Swap Idea?

[ShelGame]

Ok, here's an idea I thought of:

Put a 2.5 Turbo engine into a Jeep Cherokee 4x4.

-Use the block from a Dakota.
-8V T1 pistons/rods
-8V turbo head
-8V Turbo Exhaust mani
-custom intake mani
-use the AX15 bellhousing from a 2wd Dakota
-bolt it up to the 4x4 AX15/transfer case used in the 5-speed Jeeps
-wire in a turbo SMEC/SBEC (if it's an early 90's Jeep, it will already be wired for an SBEC, probaly have to move some pins around)

Any reason why it woudln't work? I bet the 2.5 turbo would have more power and torque than the Jeep 6. Probably get better fuel economy, too. Anyone else ever thought of it or tried it?

[bfarroo]

It's hard to say, I have a stock 2.5 running about 5-7 psi in my 95 dakota. Non intercooler. it feels ok in first and second gear but into 3rd and 4th is doesn't have all that much get up and go. Now the gearing is all wrong for a turbo motor. In 5th gear I'm at 2000 RPM at 65 in 5th. 2600 in 4th. It also has the larger off road tires on it that may be slightly taller than stock. I pull my shadow with it and it will barely hold 65 at 3psi boost in 4th gear. A built up 2.5 may do ok but the 4wd drive train with the trans, transfer case and rear end eat up a lot of power. The problem is that out of boost the motor doesn't make all that much torque/hp and a dakota or jeep are like pushing a box down the road. If you've got the parts and the jeep I'd say go for it. I also only get about 17mpg currently.

[Aries_Turbo]

the pos ax15 would be my biggest concern.

[135sohc]

the pos ax15 would be my biggest concern.

The AX15 is fine. its the Peugeot BA10-5 thats the pos

[turbovanman²]

I agree, out of boost I don't think it would have enough torque, unless maybe you ran a higher compression.

I think 2wd would be ok, 4wd, not so much.

[zin]

I think you'll be fine if you can build the engine with enough beans to do the job. That gearing might be a bit of a handicap though...

Mike

[Aries_Turbo]

The AX15 is fine. its the Peugeot BA10-5 thats the pos

i dunno man, every ax15 jeep that ive seen has had problems, losing a gear, getting stuck in a gear, general failures etc. and that isnt at that high of mileage and with a stock 4.0L in front of it.

i just dont think it will like the mountain of torque that our motors will produce.

now you show me some built 4.0L ax15 jeeps with lots of power and torque and lasting a long time and ill stand corrected but for now, its not the best tranny in my experience.

Brian

[135sohc]

i dunno man, every ax15 jeep that ive seen has had problems, losing a gear, getting stuck in a gear, general failures etc. and that isnt at that high of mileage and with a stock 4.0L in front of it.

i just dont think it will like the mountain of torque that our motors will produce.

now you show me some built 4.0L ax15 jeeps with lots of power and torque and lasting a long time and ill stand corrected but for now, its not the best tranny in my experience.

Brian

Never heard bad things about it. Novak adapter and elsewhere all have posative things to say of it.

[Vigo]

I think its a decent idea, but you better have some LOW gears in it. You're gonna need to spin the motor at like 3500 rpm to maintain speed on the highway without being in boost constantly.

I think its a cool idea. Ive seen lifted turbo 22re toyota truck pull the front tires on the dragstrip (massive weight transfer helps...) and with enough boost it will move. Front mount ic might be tough in a cherokee.

Also, realistically you gotta be running a decent amount of boost on a stock 2.5 before you pass up a 4.0's stock torque. certainly cant do it at non intercooled boost.

[turbo84voyager]

It will take a lot to match the torque a 4.0 has off the line. It would be neat to see but in my opinion its hard to beat the durability of a 4.0 and this swap would take too much work.

[WLKivett]

... just build a stroked 4.0http://www.lunghd.com/Tech_Articles/Stroker/Stroker.htm

[Captain Chaos]

I remember a guy in town taking his wifes 2wd 4.0 Cherokee street racing and absolutely raping all but the N2O and forced inducted imports.

[zin]

Didn't someone use a Supra Trans in a RWD application using the same bellhousing? Memory is a bit foggy, so I may be mistaken, but that might be a way to make it live, if the trans is a weak link.

Mike

[ShelGame]

I doubt the Supra trans will take the Jeep transfer case, though.

I know a 4.2 would be sweet. I'm just looking for a daily driver that I can use my stash of parts on. There was an add on CL for a $500 Cherokee nearby, but the guy never e-mailed me back. Probably gone already.

[rbryant]

The later model cherokee doesn't really need a swap I agree with the 4.0 comments. It is a beast and is very reliable. Mine has 197k on it and is going strong.

An early V6 cherokee could use the swap though because the GM V6 that comes in them is a POS and the 4.0 won't fit (they changed the firewall on the later model cherokees)


-Rich

[contraption22]

Best of both worlds....

http://www.jpmagazine.com/techarticl...rbo/index.html

[turbo84voyager]

A common engine swap in jeeps is the 3.9 Cummins B series. It is the 4 cylinder version of the 5.9 in the rams. This was used in delivery trucks and are not hard to find ( UPS, frito-lay, etc). You get mileage, torque and power...

[Aries_Turbo]

thats one simple turbo kit lol. im sure rob would spend some time with the jeeps ecu though rather than use a FMU. the FMU/Pump setup is pretty ingenious.

Brian

[ShelGame]

A common engine swap in jeeps is the 3.9 Cummins B series. It is the 4 cylinder version of the 5.9 in the rams. This was used in delivery trucks and are not hard to find ( UPS, frito-lay, etc). You get mileage, torque and power...

There was a Grand Cheroke on eBay (or was it just YouTube?) that had that swap. It was sweet - but not cheap. I was considering this only because I have a ton of spare engine parts in the garage that aren't doing anything, and I saw an add for a cheap Cherokee that needed an engine.

Still, I can't imagine the turbo 2.5 is any worse than the Jeep 2.5 that the Cherokees also got.

[fleckster]

Call me nuts ("You're Nuts, Fleck!), but I want to take, say a 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger (like I had) and swap in a 2.5L Turbo with RWD. They only weighed around 2800-2900lbs with a Slant 6 so It wouldn't be much heavier than a Shadow or something but with RWD, good fuel economy, and just that "It's weird but cool!" factor.