i was looking into getting a jeep cherokee and putting bigger axle under it and a chevy vortec motor does anyone know if it would work in? and i would like to know ups and down about cherokees was looking at 82 to 92 the more square looking ones  

The new Cherokee came out in 84 and somewhere around 88 when Jeep started to put 4.0 in them the lengthened the engine compartment (modified firewall) for it to fit so you want one of these or later with more room for transplants. (I would suggest that you use a 4.3 and not a V8 for weight, cooling and drive train concerns as biggest is rarely best here and you want a 95 on 4.3 because they have a added balance shaft in engine and are V8 smooth) On rear axle, most XJ's have a Chrysler 8.25 which is stronger than D35 used in YJ's and Wrangler. Up to 35's I see no big problems there.  

i was planning on the 4.3 and would i wanna use that stock trans or a bust tran? and i want the 88 or new jeep xj  

You are going to have bolt pattern issues on tranny if it has a 4.0 in it. If you find one with a 2.5 or 2.8 V6 the 4.3 will bolt to bellhousing.  

k thanks also what about upgraded suspension and lifts plus any other ideas of stuff to do to it  

I personally think that cherokees suck, but it very well could work. So have at'er!  

jw why do you think they suck  

They have bad reputations for body strength.
And if you really want a v8 go with an amc 304 or 360, im pretty sure they should bolt right up, but im not sure if there is enough space.  

If you want to go air born a lot in which landing can be hard on chassis, the lack of frame can cause problems but for most normal off roading it is not a issue. ALso many that think they need a V8 simply need a serious set of gear in axles as even a 6 can do really well with a lift and big tires with proper axle gear but many never bother to regear and blame motor.  

or maybe he wants the extra power of the v8, and the gears.  

offroadnut36:
or maybe he wants the extra power of the v8, and the gears.

Most "think" they need a V8 because they never both to regear or even consider it as a solution. A 6 with 4.56 or a 4.88 would do far better than a V8 with 3.08 or 3.55 and big tires.  

So I have the same conundrum as this guy as some of the people have already posted in my thread (snoman thanks alot by the way your advice helped a ton and I decided to follow your advice) I am selling my 99 ranger on tuesday and I am going to look for an xj cherokee to wheel. what are some of the upgrades I want to do first? SYE? motor upgrades? what gears should it have in it with a 4.0 an auto tranny and 33inch tires (i dont do a whole lot of rock crawling and it still has to to atleast 65mph)? are the auto trannies in the cherokees stong? would an older 4 runner be better to start with?  

Cherokees with automatic usually come with a 3.55 axle ratio and the trannies have a fairly tall OD too. With 33's I would suggest a 4.56. Also that automatic is not really known to be a bad tranny too. Typically were all automatics can take a beating is when you run big tires with stock gears as it forces tranny to ride converter stall a lot more and that slow bakes tranny and clutches.  

Did he say anything about wanting more power cause he lost it due to bigger tires? Alls he asked was if anyone knew if a vortec could be swapped into an xj.  

SnoMan:
You are going to have bolt pattern issues on tranny if it has a 4.0 in it. If you find one with a 2.5 or 2.8 V6 the 4.3 will bolt to bellhousing.

the 4.3 has the same bell as the sbc and bbc's.

the 2.5 and 2.8 are different, the 4.3 will not bolt up.