Hey guys.. I was a Dakota guy forever until it got to rusty and I popped the tranny. it sat around for a bit and then I bought this 98 grand Cherokee with a 4inch rough country lift. wheel spacers and 33's on it. rockers are cooked, and the motor was popped.

Pulled the 318 out of the Dakota and tossin it in there, its a 92 motor in the 98 jeep , bunch of wiring is different and the mounts are different. going to be a bit of work but not bad.

if anyone has any hints or tips on the swap or anything jeep related let me know!

thanks
Chad

 

With that engine swap, you'll be running into a couple of challenges. The first and foremost will be with MOT in Ontario. The old 318 is an OBD1 engine and won't meet the emission standards for the 98 & officially, you're supposed to use an engine configuration that's at least as new as the registered vehicle. In addition, if the jeep was a 6, it needs to remain a 6 unless you change it's designation to "hot rod". If you change the designation, you'll be running into some insurance problems.

To comment on the implications of the actual swap, you need to let us know what the 98 jeep had as an engine to begin with. If it was a 318, it shouldn't be much of a problem, but if it was different (like the in line 6) then you have quite a bit of work.

 

It appears that the 98 Grand Cherokee did come with a 318, it also came with a 4.0 Liter (in-line 6) and the 360 in the Limited version. The 2 V8s came with the same auto transmission, while the 6 had one slightly different, so if it's a swap of the V8 into a 6 configuration, you need to check the transmission-to-engine bolt pattern. If you can put the 318 into the jeep without changing the transmission as well, you'll need to get an OBD2 318 ECU, wiring harness, sensors, and maybe the power distribution center. You should also check the fuel system - at some point, they started providing a single fuel line to the rail (earlier versions had 2 lines, 1 feed & 1 return). It's possible to convert one to the other but you need to make the rail and pump match what you want to do. In addition, the newer engines would have more oxygen sensors (early versions had 1), so you'll need different exhaust pipes to hold the appropriate sensors and most likely a different catalytic converter. A lot of these parts, including engine mounts, can be picked up from an auto salvage yard to cut down on costs, but you should do a complete "paper design" first before you go looking for parts.

Essentially, you'd be converting your OBD1 318 to an early version of an OBD2 318, so the polution tests should all pass as long as the engine itself is tight.

Hope this helped

 

thanks guys both motors are 318s

I noticed the fuel rail issue today. can I just cap one of the lines instead of swapping rails?

Had to change some sensors around.
Had to swap the manifolds.
Had to change the torque converter also.
The mounts are going to bolt right up it seems. just had to clean the mud out of the ones that the jeep uses. Dakota had three that bolted to the block farther back. jeep has the rubber horizontal style closer to the front.

the biggest issues that im looking at right now are the fueling issues and the whole egr/no egr issue.

Dakota manis hit the fire wall. currently swapping the manis from the jeep motor to the dodge motor ( remember dodge motor going into jeep) looks like im going to just weld the pipe coming from the egr to the mani closed.

oh... is there a page on here with sensor names and stuff like that? there are two on the front of the motor, up top, in the lower intake mani, that I don't know what they are. one is a single wire, the other is a two wire in the dodge motor, the jeep motor only has the 2 wire and the other single wire is blocked off, had no wire to it.

Thanks for the help

 

I'll give you a quick answer to some of your questions that I know answers to:

• If the jeep pcm is expecting to see an egr (if the egr is electronic), you'll get an error without it and the fuel mix you get with an egr "fault" might not let you pass the emissions test, other than that it should start & run.
• I'm assuming that the old and new injectors are the same, in which case, you should be able to close off the return line, but you'll need to leave the old regulator in the fuel rail to plug the hole. The jeep regulator is built into the pump. If you choose to use the jeep 318 fuel rail, you can do that as well, you'll just need to go to someplace like NAPA or Parts Source to get a bunch of O-rings (you'll need 16, 1 at the top and bottom of each injector) and a squirt can of silicone lube - use this lube to put the O-rings onto the injectors and then the injectors into the rail & head.
• I'm not sure of the other sensors you're referring to, but if you make the sensor configuration exactly the same as the jeep 318 had, you won't be wrong - the pcm will thank you for that.
• Remember that you'll need the newer exhaust system in relation to oxygen sensors and cat.

 

thanks for the help.

Any idea what one is the return on the dodge rail?

and I went to put the starter on, and nodda, neither will work. The jeep one,... the one that should work is off by like a 1/4 inch clockwise rotation.

have not really looked into the issue but I was wondering if I needed to loosen the bellhousing bolts and move the motor?

is there any room behind the oilpan to knock the pan with a mallet?

Chad

 

I haven't seen a 318 fuel rail, so I'm going to give you a couple of guesses.

• You'll either have 2 lines to each side and the return will be the one coming from the regulator, or you'll have the feed "daisy chained" from one rail to the other, and a return coming from the second rail, again, from the regulator that will be at one end of the regulator.
• The feed line will be routed through the filter, and the return line is usually a smaller diameter.

Not sure exactly what your starter issue is - I'm assuming you're saying there's something in the way for one starter and the other is a different bolt pattern? Pictures would really help & you don't need as many words.


I also don't understand why you want to put a dent in the oil pan. The oil pump is usually in the back section to one side, but I'd want to take the pan off to make sure. Again, pictures of the fitment problem would be helpful.

Where in Ontario do you live? If it's close to Mississauga, maybe I can have a look sometime.

 

Hey man, i live near peterborough. shoot my buddy an email with your cell number
trevor-fus@hotmail.ca

ill post some pics in a minute

 

so this is whats up, dodge motor, jeep trans, jeep starter.

if you are under the vehicle, looking at the starter from the front, the starter needs to rotate clockwise like a 1/4 inch so that the bolt holes line up. I can get it on the stud, but thats it...

I was asking about beating the oil pan because at this moment in time thats the only way i can see the starter going on this motor.

Chad

 

OK, I see what you're talking about. I presume that all this is because you're using the jeep transmission and therefore you need to use the jeep starter. How did the jeep 318 handle this same problem? Was the pan a different shape than the dodge 318? These answers might give you some solution, but if modifying the pan becomes the only approach, I would take the pan off first to make sure you aren't going to hammer on the oil pump. If the oil pump isn't in the way, you should be good to make the change you need to give yourself room for the starter. If you decide to modify the pan while it's off the engine, screw it onto a piece of plywood so that you don't end up distorting it in the process. If you can weld, you might find it easier to cut a piece out and make yourself a concave piece that will give you the room you need and weld that into place - again, I'd attach the pan to something to make sure it doesn't warp during welding.