Once my little 2.4 engine ***** out on me, it’s at 208 right now, I want to turn it into a project rather than just replacing or rebuilding the current engine. Anybody have ideas on a good engine/transmission combination that would make it a beast but still a reliable daily? Manual trans preferably
Overhaul project ideas
- Thread starter Jizzy
- Start date
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I always thought the Mercedes OM617 (turbo) with a 6-speed would be a nice driver :gr_grin: Not sure what to do for an adapter...
OTOH, can't complain about the stock 3.7 & 6-speed as far as driving. And it could be a plug-n-play swap with the right donor.
OTOH, can't complain about the stock 3.7 & 6-speed as far as driving. And it could be a plug-n-play swap with the right donor.
I’ve thought about an srt-4 or pt cruiser gt engine cause they’re turbo and I’ve read they’re somewhat similar to the libertys, I’ve also thought about a turbo diesel from the liberty. I’ll have to look into the om617, do you know what transmission would link up to it?
To do anything other than what you have in it now you would need
(A) TWO CAR GARAGE
(B) PUT BOTH , YOUR KJ AND WHATEVER ELSE PULLING MOTOR ETC FROM SIDE BESIDE
(C) THEN START PULLING THINGS AND REPLACING
since you'd more than likely need sensors/ wiring harness/ computer(s) and many more things to do it right you would want both vehicles there
Then figure out if what you come up with would even be legal where you live.
Plus figure out if wanting high revving race car or a good overall J E E P
(A) TWO CAR GARAGE
(B) PUT BOTH , YOUR KJ AND WHATEVER ELSE PULLING MOTOR ETC FROM SIDE BESIDE
(C) THEN START PULLING THINGS AND REPLACING
since you'd more than likely need sensors/ wiring harness/ computer(s) and many more things to do it right you would want both vehicles there
Then figure out if what you come up with would even be legal where you live.
Plus figure out if wanting high revving race car or a good overall J E E P
My grandpa has a shop that I plan on doing it in complete with any tools I’ll need for swapping and fab, Definitely don’t want to turn it into a racer (though it would be funny to see people’s face when they get smoked by a liberty) I just want my jeep to push more power than the 2.4 lets it. And before anyone says to just buy a different jeep with a better motor cause it’d be cheaper blah blah blah, that’s not what I want to do cause I love the libertys, besides the lack of power, and I want to build it into something no one else has.
Damotee
Full Access Member
I found this bit of info: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Jeep_Liberty/Engines/4.7L_PowerTech_V8_Engine_Swap
Buy a wrecked 3.7 and swap, easier, cheaper and would still have more power than what you have now.
Thank you!
3.7 lacking ??? LOL ok whatever
LOL , many started only one or two actually done and for what, 20 extra HP LOL Lots of work for nothing
I wouldn’t personally know, just seen quite a few people saying it was sluggish or left them wanting more. But if it can push the kJ with a 3” lift on 32’s, a steel bumper with a winch and still have more power than the 2.4 in a stock Libby than I’m all for it.
I can answer that since I personally ran my 04 over 200,000 lifted miles
3.7 with automatic 32s 4.10s etc
Now for 32s , you want 4 inches of lift
then at " least " 4.10 gearing
I ran on the 04 an ARB up front, Rock Lizard rear bumper with dual swing outs, Skid Row/ Kilby and JBA skids plus RL rock rails so much heavier than most
With that setup I had plenty of power although with full loaded 6 X 10 enclosed trailer behind did wish for 4.156 gears on larger hills etc.
OH and got 21-22 mpg at 75 plus on the open road
Now I am not sure who the " quite a few people are " but most do not want to build one right and then ***** because of so called lack of power.
Ask tjkj02 what he got mileage wise before he SFA'd his, PLUS after he SFA'd it he still ran the 3.7.
So if you want solid info, ask people who have actually built a few KJs , did proper lifts, regeared like they should have and built them for the long haul instead of listening to ones with no clue at all.
