Question on 6 Cyl. Swap

[cmoxey]

Hello all,
I have a 1981 CJ5 with a 4cyl engine, a s4, tranny and a Dana 300 Transfer Case . The Engine is shot, so I wanted to explore installing a newer 1995 or newer fuel injected straight 6 out of a Grand Cherokee or similar out of a donor vehicle. The engine will come with all the accessories and the computer and the wiring harness all for under $1000. A couple questions I have are

1. Will the 6cyl bolt up to the existing bell housing that I have off of the 4cyl?

2. How do I deal with the fact that 1995 or newer vehicle may have had anti lock breaks, anti theft, and other new computer inputs that would no longer be on the 1981CJ?

3. Is the Transmission that I have going to handle the 6cyl?

Thanks for the input. Just trying to make this thing run without breaking the bank.

 

[cmoxey]

Missed a letter on the tranny.. SR4 Transmission ..

 

[Jawbox]

As you probably already figured out, there's not much hope for reusing a SR4 . The good news is that you can look for a mated engine\Transmission instead. Maybe target guys swapping out their 6's for 8's.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

The 1981 CJ I4 is the “Iron Duke” which in reality is a Chevy motor so the bolt pattern on the bell housing will not match the I6-4.0. Most likely you will want to toss the tranny too if stock as the SR4 will only be the weak link in your powertrain. Whatever Transmission you select will need to be able to adapt to the Dana 300 Transfer Case you have as all of the Jeeps that use the 4.0 motor had transfer cases with driver side drop for the front drive line. It would be best to buy the whole donor vehicle if possible then use it to set up your swap and part out/recycle whatever is left; be sure to get the computer and wiring harness so you have all the connectors needed to do the job no mater what.

 

[cmoxey]

Thanks for the info... I would buy the whole donor vehicle, except the vehicle is an automatic. On another note, is there going to be any issues with the computer not having some of the inputs that it is expecting...anti lock brakes, anti theft and I am sure some others that I am not realizing right now?

thanks again

 

[cmoxey]

I picked up a 1998 4.0L engine with an electric fan, cold air intake, header, ac converted to an air pump, and a ax-15 Transmission today.. I called Advanced adapters to see what exactly I would need to install this into my CJ5 and the guy on the phone told me that you couldn't put an ax15 into a cj without cutting and extending the frame and body...????......I know that someone has had to have done this swap... any ideas...can I move the engine forward to make room for the longer Transmission ?

thanks

 

[computeruser]

There's nowhere to move the engine forward to. The short wheelbase of the -5 means you need a SHORT little Transmission , which rules out most newer, aluminum case ones such as the AX15.