chuck45

I agree one hundred percent. I have a friend who wants a V8 JK and he is looking at high mileage vehicles to convert as he realized the factory power train is poor and the front axle is junk.

I recommend saving the money on a new and starting used and doing it right.

chuck45

Sorry I was too verbose for you. You can always hit the delete key. I figured dealing with the transfer case is the first issue I need to deal with and something I can do while waiting two or three weeks for the kit. I certainly think that before spending 15,000 or more on a conversion it can not hurt to discuss the two contenders for the swap. There are strong reasons to prefer the LS and the only reason to go with the Hemi is easier integration with Chrysler wiring, a known weak point on JK's.

As to the Pentastar I drove one and was unimpressed and I said so. For various reasons I don't think it will last in a heavy JK.

It looks like I already have several people who want to swap. I just have to contact them about the donor vehicles miles and their location.

You are suggesting that it is all right to steal the transfer case from a rental Jeep. I don't operate that way.

el mono

Your swap sounds awesome. Is the GM engine an LS3 or an L92? Just imagine if somebody swapped the 3.8 for an LS9?!

DoubleARUBICON

An LS engine in a JK would be awesome I'm excited to watch this come together (Please take lots of pictures).

chuck45

Technically it is an L9H. I guess you could say the L9H is the aluminum truck version of the LS3. Apparently the intake is easier to work with when installing in a JK. The HP of the L9H is a bit lower at 405 vs 430 but the torque curve of the L9H is more suitable to moving heavy vehicles like truck and heavily laden 4 DR JK's as opposed to cars. I think the engines are generically referred to as LS's because it is understood by more people.

Having driven a heavy 4 dr JK with this engine in all i can say is wow. If I recall correctly the one I drove did not have the VVT (variable valve timing) that my 2013 does so mine should be even better. It truly drove like a real match and looked like it came from the factory.

rays0852

I wasn't going to respond to this post...yet here I am.

To the OP, I hope your V8 conversion is everything you hope it will be.

Now I would like to ask the people in this thread for some input...since the 3.6 came out it seems there are 4 camps:

1) Those who have a 3.8 and are happy that Jeep has a new power train...some hoping to have a 3.6 for their very own.

2) Those who have a 3.8 and dog the 3.6 as basically the same engine with a better trans.

3) 3.6 owners who love their new engines

4) V8 conversion guys who look down on anyone with a JK that doesn't have 8 cyl.

I mean seriously. Are we not Jeep guys who wave to each other all the time? Who will pull over on the side of the road to help a complete stranger if he has a Wrangler? I get tired of coming on the forum to get jealously or haters dogging out the 3.6 ( which received a Ward's Top 10 engines award ). I love my Jeep just as guys with 3.8s love theirs. I was just fortunate to get into Jeeps exactly when the new engine was available. Now I have to come on the forum to have some JK-know-it-all peacock about his big plans ( which 95% of the people on this forum can't afford to replicate) and call the 3.6 a POS motor.

I wish you the best man....even if you look down at the rest of us mere mortals and our deficient JKs.

chuck45

Very funny. You're new to this and I've been wheeling the 3.8 for 4 1/2 years and have had other Jeeps before the JK. It has given me much pleasure and a lot of great memories. But I have, however, not been blind to it's flaws and I have been vocal with the Jeep Engineers that show up at the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab. The 3.8 is not up to the task of a heavy 4dr; in a 2dr stick it is fine. I will say that the 3.8 would have done much better with the 5 speed automatic as it always seemed to have a hard time being in the right gear with the 4 speed.

I was planning on keeping the 3.8 and doing a V8 conversion in a year or two but my "wonderful" 3.8 is burning 1 to 1.5 quarts of oil every 150 miles and, even though it only has 29k and has the lifetime warranty, Chrysler has refused to warranty it. As the service manager said: "They went bankrupt once - it's not going to happen again". So don't think your warranty is worth much. So this motor is going in not because I'm a know it all peacock but because I no longer have a useable Jeep. And I am damn sure not going to rebuild the POS 3.8. Then it was just a matter of deciding which way to go, Hemi or LS.

Jeep did a bad thing with the 3.8 and not putting a V8 or diesel in. The vehicle obviously needs cubic inches to perform well. Or perhaps a smaller engine that was designed for a supercharger like Ford is doing. But a high revving naturally aspirated engine powering a heavy non aerodynamic brick is not a recipe for long term success. I'm not a fan of the Hemi but if they had offered one I would have bought it and been happy.

I'm glad you like your 3.6 and hopefully it will serve you well. Looking at your profile you are relatively light and live in the flat lands so you have everything going for you. Those who live in the rocks and need additional protection, venture far afield so carry a lot of recovery gear, and spend a lot of time at altitude, will I fear fare differently.

And if you venture out to the West and if I run across you needing help I will render assistance as I would any other Jeeper, or anybody else out on the trail for that matter.

williard86

I don't think the OP was passing moral judgement on those driving v6s. I believe he is in fact the owner of a 3.8 L. I find it so odd when I read people taking personal offense to someone's opinion about a piece of equipment/machinery/inanimate object that they own. All of a sudden this guy is some ivory tower snob because he wants to put a ba motor in ba packackage. Can't wait to see the end result.

olyelr

I totally agree.



Chuck45, I can see where the Chevy combo would be almost lightyears ahead of the hemi setup. I know what you mean about those trannys allways being in the right gear. And the low end power is phenomenal. My last dodge pickup was a 3/4 ton 4 door with a hemi, and although it pushed that truck around very easily once it got going (almost effortlessly), it was always high revving getting it there... and I hated that auto tranny. I think you made a wise decision with the chev combo. Good luck getting it all together. That has got to be an electrical NIGHTMARE.

Also, I am curious as to what MPG's you end up with. With getting in the high teens in a full size burb, you must be able to pull somewhere in the early 20's. That thing will feel like its nearly coasting around at 65 MPH. Keep us updated!

rays0852

FWIW we rented a 2013 4 DR Wrangler to finish a trip with some friends (when our JK had a catastrophic front axle failure) and drove it from Ouray to Durango CO over Red Mountain. The new 3.6 engine is a POS. It did no better than my heavy laden JK with 3.8 if my JK was in a gear it was happy in. The rental JK was a soft top with no rear windows installed, no bumpers and no carpet; in other words the lightest 4 DR JK you'll ever find. To maintain 50 MPH over Red Mtn it took 3rd gear and 5000 rpm. The only good thing about it was the 5 speed transmission. I think the real world performance would have been better if they stuck this transmission behind the 3.8 instead of the 3.6. The 3.6 is all numbers and nothing but a high RPM screamer. Bad move on Jeeps part.[/QUOTE]

All I can say is when you start calling my baby ugly...I do take offense. I've spent a ton of hours, blood, busted knuckles, and sweat equity getting my JKU to its current state. forgive my pettiness, but when I hear someone call my Jeep a POS, I'm not going to bite my tongue. Again...check Ward's Top Ten engines for 2012.

I can't wait to see his build either, but the justification behind it ( if you read back through the posts ) is that any Jeep with a V-6 is garbage. I couldn't disagree more.