Grand Wagoneer Cummins 4BT swap

[olllllo]

The Cummins engine got a little prettier today. He sent me these pics this morning.





He also got the new gasket set in. His "Aaron Reeves Garage" company logo is blue, and he is wanting to use all blue hoses on the new stuff. He said he opened up the gasket set and was pleasantly surprised to see this:



A huge number of Cummins installs go in with boring beige paint (like this: http://i.imgur.com/ENdnr.jpg). I am very happy to not be following that trend.

[jeepcomj]

very nice so far.


How much did the motor and trans cost you? I'm thinking about this one one I'm picking up.

[olllllo]

very nice so far.


How much did the motor and trans cost you? I'm thinking about this one one I'm picking up.

I paid $2000 for the motor, which was 100% complete from radiator to the bread truck transmission, and all accessories. You could literally hook up 12v and a fuel line and it would have run as it was. I found the Dodge diesel TF727 for 250, but paid 100 to have it brought from CA to Tulsa, and I drove up there to pick it up.

[austinaubinoe]

jeez I thought you could buy the whole bread truck for $500!?!

Still your making a good investment, this jeep is going to run for a LONG time

[olllllo]

jeez I thought you could buy the whole bread truck for $500!?!

Still your making a good investment, this jeep is going to run for a LONG time

If you have a line on bread trucks with strong running 4BTs in it for 500 bucks, you should go into business! That is definitely not the norm down here, but more in the 2500 range.

But yeah, I really feel like I am giving it a new life. I have had 7 Jeeps come and go throughout the years (3 CJs, 2 XJs, a TJ, and this GW), and while I loved each of those (well, at least 6 of them), the wag is the only one that I really felt that I could never part with. This is really me committing fully to that notion.

By the way... I am making a top secret purchase in the morning that has nothing whatsoever to do with the engine swap, and is something that I have never seen done on a FSJ before. I may have some really amazing pictures next weekend as I go down to the shop to do a side job on it! I've said too much...

[jaber]

TEASE!!!!!

[jeepcomj]

I paid $2000 for the motor, which was 100% complete from radiator to the bread truck transmission, and all accessories. You could literally hook up 12v and a fuel line and it would have run as it was. I found the Dodge diesel TF727 for 250, but paid 100 to have it brought from CA to Tulsa, and I drove up there to pick it up.

K. that's on the high side. I can probably get the complete truck for less, and would be going with a manual trans instead.

this is a nice build. I watched all the videos.

[thinder]

If you can, you better. I paid $1800 for my motor alone and that was 2 years ago. there is probably $1000 in aluminum in the rest of the truck.

K. that's on the high side. I can probably get the complete truck for less, and would be going with a manual trans instead.

this is a nice build. I watched all the videos.

[olllllo]

TEASE!!!!!

Dang it! I ordered said "top secret" part this morning and it takes them 2 weeks to produce it, so I guess I won't be doing it this weekend. I am having it shipped down to the shop where the wagoneer is, and will probably do the install down there the day I go pick it up. It is going to make for a ridiculously awesome drive home!

In the mean time, I found out this morning as Aaron was polishing stuff up that my 4BT was actually a ReCon (Cummins remanufactured product)

[jeepcomj]

If you can, you better. I paid $1800 for my motor alone and that was 2 years ago. there is probably $1000 in aluminum in the rest of the truck.

well...I do rebuild semi trucks for a living. it's actually a fairly simple step down from an F750 pickup (cummins 5.9 ISB powered)...and through the job I know people who also have bread vans.

This motor is a pretty simple little guy to work on...we've even got 6 speed manual transmissions at work, that will bolt right up to it. I'll have to see what those will cost me...we scrap some of them...

-Pat

[The Colonel]

Very cool project- I can't wait to see the finished swap.

[thinder]

Its not a terribly difficult swap (at least mine wasnt) so if you can get an engine or a truck for cheap im sure plenty of people will beat a path to your doorway to get it. Might be able to make a small chunk of change on it. What 6 speed tranny do you have? Cummins uses an adapter plate so technically almost everything can bolt right up...

well...I do rebuild semi trucks for a living. it's actually a fairly simple step down from an F750 pickup (cummins 5.9 ISB powered)...and through the job I know people who also have bread vans.

This motor is a pretty simple little guy to work on...we've even got 6 speed manual transmissions at work, that will bolt right up to it. I'll have to see what those will cost me...we scrap some of them...

-Pat

[olllllo]

So a couple of updates. First, we got the call this afternoon that the transmission work is done. I am not even going to publicly state how cheap it was, but they gave us a KILLER deal. So, I now have a sweet Dodge/AMC TF727 hybrid, freshly rebuilt.

Secondly, I don't think I posted this, but a couple days ago, Aaron tore down the 4BT to check the pistons, considering the one wet cylinder from several posts ago. In doing so, he found some bearing wear, which validated our decision to replace the bearings in the lower end. Everything else looked awesome though, and pistons looked good. Here is a shot of the wear that he found.



As he explained it to me, they actually build those in layers with the brass underneath so that the wear is plainly visible. Pretty cool.

Shot of the piston.



He got the rest of the gaskets in, but is still waiting for the bearing kit. Hopefully we will see that soon so he can start getting it back together. In the mean time, however, he has not been just sitting on his hands! Check out what he sent me tonight. He and his wife both said it looks far better in person, but and that it looks like a friggin show truck at the moment. Looks pretty sweet to me!

For perspective, here is a "before" shot of the frame, but as you know from this thread, this would have been a miraculous "after" shot compared to when I brought it in.



another "before" shot


Check this out.

[Brizio]

Nice all black!

[KyooMac]

Back in Black!