Hi All,

Long story short, I just bought my first Jeep, put 600 easy miles on it, and now I need a new block .

So, now comes the opportune question, should I do a V8 swap?

I'm thinking about a 02+ Chevy 5.3L... so here are the questions:

1) Has anyone here actually done this, and passed CA emmissions?

2) Did you do it yourself, or have a shop do it?

3) How easy was it to get passed the SMOG referee??

4) Assuming you have one, are you happy with it?

4) What is the difference in driving vs. an original 4.0? Is it just an incremental step up, or is it OMG this is awesome?

5) Are there any problems / regrets?

6) Any issues with Auto Insurance?

7) Any other recommendations?

Let me know what you guys think.  I'm need to decide if I should go that route, or just stick with the 4.0 and make upgrades to it.

I want to go for it, but I need to know how easy/hard it is to get passed by California.

Thanks!!!

Just a newbie with a dead Jeep .  

First things first, before answering all your questions, Do you have $5000 to $7000 laying around? Thats the parts cost on a 5.3L Swap. If you can find a shop to do it, add another $3000 to $5000. I'm right in the middle of collecting the parts for my swap, and it's adding up quick.  

Yeah, after doing some research, I figured it'll run somewhere close to that.

If I do it, I will be doing most of the work.  I know Novak will do it, but 3 things...
- I really want to do it myself
- The extra $$$ for labor I don't really have
  (especially since I just bought the Jeep)
- And, they're in Utah, so I'd have to get it
  out there.

Honestly, my biggest concern of the build is passing CA emmissions.

I've tried to talk to the state, but they're ambiguous on what exactly they look for.  In fact one of the Technical Advisors kept going on and on about how I should forget the whole thing, and why would I want to do this,... he even suggested I go diesel, since there's no emmission requirements on them.

I'd really like to talk to a referee... but they won't say where I can find one.. it's like they're going out of their way to discouage me.

That's why I'm hoping to find someone who has gone through this, what hoops the referee threw at them, and what they had to do.

97scramin  are you in CA?  If so, I may have a lot of questions for you    .  

I have the same questions as The_Duck - mainly I have an '85 CJ7 that I want to drop an '06 4.0 into.  I tried going the "do-it-yourself" route for the better part of a year, but now I am just ready to fork over $7-8,000 just to get it buttoned up for CA smog requirements.  Does anyone know a shop that can handle this conversion?  My local shop is talking about changing the injectors, fuel rail, throttle body - all on an '06 engine with less than 100 miles before it was pulled.  I know it's an OBDII nightmare otherwise, but I've seen it done but don't know who did it.

Help please!  

No thankfully not in California. From what I have read, you have to go newer than vehicle year with the engine, and have to meet emmisions for that engine year, make & model. I can't help much on the emmission issue. It seems that the newer the engine you are trying to use, the more hoops you have to jump through.  

You might go to your local emmissions testing facility, and get a copy of their test sheet. Or talk with someone who actually does the testing.  

Hi Lordregan,

I'm not sure where you are in CA, but if you're near Orange County, in Laguna Beach there's Jeeps R Us (949-497-9183).  Call Larrie and ask him.

If you're near Central CA, call Advanced Adapters.. they should know someone around there.

Hope that helps.  

I know, there's a few things CA requires:
- The Engine has to be the same year or newer
- If the vehicle is a CA vehicle, you must
  put a CA motor in it, not a 49 state federal
  motor
- It must be from the same class, ie. a Jeep is
  considered a "Light Truck", so I need a motor
  from a "Light Truck".  No Vette motor here.
- All of the emmisions equipment needs to be
  there, "unmodified".

It's this last statement that gets me, as it seems this is where they can make you jump through all kinds of hoops.

One guy said they gave him hell because he put a motor in a Jeep with a 4-speed, but the motor used to be an automatic.... therefore, since the 4-speed didn't have an Overdrive, it was missing emmissions.  (I didn't hear how he resolved this)

Another said they got motors from the factory, before they were installed in vehicles... this gave the referee fits, since he couldn't look up a VIN and tell him what was supposed to be there.

And another says even the air intake cannot be modified... so how am I supposed to make it fit under a Jeep hood?

It's all these ambiguities that are going to drive me nuts.  I'd like to actually find out who a referee is in my area, so I can sit down with him and ask him what is true and what isn't true, so I know what's OK.

But, like I said, the CA pencil pushers won't help me on this at all.. they make vague references and act like these guys are part of the witness protection program.

So, please if anyone can help me with these questions, that'd be great... especially anyone who has been through this.

Thanks all,

PS scramin.. when are you starting your build?  

Well, I was started, then had a backhoe lose the main bearings. There went all the Jeep fund!!!! I plan on having it done by July now. Knock on Wood!  

Good Luck scramin, hope it goes smoothly.

Would you mind keeping me posted on your progress.  If I do do the swap, I coud use any tips / tricks on things you run into.

Also, as a tip/trick for you, if you're using A/C, I've heard that there's a slick way of repositioning the AC compressor to the top of the motor on the conversions, eliminating the need for notching the frame, it somehow uses the 4.3L compressor on the 5.3L motor.

I'll try and find out more details if you want.

Cheers