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Will a 5.9 and NV4500 fit in my CJ?

3K views 22 replies 16 participants last post by  Robert 
#1 ·
New guy here :flipoff2: to all you old timers.

I did a search and didn't find much besides 350 v 5.9 and who's better.

I have a good line on a 95 Dodge truck (cheap and low miles) with a 5.9 and 5 speed manual (NV4500) tranny in it. I know the tranny will bolt right up to my Dana 300,will the engine and tranny fit in my CJ?

Should I be concerned about motor mounts etc?

Thanks and :flipoff2:
 
#4 ·
Doc Johnson said:
Anything is possible but I bet it would be a tight fit and be hard to keep cool.

You may very well be the only person on the PBB who has never seen a V-8 swap in a jeep:rolleyes:

Hell yes it will work. Search for posts by Bigdude, his buddy runs a 5.9 in a tj (cant remember the tj owners name).
 
#6 ·
I know a guy that has that setup in his CJ7. He added about 6" to the frame, hood, and fenders to get it all to fit but it sure turned out nice.
 
#7 ·
A CJ is the same wheel base as a YJ. Swapping a 4500 into a YJ (from the research I've done) is within an inch of stock drive line length when you add a slip yoke eliminator. With your 300 case, you'll still end up with a longer rear shaft than a YJ. Keep your x case in the stock location and work from there since a V-8 will be shorter than a strait 6 block. Go for it, I wish I had a line on that drive train for my heep, but my 5.9 Dodge isnt paid off yet, plus its my dd.
 
#8 ·
I've seen several YJ's with 350/NV4500 and stock wheelbase. It'll work.

But why the NV4500. Most rock crawlers are moving away from stick to auto. An auto would probally be cheaper than an NV4500. IMO sticks are the way of yesteryear. I have always run sticks and have an SM420 w/ crawl ratio of 115 and it is time to change for me.
 
#9 ·
A buddy of mine is runnin a 454/4500/d300 in a YJ and it fits, no legthening. Don't get me wrong it is reeeeaaaal tight, but it works great with the 4.88's and 38.5" swampers. I think that he is running dual pusher fans so the engine can be as far forward as possible. He also has a huge radiator. As far as I know, he doesn't have any cooling problems.

Jeremy
 
#10 ·
".... runnin a 454/4500/d300 in a YJ ....as far as I know, he doesn't have any cooling problems."

Ha! No chance to get hot ie: Start, let clutch out, Dana 300 go boom, shut off, replace Dana 300, repeat.

Just kidding, I'm sure it works, it just sounds funny, 454/4500/d300 in a YJ
 
#12 ·
Novak has mounts!

I've got a 5.2 magnum, 46RH in my CJ-7 so yes it can be done. I fabbed and wired myself about 3 yrs ago. Novak now makes mounts- 4500 is plenty short with the 300- I would clock the 300 a few inches but i'm biased;)
 
#14 · (Edited)
All you guys are saying this V8 or that V8 and the NV4500 fit into my Jeep, and that is fine.

But this guy is talking about the 5.9L Cummins. That is 1100lbs of engine. These things are huge.

I know the same guy 66CJDean is referring to. He started out with 30feet of rectangular tubing, fabbed a whole new frame for his CJ7, and stretched the front sheet metal six inches.
The last time I saw his Jeep, it was only running a four speed tranny (NP435 but I am not sure), D300, D30 and D44. There was no front driveshaft, because with SOA and lift springs, the driveshaft was several inches into the oil pan.
And other than the NP435, I would not expect the rest of the drivetrain to survive if the the engine ever was worked hard enough to get to peak torque.
I will say, this thing screams down the freeway!

If you are really set on a diesel, sell off the 5.9L and buy its smaller brother, the 3.9L four cylinder 4BT engine.
The 5.9L should sell for enough to get a reman 190 hp 4BT from Cummins. Cummins carries adaption rings matchup to almost any popular American transmission.
The weight, power, and length of these engines would be much more reasonable in a Jeep than the 5.9L.
 
#16 ·
Oxjockey said:


How did I miss that? Wasn't the 5.9L gas offered with the NV4500 in 95?

(really all the info he provided?)

Bryan
Actually, I just reread the original post, and Herb does not specify gas or diesel. :mad:
A diesel in a Jeep is my sick fantasy, so I automatically asumed he is referring to the Cummins. My bad.:rolleyes:
I have no idea if the 5.9L GAS was offered in front of the NV4500.
 
#19 ·
Herb in Tx said:
Oops - I forgot the cummins is 5.9. I was referring to the 5.9 gasser - it did come in front of the NV4500 and the spline will bolt right up to the dana 300 in my CJ.

Thanks for all the info.

Go for it. I have the NV4500/D300 behind my 258I6 in my CJ7.
Plenty of driveline room. The NV4500 is a great trans. Since my
CJ is also my daily driver the OD is a necessity with my 4.88's.
 
#20 ·
c'mon you jeep gurus........

the gas 5.9 and 4500 was not offered in the ram until the '96 model year in the 2500 option package, the same year it got the hd 60's.......unless I heard the wrong information a while back.
 
#22 ·
Robert said:

If you are really set on a diesel, sell off the 5.9L and buy its smaller brother, the 3.9L four cylinder 4BT engine.
The 5.9L should sell for enough to get a reman 190 hp 4BT from Cummins. Cummins carries adaption rings matchup to almost any popular American transmission.
The weight, power, and length of these engines would be much more reasonable in a Jeep than the 5.9L.
The back end of the block of the 3.9 is identical to that of the 5.9. I checked with the local Cummins dealer a couple of years ago. It's essentially the same block with two cylinders chopped off. So the Dodge bellhousing should bolt right up. And it will fit under the hood.

Bob

ShortTimer
 
#23 ·
eurobob said:


The back end of the block of the 3.9 is identical to that of the 5.9. I checked with the local Cummins dealer a couple of years ago. It's essentially the same block with two cylinders chopped off. So the Dodge bellhousing should bolt right up. And it will fit under the hood.

Bob

ShortTimer
You can go that route, and be stuck with the NV4500, NP435 or whatever crappy automatic Dodge offered behind the Cummapart, or run the Cummins adaption plates to run almost any tranny you want. I still see length as being a issue with the four cylinder, so I would run a four speed manual (T98, T18) as they are considerably shorter than the NV4500 or autos.
 
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