1984 Wagon XJ Drivetrain Swap Ask me Anything

[jeepneagle]

Just finished a 4.0/AW4/NP242 swap on my 1984 Wagon. I didn't get the chance to really document the build here on the den due to time constraints, but I'm hoping I can share a few of the things that might help someone else in the future. I'll post stuff I can think of that took a lot of problem solving, but let's do this in an Ask-Me-Anything format. Post something you’re curious about on the build, and I'll try to answer and give details.

The basics of the swap:
4.0 out of a 1999 cherokee with a rebuilt 1995 7120 head
1995 AW4
NP242 out of a 1998 WJ with a SYE
Full 1995 XJ wiring harness integrated into Eagle harness
YJ air filter housing, XJ coolant reservoir, and XJ evap canister all in engine bay
floor shifters and trim from 1990 XJ
In-tank fuel pump

Included a pic of the finished engine bay.

[atmafox]

Did fitting the AW4 require any modifications to the body or transmission mounts?

[jeepneagle]

Did fitting the AW4 require any modifications to the body or transmission mounts?

I decided to use an XJ crossmember. I found that my factory eagle rossmember interfered with the front driveshaft from the np242. I made drop brackets out of 1/8in angle iron that tie into the two mount points on each framerail. I welded the brackets with the trans and tcase as high as I felt they would fit. That way I could add in a drop to fine tune the fit. I did cut an ear off of the top of the np242 case to help get it closer to the body. (you can see me pointing at it in one of the pictures). I thought about trying to make more room around the transfer case by hammering on the floor, but then I remembered this is not a high clearance build. To tuck it up significantly would require cutting and welding that I don't have the equipment to do. Once I have it dialed in I'll make a custom crossmember out of c-channel and integrate some skid plates into it. For now this will work just fine.

[jeepneagle]

On the topic of transfer cases, I decided to use the shifter setup and trim from an early 90’s XJ. I found one of the "stand alone" bezels that just has the tcase and aw4 shifters. The XJ trans tunnel cover fit the eagle well with some trimming and the trim almost looks factory except for the front corner near the pedals. To connect the t case and shifter, I used a Boostwerks kit. I had to make a custom piece to connect to the shifter to offset the linkage around the driveshaft. The picture here shows my first iteration which ended up being too close to the yoke when in 4wd full time. I'll snag a picture tomorrow of the new piece I bent to make sure everything cleared. The 5/8 drop in the trans crossmember mount also helped with the clearance.