Has anyone put a 2.3 ford 4cyl. into a sammi? If so, what tranny did you use?

I'd use the ranger 4x4 tranny if it fits, you get an extra low crawl gear ratio

I looked into it a little when I first started. It's too big and too heavy to really be worth it.

i'm still thinking about it but it would be the turbo out of a svo. I would use a c4 for the trany

I'm a big fan of the 2.3, turbo'd or not.  I wanted to do the same swap but have not gotten too far with it..

The main issue with the 2.3 is the length of the motor...  You run out of real estate for the radiator and a fan very quickly.  You need to find the shortest transmission that you can.  I've been told that the ticket is a T5 from a CJ jeep.  This is mated up to a T5 bell housing from a 2.3 Thunderbird or Mustang.  The CJ T5 has the shortest length of all the T5's.

As for the c-tase...  I'm told that the Dana 300 will bolt right up to the CJ T5.  You'll have to find a pass side drop D300.  I have heard, but not confirmed that you can swap a tail cone on the CJ T5 and still use the Sami case but I've not looked into this...  I like the idea of the D300 case because they are pretty much bomb proof with little money invested.

Hope this helps,
Tim

the jeep cj t5 is a divorced t-case?  should have a case attached to it

What do you think about making an adaper plate and running the stock tranny. I know I will have to modify the 2.3 flywheel.

 There is absolutely ZERO benefit to run the 2.3 Ford. It is heavy, too long, not really a powerhouse, more like a boat anchor. You would be much better off selling it and getting a 1.6 and adaptor kit to put that in. Plenty of power and less than 20 pounds heavier than the stock 1.3.

There is absolutely ZERO benefit to run the 2.3 Ford. It is heavy, too long, not really a powerhouse, more like a boat anchor. You would be much better off selling it and getting a 1.6 and adaptor kit to put that in. Plenty of power and less than 20 pounds heavier than the stock 1.3.

obviously never seen a 2.3 turbo on 20psi

Quote from: idaholwb on January 17, 2009, 09:11:42 PM

There is absolutely ZERO benefit to run the 2.3 Ford. It is heavy, too long, not really a powerhouse, more like a boat anchor. You would be much better off selling it and getting a 1.6 and adaptor kit to put that in. Plenty of power and less than 20 pounds heavier than the stock 1.3.

obviously never seen a 2.3 turbo on 20psi

Seriously now...

The 2.3 is a great engine.  Tough.  Easily Turboed. Great power. LOTS of aftermarket performance parts.

Unfortunately, two things kill it as an engine upgrade:

1 weight.  Samurais are killer on the trail because they are lightweight.  They may seem to be underpowered with their aluminum-block engine but they are not.  The extra weight does not help improve their handling - just their ability to spin their wheells.

2 Installation woes.  As pointed out earlier, it's a "beeach" to fit under the hood.

Okay, 3 It's no longer a Samurai.  Samurai owners are cheap wheelers.  Most of us are modders up to a point, then we rely on the basic design of the truck to hand out the whup-ass on the trail.

Aside from the 4.3 V-6, the only other major engine transplant that people do - and a LOT of people do it - is the VW Diesel swap.  Sure it's heavier than our aluminum babies, but it easily fits under the hood AND it delivers torque - not HP - which is what you need on the trail.

Finally, dreams are a wonderful thing!  I am working on an amphibious truck built with a combination of Suzuki and Detroit parts.  The Ford 2.3 is one of the engines that I am considering!  Just remember to weigh whatever choice that you make in your dream vehicle against practicality, function and your ability to finish the project. 

My dream may remain just that - a dream.

obviously never seen a 2.3 turbo on 20psi

Ever seen a turbo 1.3, 1.6L, or better yet 2.0L Suzuki (read: light-weight aluminum & far easier to install) engine on 20lbs boost? Ever see a N/A 4.3L (read: more reliable than turbo, easier & cheaper to install than your 2.3L, still runs on 87 octane, and already trail-proven) in a Suzuki?

