My name is Cary, I am new to this forum and I am in the process of swapping in a 5.7 liter TBI into my '95 Wrangler. I am doing this myself with the help of my 21 year old Son Bert. We are doing this because I recently blew out my Transmission and I figured now would be as good a time as any to do something I have always wanted to do to my Jeep.

I want to be up front and say that I am also covering the entire project on my website so that it may be helpful to others like me who want to be able to do something like this. I am not a professional mechanic and have never performed a swap like this, so I will be looking for help and advice from anyone who  is willing to give it.

I have done quite a bit of research and I believe I have a pretty good start, but I was hoping that as I get further into this project, I might be able to come here for answers to some questions I might have. Would this be an appropriate thing for me to do considering that I will more than likely be referencing the answers I get on my website? If this is not cool, I understand, but I really think visitors would appreciate having a complete "as you go" documentation of a project like this. I will not add any links to my website until I know it will be acceptable to do so. Any comments regarding this would be appreciated. Thanks!  

Well, I have the motor out of the donor truck and bolted to an engine stand and have removed all the exterior hardware so that I can get it all cleaned up and looking like new again. I am not sure if I will be rebuilding it while I have it out or not. I probably will, because I definitely want to make sure that when I get it all done, I won't be having to pull it all out again. The motor looks to be in good condition. No metal flakes in the oil pan, crank looks good. Haven't pulled the heads yet, but I will if I decide to rebuild it.

I was a bit disappointed to find out that it has a two bolt main. I thought that a 3/4 ton truck would automatically indicate a four bolt main. Can anyone tell me if this is going to have a negative effect on the engine's reliability? I know that having a four bolt main would be better, but is a two bolt going to hold up? If I rebuilt it, I am going to put in a mild cam and lifters, and possibly roller rockers. Any input would be appreciated.

Anyone that might be interested in following along on this project and maybe having some good advice to give is welcome to check it out at www.norcaloutdoorsupply.com/fourwheeling.  

UPDATE ON YJ SWAP

Well, there's been a slight change in plans. I wanted to be  able to get the 350 swap done in a couple of months in my garage, but I have been without my Jeep for too long already and the money I need for some of the parts to complete my project is not available. So I went on ebay looking for and found a transmission at a reasonable price and it will be here in a few days. So I am going to go ahead and put it in so I'll have my Jeep back. I will continue to get the 350 set up the way I want it to be and purchase the rest of the things I need as I can afford them. I will have everything ready to go into my Jeep before I take it out of service again, and maybe keep the down time two a couple of weeks instead of several months.

Doing it this way will ensure that when I get done with it, it will be exactly what I want. I will also continue my research and gain better knowledge before I get too far into my project.  

I am about to start the same project on my 89 2.5 YJ - I picked the jeep itself up for a song and a dance - and think its a great candidate for such a swap - I will check out your site to see what I am up against. I see that Advanced Adapters has a great selection of swap parts, but don't list prices. And I know being in Cali, the donor engine has to be the same year or newer than the vehicle it is going into. My only dilema is it states that all the smog must be present, but it does not specify if for the engine year, or the vehicle year. I will keep reading.  

Aedilwyn, check out http://www.novak-adapt.com/.  They have a good read on swapping in and out motors.  What needs to be done here and there and a list of adapters like Advanced Adapters does.  Novak talks about the engine only having to be of the same year or newer for it to be "legal" and have most of the smog crap on it.