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Author Topic: Is there a good resource for motor/tranny/t-case?  (Read 3280 times)

Offline Matt

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Re: Is there a good resource for motor/tranny/t-case?
« Reply #12 on: November 17, 2014, 11:00:23 AM »
If you are going LS family then dont be scared of the electronic trans. 4l60E is plenty strong and is made to mate with those engines. They are cheap and the harness  that you will have to buy for the engine will plug right in. Nothing extra to buy or program. I paid $450 for a newly rebuilt 4l60 without a core. OD is worth it. Tons of transfer case options and easily adaptable to most jeep cases.

From one who has done it. I fully support any decision that starts with one of the 4.8, 5.3, 6.0 GM motors.

Tons of aftermarket for the motor, easy to work on, easy to program, easy to install. Nearly bulletproof.
Matt, Jessica, Aleigha (4), Gavin (1)

1999 Wrangler TJ
*With modifications

My '99 TJ Build

matt@gatrailriders.com

Offline LUVNMY06TJ

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Re: Is there a good resource for motor/tranny/t-case?
« Reply #13 on: November 23, 2014, 08:57:01 AM »
...
1) For a sudden recovery you can slam the shifter from 1st to reverse without hunting or shifting into park by mistake

Jim, in case you have not seen or heard of this concept, if you are about to go head over heels on a climb, you can slam the tranny into reverse and get on the gas to pull the vehicle back to where the head will not come over the heels.

I had not heard of this before now. That seems like a really good safety feature to have. This is something I'll keep in mind. My concern with this is always knowing it's there and pushing the jeep more than I should because I've got that option. I suppose that then becomes an exercise in discipline. Thanks for the explanation Clark.

TH350 is plenty strong for what we do, esp. if it has the K case.  Tripp's correct about the OD.  It will be cheaper than a computer controlled tranny both to buy and to integrate.  With a buggy where you don't worry about all the JK sensors and gauges, a 4L80 makes more sense.  Otherwise the harness will be $$$.

What is the K case? As this will be as much of a budget build as possible that sounds like a good option. Also, there will be very few if any sensors or gauges to deal with in this build.

If you are going LS family then dont be scared of the electronic trans. 4l60E is plenty strong and is made to mate with those engines. They are cheap and the harness  that you will have to buy for the engine will plug right in. Nothing extra to buy or program. I paid $450 for a newly rebuilt 4l60 without a core. OD is worth it. Tons of transfer case options and easily adaptable to most jeep cases.

From one who has done it. I fully support any decision that starts with one of the 4.8, 5.3, 6.0 GM motors.

Tons of aftermarket for the motor, easy to work on, easy to program, easy to install. Nearly bulletproof.

I'm not so much scared of the electronic trans as I am the affordability of an electronic trans, which it seems they seem to be somewhat affordable. Thanks Matt.

It seems like everyone completely supports the LS motors. Is there a range of years they are best found? Or vehicles? Does there happen to be any model/variant that was a dud/recalled and I should stray away from? It also seems like the consensus is to select a transmission geared for the street in high but have the durability? to handle what we do off road. Is there a difference in strength in transmissions? I.E. if one is running D44s front and rear with 35's vs. running tons and 42's? Or is it strength of the transmission to hold up to the motor output?

Also, slightly off topic, what are everyone's thoughts on diesel vs. gas? I had this idea of having a turbo diesel engine vs. gas. I know that most diesel motors are more expensive, and was told they can be heavier, but that's about the extent of my knowledge.
Jim

"Never leave a downed wheeler."

Offline kvom

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Re: Is there a good resource for motor/tranny/t-case?
« Reply #14 on: November 23, 2014, 10:06:55 AM »
On my buggy the O2 sensors are the only pollution-related ones that are installed and reported by the ECM.

The LQ9 engine is from 2007, so there are a number of later-year models.  Since you'd likely be getting one from a wrecked GM vehicle you may well find a newer model.   In your shoes I'd look for one with decent mileage and a good price.  Ones that are bought from salvage yards likely are missing accessories.  A "fresh kill" engine will be complete.  I know a guy who specializes in fresh kills and who warranties his engines.

You also need to choose between throttles that are drive-by-wire or via cable.  My intake uses a cable, but DBW systems are supposed to be quite reliable.  Obviously getting the proper pedal assembly is needed.

On my rig I installed a Camaro oil pan to increase ground clearance.  The truck oil pans are pretty deep.  With a shallow pan consider an oil accumulator as an addition.  This device ensures that the engine has enough oil when in a steep nose up attitude where the pickup in the oil pan may be inoperative.

Most of the offroad diesel rigs I've seen use engines from delivery trucks (e.g., 4BT).  Heavy with a lot of torque.  Marty (bjeep) can offer advice on that. 
00 TJ  stuff
02 F250 CC LB 7.3 tow pig
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Offline Mortalis5509

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Re: Is there a good resource for motor/tranny/t-case?
« Reply #15 on: November 23, 2014, 11:03:42 AM »
Budget and diesel conversion don't work together. Very expensive, and even more so if you can't fab everything.

Th350 or 400 don't have od. Go with a 4l80 in stock form will be fine with a stock 6.0 or 5.3. You should be able to buy those together.
Go DAWGS

Skinny Pedal Racing

Offline LUVNMY06TJ

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Re: Is there a good resource for motor/tranny/t-case?
« Reply #16 on: November 23, 2014, 04:54:23 PM »
Kirk, I take it a "fresh kill" engine is an engine just pulled from a wrecked vehicle? Once I being seriously looking for an engine I'll contact you about your guy. I'll take all the help I can get. Those are good pointers to keep in mind about the mileage and salvage yards. I'm going to have to google the throttle systems you mentioned to better understand what they are and their differences. I've actually heard about the oil pan problem/solution before, perhaps from you. I hadn't thought about the oil accumulator though, good to know. I'll contact Marty and get his .02 on diesel powered rigs. Thanks for all the help.

Tripp, when you say diesel conversion, do you mean conversion, or just putting a diesel setup into a vehicle? Essentially I'll be replacing the stock drive train so I didn't think it mattered if it was gas or diesel.
Jim

"Never leave a downed wheeler."

Offline Mortalis5509

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Re: Is there a good resource for motor/tranny/t-case?
« Reply #17 on: November 23, 2014, 09:22:32 PM »
Ls motors are good for 300k miles so mileage isn't a big deal. Gen 3 is drive by cable, and Gen 4 is drive by wire. I had drive by cable and now I have drive by wire. I dbr due to a particular motor I wanted. Gen 4 make a little more power but both are good.
Go DAWGS

Skinny Pedal Racing

 



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