Has anybody looked into this and know if any companies are working on making a ford drivetrain work in the jk?

 

Can you be more specific in terms of what parts and from what year/vehicle?

 

6.2 and trans from the Raptor. Ive had a Hemi and a 6.2 in the Denali pickup, and Ford really hit it out of the park with this motor and trans. Just a joy to drive when you're going easy and eats the Hemi and 6.2 chevy alive when you hop on it.. I do wonder if it will fit in the jk as that 6.2 ford block is very wide..

 

Have you driven an LS3 430 HP engine? Smaller, lighter and more HP than the Ford 6.2. If that's not enough the LS3 480 HP has good manners and will put you back in the seat.

I have a customer in Texas who sold his 6.2 Raptor after getting an LS JK.

 

I'm not looking to get rid of my raptor, I just love it as my daily driver, just for the next step in my jk build.. I'm still learning about the 6.2 ford so all my opinions and insight on it are by the seat of my pants driving. But I have driven the, in the Denali (not sure if the 2012's are 430hp) and for whatever reason it was very dopey and sluggish compared to my raptor. Maybe the ford transmission is geared better, I don't know but to be honest, the 5.3's in our work trucks seem to have more low end power than the 6.2 vortec.. They're all different animals I know, but the Ford seems to have a ton more grunt, it's a monster engine though and with minimal tuning you can pull 500hp easily out of it. Not sure it'd be the best option (I'm a chevy guy) but it'd be cool to do something different.. Do you know if it's ever been tried or thought about? Also how is the size of it compared to the ls and Hemi in the jk engine compartment?

 

Denali's run the LS truck engines, the LS3 is from the Corvette and Camaro which run quite a bit different, no vvt, high rpm intake, 6,600 rpm redline, etc.

Our electronics can support most engines, including diesels, but it has to make sense. The Hemi, Coyote, 4bt's, etc require major modifications to the JK body. Removing battery trays, cutting the firewall, relocating steering components, suspension mods and it goes on. The LS requires no such mods.

The LS is about the same weight as the 3.8, no suspension mods, cutting or hacking of the body or chassis, it all remains stock. Only mod is engine mounts.

The other side is how well the engine is supported in the aftermarket. There is not an engine better supported with software or hardware than the LS. This allows functionality like OE cruise control, tapshift, etc. which would be difficult with other engines.

Can a Ford 6.2 be put in a JK? Yes but at this time it does not make sense, there are better options out there imo.

 

Are the JK Dana 44's able to handle the power of the LS3, or even the truck 6.2, for that matter? I'm thinking way down the road of a modest 5.3 conversion, but if there isn't a HUGE cost difference, I might do a 6.2 truck LS. I just don't know how the drive train would hold up.

 

Maybe with 30" tires. Here's what my 3.6L on 37s did.

 

44's have proven fine with the 6.2 swaps over the years. With 37" + tires I'd beef up the 44's. We have about a dozen LS3's out there with rear 44's no problem. Driving style has a lot to do with breaking stuff. My personal 6.2 JKU Rubicon has over 60,000 miles with 35's, and after dozens of burnouts by the press, running at Moab and the Rubicon they are going strong.

If you run in sand, mud or crawl in the rocks beef up the 44's or go 60/80/14 bolt, etc.

Our original 6 year old 5.3 swap has over 100,000 miles with the stock 44.

I might add the LS OS has several levels of axle protection, from torque reduction to anti clunk, it is part of what keeps them together.

 

I'll agree with you that the LS platform has the strongest aftermarket by far of the big 3, but most of that aftermarket is geared towards the vetts and camaro's. When you said there was a 430 and 480hp 6.2, I assumed you were talking about a beefed up 6.2 Vortec in the new trucks, as they're also an LS3 block. If you look at the dyne's of all the LS platforms, the 420hp 6200 Vortec makes the most "average hp" from 1500rpm-3500, and by a lot.. As a guy that's had a 600hp LS6, I can honestly say the last motor I would want in a jk with 37"+ tires is an LS.. Let me be clear here, I am NOT talking about the Vortec LS3 versions, just the LS3's put in corvette's and camaros. Here's why, the have no grunt down low at all, and as you go up in hp, the curves move up in rpm significantly leaving the low end torque and hp even lower.. And with the hypereutectic aluminum pistons that are used in ALL LS3 applications, that leaves out the ability to properly add forced induction without lunching the bottom end which leaves you one alternative for more power, cam and heads.. There goes even more low end grunt!

So with the jk, it really comes down to the Vortec and the HEMI right now, and honestly Im not super excited about either. Like I said earlier, Im a chevy guy and think the LS is world class platform engineering wise, but you really have two choices when it comes to the LS for the Jeep - the 420hp 6200 or the 5300. The others you're losing out on low end performance, no ways around it, unless you forge the lower end and have custom heads built to allow you to get the compression way down to run big boost on a roots or twin screw charger to get big low end torque.. As far as the HEMI, it's built by Chrysler.. Not sure you have to get into it more than that.. lol Then you have the 6.2 and 6 speed from the Raptor.. When I test drove it, I didn't have much expectations as Ford gassers have always been slobs, but the reality as that 6.2 Ford kicks the shit out of the LS and the HEMI performance wise.. I really wish a company would start programming, or looking into it.. It's just a stronger motor in everyday and has lower end to accept forced induction over the long haul.