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Trying to get it mostly right the first time: A 5.9 Magnum and 46RE swapped, Tummy Tucked Daily Driven Jeep TJ
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<blockquote data-quote="Dan_Goodwin" data-source="post: 761623" data-attributes="member: 4960"><p>Early 2020 is where the Magnum part of this begins. Not long after buying the Jeep, my lovely wife makes a comment that she wishes it had an automatic transmission in it so she could drive it (she can drive a 5 speed but doesn't really enjoy it). Like any good gearhead husband, I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to kill multiple birds with 1 stone and upgrade in the process. I pitched a V8 and automatic swap and was met with "Well, what are you waiting on?" Remember when I said I wanted to keep this Jeep mild-ish?</p><p></p><p>To be fair, the 2.5L and AX-5 is a reliable combination for a stock-ish Jeep and is good for backroads cruising but is painfully slow no matter which way you slice it. Initially, I wanted to swap in the spare 5.3 LM7 I had in storage, and while it had the 'sexy' appeal, it was a bit cost prohibitive (to do a bare bones LS swap decently well STARTED at $3500. The LS swap also doesn't integrate with the Jeep electronics at all, so a lot of 'adapting' was needed to marry everything up. My research led me to the Magnum V8 Discussion thread on the other forum and the slippery slope that thread is. Combine the low cost of donor vehicles and the almost seamless integration of electronics and a lot of other OEM parts and I was immediately sold on the Magnum swap.</p><p></p><p>Since my Jeep is a 97 with the CCD bus, I was looking for 97-00 Rams, Durangos and Dakotas and even entertained Grand Cherokees. I preferred a donor Ram since I wanted to harvest the front axle for a solid axle swap I have planned on another vehicle, but had trouble finding one for a reasonable price.</p><p></p><p>I kept watch on FB Marketplace and found a 1999 5.9 Durango that ran and kinda drove for $500 in May of 2020.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]159089[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>I was in the middle of a bathroom renovation, so the Durango was delicately unloaded in the back lot at work and parked while I got my ducks in a row (okay, at least in the same pond) for the swap.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]159090[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>After a few months my parking spot for the Durango had expired, so I needed to make it disappear. A perk of my job is access to equipment. A few sawzall blades and body bolts later:</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]159092[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Off to the scrap yard it goes! I wish I had the space to store the Durango and part it out but this was the best option.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]159093[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>I labeled and removed the wiring harness and PDC (power distribution center) and only cut the harness where it passes through the firewall. I am planning to use the Durango harness as the base for the swap since I am going from a manual to automatic transmission.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]159091[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>The trans has '12/04' written in paint pen, so I am assuming it was <s>rebuilt</s> swapped in with a junkyard unit at some point and the missing bolts have me skeptical of its longevity. Y'all…my wife is a saint and lets me get away with far more shenanigans than should be allowed. The engine lived in our carport for a few days before I had a chance to take it to the farm to put in storage. I figured it needed time to get acquainted with the Jeep anyway.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]159107[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>I had plans to use my 2020 tax return to fund the swap, but the .gov decided I owed money that year, so the swap was put on hold and the Jeep went back to getting regular maintenance while we put some miles on it. We took it backroads cruising to the lake:</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]159098[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>We also took it down 600-1 in the Talladega National Forrest on the way to our anniversary weekend getaway at Pursell Farms in Sylacauga, AL. I didn't get many good pictures since we caught the sunset and did most of the trail in the dark (not my smartest move, I'm aware).