How Can I Make My 2.8 V-6 More Powerful

[Olympia]

I have a 2.8 v-6 in my 85 cherokee. People have told me that I should either put a 3.4 in there, or get a vortec 4.3, or just sell it and get a cherokee with 4.0l straight six. Thats all well and good, but I like my jeep, and I don't want to do an engine swap.

So my question is this: HOW CAN I MAKE MY 2.8 MORE POWERFUL?

[MY91GT(Z)]

u can do a 3400 top end swap that would make it breath alot better and do a 2.5" exhaust w/ sr8 through flow muffler, udp and home depot homemade cai that right there would cost u bout 5-600 if u do it urself

[Olympia]

First off, I appreciate your input, secondly... what is a 3400 top end? I understand the exhaust, but what did you mean after that

[IsaacHayes]

The 2.8 is carb though right? So you'd have to convert to DIS.

3400 is a 3.4l aluminum head FWD engine that makes 185hp. Top end would be heads on up.
UDP = underdrive pulley
CAI = cold air intake

[Olympia]

Yah my 2.8 is a two barrel carb. What does DIS mean? Is that fuel injection, or throttle body? And how hard would it be to do a top end swap?

[IsaacHayes]

3400 is fuel injected, 6 injectors, and DIS is distributor-less ignition system. You'd need an external crank trigger too cause your crank doesn't have one since it uses a distributor.

Probably the best route is to get a 3.4 RWD camaro motor, and swap on 3400 top end and pistons on that, then run it with some computer, either the older OBDI computers or a stand alone. That would give you good power.

It's not going to be easy or simple stuff to get more power. You'll have to do some work.

[1meanz]

its almost impossible to make GOOD power on a carbed 2.8, but with a 3400 top end you could make good power because of how good it breaths. thats deffinatly the way i would go

[JMo60]

turbo

[montess408]

just to keep it simple and not go overbord i would just get headers and good exhaust system with a cam and edelbrock intake and a 390 4bbl holley
it will give you a bit more power but nothing compare to the gen 3 stuff

[ssdurango]

I've got an eldelbrock intake for a carb if your interested

[Superdave]

Yet nobody asks the 3 most important questions..

1. How much power are you looking to make?
2. Is this a daily driver, also what do you do with it.. towing anything?
3. How much money are you willing to spend?

[1meanz]

yea! what dave said! lol. also, how handy are you at working on engines? and what kinda tools do you have? other very important ?'s

[Olympia]

well, my goal for my jeep is to make it able to take trails and almost anything that I can throw at it, besides heavy duty rock crawling. and I am able to do most anything under the hood, as long as i have my in laws help. I think for now I'm gonna put exhuast, headers (since this is a 2.8 in a cherokee, where can I find some headers that I wont have to modify anything to install), I'll also do a bigger carberator and heads and cam.

[montess408]

your best bet on the heads is to get a set of h.o heads or 3.4 and get them ported
becaus there is not aftermarket heads for the iron heads 2.8 and the aluminum heads dont fit a carb setup

[Superdave]

If youre handy with a TIG welder then you could easially fab up a carb flange ontop of a 3400 UIM, plug the injector holes.. get a little crafty with the dizzy and then have a really good flowing top end.

The Gen3 heads flow almost twice as much as the iron heads, if you want power that's about the only way to get it. A larger cam will only compliment the heads more.. and headers would be icing on the cake.