E-Rok

parts store clerks are nothing different than a walmart cashier, its just a job

I went into autozone to get a 1 15/16" socket for the axle nut on my truck, and the kid gives me this blank stare and called the manager over and said I was talking jibberish to him

is there a harbor freight near you? you can get those disconnect tools for cheap there

TrollHammer

75 miles to the nearest harbor freight. Thats the only reason I still have enough money to concider tearing into an engine. XD

Leave it to me to buy the same exact socket in metric and standard (close enough): 1-1/4 & 32mm. Tortunately they both fit. The metric is closest but more expensive, its going back.

Havent tries the hose fittings yet. They dont even have the ability to order the fuel line seal set. Whats up with that?

Back to the raggin on clerks: i dont mind if they dont know what they are doing versus to a point, but when they act like they ARE knowledgable, and act like if they dont know how to figurr out what you want it doesnt exist. If you dont know, say so, not that hard and would save me some time.

Upper end gasket kit is on order, and the engine is haof stripped back, one exhaust manifold off. Not horrible for me for today. Still have a few hours to work though.

TrollHammer

Just out of curiosity, the 5.9 is basically the modern day 360, right? If the 5.9 heads fit a 5.2, and the 5.2 is the 318, how much interchangability is there among these engines? what other vehicles did the 5.9 appear in, and could older bolcks be used? Like I said earlier, my knowledge is mostly centered around the 4.0L, and there is a lot of swapping that can be done over th years on that engine. I figure therr must be some similar engineering on the v8?

E-Rok

5.9 is a 360, the engines are identical externally

ol"blue

The Magnum family of small blocks started in '93, and don't share anything with the pre '93 LA small blocks. The 5.9 was offered in the Dodge Ram, Durango, Dakota (including a 5.9 R/T version which had almost as much hp as the ZJ 5.9*see below), and full size vans and RVs.
*http://www.dodgetalk.com/forums/arch.../t-113480.html
The 5.2 & 5.9 look very similar externally, but the 5.9 intake & exhaust manifolds have larger ports inside, especially on the '98 ZJ 5.9 & Dakota 5.9 R/T. The Powertrain Control Module is unique to each engine size, and the ZJ 5.9's also controls the electric fan, as it has no engine driven fan-giving it 20 more hp.

TrollHammer

Thanks for the info. Sounds like they run well too, or people like them. Just parused carigslist a moment and cant find a single dodge with the 5.9 in Seattle.

If the ECM is that finiky it almost doesnt sound like anything can be swapped without a custom control set up. Oh well, wasnt looking at it seriously anyway. Is the head mounting surface the same between the two engines anyway? It was mentioned earlier in the thread that the 5.9 heads couod be attafhed to the 5.2. it wouldnt be suprising to me, as they usually include the gaskets for 5.9 parts along with the 5.2 kits. I probably have 5 5.9l water pump gaskets floating around.

Well, i.guess I have to pull the exhaust lines anyway, as I figured. Any ideas how to get the top passenger side bolt in easier? ive had to deal with it twice already and both times I nearly took a sledge to the jeep out of spite. If it hadnt been my wife's beloved jeep it would have been sporting a few nice dents.

Edit:

looking at the thread in the link above my other thought train derailed. Id been kind of thinking it would be nice to throw a 5.2 in an XJ someday if I have nothing better to do. Seems like there are a lot of cheap ways to beef up the much lighter I6 to the same power level or more as the 5.2, perhaps with more torque as well. Seems the XJ proves to be perfect as is again and again.

E-Rok

what I meant was the 5.2 magnum is the same externally to a 5.9 magnum. basically parts are interchangeable except internals. heads are the same.


an XJ is so light, no point to go with a 5.2, LSZ would be a better route anyways.

I do miss the rawness of the XJ, and the fact that I can beat it up on the trail and not care, but I also love how nice my ZJ rides and the interior is light years better, but another XJ one day would be sweet!

ol"blue

Yes, the head mounting surfaces are the same, but when installing 5.9 heads on a 5.2 some suggest putting a small chamfer at the top of the cylinder to remove some of the slight mismatch in the cylinder size, thereby aiding in induction swirl and eliminating hot spots that could cause detonation.
Sorry, I don't know any trick to removing the exhaust bolts.
On the subject of installing a smallblock in an XJ, tons of people have went with the Chevy engine & trans and a Novak adapter. >http://www.novak-adapt.com/ and a Painless wiring conversion. >http://www.jeep4x4center.com/jeep-pa...erformance.htm

E-Rok

I thought the 5.2 and 5.9 heads were the same? if not, it would def make sense to put a slight chamfer there

ol"blue

Most 5.9 heads have larger chambers, valves, and intake & exhaust ports. Especially the '98 5.9 Jeep ZJ Limited, & the Dodge Durango R/t. But the head mounting surface is the same. Sorry, I should have stated that.

E-Rok

oh good to know, I have read that they were the same, and I think I have a cracked head on my 5.2 so it would have sucked to buy the wrong head lol

ol"blue

Okay, and I edited my previous post for clarity.
The 5.9 heads will work fine on the 5.2 though IMO.

E-Rok

but would it throw compression/flow off? I would assume its not a good idea to just swap one head out for a 5.9?

Ill prolly just pull heads fromt he lowest mile 5.2 I can find at the yard, and hope the magnaflux results come out good

TrollHammer

Id think balance would be good, if one of my heads is bad it the other will have to have absolutrly nothing wrong with it to not replace it as well. Personally if there was a set of 5.9 heads availible Id take both for balance and if they are an upgrade Id want to full effect. Pretty sure Ill never come across a 5.9 engine mich less a set of heads without going remanufactured. They only makde 15k of those GCs anyway, and it sounds pretty involved to do a dodge swap.

If the heads were procured from a 5.9, would the computer need adjusted, or would it still be within the range of the stock computer?

E-Rok

a 5.9 dodge is exactly the same IIRC