Posted by Caleb (Kansas) [76.7.17.155] on Tuesday, May 05, 2015 at 00:11:22 :
Wyatt,
I have been looking over your recent posts and it seems like you have not had your questions answered yet. Like many on here I have built A LOT of trucks and would like to offer some advice.
You mentioned using a 4.0 Jeep motor and asked about whether the transfer case would work but did not say which transmission/tcase was behind the 4.0. If stock, you are looking at an AW4 if automatic, or an AX 15 if manual with an NP 231 which drops to the drivers side, so will not work if the WC has stock axles. All of those combos are reasonable in a light jeep, but likely not in a WC, the 4.0 is long and can offer some cooling issues, I had a bunch of problems with overheating in a buddys YJ conversion that used a 96 model 4.0. If you WC still has a honeycomb style radiator that is in good condition, then you will likely be OK, I ran a 300 horse 327 V8 behind one and it NEVER overheated, but does puke coolant all over when it warms up as I do not have a reservoir. Another problem will be power, especially behind the automatic, the 4.0 brings on power much higher than the 230 and other than being far more powerful than the 230, I wouldn't even consider it in even a half ton if you plan on actually doing work with it.
Like many have said here, you really are better off taking a breath, looking at the pros and cons of the different options you have available, then selling and saving to get the best setup. 4BT's are nice but unless you have a source for one cheap, you will likely be looking in the neighborhood of 8-10k to complete the swap, if you do it yourself.
You can email me off the board if you would like more of my opinions...
Like others have said
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