Jeep Cherokee (XJ?)

[HoleshotHolset]

Do these have a real frame... or are the like the Grand Cherokees that are unibody? I couldn't find anything online...



I'm thinking a 4BT would be a sweet little engine for that nicely sized 4-door SUV with straight axles...



Matt

 

[mschoenheider]

Unit body

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Maybe unibody isn't such a bad thing...



I've seen these things take some serious abuse.



Doing an engine swap in one of these would be interesting... .



I wonder how it would handle a ~800# engine over the front axle?



Matt

 

[DKarvwnaris]

A friend of mine in San Diego had a cherokee one with a small block chevy in it. He also built a 2x3 square tube sub frame to get the piece of crap four link brackets from bending the sheetmetal. These can be made to be decent 4x4's, you just need to replace everything under them and build a frame. Pretty much like the wranglers in the 80's. I have thought about doing the same with a 4bt, but I ended up going with a k-5 blazer for the project, mainly since I could get heavy duty axles cheap and they were plentiful. Jeeps require machining full size axles to fit in the fender well width. Or go with Curry, which will cost thousands.

My dad used to give me endless grief about my jeep YJ in highschool, the only thing left on it stock was the sheetmetal and climate controls. It was reliable then and could take a real beating. I still have the old thing, needs a 4bt before I put it back together.



4 bt's are considerably lighter than a 6bt, lighter than a big block if I remember right.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Last time I checked... the 4BT's were about 200# lighter than a 6BT.



Sounds like you really have to beef 'em up to make 'em last offroad.



I was thinking more along the lines of creating a reasonably sized 4-door SUV with some sort of diesel plant as a daily driver... . not so much a rock crawler.



Matt

 

[MO'Donnell]

Originally posted by HoleshotHolset



I was thinking more along the lines of creating a reasonably sized 4-door SUV with some sort of diesel plant as a daily driver... . not so much a rock crawler.



Matt

Is that before or after you get your shiny new 3rd gen?? :-laf

 

[jlast]

Try this,



http://forum.ih8mud.com/index.php?board=12;action=display;threadid=10058



this is a fj40, they also have fj55 4 door older body style, an fj60 also. There is someone there that has a fj55 he is put a 4bt in but i did not find the thread quick enough. spend some time there find you a real vehicle with full frame and such.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

I will probably never own a 3rd Gen. No sense going into detail why on this thread...



Finding parts for FJ's must be fun...



I like the XJ platform... . nicely sized SUV, 4-doors, reasonably comfy, straight axles, plenty of aftermarket goodies, parts EVERYWHERE, etc.



The FJ's are nice, but I would worry about finding the stuff that breaks out on the road, etc... .



Matt

 

[jlast]

LOOKY here



fj60



dont have any to view of the FJ55 there,



FJ parts i have not had any problems finding them, dealer actually carries most of the parts or within two days, and still supports these vehicles on most parts. Pretty large aftermarket to fill voids in what the dealer offers. Used cruiser community larger then most other vehicles. I would say cruiser community could rival this website in size, maybe.



I can find more parts with wider selection of the parts for my FJ then i can find for my 93 dodge ram!



harder parts to find is drivetrain engine, trans, transfer. need brake parts dealer, napa, oreilys.



20% stronger then any jeep componets. axles compare with a 12 bolt chevy ring and pinion, 9" size axle shafts, full frame, real metal body.



They do make newer fj62, fj 80, fj100, etc... which are more toward the comforts that you wish to have.



XJ are nice (94 grand ZJ) just doesnt have any kind of worth, nor strength in any parts. BTW some of these parts are also harder to find. These straight axles are not worth anything, these are close to the weakest dana axle produced. some expensive suspension componets.



I would strongly suggest any FJ over a xj or zj, any other questions or any other info just email me.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

You have certainly sparked my interest in the Landcruisers. I NEVER paid any attention to these... . thought they were too rare, etc.



I wonder if a 4BT/NV-4500 has ever been transplanted into one of these... . hrmmmm.



