Greetings to all. It's time to create a support thread to deposit information related to the new Hooker Blackheart 1997-2006 Jeep TJ LS and LT engine swap systems that will be rolling out over the next couple of months in a staggered release format. The first product that has just been released from these systems is the 3" 304SS exhaust system, which will work in a plug-n-play manner with either the LS, or the LT engine.

I will be covering the parts in these systems in this thread in detail as always, as they get released, but I cannot post images of them until that time. With that said, I can answer any general fitment and compatibility questions that any of you may have at this time and provide guidance as to what you can expect to do, and not be able to do with these systems.

These Hooker Blackheart swap systems, as designed, will only be compatible with the Jeep TJ 4.0L frame at this time and the reason for that will become clear as more of the parts get released.

The scope of the parts developed for this application are as follows:

Engine mounting brackets- the same frame side brackets work for both the LS and LT engine, but requires a different Hooker Blackheart engine mount to be used for each engine.
LS engine swap headers- 1-3/4" primary tubes with 2.5" V-band flange outlets, 304SS
LT engine swap headers- 1-3/4" primary tubes with 2.5" V-band flange outlets, 304SS
LS and LT engine swap Y-pipe- 2.5" in/3" outlet, connects the LS and LT headers to the Hooker Blackheart 3" exhaust system, 304SS, compatible with the stock GM truck and Holley 302-2, 302-3 and 302-20 oil pans

In keeping with the established methods used to create other Hooker Blackheart swap systems, focus has been placed on creating parts that provide for easier and quicker execution of this swap and greatly reducing the aggravation level in carrying it out. The functional end results of the vehicle have also been elevated.

This is a good place to open up the discussion, so feel free to post any questions you like.

 

Will the engine frame mounts be bolt on or weld on?
Will the 4.0 engine frame mounts need to be removed from the frame?
Per your post above will you recommend a cat for the exhaust?
I assume you will include a bracket or detailed instructions on moving the steering shaft over?
If folks use 2000 Fbody FEA be careful of the clearance of the alternator and the left side upper trailing arm mount. Unless you add longer bump stops the upper trailing arm mount will hit the alternator under full stock compression. Ask me how I know. C5 FEA might be better. My first TJ LS swap I used truck FEA with good success plus they really cheap. The truck intake will fit under a stock TJ hood if you do your mounts correct.
Having asked the above questions the LS swap into a TJ is a great swap. Mine has been running strong for over 10 years. Great daily driver.

 

Those are all good questions based on your previous experience doing this swap LS1 TJ. The answers to your questions are as follows:

1. The factory frame mounts are not removed from the frame, their inner tips are trimmed off and the Hooker Blackheart engine mounting brackets are attached to them and get welded to the frame. Once the brackets are installed, the factory frame mounts become an integral part of their structure and geometry. Because of this, the Hooker Blackheart engine mounting brackets do not create any reduction in the upper control arm clearance provided by the factory frame mounts.
2.The design of the Hooker Blackheart engine mounting brackets and headers does not require the steering shaft or mounting bracket to be disturbed at all to install either of them.
3. The F-body FEAD system will not be recommended for you due to the issues you have described.
4. The system geometry was optimized to use the stock truck FEAD system or one of the Holley FEAD systems (the new Holley mid-mount system is the absolute best choice in terms of suspension clearance).
5. The ability of the truck intake to fit under the hood is dependent on whether the swap is performed with, or without, a body lift and the Hooker Blackheart system is designed to facility either method with certain restrictions placed on the "no body lift" method. If the swap is
performed without a body lift, the truck intake will fit under the hood without the factory intake cover but doing a little grinding on the front threaded attachment boss for the cover. If you choose to use a 1" body lift, the intake will fit and the cover as well if you do a little
massaging of the attachment stands of the cover. If you want to be able to install the truck intake and cover without them requiring any modifications, I would estimate that would take about 1-1/4" of body lift.

 

Thanks for the reply.

That's cool that the stock 4.0 engine frame mounts can stay. And no mods to the steering shaft mount is a nice bonus.
The only reason I ask about the truck FEA is because you can't hardly give them away. I've got two sets along with water pumps.
If you have AC are you thinking high mount off the right cylinder head or stock low mount?
My TJ was a 4 cylinder so I had to cut off the stock mounts.
Again good luck with your swap parts development.

 

Either a high mount or low-mount A/C with the truck FEAD is doable with Holley relocation brackets, but the low-mount will require frame notching as is usual in this application and conversion to a 3-link suspension would be advised. The Holley low-mount set-up for the Sanden SD7B10 compressor is far more compact than the stock truck compressor, so the frame notch is much smaller than is needed for the truck compressor.

 

I wish stuff like this available 10 years ago. Looks nice.

