upgrading from 4 to 6 cyl in 94 wrangler yj

espyking83

New member
i am getting ready to buy a v6 for my jeep and plan on swapping in a new transmission as well.

other than dropping the new engine in,what else do i have to do(as far as harnesses,transfer case etc..)?
 

What V6 are you putting in there, or did you mean inline 6?
 
If you plan on using a Jeep 4.0 in lieu of the 4 banger it tends to be cheaper to sell the 4 cylinder and buy a Wrangler with the I6 already in it; a whole lot easier too.
 

And you don't end up with yet another run of the mill 4.0 jeep but with a hacked up install. If you're going to swap, it's just as much work and money to go with a more potent v6 or v8 and you have more as an end result.

Welcome to the Z.
 
X3; it is not worth it to upgrade an I4 for an I6. I would go either V6 or V8, as it will be the same amount of work and basically the same cost. If you DO decide to go with the I6, though, you will need to get all the wiring and a new transmission at the very least (besides all the new motor mounts, etc. that go along with the engine swap).
 
X3; it is not worth it to upgrade an I4 for an I6. I would go either V6 or V8, as it will be the same amount of work and basically the same cost. If you DO decide to go with the I6, though, you will need to get all the wiring and a new transmission at the very least (besides all the new motor mounts, etc. that go along with the engine swap).

i expected to drop a new transmission in anyways since i have almost 150,000 miles on it.how much should i expect all the wiring and motor mounts to cost?

ive got about 6 grand im going to put in it,i convinced my wife this is the better way to go instead of spending all the money on another used car haha.

i kind of want teh inline 6 for gas efficiency over the v8 but i wouldnt mind a v8 either.

so what you guys are saying is that it would be alot easier to put a straight 6 in rather than an i6?
 
Straight 6 and I-6 are the same thing.

What we're saying is it's the same time and expense to put in a v6 or v8. A v8 won't necessarily burn more gas because it doesn't have to work as hard as the I-6 to move the same amount of weight. It has to do with efficiency.

As for the Jeep I-6, you will also have to cut the motor mount perches from the frame and relocate them, fabbing up new perches. Bolt-in conversion mounts for a v6 like the GM 4.3L or a v8 like the 5.3L or 5.7L would be a lot less headache. There are companies making conversion wiring harnesses as well.
 

Straight 6 and I-6 are the same thing.

What we're saying is it's the same time and expense to put in a v6 or v8. A v8 won't necessarily burn more gas because it doesn't have to work as hard as the I-6 to move the same amount of weight. It has to do with efficiency.

As for the Jeep I-6, you will also have to cut the motor mount perches from the frame and relocate them, fabbing up new perches. Bolt-in conversion mounts for a v6 like the GM 4.3L or a v8 like the 5.3L or 5.7L would be a lot less headache. There are companies making conversion wiring harnesses as well.


thanks.i think im going to go with the v8 since it sounds easier.ok-so what transmission will i have to go with to handle the v8?

will i have to swap anything else out other than the transmission and the harness?

thanks for the info-im new to this as you can easily see:???:
 
You will need to make sure you get the computer and EVERY wire used to make the motor run from the donor vehicle. The best thing you could do would be to buy donor vehcle so you can pull what you need as you need it then sell off what is left.
 
You will need to make sure you get the computer and EVERY wire used to make the motor run from the donor vehicle. The best thing you could do would be to buy donor vehcle so you can pull what you need as you need it then sell off what is left.

Or you cn get a new setup (at least for the most popular engines) from Painless Wiring...
 

Or you cn get a new setup (at least for the most popular engines) from Painless Wiring...


i think thats what im going to have to do because im going to buy a remanufactured engine and transmission.i'll have to buy new axles and drive shaft wont i for the v8?you think the stock axles and drive shaft from my 4 banger will hold up to a v8?im sure they'll handle a v6 right?
 
The stock Dana 35 rear end is weak at best with anything over 4 cylinders. If you are going drive or wheel hard with a V6 or V8 it's life expectancy may be short although there are plenty of 35s out there in use. The only good thing is the 4 cylinder's YJs come with 4.10 gears out of the box. The Dana 30 front is a little better and can be beefed up some. If money allows, I would go with Dana 44s, at least in the rear, but that’s me. I'm not into extreme wheeling.
 
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