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My Magnum TJ, project "Whoops my stroker wiped it's cam bearings"

137K views 452 replies 55 participants last post by  jpin86 
#1 ·
My Magnum TJ, project "Whoops my stroker wiped it's cam bearings... again"

So, I'm already about three weeks into my Magnum swap, but wanted to start a build thread and kinda go through it chronologically from the start up to where I am right now. Background- I built a no-corners-cut very expensive stroker motor back in 2011, that I had NOTHING but problems with... I had it in and out of the jeep four times in a two year period- first it sunk a valve, then it wiped its cam bearings twice... A warning to anyone even contemplating building a stroker motor... there are a LOT of problems with them and people often keep their motor failures hush-hush, but they're not all they're hyped up to be, and mine caused me nothing but grief and thousands of wasted dollars. If you want, you can view my stroker project thread on that popular jeep strokers dot com site.

Anyway, after it most recently wiped its cam bearings again, and nobody could give me any answers as to how or why... machine shop... Lunati.... Bullet cams.... Durabond... other stroker folks/builders... I decided there was no way I was putting another dime into that motor, so I started looking for alternatives. After much research, I decided on a magnum v8 swap.

I looked around for a 5.9, but I wanted a full donor vehicle, and I wanted the vehicle to be out of the same year as my jeep (98)- one day I happened upon a 98 Durango with a 5.2 on craigslist that had recent front end damage. The thing ran just fine save for a busted radiator and front crossmember, so I picked the whole thing up for $800, took the drivetrain out of it, and sold the rolling chassis to a junkyard for $300- I live in a townhouse and while I have a single garage bay and a driveway, there was no way I'd have been willing to keep the Durango carcass floating around for months while I parted the thing out... I wanted it in and out of there. I'm sure my neighbors thank me.

Anyway, here's the Donorango...


And here's me tearing out its guts...


Had my ex-offensive tackle neighbor help stabilize the crane for me, that thing doesn't roll easily on concrete with an 800-900 lb load, hehe


And finally, here's the tiny-a$$ garage where all the magic will happen... you can see I'm "bleeding" the old auto trans, I kinda felt like an executioner at this point with the 'Rango... tearing out its guts and hanging them up to dry
 
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#132 ·
jpin86 said:
Looks good! Question... What brackets or kit did you use on the 8.8, and are you running wheel spacers?
Honestly I don't remember what brackets I used, I built the axle about 8 years ago, this was just a regear. No wheel spacers, width is very close to Dana 35
 
#135 ·
freaknajeep said:
Rock on bro...I got to do that to both the axles in the big jeep..did you have to make set-up bearings?
I did- used a Rotozip with a dremel flap wheel bit to open up my old pinion bearings after pressing them off- still got em will mail them to you if you have an 8.8
 
#136 ·
Thanks for the offer...but I have a hp44 front and a 60 rear...the 60 had been pretty rock solid...only had to replace pinion bearings once in 5 yrs...the 44 however had had oh 3 maybe 4 complete sets of internals(carrier,bearings,ring n pinion, etc..)...but at $38 a build less fluids and shaft joints it was worth it (I guess)...id just make a quick trip to salvage yard and look for "any" ford fullsize from 78-96 snatch the carrier n gears if a straight axle and whole third member if an ifs(better cause you get correct shimming...lol...and no shortage of them)...lol....but the 3:54s were ok with 40's in 4low but that was also behind a 231/242 hybrid tcase with 2:72 ratio...my 205 only has 1.9:1 ratio and I went up to 44's...erbody was like dude you need some 5.13's...I'm like nope, did my research the g-2 4.56's are the least warranteed set they make..not so big they break and not no small as to over-torque the pinion bearings...how many tries did it take to get pattern right...since I've either just reused what I had shim wise or used the ones that came with donor chunk, I've never "correctly" built an axle...slap it together turn it not to tight and not too sloppy and boom 1 hour later and bottoms bound I was...it was no good for my trucks to live 4 blocks from the "playground(15miles of trails n carnage along the wolf river in Memphis tn) with a beet store inbetween...poor trucks...lol
 
#137 ·
freaknajeep said:
Thanks for the offer...but I have a hp44 front and a 60 rear...the 60 had been pretty rock solid...only had to replace pinion bearings once in 5 yrs...the 44 however had had oh 3 maybe 4 complete sets of internals(carrier,bearings,ring n pinion, etc..)...but at $38 a build less fluids and shaft joints it was worth it (I guess)...id just make a quick trip to salvage yard and look for "any" ford fullsize from 78-96 snatch the carrier n gears if a straight axle and whole third member if an ifs(better cause you get correct shimming...lol...and no shortage of them)...lol....but the 3:54s were ok with 40's in 4low but that was also behind a 231/242 hybrid tcase with 2:72 ratio...my 205 only has 1.9:1 ratio and I went up to 44's...erbody was like dude you need some 5.13's...I'm like nope, did my research the g-2 4.56's are the least warranteed set they make..not so big they break and not no small as to over-torque the pinion bearings...how many tries did it take to get pattern right...since I've either just reused what I had shim wise or used the ones that came with donor chunk, I've never "correctly" built an axle...slap it together turn it not to tight and not too sloppy and boom 1 hour later and bottoms bound I was...it was no good for my trucks to live 4 blocks from the "playground(15miles of trails n carnage along the wolf river in Memphis tn) with a beet store inbetween...poor trucks...lol
This was my first axle- took a whole afternoon to arrive at final pattern- initial pattern with old shims was WAY too shallow-

Initial

Hood Automotive lighting Automotive tire Motor vehicle Tread


Hood Automotive lighting Automotive tire Motor vehicle Bumper


Final

Saba banana Automotive lighting Plant Cooking plantain Hood


Flower Plant Petal Tints and shades Flowering plant


I think I could do a second 8.8 regear in-vehicle in a couple of hours since I have setup bearings now and tools that I built during the process
 
#140 ·
Amazing write up....this really has me tempted, excited to see the mpg numbers after the regear.
Great write up! Loved finally seeing someone listing what sensors had to be changed.
Thanks, guys- I really had fun doing it, too. Been very, very happy with the jeep since the motor swap. I daily drive it and it's just awesome.

