Project Teal-J II, Intro
Project Teal-J II, Part 1
Project Teal-J II, Part 2
Project Teal-J II, Part 3
Project Teal-J II, Part 4
Project Teal-J II, Part 5
Project Teal-J II, Part 6
Project Teal-J II, Part 7
Project Teal-J II, Part 8
Project Teal-J II, Part 9
Project Teal-J II, Part 10
Project Teal-J II, Part 11
Project Teal-J II, Part 12
Project Teal-J II, Part 13
Project Teal-J II, Part 14
What a great idea! Let's drop a rowdy V-8 in between the framerails of our Project Teal-J. On the other hand, let's be realistic. With just a few more than 30,000 miles on our rig, there was no reason to replace the 4.0L inline-six. While the 4.0L has never been known as a powerhouse, it more than likely would be fine for most of our uses--and at its current mileage, it's barely broken in. It is a solid and reliable engine that we don't have to worry about. Also, there's the little matter of time, which we simply don't have much of in these busy days. In the end, our engine plans did a complete 180. There would be no V-8. Instead, we decided to keep the trusty 4.0L, and to add some oomph through the use of parts that bolted on easily. A requirement was that due to our lack of time and shortness of deadlines, all of our parts had to install within a weekend. Additionally, since we were working out of our driveway, there was to be no custom fabrication of any kind involved--always an important blessing.
After browsing through the many options that presented themselves to us, we decided to add power by improving upon the Teal-J's breathing. To make our Jeep inhale more easily, a new throttle body from Rubicon Express was installed, along with a new air intake from AEM. Improving the situation during exhalation is a PaceSetter header and a TFX after-cat exhaust system, also from PaceSetter. A Jet Performance chip that we found in the Performance Products catalog (which has a host of Jeep goodies) was also installed to allow its computer wizardry to release a few hidden horsepower.
In the end, all the parts met our requirements. Installation was easily handled in a lazy weekend of wrenching. Our TJ's 4.0L now breathes easier and produces the increased power and improved throttle response we'd hoped for. Follow along as we show you what is involved in getting more power from your TJ.