1 UZFE into 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee

[Venter247365]

Hi All I have decided to do the lexus conversion on my Jeep, as I have had many problems and costs with the Jeep engine and gearbox.

I have worked out a plan for the conversion as well as a parts list, unfortunately I have to renovate the house first , so the swap has been put on the back burner, and it is a very big temptation to see the engine standing in the garage waiting to be transplanted. Anyhow I will hopefully start with the project next weekend, so as soon as I start I will post photos of the progress made.

Regards

 

[Venter247365]

Okay so here is what I have so far:

+1UZFE Engine + auto gearbox
+Original Jeep gear shifter
+Original Jeep transfer case (will need to get an adapter plate machined)
+Original Jeep diffs front and back
+Also keeping the drive shafts (will need to get them extended or shortened not sure yet and balanced)
+Spitronics EMU, GMU and fuse assembly set, with new add on timing gear

Then the following issues I will still need to get clarity on, so a bit of reserch for me:
-Converting from diesel to petrol.
-Aparently the dashboard cluster is also a bit of a mission to sort out, but will find out how much of a mission.

But other than that it seems that it will be a straight forward conversion, hopefully.
So I will be giving myself eight weeks to complete the conversion, and hopefully I will be able to make the deadline.

Cheers

 

[Venter247365]

Okay so I have finally finished with the house reno, and got started with the Jeep this weekend. Unfortunately I didn't get as much done as I was hoping for as the jeep was fighting me all the way, and the engine is still hanging in the air inside the jeep, but hopefully I will get it out tonight. Anyway here are some pics of whats been hapening.

 

[Venter247365]

Okay so finaaly after it put up a great fight I won in the last round, and the engine and gearbox is finally out of the jeep and laying on the ground next to it. So now I will have to start preping the engine bay for the new engine, and then test fit it this weekend to see where the engine mounts should go and where more space is needed, etc. Anyway will take some more photos as I go along and post them once the engine is fitted.

Cheers

 

[Lextreme II]

Congrats.... looks like it fits well in the bay...

 

[Zuffen]

From memory the Jeep uses an Aisin auto the same as the 1UZ.

It would be worth looking into swapping the bellhousing from the UZ to the Jeep trans and using the Jeep torque converter.

This would only leave coupling the flex plate to the torque converter.

Much easier than trying to sort the trans/transfer case interface out.

 

[Smitherz]

This would be a VERY good thing if you could do this. A lot of Jeep people would benefit from such a swap. Off to a great start indeed.

 

[Venter247365]

Hi Guys

I am now trying to sort out the existing wiring in the Jeep and I must say I will probably get more for all the copper used for the wiring than for the whoile Jeep, jeesh I didn't think it had that much wires, anyway I will hopefully finish up tonight and then tomorrow it is time to test fit the engine, yippee.

Lex - The engine in the photo is the original 3.1 TDI engine from Jeep, the one that I actually want to pour some pertol on and set alight, ha.

Zuffen - When I thought of the conversion the first time I actually thought of using the original Gearbox, but then that started giving trouble, and I repaired it at almost the same price that they are offering me for the Jeep, and then after about 4000kms the overdrive went again, so I am fed up with the whole system. So I will be taking the transmission and transfer case to an engineering shop tomorrow to find out how much they will be charging me for the adapter plate.

Smitherz - Yes I also believe that I will be able to help out a feew people if I can get it right, as I have been searching the internet endlessly for any info on this type of swap, and all I found was other people that were just as fed up as I with the Jeep engine, so once it's done and people can see that it is possible, I am sure more will follow.

Anyway will keep you updated, and post some photos after the weekend.

Cheers

 

[Smitherz]

A friend of mine just gave up on his 5.9L Jeep Grand. Yeah the engine was bitchen but yeap... the auto trans was acting up on him so he went and traded it in on a new car as fast as he could. A few other things were just falling apart on it as well and it was in GREAT cosmetic condition. They just didn't build them to last and that's a shame. The 1UZ is a perfect V8 IMO. What a great engine I really hope you are able to fit it in there.

 

[Venter247365]

Hi Smitherz your friend can be lucky that he got his money back for it, I was unable to trade in the Jeep so I had to go this conversion route. But the problem I have with the jeep is that they drive so damn nicely when they are actually driving.

Anyway I have been quite busy this weekend and the test fit of the engine went great, I am now busy manufacturing the engine mounting brackets and will probably finish them tonight. And luckily I will not have to do too many mods on the engine, the sump fits perfectly without any modification.

Here is a few photos, the first one is the Jeep engine & gearbox that came out.

The second & third one is to show how many wiring the Jeep comes with and that I need to sit and sort out.( Luckily I found a 576 page wiring diagram book for the Jeep)

Then the fourth one is the lexus engine mocked up with the radiator and air intake, and all fits perfectly.

The fifth one is from the side to show how beautiful the engine looks inside the jeep.

 

[Smitherz]

That is awesome! This is one of the best engine swaps I have seen the 1UZ being used for. Yeah I agree that the chassis is a very nice road going vehicle and even offroad. But the engines are just junky. I have a friend with an auto repair facility and he's ALWAYS working on Jeeps and Ford Rangers. I laugh and tell him that those vehicles are basically what keep him in business! Fuel pumps in the Jeeps always break more often than not. Man a 1UZ in one of those would be awesome to own. Kinda makes me think of going such a project!