The 4.10s work really well with the V8 and 35s, by the way. Looking forward to my trip odometer reading when the fuel tank hits the "E"

I remember when I first got the jeep, it had 31s and 3.73s, and would get 270 miles to a tank with the 4.0L. The 4.88s and 4.0 got about 200/tank. The 4.88s with the 4.7L stroker got about the same, the 4.88s with the V8 did slightly better at 215/tank... hoping the change to 4.10s gets me back over 250 miles/tank.
 
#145 ·
jforse said:
How is the swap holding up?
Been daily driving it :) love the 4.10s on the highway- mileage improvement was noticeable but not spectacular- gained a couple mpg to bring me back to the 14-15mpg range up from 12-13

I'd definitely do this swap again
 
#149 ·
Thanks, man!

From the day the stroker died to the day I had it driving with the 5.2 in it was just over one month, working on it all day on weekends and a few nights during the week. Making the exhaust was about a week of work too. If I had to do it again it would take less time because I would know how everything goes together, exactly what ECU to use, what parts work just right, exactly what wiring changes needed to be done, etc. etc. Hopefully my writeup will save someone else having to do all of the work that I did.

If you had a 98 TJ and were to follow my writeup, had a friend to help you out, and had a shop fab your exhaust, you could probably tackle the swap in a week if you took off from work.

-Chris
 
#151 ·
Jus read through your entire build, great work! I do have a couple questions, I am assuming you placed the AA mounts on the frame in the location AA recommends. I have read that that location makes for a
Very tight fit with the overflow and WW reservoirs. I am thinking about moving the mounts back 1/2 to 1 inch for a little breathing room without getting to tight with the firewall. The reason I ask is I am doing the swap
*** backwards. I have a bare frame I want to get the mounts welded to along with all my other fab work so I can send it out to get hot dip galvanized before I tear my jeep apart so I have limited down time. It is a big project because I am also stretching the frame 15" an using an unlimited tub. I'm not worried about driveshafts as I am swapping in a 241OR and a 2.72 doubler behind my AX-15 at the same time. Do you think moving the engine mounts back 1" will cause any other issues? Thanks in advance for your insight Murf
 
#153 ·
Built a cover for my airbox over the weekend-
 

Attachments

#154 ·
elmoe said:
Do you remember what radiator hoses that you used? I used the ones off of my GC 5.9 and pieced them to the original TJ hoses on the radiator side. It works but yours looks neater. Thanks Paul
Sorry just replying now- I used factory Durango hoses
 
#160 ·
Update-

The 5.2 has been running awesome- and completely problem-free since I've dropped it in. Doesn't consume oil or coolant, has smooth, reliable power, and overall has been just fantastic for a junkyard engine (remember i dropped it under the hood with 177K miles already on it, and it's acted anything but old and tired). That said... if it ain't broke, fix it 'til it is!

So....

Just picked up a 5.9 Magnum engine for $250, out of a '96 Ram 1500- I'm going to have it built by a local shop, putting a stroker crank in to make it a 408, which is a popular rebuild option for the 360 (5.9) motors. I'll have it built to be internally balanced so that I can re-use my current flywheel. I'm guessing the AX-15 will likely not last forever behind it, so I better start saving up for one of those built NV3550 Terminator transmissions.... but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

In the meantime, I'll send it off to the machine shop over the winter, so stay tuned, in a couple of months I should have a small block turned big block under this hood. The best part is that it will be a direct swap in place, I won't have to alter a single thing under the hood, just pull the 5.2, replace with the stroked 5.9 :)

The 5.2 motor is and has been awesome, I just find the allure of a 408 cubic inch motor too much to resist... stay tuned :D
 
#162 ·
Update-

The 5.2 has been running awesome- and completely problem-free since I've dropped it in. Doesn't consume oil or coolant, has smooth, reliable power, and overall has been just fantastic for a junkyard engine (remember i dropped it under the hood with 177K miles already on it, and it's acted anything but old and tired). That said... if it ain't broke, fix it 'til it is!

So....

Just picked up a 5.9 Magnum engine for $250, out of a '96 Ram 1500- I'm going to have it built by a local shop, putting a stroker crank in to make it a 408, which is a popular rebuild option for the 360 (5.9) motors. I'll have it built to be internally balanced so that I can re-use my current flywheel. I'm guessing the AX-15 will likely not last forever behind it, so I better start saving up for one of those built NV3550 Terminator transmissions.... but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

In the meantime, I'll send it off to the machine shop over the winter, so stay tuned, in a couple of months I should have a small block turned big block under this hood. The best part is that it will be a direct swap in place, I won't have to alter a single thing under the hood, just pull the 5.2, replace with the stroked 5.9 :)

The 5.2 motor is and has been awesome, I just find the allure of a 408 cubic inch motor too much to resist... stay tuned :D
Got a link to the terminator nv3550? I thought the terminator was a glorified ax15
 
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