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XDR's 5.3l TJ Build

30K views 92 replies 15 participants last post by  delsolcharlie 
#1 · (Edited)
Going to compile a complete build list here on the first post followed up by photos.

A little history of the Jeep... I purchased the Jeep in December with intentions on doing the v8 swap. With that in mind I found a 4 cylinder that had an exhaust leak for $5000, which eventually was talked down to $4400. The next cheapest TJ in a 6 hr radius was around $6000. The Jeep is a 1997 TJ and had a non-ac 4 cylinder with the AX5 transmission. 148k on the odometer and drove it the 2.5 hrs back home with no issues. Rolled it into my garage and got to work, the front rotors were toast so swapped them out real quick then got to work on removing the front fenders and grille. Pulled the engine/transmission/transfer case out in one shot. The skid plate had 2 bad nutserts so had to cut bolts off, will post some info on nutsert replacement later. To this point the passenger front brake line had been replaced with a homemade line, which I'll be replacing with a new one.

As of current I have cut old 4 cylinder motor mounts off and getting it ready for the new motor mounts.

Current Build List:

2000 5.3l with 115k ($1800)
NV3550 (Rebuilt) ($900)
Advance Adapters Bellhousing 712591V ($285)
Toyota Land Cruiser Slave Cylinder ($65)
Machined NV3550 Front Bearing Seal for clutch ($20)
Transfer Case Parts -
HD Super Short SYE w/1310 CV Yoke16-1201-1945 ($300)
Partial Master Rebuild Kit For transfer case ($200)
Input Gear-NVG 23 spline-long, late tooth 1995 and newer ($150)
Wide chain & sprocket kit ($225)
Novak Motor Mounts ($196)
Novak Fuel Kit ($268)
Fuel Rail w/ no return ($45)


Still to be purchased:


29-2321 : NP231 Transfer Case Heavy Duty Planetary $185.00
716179V : Modified GM Release Arm (168 tooth flywheels) $76.66
716019 : Slave Cylinder Spacer $0.00
712500M : Flywheel and Clutch kit for LS-Series / Gen 3 engines $627.21
22-0002 : Power Master: 9509 - Chevy XS Torque Starter $235.00
*715543 : Jeep Wrangler TJ Cable shifter $249.00
CCLS1 : Headers natural steel finish $304.82
R-TJ10H : Radiator, RadLock HD $529.88
FX3300-T : fan and shroud assembly, electric $278.00
*SK2XC : Shifter kit, cable $169.00
Nutserts 6035739 $41.04 6035739: NUT
Skid Plate Bolts 6035836 $22.80 6035836: BOLT-HEX FLANGE HEAD
2002-2006 TJ high-pressure power steering hose GATES Part # 354030 $18.01
Radiator upper - Gates #21833 $7.66
Radiator lower - Napa 7473 or Gates #20842 $4.44
Hurst NV3550 Shifter $209.00
Shift Boot Plastic 53000056AB $16.93
Transmission Mounting Plate: 52058546AB $40.00
Transmission Insulator Bushing: 52058551AB $38.95
Front Driveshaft
Rear Driveshaft $235.00
FUEL RAIL PRESSURE GAUGE ADAPTER $8.99
Summit Racing® Auto Meter Ultra-Lite Analog Gauge Pro Packs 07-0002 $585.70
Autogage Analog Gauges 2180 $36.95
Shifter Seal
ECU Mount $44.95 LS based engine ECU mount - Pirate4x4.Com : 4x4 and Off-Road Forum
Intake
 
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#3 ·
if using the trucks accessories the truck power steering lines work in the jeeps box
you can get away with using a 4l60e starter on the fllywheel you dont need that powermaster starter. I was sold it by advance adapters and it wasnt needed. I was pissed that was money wasted.

5th gen camaro manifolds work very well in the chassis and far cheaper then those advertised headers they sell

as for fan, you dont need their fan and shroud setup, i picked up a v6 fbody fan, it clears fine and fits the rad nicely...plus if you have the pcm tuned correctly you can control the fan viva the pcm


upper rad hose can be used from the truck, just have to section the middle of it


this should save you close to 1000
 
#5 ·
5th gen camaros...aka 2010-2013

if you look at my build youll see how well they fit
yes i was very jacked when they said i needed it when a stock starter works but again they might say you need it when using their headers...aka a gimick to make you spend money.

any 3.8 v6 4th gen fbody should work

unless you had someone set the pcm up for a fan or its a 05+ harness its not turned on in pcm from factory

id still run the truck lines, you will have to tweak them at the box but other then that they fit well
 
#6 ·
The PCM and harness came with the motor programmed from lsx4u.com

The 18 for a power steering line isn't bad, but I think it may have had the truck line attached on second thought.

Looks like about $120 for a set of manifolds on eBay, know of any cheaper?
 
#9 ·
The PCM and harness came with the motor programmed from lsx4u.com

The 18 for a power steering line isn't bad, but I think it may have had the truck line attached on second thought.

Looks like about $120 for a set of manifolds on eBay, know of any cheaper?
no idea who lsx4u.com is as i do my own programming

i got my manifolds for free, customers leave them behind when we do header installs but 120 bucks is about fair
 
#13 ·
Ill try bolting it up and sliding the housing over to to see for sure, but I would suck to have to remove tranny to replace starter if it does fit.
 
#19 ·
Sirchiefton said:
XDR, I am about to do the same swap only in a YJ. Any reason you chose the AA bellhousing kit over Novak stuff? This is my main hang up right now, trying to decide which will work best.
Price, i got the aa for under 300. Now I have to run their 600 clutch and 200 starter. If I knew that from the start I may have done the Novak setup.
 
#20 ·
Yea, I really would like to stay with some type of off the shelf type parts. I read somewhere that the adapter ring Novak has for the 6 speed tranny works and all you need to do is get stock flywheel and clutch. I cant find any info concerning what to do about the spacing the ring presents. I am concrned that the transmission will sit to far back from the flywheel to mate the input shaft and clutch properly.
 
#22 ·
Well I've found a ton of info online about the swap.. Just not enough time to read threw all of it, I will be creating a webpage full of info in 1 place within the next year or so.

On another note, my alternator voltage regulator went out in my 2500, so swapped the alternator from the 5.3 over. Thinking about power requirements over a stock 5.3, I'm going to upgrade while I need an alternator. Stock was 105 amps, I'm looking at a PowerMaster 48237 225 amp with 140 amp at idle. I figure with the electric fan, that will drain about 50 amps and add a winch and lights I could get away with a single battery.
 
#23 ·
Nutserts for tranny skid plate were replaced and tacked today. Also massaged firewall for bellhousing clearance. Plan on getting tranny mount figured out, hopefully I can use stock location.
 
#24 ·
Looking for solution to tranny mount. With skid in stock location the rear mount hole line up with the front skid holes, tranny is about 2" forward from stock. Don't have room to move engine back either. Thinking of this as a possibility, https://barnes4wd.com/mobile/Jeep-Skid-Plates_c_50.html . For $120 it's a cheaper option and not predrilled so will be easy to line up.
 
#26 ·
#28 ·
I'm thinking the Borg Warner style may work. Do you know if its the same width as the stock isolator? I could install it on the rear of the bracket and mount it in the stock location.
 
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