[fast64]

To make a long story short, I had some serious engine trouble yesterday and I am probably going to be tearing into the motor here shortly. I am pretty sure I blew the head gasket, but haven't really had time to look the engine over to make sure that is what happened.

Anyway, I need to get the XJ back on the road quick, so I am probably just going to replace the headgasket this weekend while at the same time doing some preventative maintenence and making sure I don't have a cracked head, warped head, etc.

That being said, just for fun, I decided to look around online today and see what I could do as far as putting together a little bigger engine over the summer and swapping it in when its done. I don't plan on spending a huge amount of money on this and have two ideas in mind:

1. Jeep I6 stroker: http://www.ajeepthing.com/stroker-motor.html I read through that page for awhile and I think the 4.5L "Poorman's Stroker" is my best choice because I can really just build a bottom end and swap alot over from my engine now. Can a get a reliable engine out of the 4.5L? How much do y'all think it would cost to put together? (Most importantly) How does a stroked 4.0 sound?

2. Ford 5.0L engine swap. This is just a fun idea really, since I do have a blown, fuel injected 5.0 just sitting in my garage collecting dust for now Has anyone ever swapped a v8 into and XJ? Will it even fit?



Hopefully leadnotfollow and anyone else that has experience with either a stroker or a swap will chime in.

[balloo93]

Cost of stroker motors will depend heavily on how you go about buying the parts and putting it together. You can get a complete kit from HESCO or you can buy parts here and there.

If you search stroker on here, it will turn up SEVERAL links to various avanues you can take.

Factor in the cost of the bore or vatting and machining if needed. Call a local shop for those prices. You can run custom pistons or deal with the stock units. There are just so many variables in this kind of build up to really figure out a figure.

V8 swaps have been done, but require some work, and I wouldn't recommend it in your dd vehicle. It's like the old saying goes: You can make anything fit with the right combo of time, money, and/or skill. Figure out what you want to keep driveline wise and if they make adpaters to fit it.