1980 CJ-5 Engine swap

[XJ_ranger]

hey,
i am looking into purchasing a 1980 CJ-5 with the stock GM 2.5L 151 4cyl engine in it.
This also has the SR-4 Transmission (near as i can tell)
reading on that engine: http://www.jeeptech.com/engine/gm151.html
reading on that transm: http://www.jeeptech.com/trans/t4.html

and i got to thinking and reading this website:
http://www.off-road.com/jeep/tech/4lswap/index.html

and was like whoa!
i could put a 4.0L into my CJ and then run my XJ and CJ on the same engine that i already know inside and out.

my question is:
is the bell housing bolt pattern the same for AMC 4cyl like in the XJ and the GM 4cyl like in my cj?
it is supposed to be the same as the small block chevy mount...
would it be better to keep the stock tranny and put an XJ 2.5L AMC 4cyl? this would keep the weight down and make the swap easier as i might not have to buy a new tranny, and i could get the reliability of EFI in a CJ. and a boost of about 20 horsepower...

what do ya'll think?

-XJ_Ranger

 

[XJ_ranger]

does anyone look at other tech at all?

 

[Matthew Currie]

does anyone look at other tech at all?

Hi.. I looked. I just don't know anything. Sorry. But I looked at the articles, and it doesn't look ridiculously impossible to do a 4.0. I think a 2.5 would be a neater fit, and I'd be a little concerned about weight distribution stuffing a 4.0 into a CJ. Speaking as a former Scout owner, I think huge engines in short little 4X4's (even the base 4-196 [3.2] was a monster!) put quite a strain on the front end as well as making for squirrely 2WD handling.

It occurs to me that another engine possibility if you could find it might be an Eagle straight 6, which was the older Rambler 6. I believe the Eagle in its stick-shift version used a Borg Warner 5-speed which was shared with the Chevette, among others, and might also have used the GM bolt pattern. Might be worth researching.

Does the recipient CJ have power steering? If not, I'd stick to 4 cylinders unless you want to upgrade the steering too.

 

[XJ_ranger]

thanks for the input - ill look into thoes


hadnt thought about weight issues... :compwork:

 

[jeepgod]

put a chevy in it, i have personnally done this swap and it is alot easier than trying to make a 4.0 or 2.5 work correctly
i would put the 4.3 v6 in it, quick easy