Tobyxj

I do believe he said this os a wagonner and I do believe they DID come with a Dana 44 front and rear correct me if I am wrong

odgreen

Wrong he never said "grand".
Xj's never came with a 44 front.
87 is the year with the 44 rear.

odgreen

86 wagoneer.

Tobyxj

That front clip fits 90s xj too?

odgreen

Yes. It's a xj.

N20jeep

well, not I'm the US atleast

odgreen

Well... Now your getting fancy lol

CrazyMonkeyBen

I'm probably late for you to make your decision, but I figured I'd post my experience for posterity. Hope it's helpful to someone.

My 2.8 V6 came with a webber carb installed by the previous owner (for sale if you want it), and I put a glass pack and high flow cat on it. It went pretty well. Not as fast as the 5.3L V8 that replaced it, but not shabby. Possibly if the cooling worked, and maybe if I had thought of replacing the oil pump it would have lasted me more than 3 months. But as things were I spun a rod bearing on a trail.

The common problems that I am aware of are the bad factory carbs, small crank journals and bad oil paths, especially to the number 4 journal (I think that's the one, it's the one I spun).

You can swap the crank for the crank from either the 3.1L or 3.4L to get a 3.1L which would give you more power and torque, but the oiling problems would still be the same.

The stick shift V6 came with the AX5 which is one of the weakest transmissions found in a Jeep. Fine for the V6, but scrap if you ever swap the engine. I don't know anything about the auto. The AX5 and AX15 are not direct swap compatible due to the bellhousing.

The pre 87 XJs came with the NP207, which is pretty much as good as a NP231 except it has noisy straight cut low gears and no aftermarket support whatsoever.

The pre 87 XJs have a very different front clip. The plastic, grill and lights is all the same and can be swapped to or from any XJ, but the tips of the frame, the top and bottom cross bars, the radiator supports and hood latches are all quite different. Just in case you wanted to upgrade your radiator or perform other mods, most after market parts for this area won't work. (I don't know what after market parts there are other than radiators...) Front bumper mounts remained the same however.

dave1123

IMO, find a good 4.0. If this is the GM 2.8 V6 we're talking about, I had one in my 81 Citation. It was fine until I blew a hose and overheated it ONCE! After that, it was an absolute dog. Like an old coonhound that didn't want to move off the porch.

The 4.0 is probably the most reliable engine Jeep ever used. It's not a screamer, but has gobs of low end torque, just what you need for slogging thru the mud.

An engine swap is not out of the question either. You don't have all these stupid electronics to worry about.

Deloy3

IMO the 4.0 is bullet proof. I have 217k on mine and besides minor issues, motor runs great. Just had the head off of it a few months ago and is still looking brand new on the inside. No scratches, dents, shavings or anything wrong inside of it.