wayland1985

So most of us would agree that a hemi would be nice feature in a JK. Where Chrysler drops the ball, some companies are offering hemi-replacement services.


I'm curious as to how practical it really is.

First of all, how does one pay for a JK hemi upgrade? Is it a bank loan?

Also, how street-legal are the replacements? Will I be able to get my emissions inspection sticker here in MA?


What about Repairs? Most of these companies are halfway across the country for me. If my engine starts knocking, can I go to a chrysler dealer to get work done???

How well does the JK chassis hold the hemi? Think there's any problems with twisting in the frame due to the extra power?

How well would a hemi perform off-road? Can it still get dunked in water (Assuming you don't suck water into the intake?)

What about resale value? I only have the need for a 2 door now. What if a few years down the road I want a 4 door, or something that's not even a JK at all? Is the hemi worth more for trade-in? I mean, that's not an option you'd see in KBB.

JeepinMass

1-Well I know in MA the engine has to be the year of the vehicle or newer.

2-You will get boned on trade in because they will treat it as a regular JK.

3-Some dealerships wouldn't touch a hemi in a jk for repairs.

4-You can get a personal loan for the cash to do the upgrade.

mkjeep

If you have the $$$$ to do a hemi upgrade, I don't think the people that do really worry about the things you stated. If you have to borrow the money,IMHO, don't do it, especially if you don't plan on keeping it.

wayland1985

I see what you're saying. It's too bad though. I could potentially afford a $45,000 vehicle, and I'd love it to be a V8 4wd convertible with some height to climb over rocks

JeepinMass

build a cj with a sbc. Then it can be your toy.

wayland1985

Eh, the whole point would be to be a daily driver, so I'd want some of the comforts in the JK. I could mess around with older models, but I'm not that good with metal fab (To deal with the rust and such I'd likely run into)...

xblazerman

One thing that I would be concerned about is stability.Say you have a 2 door Jk with a 4 inch lift.Now we all know that the 3.8 is no powerhouse so it tends to keep the speed limited somewhat.But with a hemi,would you be driving faster because of the additional power?Would it be less stable at higher speeds and easier to roll?

wayland1985

I don't think a hemi vs a v6 would make a big difference as far as stability. The hemi does weigh more, but other than that, 4"s is 4"s.

You'd have to be a real idiot to be going much over the speed limit in a JK. It's no corvette, so treating it like one is a little rediculous.

However that being so, better response from the engine would be greatly appreciated. More power for big steel bumpers, heavier duty axles, trail tools, etc etc, would be nice, especially when hitting hills, etc...

JeepinMass

You can buy full frames and/or body's. So ultimately if you have a title and a vin you can build up anything.

Miller Time

I had a 94 YJ that I took the 4cyl out of and dropped in a LT1 out of a 95 Z28. I also had a NV4500 and Atlas t-case with a ford 9'' running 4.11 gears. I can tell you I had plenty of power but never felt like I was going to flip it over due to the V8. It felt just as stable as it did with the 4 cylinder and that's with 3.5''s of lift and 33x12.50's. As far as resell you would have to sell by owner to get what you want because dealers never give you what your Jeep is worth. I have been begging my wife to let me drop a hemi in my new Jeep which would be alot easier than when I dropped in the LT1 since people make kits for the swap. The only thing I won't do is weld in the engine mounts.