Computers, Gismos and Widgets
Once you locate a possible donor truck, you need to make sure that you can get a few things from it:
* First and most obviously, we wanted the engine and transmission, but we also needed the engine accessories, pulleys, pumps, shifters and all of the emissions equipment and electronics. This means charcoal canisters, leak detection pumps, wiring and computers. Getting these parts now will be much easier, and much less expensive, than if you try to obtain them piece by piece later on.
* Even if emissions is not a concern of yours, the computer may go berserk if it does not have all of the emissions equipment hooked up at the end of the swap.
* Another thing to look into is if your auto dismantler will not unplug the wiring connectors on the donor vehicle for you; offer to do it yourself. The connectors are very important because the wiring schematics of the factory service manuals reference the plugs, not hacked-up wires.
* If the V-8's automatic overdrive transmission is to be used, make sure you have an automatic overdrive computer, but if you want to use a manual or a non-computerized automatic transmission, then you should use the manual transmission's V-8 computer.
* Grab the Dodge Y-pipe and catalytic converter. They are good pieces to start with when fabricating the exhaust once the engine is in your Jeep.
Getting Air In and Out
An air intake system was fabricated using a combination of Dodge Durango and Wrangler parts. The Durango parts, one PN 4883598AA (bonnet, throttle-body air inlet), one PN 4883599AA (hose, from air cleaner to throttle body), one PN 53031572AB (air cleaner bracket) and one PN 6504488 (nut) were used along with the stock TJ air box and a reducer. You could also use an aftermarket conical air filter in place of the TJ air box.
Lastly, the stock Dodge Y-pipe was modified for front driveshaft clearance and bolted to the stock Dodge exhaust manifolds. Then the Dodge catalytic converter and a new muffler were added along with a custom coffee-can tailpipe that finishes the system.