jeep
 

my brother bought a early nineties jeep Cherokee and it has 2.5 l and he wants to put a v8 in it can any one suggest the easiest way to do this

http://www.dineaid.com/restaurateurs...s/v8family.JPG

I'd suggest using the cup holder. The v8 should be a snug fit. If you need more detailed instructions feel free to PM me.

Man is there enough room under the hood?

First off, the worst thing he could have done is buy that wimpy v6. underpowered junker. If you want an easy swap with enough power and lots of torque, Put in the I6 that was an option. That and the tranny should be an easy swap in. Its got enough power and lots of really low end torque. If thats not enough power, there are supercharger kits for it. As if the low end torque wasn't already sufficient.

As for v8 swaps, they have been done, and not that bad to do i've heard. The engine bay fits that i6, accessories and radiator all in there with about an inch to spare. That i6 is pretty long, so fitting a v-anything in there shouldn't really be an issue.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...e/fb2ede0a.jpg
Picture kinda blows it outta proportion, but thats a long engine. And it goes all the way to the firewall basically. Tranny is mounted much further back than i woulda expected. v-8 shouldn't be a problem to fit.

V-8 swaps are easy, it's the tranny and axle swap that you'll need that are a little harder. The stock driveline is not up to handling V-8 power.

The 2.5 is not a v6 ;) It's the wimpy little chevy 2.8 v6 that was an option in the late 80s XJ's. Easiest swap would probably be a 350 v8 for plenty of power. You will for sure need motor mounts, a new tranny, and probably a bunch of other stuff, but you should be able to use Advanced Adaptors for the tcase etc, though they won't be cheap. Check out the Cherokee forum at www.jeepsunlimited.com the guys over there are very knowledgeable and will probably be your best bet.

Easiest Might be a 318 Dodge engine......

If you end up putting a different engine in it, you could still go with a Jeep engine. Look at the supercharger available for the 4.7L putting out and extra 136wheel hp. Or get an older 4.0L out of a junkyard or something for cheap, and put a supercharger on it. Will give you quite a bit of power on a kinda light engine. Plus, youll be one of the lucky few with a boosted jeep.

Kinda unrealistic, but just a thought. While we're on hypotheticals, you could aways sell teh one he just got, and buy one with a real motor. :D

I remember I guy next door to me at my old place bought a Dodge V8 Hemi Crate Engine.....he replaced everything on that jeep, to much money.

You would get way more power out of a semi built 350 than a supercharged 4.0... Depending on the year the 4.0 has about 190 hp max, but a good deal of torque. And a 4.7 swap would be doable but incredibly hard. Burnville offroad, a local 4x4 shop made a 4.7 TJ, but they said it was a tough swap, and they've done a Viper V10 TJ, so if they think the 4.7 swap is tough, it has to be ;) I own two Jeeps, one with the 4.0 and one with the 4.7. The 4.7 is a nice motor for a stock car, but would definetly not be worth all the time/hassle of swaping one in, and don't get me started on the 4.0... its a great motor for offroad, but is a severe dog. Also, the supercharger available for the 4.0 is from Accurate Power I believe, and while they look like a good company, the one guy I have heard of buying stuff from them: 4.6L stroker kit for his 4.0, has gotten the real runaround now that his motor they built him burns a quart of oil every 1000 miles or so after the rebuild. They claim this is normal with under 10k miles on the motor... uh huh, so I would not really trust their customer service. SBC is probably going to be your best bet cost and ease wise, as there is a kit to swap a 350 into just about anything, and if you get a 1987+ block there are performance parts out the wazoo for them. Not that there aren't for the 1986 and older, but it's just a little more work to make it all work with the emissions systems etc.

"and don't get me started on the 4.0... its a great motor for offroad, but is a severe dog"

What do you mean? Im not saying your wrong, just curious what you mean. My 4.0 has nothing doggy about it. Considering its geared for off road, its amazing what it can do on the road. Its truly amazing what i can beat if im feeling crazy enough to rev the hell out of it (3.5k is really high for me, 4k if im completely insane.)

But yeah, only 190HP, 235 lb/ft of torque though.

Heaven forbid a jeep should ever get off the pavement :D You'd probably, like, scratch the paint or something.

The 4.0 HO is a sweet engine in the XJ and everything fits nicely 'cause it stock. And if your out on the trail someone probably has a spare for what ever you just broke. It's the way I'd go.