- City
- Dexter
- State
- MI
Yep, the only comparison is to a used V8/trans setup plus all the conversion/adapter stuff. No chance of doing any new crate engine plus the conversion stuff for this amount.
bigwalton Postal teardown/rebuild - what would you do?
- Thread starter bigwalton
- Start date
Belizeit
CJ-8 Member
- City
- River Ridge
- State
- La
I love my new 4.2 with Holley Sniper. After going with a 4 cylinder for over 36 years then to this, feeling like 3 or 4 times the power. I can’t imagine needing any more power. Probably the only thing I might do differently would be a 5 speed instead of the T176. Oh well live and learn. 
- City
- West Bend
- State
- WI
Here's a wrecking yard near you that has a low mile one for $500. In total it will cost you $2000 to $3000 depending on what you choose for harness, exhaust, fuel pump, etc. I wouldn't think twice about running something in the 150,000 ish mile range. That's nothing for these. Just pull a valve cover off and you'll see right away if it was maintained or it's a sludge monster. There aren't really any surprises with these engines and it's very easy to get well over 300,000 + miles with them. As far as crate engines go, reman 5.3L long blocks seem to average in the $2500 to $3000 range depending on where it is. So even if you ran the reman and all the conversion stuff (which really isn't that much), it would still come in much cheaper than the stroker. You'll get a little more power, better mpgs, and you can run 87 octane. Financially that makes a huge difference long term. If you get a used harness, send it over and I'll modify it for you. I'm more than happy to help you if you need it. 
- City
- Ducor
- State
- Ca
I have a Golen 4.6 in my green scrambler. I bought it about 5 or so years ago, and have been VERY happy with it. I am running the mopar fuel injection. Golen was a pleasure to do business with.
- City
- Ducor
- State
- Ca
I have the stock 15 gallon tank, and recently installed the Novak in tank fuel pump. Wish I had a larger tank, but am loving novak’s fuel pump. Much quieter than the external pump from Hesco/summit .
- City
- Dexter
- State
- MI
Part number? Link? I already have the 20 gal tank and was just thinking about doing a proper skid plate.
- City
- Ducor
- State
- Ca
Gen III+ In-Tank Fuel Pump Kit for Jeep CJ (1972-1986) | Novak Conversions
Novak’s Gen III+ in-tank fuel pump system provides clean, reliable EFI fuel delivery for LS / Vortec Jeep swaps. Available for 15, 20, and 21-gallon CJ tanks, with or without regulator.
Like I said, I am running the 15 gallon factory tank. This fuel pump dropped right in, with no modifications. I did have to adjust (bend) the float to calibrate my fuel gauge. That only took a few minutes.
I have to really pay close attention to hear the pump when I turn the key on. I couldn’t be happier with this pump. Huge upgrade IMO.
Attachments
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- City
- Redmond
- State
- OR
My reman 6.0 was $2500. Plus another $400 because I didn’t have a core. Granted , pre-Covid price. I spent about another $2500 on externals( intake, coils, bracketry, alt, p/s, a/c, water pump, front brackets, valve covers, belts etc.), plus $1500 on a reman 4L80E. I did my own harness, now I did most everything else myself. I would estimate by the time I was done with everything I’m at $9000-$10,000. All the little stuff adds up so fast. Cooling system mods, hoses, brackets, hardware…Here's a wrecking yard near you that has a low mile one for $500. In total it will cost you $2000 to $3000 depending on what you choose for harness, exhaust, fuel pump, etc. I wouldn't think twice about running something in the 150,000 ish mile range. That's nothing for these. Just pull a valve cover off and you'll see right away if it was maintained or it's a sludge monster. There aren't really any surprises with these engines and it's very easy to get well over 300,000 + miles with them. As far as crate engines go, reman 5.3L long blocks seem to average in the $2500 to $3000 range depending on where it is. So even if you ran the reman and all the conversion stuff (which really isn't that much), it would still come in much cheaper than the stroker. You'll get a little more power, better mpgs, and you can run 87 octane. Financially that makes a huge difference long term. If you get a used harness, send it over and I'll modify it for you. I'm more than happy to help you if you need it.
View attachment 108428
Figure in the design, welding, and infinite plethora of mods to make it all play. It’s not for the faint of heart if you’re doing it yourself.
