Driving the Lexus 1UZ V8 swapped Jeep Cherokee

"American Locomotive" (AmericanLocomotive) 01/27/2016 at 08:03 • Filed to: None

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So the past few months I’ve been helping a buddy swap a Lexus 1UZ V8 into his Jeep XJ Cherokee. Why? Because the Jeep AW4 automatic is the same thing as a Lexus LS400 A340E automatic, and my local junkyard had a relatively low-miles 1UZ available for just $180. What more reason do you need?

Here’s a video of its first official drive the other day:

Here’s another video walking around and revving it from the inside:

American Locomotive > American Locomotive 01/27/2016 at 08:04

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Bonus video, who doesn’t love an angry V8 with about 2 pounds of flexplate for a flywheel hitting the rev limiter?

aneightballandtwohookers > American Locomotive 01/27/2016 at 08:07

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damn that’s rad

450X_FTW > American Locomotive 01/27/2016 at 08:11

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GOOD LORD MAN. Who’d a thought that you could make a Lexus V8 sound like it belonged in Mad Max??

Party-vi > American Locomotive 01/27/2016 at 08:13

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Are you fucking kidding me? This is awesome!!! That poor tach can’t keep up haha.

ETA: I need details! Are you using the stock exhaust manifolds? What about the ECU is that still Lexus?

m2m, apex detective > American Locomotive 01/27/2016 at 08:49

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I’m not a Jeep man at all, but I can appreciate this a whole lot ... sounds ace! :D

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > American Locomotive 01/27/2016 at 08:56

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I love that 1uz

WiscoProud > American Locomotive 01/27/2016 at 09:10

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That's awesome. How bad was the swap? If the transmission is already the same, that's a big help.

ESSSIX GmbH - Accountant/Wagon Thumper > American Locomotive 01/27/2016 at 09:13

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Custom mounts?

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > American Locomotive 01/27/2016 at 09:18

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Whelp. Looks like I need to buy a wrecked LS400 or SC400 and drop that shit in my Miata. This is amazing

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > American Locomotive 01/27/2016 at 09:25

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HOLY FUCKING SHIT

I’ve never been so excited about a Lexus engine of any kind before.

Spill them details man, it sounds EPIC.

Electronics are all Lexus I assume then, and this thing literally bolts up to the trans?! Is there a kit for engine mounts or was that fab work?

TALK WE NEED DETAILS

The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 > American Locomotive 01/27/2016 at 09:36

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Love

that

vert

ical

for

mat

and

use

of

flash

for

high

bea

ms

in the

snow

eff

ect.

Seriously though, cool swap. Even if the idea may be a bit sacreligious. I wish I could find cheap engines and had the means to do swaps.

Birddog > American Locomotive 01/27/2016 at 09:52

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Is this the same guy from Pirate 4x4?

gin-san - shitpost specialist > American Locomotive 01/27/2016 at 10:15

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I don't see how people can hate this. $180 for a V8, and that rumble at idle is great. Put that all in a Jeep with big tires and you can give zero fucks about how much snow is on the ground.

Takuro Spirit > American Locomotive 01/27/2016 at 10:19

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WANT

Milky > American Locomotive 01/27/2016 at 10:46

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These are 2 of my favorite things. Thanks for putting them together.

American Locomotive > Birddog 01/27/2016 at 12:26

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the very same

American Locomotive > Party-vi 01/27/2016 at 12:27

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Lexus ECU. Stock LS400 manifols stick out too far, so we cut them down and made DIY “block-hugger” manifolds that stay very close the block.

American Locomotive > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 01/27/2016 at 12:29

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ECU an all that is still Lexus, just spliced into the Jeep harness. The Jeep AW4 is the same thing as the Lexus A340E transmission, so you just need to swap the bellhousig to get the engine to bolt up.

All custom fab.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > American Locomotive 01/27/2016 at 12:30

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Holy shit

When your biggest challenge is a set of engine mounts you’re doing the right swap