[keepviper13]

Starting a new build and thought I'd start a build thread here for some insight...

Specs...

93 Grand Cherokee
Stripped and ready for go fast parts.....

5.9L Magnum from 99 Durango (with 46RE)
D300 (flipped) (changed to 231/300 doubler)
HP D60 Front
14 bolt (shaved to the hill)
35" tires...

Lots of other parts to go fast....

And the donor....

 

[keepviper13]

So the ZJ is completely empty... Absolutely nothing left in it...

What do I need to bring over from the Durango to make the motor run and gauges work.

I believe bringing over the gauge cluster from the Dodge makes things easier but what about the VSS?

Only hard answers on the VSS... I've searched and searched and found mixed results...

 

[ohiozj]

nice start....

i dont have much help on the guage thing. but i would think keeping the zj guages wouldnt be that hard. getting a durango cluster to fit in the zj section could be hard.

i hope you plan to shave that 14b with only running 35" tires.
what part of ohio are you at?

oh, and while you got it all nice and stripped, i suggest reinforcing the frame ALL the way from the front to back. especially high stress areas like by the steering box, and slider/cage tie-ins if thats in the plans too.

 

[Falder]

His 14B is already shaved.

 

[keepviper13]

nice start....

i dont have much help on the guage thing. but i would think keeping the zj guages wouldnt be that hard. getting a durango cluster to fit in the zj section could be hard.

The ZJ is COMPLETELY empty... It truely is a clean slate....
Putting either one back in is going to be equal work, so I want to chose the best option...

oh, and while you got it all nice and stripped, i suggest reinforcing the frame ALL the way from the front to back. especially high stress areas like by the steering box, and slider/cage tie-ins if thats in the plans too.

That's all a given...

i hope you plan to shave that 14b with only running 35" tires.

His 14B is already shaved.

It will get a similar treatment as my old one....

what part of ohio are you at?

Grew up east of Cinci in Fayetteville....
Now I'm in Ft. Wayne, IN... but i frequent the hometown enough to keep it as a location...

 

[keepviper13]

Certainly there's not more people interested in a chromo D30 than a 5.9L swap into a grand....

I test drove the durango around tonight
1st run... everything hooked up... good to go...
2nd run.. rear diff VSS sensor unhooked and it couldn't figure out what gear it wanted... Would bounce between gears all the way up and then it died once on a rapid deceleration...(along with not having ABS in the rear)

Anybody know how to defeat this in the swap?

 

[Action Fab]

I think that the only way you will be able to make that swap work is to find a 5.2/5.9 ZJ harness and computer. Enless the VVS signal that the jeep t-case mounted speed sensors will enterface withthta of the dodge harness. May work but I dont know if they work within the same ohm scale. but I am leaning tward the jeep harness.

FYI... the 5.2 engine harness is the same as the 5.9 in the grands.

 

[keepviper13]

I believe we actually figured out a way to do it...

With a little help from this source I believe all you need to get a signal to the 5.9L is an adapter that goes on the end of a typical speedo cable... albeit a rather elusive adapter...

Ironically I have an 87 parts XJ out back and found the adapter they reference in the cjoffroad thread...
It takes the speedo cable and converts it to the 8pulses/rev signal needed for the 5.9L... Seems easy enough...

I'm going to test it out tomorrow possibly by spinning it with a cordless drill while driving to see if it makes a difference...

 

[keepviper13]

Planning on running this truck pretty fast... Hitting whoops and jumps...

Going to keep it coil spring suspension with some descent shocks...
Front will be at max, hydro assist...

Question is...
What will be the best overall solution for suspension?
Obviously longarm... but..

Parallel 4link front with PH and double triangulated 4 link rear?
Any better options?

Who has better springs for this application? I would think progressive spring would work better but who offers a good progressive rate spring?

I'd like to also keep this rig low but will need a fair amount of travel...

(no, it can't go to coilovers...)

 

[Pre4runner]

I run 6.5" skyjacker coils on my XJ and they take the prerunning very well. I would get some air bumps to help on the unexpected hits though

 

[keepviper13]

Bringing this back to the top.... still pissing with the VSS....

I have tried every method I've seen and heard of to accomplish this... still with dismal results...

Converter from an 87 XJ that goes on the end of a speedo cable
99 Grand cherokee 2 wire VSS
94 Dakota 2 wire VSS
99 TJ 3 wire VSS

All with different speedo gears... (which I can tell a difference in on the speedometer.. i.e smaller gear it will get to ~20mph while a larger gear will only get to 10)...

Still not working correctly though..... I built a driveshaft tonight to see if actually driving it down the road would make a difference but it did not. It still had problems figuring out what gear it wanted to be in and the speedometer was registering maybe 1/4 of the actual speed. (It got to around 10mph when I was doing probably 40)....

I've got to be missing something. It makes me wonder because all of the different options do the same thing. All options would give ~1/4 the speed it should be and don't shift the tranny correctly...

 

[zjnick]

I dont have an answer to the VSS issue however have you tried mallcrawlin.com?

Specifically hardcore ZJ site and I believe if you search you can come up with a few who have done this swap.

To echo what was mentioned above from what I have read I believe the only way to make this a go is to source a 5.2/5.9 ZJ Harness

 

[keepviper13]

I dont have an answer to the VSS issue however have you tried mallcrawlin.com?

Specifically hardcore ZJ site and I believe if you search you can come up with a few who have done this swap.

To echo what was mentioned above from what I have read I believe the only way to make this a go is to source a 5.2/5.9 ZJ Harness

Went to mallcrawlin and they told me to go to a Durango forum... Best durango forum I could find was for a middle school builder...

Either way we are going to make a tone ring to go onto the rear of the HD output on the D300 that will give the correct output... (it will go onto the shaft where the existing speedo ring gear should be...

On a side note, I moved to some actual fabrication for the last week or so...

Boatsides and frame reinforcements about done...

 

[xo_jeep]

That looks sick. Great start.

 

[RockZJ311]

Ill be following your build on both here and NAGCA! Good stuff, cant wait to see it all buttoned up and climbing through the trails

RocKZJ

 

[pennsylvaniaboy]

nice boatsides.....should go nice!!

 

[xj_man_646]

I really want to start with the true clean slate like you have for my next rig, except I think I'm gonna start with a late model XJ.

I'll be keeping an eye on this one...great start. Boatsides look good too.

 

[keepviper13]

Plating work almost done.... Hopefully it will be on the ground tomorrow night...

 

[JustPunchIt]

I love the boat sides.... it's making me rethink my plan for my own rig... however whats leg room looking like, seems you wont be loosing alot, more pics perhaps

 

[Xjcrawler736]

Any reinforcement behind those boat sides?