How stout are the OEM trannies? Advance Adapters must make all kinds of goodies for these things.



Matt

 

[jlast]

Time for the fire to start, LOL.



Yes 4bt nv4500 is in a fj55 i know about,



OEM trans are strong, depending on how new of a FJ you are looking at. the 4 speed 75-86 i believe is a metric version of chevy sm465. In my original post that guy is using OEM trans and transfer, and using a AA (advance adapters) ranger for od.



Check your PM i am sending you shortly, time for you to start cookin on that fire. LOL



BTW that is one of the quickest responses 9mins.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

I'm readin' !!



Matt

 

[DKarvwnaris]

I have installed numberous small block GM engines in the FJ-40 and 45 series toys. Lot of room for everything but the exhaust, need to use header for those. The stock 6 cylinder is a true boat anchor in weight. I wouldn't be surprised if the 4bt weighed less than the Toy straight six. The 4bt is also nearly identical in length to a small block v-8, it is taller, but I doubt if it is higher than the toy 6 cylinder. You should have not problem with those issues.

I would stay away from the advanced adapter idea of the toy transmission. I have had a few problems with their kits being a bolt in prduct as they say. I ended up having to modifiy more than one of their steering kits as well as mounts for various engines and trannies over the years.

A nv 4500 will cost you about the same as what a toyota bellhousing adapter and an overdrive unit will easily. Transfer cases are very strong, but either a 205 or 241 DHD ( I forget which side front output is in the toys) would be cheaper and a direct bolt on requiring little to no specialty adapters. Just something to consider. It will be a transmission that is still in production for replacement with a crated unit if it goes bad. You can get them for brand new for under $2200. 00 with warranty and no core charge. We have used this set up in jeeps a few times with 4bt's. Mostly full size wagoneers and wrangler/CJ's.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Thanks for the info!



Matt

 

[Todd G]

I always wonder why nobody uses the Isuzu NPR diesels for conversion projects. I used to own one that had 175HP and was 4 cylinders. It would get 14mpg in a 15,000 truck with the aerodynamics of a barn door. I bet it would do 30mpg in a lighter vehicle. There are plenty of these motors in wrecking yards where some rookie driver rolled the truck.

 

[DKarvwnaris]

Parts on the isuzu were my biggest deterence, they are a decent engine overall, they shake almost as bad as the unbalanced 4bt's though. I try to stick with the 4bt and 6bt based engines only because the nv-4500 and 5600's are proven to take the power from them. Nice to have an overdrive in the transmission too. If you drive the truck daily, having to search for parts is a real liability in my eyes, especially if you are in a small town. Using all off the shelf parts from a dodge driveline makes it alot less of a concern. Even if you get stuck dealing with the dumbest idiot working in a parts store, they can look up a dodge truck with their parts computer. Other than that, I wouldn't think twice of using the Isuzu motors. GM had the chance to do something incredible when they went with Isuzu for the duramax, but their continued failure to see the light and listen to reason has led them to another crap V-8 diesel. Can you imagine an inline 4 or 6 industrial based Isuzu diesel? Now that would be a long life engine for GM.

 

[Todd G]

I owned an Isuzu FSR with the 5. 9 inline six. It was very close to the cummins 1st generation motors. I sold it with 350k miles of hard abuse and it still ran perfect. It had the Allison 542 auto I think.

 

[wcjp]

Some XJ's came from the factory with a V-8. I've never seen one.

 

[TTennyson]

no xj came with a v-8 4. 0 I6 was the biggest the 84-86 came with the 2. 8 v6 as an option the 4 cyl. was std. they started using the i-6 in 87 and increased the engine bay a few inches. i wouldnt recommend a diesel swap to much weight and torque for the unibody go to currie enterprises website and look at there jeepspeed parts they have a ful race prepped cherokee there

 

[wcjp]

The XJ was available in very limited numbers with the 318. I remembered reading this some years ago. Not long after the TJ's came out Camp Jeep came to my area. I confirmed this with some Jeep employee's flown in from Ohio. It's rare but does exist.