Project Jeep - Part I

I know what you are thinking, what is this "Project Jeep" stuff? I thought this site was dedicated to the preservation of Classic Chevys? Well, you are right, this site is focused on Project '57 Chevy. I just decided to take a short detour on the information superhighway....
This past summer, I decided to use most of my three weeks vacation to do some work on my daily driver, a high mileage Jeep Wrangler. This project is my first major effort/overhaul work on a non-Chevy vehicle.

Here it is a black '88 Jeep Wrangler (soft-top) with 152K miles on the odometer. I am the original owner. (Note the bikini top for the hot summer weather.) The powerplant is an in-line six cylinder 258 cu.in. (4.2L). Initially, the goal for the project was to replace the deteriorating exhaust system, replace the leaking hydraulic clutch, and rebuild the front end suspension. Considering the hard work involved with clutch work and the high mileage of the original powerplant, I decided to also rebuild the engine. A decision that took on a life all its own! ha-ha

One of the first steps was to prepare the engine for removal. I started by tagging both ends of the wiring harnesses and hoses (to ease assembly after reinstallation). This proved to be a time consuming event and looked like a "Shriner's Spaghetti Dinner" with spaghetti-like wires going every direction!
I also quickly discovered that the engineers at AMC Jeep must be an indecisive and psychotic bunch! They apparently couldn't decide if they wanted to use metric, standard or torx head bolts when they designed the Wrangler. So, in the finest tradition of modern automotive engineers, they used all three types in this engine! Yep, there is nothing finer than using three different types of wrenches/sockets when working on an engine by yourself! Actually that should be four types as some of the torx head were female and some were male! ...yikes...
Thanks for the torture AMC-psychos!

Using a rented engine hoist from a local tool rental place, I finally managed to pull the engine out of the engine bay. The clutch/transmission did not let go without a valiant fight! With considerable blood, sweat and tears, I eventually persevered.

This photo shows the 258 being hooked up to the engine stand. Local time: about 1 AM...
(Note: the small block Chevy in the background!)

This shot shows the engine bay minus the 258. Note the jack under the tranny pan for added support and the pads to protect the fenders. You'll also note that your dear old webmaster/shadetree mechanic had to remove the front grille to get the engine out. Neither the Chiltons nor the Hanes folks managed to note that "minor" issue in their manuals!  Thanks guys! Time of discovery about 11:30 PM. You can also see the "grungy" rusted front pipe of the exhaust sytem. It was later removed with the rest of the exhaust system.

Looking into the ample engine bay, I can't help but imagine a small block Chevy residing where this 6 banger normally sits...and yes, Four Wheel Drive Hardware Inc. does offer a kit for such a conversion....hmmm!
Not this time HotRodder!

After the initial clean-up, I tore the engine down. The following day I delivered the pistons, block, crankshaft and head (remember the engine is an inline 6 --- one head!) to a local machine shop. There I discovered (as suspected) that the block would need to be bored out to .030 (that means new pistons, folks!) and the crank would need .010 taken off the rod and main journals. One of the rods was out of round and required reconditioning.
Initially, I wanted to just clean up the head and valves and hoped that no major valve job or grinding would be needed. Unfortunately, magnafluxing the head revealed three minor cracks in two of the exhaust ports. That's why you magnuflux!! Luckily, the machine shop did have a rebuilt 258 head on hand that he sold me.
Finally, the entire reciprocating mass was balanced.
Click on the Jeep below to go to Project Jeep - Part II...

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I know what you are thinking, what is this "Project Jeep" stuff? I thought this site was dedicated to the preservation of Classic Chevys? Well, you are right, this site is focused on Project '57 Chevy. I just decided to take a short detour on the information superhighway.... This past summer, I decided to use most of my three weeks vacation to do some work on my daily driver, a high mileage Jeep Wrangler. This project is my first major effort/overhaul work on a non-Chevy vehicle.

Here it is a black '88 Jeep Wrangler (soft-top) with 152K miles on the odometer. I am the original owner. (Note the bikini top for the hot summer weather.) The powerplant is an in-line six cylinder 258 cu.in. (4.2L). Initially, the goal for the project was to replace the deteriorating exhaust system, replace the leaking hydraulic clutch, and rebuild the front end suspension. Considering the hard work involved with clutch work and the high mileage of the original powerplant, I decided to also rebuild the engine. A decision that took on a life all its own! ha-ha

	One of the first steps was to prepare the engine for removal. I started by tagging both ends of the wiring harnesses and hoses (to ease assembly after reinstallation). This proved to be a time consuming event and looked like a "Shriner's Spaghetti Dinner" with spaghetti-like wires going every direction! I also quickly discovered that the engineers at AMC Jeep must be an indecisive and psychotic bunch! They apparently couldn't decide if they wanted to use metric, standard or torx head bolts when they designed the Wrangler. So, in the finest tradition of modern automotive engineers, they used all three types in this engine! Yep, there is nothing finer than using three different types of wrenches/sockets when working on an engine by yourself! Actually that should be four types as some of the torx head were female and some were male! ...yikes... Thanks for the torture AMC-psychos!

Using a rented engine hoist from a local tool rental place, I finally managed to pull the engine out of the engine bay. The clutch/transmission did not let go without a valiant fight! With considerable blood, sweat and tears, I eventually persevered. This photo shows the 258 being hooked up to the engine stand. Local time: about 1 AM... (Note: the small block Chevy in the background!)

	This shot shows the engine bay minus the 258. Note the jack under the tranny pan for added support and the pads to protect the fenders. You'll also note that your dear old webmaster/shadetree mechanic had to remove the front grille to get the engine out. Neither the Chiltons nor the Hanes folks managed to note that "minor" issue in their manuals! Thanks guys! Time of discovery about 11:30 PM. You can also see the "grungy" rusted front pipe of the exhaust sytem. It was later removed with the rest of the exhaust system.
Looking into the ample engine bay, I can't help but imagine a small block Chevy residing where this 6 banger normally sits...and yes, Four Wheel Drive Hardware Inc. does offer a kit for such a conversion....hmmm! Not this time HotRodder!

After the initial clean-up, I tore the engine down. The following day I delivered the pistons, block, crankshaft and head (remember the engine is an inline 6 --- one head!) to a local machine shop. There I discovered (as suspected) that the block would need to be bored out to .030 (that means new pistons, folks!) and the crank would need .010 taken off the rod and main journals. One of the rods was out of round and required reconditioning. Initially, I wanted to just clean up the head and valves and hoped that no major valve job or grinding would be needed. Unfortunately, magnafluxing the head revealed three minor cracks in two of the exhaust ports. That's why you magnuflux!! Luckily, the machine shop did have a rebuilt 258 head on hand that he sold me. Finally, the entire reciprocating mass was balanced. Click on the Jeep below to go to Project Jeep - Part II...