- City
- West Bend
- State
- WI
I absolutely agree Randy. It does add up very quick. But in reality it's kinda hard to put an exact number on it unless you know you're just buying everything new. But even then there are several things that really change the overall price. Like a inline pump vs in tank pump, electric fans vs just running the factory clutch fan, new wiring harness vs reworking the original one. Obviously there are other things too but it is definitely not hard to stay well below $5000 and have a nice reliable setup. For me I have somewhere around $2,500 ish into it. This is my setup including manual trans conversion stuff which can really jack up the price. It think it would actually be close or maybe cheaper with the auto. There may be some little things but this is definitely the majority of what I have in it. Reading your build thread actually is what helped me a ton.
-Engine with all accessories, wiring, and computer (86,000 miles) $500
-C6 manifolds $150
-Modify both driveshafts $225
-bell $50
-Clutch and pilot $130
-SBC gen 1 mounts $30 (made my own adapter plate)
-Exhaust $490
-Walbro 255 $60
-Novak adapter plate $289
-radiator hoses $100? ish?
-clutch slave and line $200
-clutch master $50
-Radiator $200
-remove VATS from ECU $50
- City
- Dexter
- State
- MI
Are you able to look up what it would be now wherever you got yours? I'm genuinely curious now that you said this...
Both of you hit on what I'm debating here and what I have to compare the 98% drop-in Golen stroker to. Welding (which I can't do myself for anything properly structural) plus the decision on used vs. remanned and the cost of each versus the effort involved.
If it weren't for my experience with the FAST EZ-EFI and knowing I'd be able to eliminate the sometimes-stroker-unfriendly Jeep ECU with the turnkey Golen, I'd be on a Hemi all day. (LS still just irks the hell out of me too much).
Ron, thinning the harness isn't the least bit scary for me. I LOVED doing that to the 4.0 and the lessons learned there would be perfect for dealing with this one myself now. LS or Hemi.
Chamba
Not obsessed: focused.
- City
- Vero Beach
- State
- FL
I've done 5 or 6 engine swaps over the years. Generally I've found that the cost of ancillary items is at least equal to the engine itself. Saving a few dollars for an engine itself can be false economy in the long run as I've found that's often one of smaller costs to a swap.
Obviously a stroker solves much of this ancillary cost problem, but if an engine is too stressed to produce huge power then longevity can be sacrifice. It sounds like the stroker is a nice balance though.
Obviously a stroker solves much of this ancillary cost problem, but if an engine is too stressed to produce huge power then longevity can be sacrifice. It sounds like the stroker is a nice balance though.
- City
- West Bend
- State
- WI
Just something I thought of. I would be a bit hesitant to use a 5.7 hemi in a jeep. They have oiling problems that cause cam/lifter failure. Especially on ones that spend a lot of time idling or near idle. Which is what a Jeep is doing on the trails. I'm not much of a Dodge guy so I can't speak to other hemis. Just thought I'd throw this out there.
Not going to dispute you Ron, but my 2006 Ram2500 5.7L Hemi has 230,000 miles on it and no issues. It spent the first 125,000 miles of its life as an Alltel communication field service truck in FL. Got to believe it was idling w/the AC on all the time. We use it for land surveying, it idles more than the average truck, especially in the winter for heat and summer for AC. Maybe not so much in the between seasons.
I am a bit of an PM guy though and keep my oil changed every 3000 - 3500 miles.
Knocking on wood now that I have typed this!
I am a bit of an PM guy though and keep my oil changed every 3000 - 3500 miles.
Knocking on wood now that I have typed this!
- City
- West Bend
- State
- WI
The cam/lifter failures I'm pretty sure were mainly on the 09 up. The 03 to 08 were more notorious for dropping valve seats.
I kinda skipped through it a bit but this video seems to do a pretty good job of explaining the issues. I personally only worked at Dodge for a year and that was 12ish years ago. I couldn't stand it there. The trucks were fine but everything else is just trash (avenger, neon, pt cruiser, etc) So I was never exposed to it. However, a few of my friends have seen these issues a number of times. There seems to be a lot of people out there that claim they have some miraculous fix, but then others try that "fix" but don't always have the same luck. Either way, that personally scares me. The 6.0LS also had cam and/or cam bearing issues. The 07 5.3LS had serious oil consumption issues. Like I said before, I am not sure how other hemis are. They may be absolutely fantastic. Don't know. I'm just sharing about the 5.7 hemi. As far as the LS engines, 01 to 06 5.3 or 4.8 is a very safe way to go.
- City
- Redmond
- State
- OR
Yours is beautiful! I was going to go with a fabricated aluminum manifold, but all my research led to a stock truck manifold being best for a daily driver.