Engine rebuild


Rebuilt engine.


Just after passing 200,000kms on the odometer, the crankshaft bearings decided they'd had enough. I first noticed it in Tellico when I had no oil pressure at idle. With each passing week I would have 0 oil pressure at progressively higher engine RPMs and it started to knock, to the point where I had no oil pressure at all RPMs and people thought I had a diesel under the hood.

Since I had already invested lots of money on a Mopar MPI and there was nothing else wrong with the engine, it had never lost or burned oil, I decided to get it rebuilt and modified. I went to West Carleton Automotive which are reknown localy for doing good work on racing engines. The block needed only minor repairs, so I gave them the go ahead to bore it .030", parallel the deck block and balance the assembly. I also got a bunch of new parts like Speed Pro pistons and rings, a mild Crane cam, and bearings all around.

While I was doing this I figured I'd go for a 4.0L head which have better porting, and I had the shop do a valve job and setup the valve springs. I followed Tim Weaver's 4.0L Head Conversion page for the swap. I filled the water jackets shown on the pic below with JB Weld. I just put a bunch in the holes, covered them up with masking tape and rested the head flat on the work bench so the JB Weld would settle flush with the openings.

Water jackets on 4.0 head.

The only problem I had with the 4.0L swap was trying to fit a 4.0L YJ Pacesetter Header. The collector passes under the oilpan forward of the sump. But the 4.2L sump is in the way. So being in a rush I just got a stock manifold. I plan on getting a Borla header whenever I have time to put it in.

Before assembling the whole thing, I painted every visible part of the engine. I got some Chrysler Green and black engine enamel to go with my military style paint job. Unfortunately I didn't have time to clean and paint the inside of the hood and firewall, but the mud covers that up pretty well :)

Painted.

Although I have no theoretical numbers for HP or torque, I did feel quite a difference after all this. When I have the Borla headers and upgraded the ignition, I plan on visiting a dyno.


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