Well ive been quiet about one of mine, but i figure ill give the update...
Many know i did yet another motor swap on my black 03 project since the last motor swapped in wasnt compatible with my computer in the truck
So i did alot of cross referencing and found out that a 03 Jeep Liberty motor is a compatible match for my truck...
Fast forward to last friday, motor swap day...
New motor installed and on the home stretch now...
Or so I thought....
I get the top of the motor all buttoned up, ready to go and my buddy helping me is struggling to get the trans bolted up, we have all the holes lined up but the trans just wont seat fully against the engine...
Well long story short, we find out that the 03 liberty came with two different transmissions and it was dependent on if you had an early 03 or not, and apparently my donor jeep was an early 03 and didnt have the same trans as me.
The problem is the knub on my torque converter...
The one right in the middle here, wont slip into the slot on the crank like its supposed to, the slot on my motor is about a 1/2" too small in diameter....
So here we are, my truck is sitting at my shop, in pieces with the transmission in the bed...
Im at an all time high frustration level with this truck and im about 90% set on just dumping the project and starting over, I already have a few leads on other reg cab 3rd gens im working on, my buddy wants me to give it just a little bit more fight so in a last bit effort, im talking to a local trans shop to see if there is a torque converter that can fit my situation, if that doesnt pan out i have a friend that works in a machine shop that can shave the half inch off the needed area on my torque converter....
So dont be suprised if you never hear about this truck again because im just a hair away from stripping it and crushing it....
Hate to give up on what will potentially be a beautiful black reg cab but almost 2 years of work, 2 motor swaps of non compatible motors and how hard it is to find a reasonable motor for an 03, i may just kill this project off...
but i will say that im impressed with how that original black paint from 2003 shined up with almost 20 hours worth of polishing on the driver side