The 2.4 was junk from the get go, way underpowered in the KJ
By the way my current DD is on a 2.5 inch JBA coilover lift, 31 inch tires and 4.10 gearing and its got enough power as well
Rev. Mudd done preaching
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Sounds perfect than since I won’t be pulling any trailers, you didn’t have to re-gear the 4.10’s after lifting and putting bigger tires? I’ve been just browsing through forums seeing what people thought cause I’m pretty new to Jeeps, I got bored with trucks and rice burners which is why I decided to start this thread, so I could get reliable info since this will be my first jeep project so I appreciate your input
Charlesthe2nd
Full Access Member
What Tom said is pretty on point. Honestly, there aren't many people who know Libertys better than him. I've been on this site since late 2000s (even tho my join date is 2015, big lurker), and the reply I look for in every thread is from him, because his responses are knowledgeable and accurate.
The 3.7 has enough power to push 32s, steel bumpers, and full armor without an issue. I ran 32s with the stock 3.73 gears for almost 8 years, only recently switching over to 4.10s. Driving it now is night and day from the stock gears. While the 3.7 would get her around relatively well, on any hill it would be searching for gears, and around town I had to leave it in OD switching between 1st and 2nd gears (automatic). That being said, I've had more than one passenger say that the Jeep is quick, even one asking if it was a V8! Then I put in the 4.10s, night and f******g day from the 3.73s! If it was quick with overdrive on and keeping it in 1st and 2nd gears, then its downright fast now, for a jeep that is. I drive the hell out of her, hitting the redline daily, really letting her stretch and breath. If it had more power, then it honestly wouldn't be any more useful than what the 3.7l provides.
All that being said, nothing really touches a diesel. Low end torque is an off-roaders dream. If your pockets are deep enough, I bet you could squeeze one of those new Cummins R2.8 crate engines in there. Go ahead and hate on the idea everyone, but the new Cummins is a pretty damn nice engine.
The 3.7 has enough power to push 32s, steel bumpers, and full armor without an issue. I ran 32s with the stock 3.73 gears for almost 8 years, only recently switching over to 4.10s. Driving it now is night and day from the stock gears. While the 3.7 would get her around relatively well, on any hill it would be searching for gears, and around town I had to leave it in OD switching between 1st and 2nd gears (automatic). That being said, I've had more than one passenger say that the Jeep is quick, even one asking if it was a V8! Then I put in the 4.10s, night and f******g day from the 3.73s! If it was quick with overdrive on and keeping it in 1st and 2nd gears, then its downright fast now, for a jeep that is. I drive the hell out of her, hitting the redline daily, really letting her stretch and breath. If it had more power, then it honestly wouldn't be any more useful than what the 3.7l provides.
All that being said, nothing really touches a diesel. Low end torque is an off-roaders dream. If your pockets are deep enough, I bet you could squeeze one of those new Cummins R2.8 crate engines in there. Go ahead and hate on the idea everyone, but the new Cummins is a pretty damn nice engine.
The 3.7 was what I originally wanted to do cuz it seemed like the most logical swap but I seen a few posts, not on this forum, saying it wouldn’t be worth it cause the 3.7 wasn’t much better than the 2.4, but if he ran it with all those upgrades, which is basically my plan besides I’m gonna fab my own steel bumpers, than I’m definitely back on board with the 3.7. Now correct me if I’m wrong but from the research I’ve done, the 2.4 kj’s came stock with 4.10’s right? So if I swap in the 3.7, lift it, and throw bigger tires on it will I be fine without re-gearing? Assuming the 03 2.4 kJ really does come stock with 4.10’s
3.7 automatics come with 3.73s, I regeared using 4.10s from a 4 ****** ( on the 03 and 04, have spare set laying waiting for them to go in the 05 ) We've done a few similar swaps for other friends on here as well
I wonder why they put 4.10’s in the 2.4 and not the v6. Well thank you so much for the insight I’ll definitely be throwing the 3.7 in. Does anybody know where I could get the pocket style flares like the renegades? I’m tempted to just strip em off my ex’s haha
Sounds like you already found a source then. 
Junkyards would be the best bet.
Junkyards would be the best bet.
They had to throw 4.10s in the 4 popper just so it could move out of its own shadow. 3.73's when stock ( no lift/ stock size tires ) did well. But as soon as you start going bigger you need the lower gears
I love to play with JKs out on the open roads, I can pull so far ahead of them on any hill its not even funny. ( thats with the 03 with 4.10s and 265-70-16s ) I mean the 04 does as well but not as good as the 03