</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]159097[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]159096[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Don't worry, it's about to get good.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Dan_Goodwin, post: 761623, member: 4960"] Early 2020 is where the Magnum part of this begins. Not long after buying the Jeep, my lovely wife makes a comment that she wishes it had an automatic transmission in it so she could drive it (she can drive a 5 speed but doesn't really enjoy it). Like any good gearhead husband, I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to kill multiple birds with 1 stone and upgrade in the process. I pitched a V8 and automatic swap and was met with "Well, what are you waiting on?" Remember when I said I wanted to keep this Jeep mild-ish? To be fair, the 2.5L and AX-5 is a reliable combination for a stock-ish Jeep and is good for backroads cruising but is painfully slow no matter which way you slice it. Initially, I wanted to swap in the spare 5.3 LM7 I had in storage, and while it had the 'sexy' appeal, it was a bit cost prohibitive (to do a bare bones LS swap decently well STARTED at $3500. The LS swap also doesn't integrate with the Jeep electronics at all, so a lot of 'adapting' was needed to marry everything up. My research led me to the Magnum V8 Discussion thread on the other forum and the slippery slope that thread is. Combine the low cost of donor vehicles and the almost seamless integration of electronics and a lot of other OEM parts and I was immediately sold on the Magnum swap. Since my Jeep is a 97 with the CCD bus, I was looking for 97-00 Rams, Durangos and Dakotas and even entertained Grand Cherokees. I preferred a donor Ram since I wanted to harvest the front axle for a solid axle swap I have planned on another vehicle, but had trouble finding one for a reasonable price. I kept watch on FB Marketplace and found a 1999 5.9 Durango that ran and kinda drove for $500 in May of 2020. [ATTACH type="full" alt="013873e2b369a5c9fa19a621be2e2cd0047072b8ef.jpg"]159089[/ATTACH] I was in the middle of a bathroom renovation, so the Durango was delicately unloaded in the back lot at work and parked while I got my ducks in a row (okay, at least in the same pond) for the swap. [ATTACH type="full" alt="014cf48875abe1f239f06879f1430de63f1996a343.jpg"]159090[/ATTACH] After a few months my parking spot for the Durango had expired, so I needed to make it disappear. A perk of my job is access to equipment. A few sawzall blades and body bolts later: [ATTACH type="full" alt="01b2ac16eed7d9c29ace5216006fc136993c1142e8.jpg"]159092[/ATTACH] Off to the scrap yard it goes! I wish I had the space to store the Durango and part it out but this was the best option. [ATTACH type="full" alt="0108726a165fc559c68560a49b68beccb360abef91.jpg"]159093[/ATTACH] I labeled and removed the wiring harness and PDC (power distribution center) and only cut the harness where it passes through the firewall. I am planning to use the Durango harness as the base for the swap since I am going from a manual to automatic transmission. [ATTACH type="full" alt="012bb0c1a71a4c58f9af6938edb4420318681d1976.jpg"]159091[/ATTACH] The trans has '12/04' written in paint pen, so I am assuming it was [S]rebuilt[/S] swapped in with a junkyard unit at some point and the missing bolts have me skeptical of its longevity. Y'all…my wife is a saint and lets me get away with far more shenanigans than should be allowed. The engine lived in our carport for a few days before I had a chance to take it to the farm to put in storage. I figured it needed time to get acquainted with the Jeep anyway. [ATTACH type="full"]159107[/ATTACH] I had plans to use my 2020 tax return to fund the swap, but the .gov decided I owed money that year, so the swap was put on hold and the Jeep went back to getting regular maintenance while we put some miles on it. We took it backroads cruising to the lake: [ATTACH type="full" alt="01871a9a36655028a3f130f30790e8be01d24f050f.jpg"]159098[/ATTACH] We also took it down 600-1 in the Talladega National Forrest on the way to our anniversary weekend getaway at Pursell Farms in Sylacauga, AL. I didn't get many good pictures since we caught the sunset and did most of the trail in the dark (not my smartest move, I'm aware). [ATTACH type="full" alt="015cae65b4dfafb75abf78ae927d30252e54c2c9e1.jpg"]159097[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="013fa2709e647a8de907ce544202eff0e101d80a58.jpg"]159096[/ATTACH] Don't worry, it's about to get good. [/QUOTE]
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Trying to get it mostly right the first time: A 5.9 Magnum and 46RE swapped, Tummy Tucked Daily Driven Jeep TJ
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