20lbs of boost in a Suzuki 4x4 is "neat" but silly. If you want a drag vehicle, get a Suzuki Swift (metro). The weight reduction & drag co-efficient is better than 5lbs worth of boost any day. And, the cost of making an engine survive on 20lbs of boost in a 4x4 (or the added cost of your engine / trans / t-case swap), is way too high for the benefit it would produce. For most off-road applications, 20lbs of boost is just too laggy to be very useful.

If you want to do it "just because you can", I say go for it. But, realize "just because you can" type of engineering invites more mockery than admiration from the practically minded. By default, most people on these threads dispense advice that's practical & cost effective. If you don't care about that, you're better off admitting it's silly, but you want to do it anyway. I've done lots of "just because I can" projects - I've been mocked - but I have thick skin... so i really don't care. Current incarnation of this is a '57 Chevy tow / camping / service rig on boost & propane. Though, I would argue it IS actually more practical than people realize...

Quote from: zukizuki07 on January 18, 2009, 12:56:43 AM

obviously never seen a 2.3 turbo on 20psi

Ever seen a turbo 1.3, 1.6L, or better yet 2.0L Suzuki (read: light-weight aluminum & far easier to install) engine on 20lbs boost? Ever see a N/A 4.3L (read: more reliable than turbo, easier & cheaper to install than your 2.3L, still runs on 87 octane, and already trail-proven) in a Suzuki?

20lbs of boost in a Suzuki 4x4 is "neat" but silly. If you want a drag vehicle, get a Suzuki Swift (metro). The weight reduction & drag co-efficient is better than 5lbs worth of boost any day. And, the cost of making an engine survive on 20lbs of boost in a 4x4 (or the added cost of your engine / trans / t-case swap), is way too high for the benefit it would produce. For most off-road applications, 20lbs of boost is just too laggy to be very useful.

If you want to do it "just because you can", I say go for it. But, realize "just because you can" type of engineering invites more mockery than admiration from the practically minded. By default, most people on these threads dispense advice that's practical & cost effective. If you don't care about that, you're better off admitting it's silly, but you want to do it anyway. I've done lots of "just because I can" projects - I've been mocked - but I have thick skin... so i really don't care. Current incarnation of this is a '57 Chevy tow / camping / service rig on boost & propane. Though, I would argue it IS actually more practical than people realize...

that is very practical..... actually almost too easy! lots of tq gained from a turbo setup (great for towing a huge rig like that) plus its running on propane....just hook up your gas grill to the back bumper! thats an awesome project! I have a friend that runs a big block full size bronco on propane, he loves it!

my post was a joke, sorry if it didnt seem like it, my humor doesnt type well! I know you know a lot of things, especially about boosted vehicles, thus why I posted that hahaha

2.3t in a sammi = waiting all day to make full boost unless you have a tiny turbo (IHI or similar) and in which case you wont even make close to as much power as a more simple swap.

not to rip off the thread but do you have any pics of the boosted propane monster youre building?

One of the other added bonuses for the 2.3 swap is the availability of the motors.  They bit a crap ton of them...  And you can get them for dirt cheap compared to a 1.6.  I, personally, would love to install a 1.6 but damn if I can find one cheap...  Let alone one that is ready to drop in around here.  Most sellers know that they are an upgrade for the Samurai and this adds a bit of a premium.

At one time I owned a sandrail that I used to beat on.  Had it for about 8 years.  I ran 4 motors into the ground.  3 na motors and 1 turbo.  I was able to pickup the na motors for $60 - $120.  They all ran great but I never did oil changes on them and only the turbo motor got the pleasure to run an air filter.  I will swear by these little motors.

my post was a joke

Oh. Oops. 

not to rip off the thread but do you have any pics of the boosted propane monster youre building?

It's just a brown '57 with a pulled engine / trans right now. It's still in the design phases. Don't want to hyjack this thread though: http://bbs.zuwharrie.com/content/topic,93437.0.html