1984 Eagle Wagon Limited

[nolang]

I feel horrible. I didn't see the post where you got the Crower cam when I was telling you to use the stock springs. I only saw the post on the first page when you were looking at the Comp Cams camshafts that had less lift than the one I have. The Crower would have coil bind with the stock springs as you found out, unfortunately. I hope you don't punch me in the jaw if we we ever get together at an Eagle meet. 

It was actually the crane cam that the springs were binding with which is .456/.484 lift, there should have still been ~.080 before coil bind but apparently that wasn't the case, when i bought the car i was told the head and tranny had been rebuilt, maybe they put on different springs than stock 

The crower cam is what's in now, with the matching spring/retainer/lifter set and new everything else in the valve train it seems to be running pretty good other than the exhaust leak 

[nolang]

Here's what my rear brakes looked like when i pulled them off about a week ago:



I took the eagle out to the dragstrip yesterday to see how much faster it would be with the new cam, unfortunately it was actually slower 

Maybe i just need to do some carb tuning but otherwise i'm not sure what would cause it to be slower than before

[nolang]

I changed the jets back to the smaller ones that i have and re-gapped the plugs to .040, one of the ground electrodes was off center a little bit too, not sure how much that affects things but there's much less visible exhaust now so i must've done something right 

Also washed it and decided it was time for a new exterior picture to replace the craigslist ones:

[vangremlin]

Eagle is looking very nice.  And thanks for the detailed write up on your progress.

[nolang]

At some point in the near future, preferably before the rain starts to come back, i'd like the rebuild the motor on this thing but i got to thinking that if i'm going through the much work, i should try to add some performance as well

That led me to finding this: http://www.shop.505performance.com/product.sc;jsessionid=01E666637F7FFE1037A1AEA4D2BB71B6.m1plqscsfapp02?productId=287&categoryId=39

However, i'd rather not spend a fortune on it, is it at all possible to stroke the 4.2 for a reasonable price?

I suppose if that doesn't work out, i'll just do a rebuild and throw a 4.0 head on it

[mudkicker715]

Definetly possible to stroke a motor for much less. i have done 2 now. they are crazy awesome. the 4.0 head thing is useless compared to a stroker. now this price really depends on the donor 4.0.

[nolang]

I was thinking more towards stroking the 4.2 if possible, i'd rather not deal with all the little changes/modifications that would go with putting a 4.0 in

The more i read though, the less likely this sounds, are there extra electronics that need hooked up with the 4.0? I'd rather avoid any extra sensors or anything like that if i can

[captspillane]

Usually when someone says they are installing a 4.0, they mean they are taking the entire engine, serpantine accessories, and fuel injection with it. It is possible to just take the long block and put it where the 4.2 long block was, and vice versa. Here are some possible combinations:

1) If you put a 4.0L long block in place of a 4.2 long block you gain the better camshaft and head design and you get roughly 140 HP instead of 110 HP you had with the crummy 4.2L camshaft and head. You lose the mechanical fuel pump and must use an electric one. You have a valve cover that doesn't leak. You'll need some washers in the front of the crank to mount the old belt accessories. It is pretty much a bolt in, quick installation that leaves your engine compartment looking pretty much exactly the same afterward and the car running better.

2) If you put a 4.2L long block in place of a 4.0L long block, which I'm doing in a Jeep MJ Commanche right now, you lose a great deal of power and efficiency because of the poor head design and camshaft. In my case I'm also using a 4.0 head and camshaft with a 4.2L short block, so I actually gain a little bit of power because of the extra displacement. You can still use the fuel injection and everything else that used to be on the 4.0L. You need a cover plate where the mechanical fuel pump used to be. You need a specific year of bracket that doesn't need a boss missing on the passenger side. You need to cut a little bit off the front of the crank to fit the serpantine accessories.

3) If you put a 4.0L in with all the serpantine accessories, you get 190 HP. Carbs are initially very attractive because of how few components are present, but they are very tempermental and pathetically inefficient and unreliable. The extra time it takes to fuel inject gives you a die-hard reliable, efficient system that puts out 50 extra HP and requires little to no extra maintenance. It is alot to gain at the expense of a little bit of clutter in the engine compartment.

4) You can also mix and match components. Fuel injection manifolds can be used with V belt accessories. Serpantine accessories can be used with carb intake manifolds. All the problems that arise are easy solutions. For example, the MPI temp sensor conflicts with the Vbelt pulley with AC but Hesco sells a simple adaptor to move the sensore a few inches away. All of the possibilities are nearly bolt in installations with maybe a grinder cut here or a hole enlarged there.

5) If you make a stroker by combining putting a 4.2L crank into a 4.0L block, you get the best combination.

[nolang]

How much rewiring is there to do if you swap a 4.0 in? Will stock fuel injectors work?

If I go the 4.0 route, i'm thinking of going with a kit like this: http://www.cleggengine.com/jeep-4-0l-stage-2-stroker-kit-9-2-1c-r-4-5l-4-6l-4-7l-242-amc.html

It would be nice to use the stuff out of the 4.2 to save some money but considering this is my daily driver, being able to machine and put together the 4.0 while still driving would be a plus, though if i went to fuel injection and didn't use anything out of the 4.2, i could probably come close to paying for the 4.0 and stroker kit with that, if I was to part it out anyway 

[carnuck]

4.0L has more power than a 4.2L If your current 4.2L is in good shape, you can sell it afterwards. You need a 4.0L block and head to put it together. You CAN'T use this kit in a 4.2L because the cylinder walls aren't thick enough to bore it 160 thousands over. Your best bet is to find a '91 to '95 XJ to get everything you need for wiring. Get auto if you have auto or stick if you have a stick. My '87 Comanche has minor running glitches due to being a standard box on an auto trans.
    Everything you need for wiring is under the hood except the transmission controller on automatics which is under the glovebox in the XJ (not weatherproof)

[1985amceagle]

here is a swap that was in the eaglepedia

http://www.amceaglesden.com/~iowaeagl/guide/index.php?title=Joshpit%27s_4.0_Swap_Article

[nolang]

I might still just go with a rebuild and the 4.0 head, the stroker idea is really tempting but sounds like a lot more work/money than i want to go through

Even with just a rebuild it would probably run 10x better than it does now, it just hasn't been quite right since that first cam got wiped from the stock valve springs, it idles and runs fine but almost seems like it might have less power than it did in stock form, plenty of blow-by too

[eaglefreek]

Flatlander Racing makes a stroker kit for the 258. It's a little pricey, but you don't have to worry about finding a 4.0L and swapping out all the accessories. You can keep the carb if you want with the 4.0L head. http://www.flatlanderracing.com/strokeramc-258.html

[nolang]

I think I changed my mind again, i'll update the thread after I've actually bought/ordered something