Again please don't take it wrong but the first muffler I had was similar to what you are showing. It was more than noisy. At that time no cat to lessen the exhaust note. The local police let me know it was a bit much.
Currently running a 20" long a "turbo" muffler with no cat and it's much quieter. Maybe that could be an option? The muffler starts just a 1/2" from the down stream side of the stock skid plate. Nothing hangs down lower than the frame rail. The shown routing of the tail pipe is similar to my TJ and has worked well.
I used "block hugger" headers routing the 2.5" left side tubing around the front of the oil pan with a 2:1 merge to 3" all the way back.

 

I ran the blackheart mufflers on my ls swapped chevelle. They were not offensive at all...

 

LS1 TJ, I can appreciate the time and effort you've invested in your exhaust system to arrive at what suits you. Opinions of what is a good exhaust system/muffler sound pressure level/tone is as varied as it is regarding the appearance of wheel and tire packages. I fully expect the opinions of this Hooker Blackheart system to be as varied as they are for the ones I've developed for other LS swap applications...some guys will really like it, some will be indifferent about it and some will hate it. Thankfully the system geometry is simple and will provide modification flexibility to users wanting to add another attenuation device to it. The development vehicle used for the project was borrowed from a Holley employee and will be receiving a 5.3L/4L60E swap itself once I finish up with it. If the owner finds the tonality/sound level too aggressive for his taste, I will assist him in making any modifications and will gladly report on it here in this thread.

 

I agree about everyone has a opinion about how their car sounds. I'm a bit older and have got over the loud muffler sound. As a good buddy once told me "Just because it's loud doesn't mean it's fast". Your employee should really like the 5.3/4L60E combo. I have an LS6/4L60E combo with 4:10 gears. It's not slow.
Couple of things that I used and have worked well for me is a few Novak products. Their conversion radiator. I added a 16" spal fan controlled by the ECM. Never has over heated even in 100 plus degree temps. Their trans to transfer case adapter and replacement main shaft. It's also common to replace the rear end with a Ford Explorer 8.8. Gives you disc brakes and a choice of ratios 3:73 and 4:10.
Again good luck with your product development.

 

If your using Beefy's jeep he likes it loud anyways! He and I talked a little bit at LS Fest this year about this and I think I remember him mentioning possibly using his jeep or that he was going to do a swap in his jeep.

 

Yes, I will be using Beefy's Jeep in the coming months, but for a totally different development project (his is a YJ).

 

Any thoughts on moving up to JK platform?

 

I would love to see it happen, but it hasn’t been mentioned in the lower-level meetings that I get my marching orders from. They could be talking about it at a higher level without me knowing anything about it.

 

Very cool to see this. I LS swapped my TJ 2 years ago but it's a custom build. My girlfriend's TJ is bone stock and she wants a LS now too so this is a great option. The exhaust on mine wasn't too hard but a bolt in solution is great!

 

Stay tuned gtxracer, there's a lot more to come and if you follow along you'll see some remedies for some of the issues that have persisted with this application.

 

I am re-posting this to replace the exhaust system prototype images I posted previously with images of an actual production system....

Since I've already mentioned that the Hooker Blackheart Jeep TJ engine swap exhaust system has just been released, I'm going to take this opportunity to highlight some of its design characteristics here that I feel users might find useful. I will begin by stating that although the system was designed as part of the complete Hooker Blackheart swap system, it would serve well as a foundation for someone to build on to create an exhaust system for a Jeep TJ that has been swapped with other non Hooker Blackheart components as well.

This system features 3" diameter tubing and is constructed entirely from 304SS. It is suspended from the factory rubber hangers and the clamps supplied with the system are OE type band clamps and a double-ended coupler used to connect the exhaust system to the coming Hooker Blackheart LS/LT header Y-pipe.

The turn-down tip terminates just shy of the factory fuel tank skid plate so as to prevent it from getting hung up obstacles you might encounter while trail riding or wheeling. The system includes two inlet pipes with different bend geometry to provide connection compatibility with the Hooker Blackheart Y-pipe in both common configurations that the drivetrain would be installed in, which would be either in a stock inclination angle arrangement, or in a belly tuck inclination angle arrangement. In both cases, the components of the Hooker Blackheart exhaust system and Y-pipe are tucked up inside the stock skid plate. If you are using an aftermarket skid plate and/or transmission crossmember in a belly tuck installation, the Hooker Blackheart system components will provide you with an exhaust system that tucks up to be just about level with the bottom of the frame rails . I have attached images to show you the components of the system and their routing in the vehicle, the tip exit termination point, the clearance of the system under a vehicle which has no body lift installed and which has its drivetrain installed at a stock-like inclination angle on the stock skid plate and lastly the clearance of the same exhaust system with the engine and transmission installed in a belly-tuck configuration.

 

Nice work! As usual...

 

I am interested in these. Are they dual 3 inch or single? I am about to do the exhaust on my Tj and would love it if i could just bust a system

 

It is a single 3" system that is designed to connect to the LS/LT Y-pipe and headers that will also be getting released as part of this swap system over the coming months.

 

Any updates on this? I am building a 408 LS now for my TJ and was considering Daves Custom motor mounts and trying C5 headers but if this can be done as a kit I may do this.