 

[Venter247365]

Hi Smitherz
Yes I must say while I was trying to sell the vehicle I always had the hope in the back of my mind that it will not sell, so that I can do the swap. And I am glad that I now have the opportunity to do it.
And I must agree with you, your friend probably does stay in business because of the jeeps, as I have spend so much money on this one and it still doesn't stop breaking. The gearbox that I just pulled out, has only 4000 kms on and the overdrive is gome again, so it would have again cost me more to fix the gearbox than this whole conversion costs me.

 

[Venter247365]

And then once I am finished with the Jeep I can carry on with my actual project.
It is a 1936 Willys 77 four door, which will have a 350 Chev motor and trans, and a Jaguar xj6 suspension. The paint will be a burnt orange with maybe a darker orange ghost flame job(still deciding) and then a nice set of foose wheels.

Anyway here is a picture of the car when I got it (it was about 95% complete)

 

[Smitherz]

Yes we all have more than one project in the works! That will be a smooth ride when it's done.

 

[Venter247365]

Well I must say the rain has made the progress alot slower than I had hoped for, but atleast I got a few things done the last couple of nights.

The engine mounting brackets are finished, sprayed and mounted on the jeep.
The injectors are wired.
The Gearbox is removed and on its way to the engineering shop with the transfer case to get the adapter plate made up.

So I have still got a few things to sort out:

The engine must be installed this weekend.
The wiring for all the sensors must be completed.
The gearbox wiring must be completed up to the plugs until it is installed.
The dashboard cluster wiring must be sorted out and finished.
The gearbox must be installed when the adapter plate is completed.
The measurements must be taken for the drive shafts, then they must be shortened( front) and lenghtened (back) and balanced then reinstalled.
The radiator & fittings must be installed.
The aircon pipes & fittings must be rerooted and installed.
The abs pipes & fittings must be rerooted & installed.
The exhaust must be fitted.
The front end, lights, etc must be reinstalled.
The aftermarket bumper must be manufactured and installed (front & Back)
The spare wheel bracket must be manufactured & the spare wheel installed on it.
The EMU & AGC must be programmed and mapped.

Then I must take it out for a wel deserved spin around the block.

 

[gloverman]

Looking good. There is a jeep locally with a 1uz in it. The owner called into my shop and my staff had a good look over it. They fit well as your project shows. Cheers

 

[Venter247365]

Hey gloverman

I take it the owner of the Jeep is much more impressed with the 1 uz than he was with the original engine.
They do fit well, only thing is the gearbox is a bit shorter and the engine does not move back as much as the original, so I will end up with modified drive shafts, which I hoped not to do, but anyway I suppose you can't have everything hey.
But I must say other than that it has been pretty smooth sailing so far without too much modification, so I am very pleased with that.

 

[wiggilri]

Hi Guys , looks great , I have just joined the lextreme and have just completed my Colt with the V8 and its great!!!!!

Hey gloverman

I take it the owner of the Jeep is much more impressed with the 1 uz than he was with the original engine.
They do fit well, only thing is the gearbox is a bit shorter and the engine does not move back as much as the original, so I will end up with modified drive shafts, which I hoped not to do, but anyway I suppose you can't have everything hey.
But I must say other than that it has been pretty smooth sailing so far without too much modification, so I am very pleased with that.

 

[Venter247365]

Hi Guys I thought it time for a bit of an update.

I have so far changed the engine mountings as I broke the one, and had to buy new ones, but the original is too expensive so after a bit of research I found out that the Ford Sierra mountings are almost exactly the same but for 1/6 of the price, so I bought them.
But then I had to change the brackets again.

Then I decided to take off the top part of the inlet manifold and replace it once the engine is in, but then I found out that the gutter that runs between the engine bay and the windscreen is in the way, so I had to cut out a part of it.

I also broke the bracket that holds the accelerator cables, so I had to build a new one.

I also installed the engine management unit inside the cab on the passenger's side. And pulled all the wiring through to the engine bay. I then fitted the 6 way fuse assembly that comes with the engine management unit.

So tonight I will fit the engine again, and start to do the wiring on all the sensors.

The gearbox & transfer case is also at the engineering shop, so I will find out shortly what the adapter plate is going to set me back.

Wiggilri I treid to accept your friend request but I am not sure if it went through. You should post a few pics of the conversion, and what sort of hick ups you experienced during the conversion.

Anyway thats it so far.

Cheers

 

[Venter247365]

Okay so I have been quite busy the last couple of days when it doesn't rain.

And I must say that trying to match the sensors to the Jeep wiring harness is a bit of a missison, but I seem to have finished most of the wiring.

I finished up the wiring yesterday, and tried to start the engine, and it is dead. Not even the dashboard lights come on, so I think I may have wired something wrong at the power distribution, so I will have to open up all the wiring again, and trace all of them until I can see what went wrong.

The gearbox is still at the engineering shop and I am awaiting my shock for the price, but we shall see.

Once the wiring is sorted and the gearbox is in, I am only left with the drive shafts and the exhausts to sort out, so I am hoping to find the electrical problem quickly as I need to go on holiday with the Jeep in December so yes wish me luck.

Anyway thats all for now, I will post some pics of all that's been going on.

Cheers