88 Jeep Wrangler re-power

[BlueJeep]

I've had this Jeep for quite some time, and it has served me very well. We use it for exploring the back-country and having fun outdoors. It's seen countless iterations of builds including axles, tire size, suspension, and a motor swap. After some parts swapping in 2018 I ended up with a motor that would be a perfect candidate for the Jeep, so I had it on the stand until I had a chance to do something with it. Fall 2019 was that chance (yep, this is a retrospective thread).

[BlueJeep]

20 years ago, I pulled out the original carb-ed 258 for a TBI 305 (I was told it was a 350 when I bought it which I later found out to be false). Though it never had an abundance of power, it served my needs very well. In the off-road world, fuel injection with the ability for the engine to stay running is far more valuable than having loads of power. Now it was time to pull it and replace it with a 6.0, which is far more modern and the added power should mean it is more fun!!

[BlueJeep]

I decided that I would re-use the existing built 700r4 that was in the Jeep. It was built with all the upgraded components, and had a non-lockup torque converter so it needed no electronics to run. It also had very clean fluid and no clutch residue at all in the pan. I would later regret this decision to keep the old school transmission and hook it up to the newer school engine.

The engine compartment also was really in need of some work. It had dirt, a little oil, and 30 years worth of buildup on it, as well as 24 years worth of me drilling holes and changing things. My goal was to weld up everything that wasn't needed, and basically clean it all up prior to the new engine going in. Power washing was the first order of business.

[BlueJeep]

All the unnecessary holes were TIG'ed up, planished, and ground smooth.

[BlueJeep]

Some epoxy, some filler, more epoxy...

[BlueJeep]

Added some fresh blue and black paint, and I have what I wanted. A clean firewall ready for a new engine!

[mongocanfly]

Looks good...
I'm not sure how to keep your pics right side up..I've seen where someone says to resize them...

How'd you overcome the 700r4 kickdown cable with the LS?

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Looks good...
I'm not sure how to keep your pics right side up..I've seen where someone says to resize them...

How'd you overcome the 700r4 kickdown cable with the LS?

OK, I was hoping I wouldn't have to do that because it takes 4x as long to upload the pics, and we all like pics!

Stay tuned, I'll be getting to that.....

[BlueJeep]

I wanted to keep my York compressor, so I ordered a Goat Built bracket to mount it on the passenger side. I also picked up the serpentine pulley for it because I think it is a lot cleaner than the adapter pulley I used on my old alternator. I experimented with positioning....hmm, can't be up and down without a large hole in the hood....

One thing I did learn with the York, everytime I changed the position it changed the belt length. Up makes it a different length than over to the right vs. different length than over to the left. Documenting it here for others to maybe benefit from someday.

[BlueJeep]

For about the last year I've been watching antifreeze leak onto the passenger side floor. Not a lot, but in a weekend of 4 wheeling it would definitely leave a wet spot. I knew this project would be coming, so I delayed fixing the heater core until it was all torn down.

The old heater core was the original 1988 one, and it was copper/brass. All the replacements are aluminum. This would be fine, but the new ones don't come with the bracket that the mounting screws bolt to. They rely it to "float" in the housing, and this didn't sit well with me. Especially since when assembled, I would have aluminum hose bibs coming out of the steel firewall, and with vibration that is guaranteed to be a pain in my ass at some future date! My solution was to duplicate the original bracket and weld it to the new heater core. I do NOT have enough practice TIG welding aluminum, and that is a goal that I have for someday in the future....but it seems to be holding (and more important not leaking).

[BlueJeep]

Exhaust was fairly easy, I had a single 3" before with a Flowmaster. I cut that off and made a new Y pipe to attach back to it. I used Holley band clamps, they seem to seal better than others I've used.

I took some extra time with a die grinder inside the merge after it was welded to ensure a nice smooth transition. In my head, that'll add .3875 HP!

[mongocanfly]

I was just guessing , but I figured that may have been why you regretted it...

[BlueJeep]

I always wait until they run before I wrap the wires in loom. I cranked it over and over and over, and nothing. I had cleaned the injectors, had 58psi at the rail, held them up above the intake and saw the spray pattern while cranking. I had spark. The very last thing I did before pulling the engine out of the van was to do a compression test so I was confident that it had compression. HP tuners told me I wasn't getting a cam signal, so I bought new cam and crank position sensors. After scratching my head for quite some time I pulled a valve cover, and things weren't moving when I cranked it over. That led me to stripping the front of the motor back down and sure enough, the timing chain was broken. Another lesson learned, always replace the timing chain.

The best I can figure, the timing chain must have snapped the very first time I bumped it over after it was in the Jeep. After replacing the timing chain, all cylinders once again had good compression and no leakdown so even though with my scope I could tell that the pistons had tagged the valves in several holes, nothing was bent. Put it back together and it fired right up and ran perfectly! PS, I love the little plug in the side of the block for priming the oil pump!

[BlueJeep]

And that pretty much brings me to current. I wrapped the wires in split loom, and finished up the intake plumbing. I also swapped out my dash lights for LED, swapped out the fuel gauge with one that matched the fuel module's ohm scale.

Like I mentioned, it does run and drive, but doesn't shift well. I have googled a lot but have yet to find a story of someone using the TV made EZ kit behind an LS and liking it....guess I should have done more research before starting. I'll either figure it out or change it.....

[mongocanfly]

dang...was that thang under water?...sure is a lot of what looks like rust behind the timing cover

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

dang...was that thang under water?...sure is a lot of what looks like rust behind the timing cover

Nope, carpet cleaner's van. Never left town, and probably didn't warm up to temperature much. That was actually the worst looking part of the engine, everything else looked great.

[67C10Step]

Super nice! You will find some weak links in your drivetrain with that puppy thumping up front.

One the photos I open mine in Paint, make sure they are oriented correct. If not, I rotate them and re-save under the same file name or a new one. Regardless if they open correct or not, I re-save in Paint and that seems to clear up the orientation issue.

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by 67C10Step

Super nice! You will find some weak links in your drivetrain with that puppy thumping up front.

One the photos I open mine in Paint, make sure they are oriented correct. If not, I rotate them and re-save under the same file name or a new one. Regardless if they open correct or not, I re-save in Paint and that seems to clear up the orientation issue.

Thanks!

So now you have me experimenting, and if I open the sideways pics in paint they open "right side up". They also appear "right side up" in windows explorer...the only place they don't appear "right side up" is here on the forum....

[mongocanfly]

I turn some people's pics right side up and save them, and when I repost them they turn sideways again..I've found if I have the pic pulled up in paint where it has the grids, I can move the sides in a tiny bit and hit save and they stay upright
Your orig pic

[mongocanfly]

You can see how I clipped the edges off

[swissarmychainsaw]

Looking good!

[KShortell]

Cool! I'm a Jeeper, too. I had to pull my Jeep engine last year for a rebuild as well. I even rebuilt another Jeep into a decent rig for my wife. Jeeps are indeed addicting!

[chebyshortbox65]

Did you replace the boost valve? When I used the bow tie over drive kit I had to replace the boost valve

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by chebyshortbox65

Did you replace the boost valve? When I used the bow tie over drive kit I had to replace the boost valve

I replaced the spring with the one they provided, yes, and wonder if that may be the source of the terrible shifting....as the transmission used to shift fine.