stroker.

I went with the 4 pin hole injectors off a theory a friend of mine and myself came to. Even though the more holes (like the 12) will give you better atomization of fuel, each hole itself will have to be smaller to fit in the same space, so you run the possibility of clogging up the injectors easier. (again pure theory) This will not be beneficial in the long run and give more issues. The 4 pin still has 400% increase in holes compared to the stock so much improved atomization over stock. this should be plenty.

 

[98zjstroker]

[QUOTE="WOTWJ, I might have to look into the Blackhorse racing header myself, mine has cracked and I almost hate to pull the one off my parts WJ for that price.[/QUOTE]

Oh and I would definitely look into Blackhorse. Not knocking rusty' s (I have bought there products and love them) and /or flow daddy which is a good brand. But the price difference is a huge savings. literally a third the cost. And the design is the same from what I can see, fitment is excellent as well. As to the longevity of them well.....in time I will be able to say.

 

[98zjstroker]

Sorry been a bit busy now that classes started back up. Catching up on the build progress! Dropped the motor in last month. Had some issues with Turing the torque converter at first but after a few rotations in broke loose and moved freely so I could bolt it to the flexplate.

 

[98zjstroker]

4 port hole injectors from K Suspension are in along with the new severe duty fan clutch from Hayden. Should help out with any overheating issues. Had to pick up a new fam since I threw mine out back when I was planning to do a dual electric fan

 

[98zjstroker]

Figured I would post some vacuum line pics of how I rerouted everything after upgrading to the newer 99 intake off an xj

 

[98zjstroker]

Newer intake has 3 port holes on the side and another 3 on top. I pulled one smaller port off the old intake and replaced a larger one on the new intake and then threw the old sensor in to have everything work out. While at the junk yard i grabbed some extra hard plastic vacuum lines and elbows which helped me route stuff.

All in all it was very easy