97 4.0 engine swap

Found a low mileage, mint condition donor engine from 97 ZJ Grand Cherokee ZJ. Decided to swap to my XJ.

Was previously ordered XJ Enginetech timing chain (TS4160), timing damper (D337) and gasket kit (J24247) for my old 370,000+ km engine from RockAuto.com, but once found a good engine, went to other direction.

Ready to remove engine from donor ZJ

Accessories removed, alternator, A/C compressor, coolant pump, thermostat housing and power steering pump.Ready to pull engine, trans and transmission all together.

Found a lots of gel like gunk in coolant galleys, probably previous owner is mixed coolant types. Will clean/wash later after installation.

Pulled and started cleaning of oil, dirt etc

Timing chain inspected, it was little loose and damper became very hard & brittle, broken from one end.

Installed timing chain kit, actually it made for previous model 242s, but fit perfectly.

Oil pan removed, inspected. There was no metal shavings, dirt etc. Good sign.

Oil filter adapter direction is not suitable for my engine bay. If it left as this, I cannot use bigger size oil filter and very difficult to reach. Will replace with one from old engine and oil filter will be vertical.

Preparing to remove old engine. Decided to pull engine only, without transmission etc.

Intake and exhaust installed and now engine is put back.

Using top mount alternator bracket, now my alternator sits at topmost position, A/C compressor eliminated, coolant pump, thermostat housing and power steering pump installed. Now 2 points for belt tightening, at alternator and on power steering pump too. Measured required belt length, 1,920mm.

As planned before, coolant gunk flushed :

1) radiator inlet and outlet pipes also connected directly.

2) engine filled with water and dishwasher soap solution

3) heater core hoses connected directly

Start engine, wait till thermostat open, then turn off. Disconnect lower coolant pipe to drain. Wait till engine cool down and repeat 2 times with water only. Now I am pretty sure there was no debris, gunk left and going forward to install radiator , grille, lights etc.

Almost finished, winch and bumper waiting me.

After all, engine sounds nice, exhaust is good without any unusual smell. Hope it will produce more power and not be too hungry ;)

ZJ fuel tank swap

Original metal fuel tank is having pinhole and enough for patching it every 2 years. Decided to swap with ZJ plastic tank (p/n: 52018371).

fuel pump and tank level sensor moved to new tank and installed. 

Tank is bit larger and fuel tank skid needs some mod, a little spreading of front and rear edges required.

New shocks - Bilstein 5100s

Ordered Bilstein 5100 shock kit for from Amazon.

Bilstein 5100 Monotube Gas Shock Set compatible with 1984-2001 Jeep Cherokee XJ w/5-6" Lift

 Finally they arrived and installed immediately :D

my old shock, BPE  at top, shock is from Mitsubishi L200 pickup, length is identical.

top mounted, fully extended, hope axle will not move down excess this length

rear done

front comparison, old shock is rear shock of Toyota Land Cruiser 80 series, bottom mounting modified. 5100 is longer than old ones, both extended and compressed.
Hope 5100s will not bottom out under full compression of front axle, having approx 3" gap between front bump stop and hockey puck inside coil

shocks arrived 2 kinds of stickers, of course this one is suitable on this window.

;)

LED headlight

Decided to upgrade headlights to a LED. Too many of 5x7 rectangular LED headlights on ebay and Amazon, read lots of comments and reviews. Higher priced or known brand models are of course good, but I am looking bit cheaper one. relatively cheaper headlights are not good as advertised, not water tight or not acceptable cut-off line etc.

Finally ordered LED headlight from Amazon $74.99 - BICYACO DOT 110W 5x7 Inch Led Headlights

Nicely packaged, with installation instruction, 2 breather holes, good quality plugs, and they advertised DOT SAE approved.

Prepared everything, rings and back cups are sanded and painted.

middle row is low beam, on high beam, all LEDs are lighting.

very nice cut-off line

and high beam. It lights like LED bar

low beam

high beam

front speaker replacement

got a 4 Ohm BMW speakers from a friend. Installed them in front door.

before changing speakers, installed some sound deadening sheets

found crack :( around window glass motor area

 

 

Speakers are bit bigger than mine, so inner panel needs a cut

 

Sounds very nice.

new radiator

My old stock radiator leaked few points, around filler neck, around radiator input and output. Decided to upgrade radiator, good aluminum ones are crazy expensive, affordable ones are mostly having negative reviews. After short googling, ordered Spectra Premium CU1193 Complete Radiator with 16lbs Stant 10230 Radiator Cap.

They arrived and installation is straight forward. After filling with coolant, it seems volume is lower than stock one, but after few days it almost emptied overflow bottle, needs adding some more coolant.

A/C radiator and hoses were removed, because it lost refrigerant within weeks after filling and now also finding R12 is very difficult nowadays. Result:
1. got a some space in front of radiator and
2. no air blockage, means better cooling :D