JK Hemi Conversion

Installation Guide

Burnsville Off Road

3513 Highway 13 W
Burnsville, MN 55337-1719
(952) 890-3990
www.burnsvilleoffroad.com
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Overview

These instructions are of a typical 6.1 Hemi conversion. All of our DIY conversions will follow the same
procedures whether a 5.7, 6,1 or even the VVT Hemi’s.

Contents
Overview ................................................................................................................................................................. 2
Kit Contents ............................................................................................................................................................ 3
You will need to provide......................................................................................................................................... 4
Exhaust.................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Motor Mount Removal ........................................................................................................................................... 5
Hemi Motor Mount Placement ............................................................................................................................... 7
Transmission Mount ............................................................................................................................................. 10
Firewall Modification ........................................................................................................................................... 15
Steering Shaft Relocation Bracket ........................................................................................................................ 18
Fan Shroud Modification ...................................................................................................................................... 21
Heater hose installation ......................................................................................................................................... 23
Fuel Line Attachment ........................................................................................................................................... 23
Spacer Ring Removal ........................................................................................................................................... 25
6.1 Header Re-Clocking of Flange ....................................................................................................................... 26
Transmission Cooler Mounting ............................................................................................................................ 28
Transmission Modification ................................................................................................................................... 29
Battery Tray Modification .................................................................................................................................... 30
Battery & Starter Harness ..................................................................................................................................... 31
Transmission Cooler Lines ................................................................................................................................... 33
A/C Line Build ...................................................................................................................................................... 34
Air Tube ................................................................................................................................................................ 39
Motor Assembly Ready to Install ......................................................................................................................... 40
General Assembly Comments............................................................................................................................... 40
Post Installation Pictures ....................................................................................................................................... 41

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Kit Contents

The list below contains all the components included in the 6.1 Hemi Conversion Kit. Some parts will already be
installed on the engine block. The list and part numbers can change due to MOPAR or customer desired
components.

Quantity Part Number Description

1 56044736AB Starter
1 55366619AE Trans Mount Bracket
1 52104344AA Cover Transmission
1 5037757AA Dipstick – Engine Oil
1 5037683AB Dipstick Tube – Engine
1 4854564AB Mount - Engine Left
1 4854565AB Mount - Engine Right
1 53021898AB Engine Cover
1 52109706AB Shift Lever – Manual
2 56028994AB Sensor – O2
1 52104371AG Bracket - Shift Cable
1 52121832AC Bracket - Shift Cable
1 4736604AA Flexplate
4 1949765 Screw – Flexplate to Torque Converter
1 53013686AD Dipstick – Auto Transmission
1 53013685AD Dipstick Tube – Auto Transmission
1 53021860AC Pan - Engine Oil
1 53021522AE Oil Tube – Pump Oil
1 5290778AA Pump – Power Steering
3 6102184AA Screw – A/C Compressor
1 4792835AA Pulley – Idler
1 4792875AA Cap – Idler Pulley
1 4861660AA Tensioner – Serpentine Belt
1 6505699AA Bolt
1 55116917AD A/C Compressor
4 6101639 Screw
1 56044380AH Alternator
4 6101639 Screw
1 55038175AA Hose-Power Steering
4 6104215AA BOLT HEX FLANGE HEAD
1 52028065AF Bottle-Coolant Recovery
1 5037535AB Coil Cover – Wiring
1 5037534AB Coil Cover – Wiring
1 5037542AA Belt – Serpentine
1 5037400CA Engine
1 68036880AA Transmission – Auto w/Torque Converter
1 5094870AE Module - Powertrain
1 4591869AB Duct - Clean Air
1 55038175AA Transmission Oil Cooler

NAPA Radiator Hoses

1 9183 Upper
1 8547 Lower

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You will need to provide

This is a recommended list to facilitate an easier Hemi Conversion from start to finish:

 Angle Grinder & Cut Off Wheels

 Tube Flarer
 Welding Equipment
 Miscellaneous nuts and bolts (Bell housing to engine, Motor Mounts, Fan Shroud to Radiator etc)
 High Speed Carbide Cutting Equipment (Pilot Bearing removal, finish work on battery tray and fan
shroud, etc)
 Fuel line quick connect, Napa part number 730-5624
 Dead Blow Hammer (Fire Wall and other general uses)
 Radiator Overflow hose
 Firewall heat shielding
 A Case of ATF-4 Auto Transmission Fluid (for the Transmission and Power Steering)
 2 Gallons of Chrysler Antifreeze
 Complete Exhaust

Exhaust

A custom exhaust will be required after the conversion is complete. Recommendation: Mandrel bent tubes.
Traditional bent pipes will result in restricted flow and power loss. We custom make all our exhausts, vehicle
specific, to our customer’s desires. We can recommend the following high performance Magnaflow
components:

 Catalytic Converters: 2 ea of #54956

 Muffler: 1 ea of #12619

Detailed pictures of a complete exhaust setup can be viewed on our WEBSITE.

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Motor Mount Removal

Once the motor is out remove the factory mounts and clean up the frame rails as shown. The yellow lines
indicate where to cut the welds on the stock motor mount for removal. We use a high speed cut off wheel to
cut through right next to the weld and then knock off with a hammer.

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Hemi Motor Mount Placement

Remove the factory motor mounts completely from the frame rail using a cutoff wheel and a grinder.
Clean the frame in that area down to bare metal to get ready for the new mounts. Placing the new
mounts is simple. Place a straight edge across the front frame horns. Measure from the back edge of
the straight edge to the front edge of each motor mount and the measurement is 31 ¼ inches. The
longer motor mount is placed on the driver’s side. The motor mount just simply sets on top of the
frame rail and welds in place.

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Transmission Mount

The ¼ inch flat plate included in the kit needs to be located and welded onto the factory transmission cross
member as shown. It is much easier if you remove the cross member from the vehicle prior.

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Firewall Modification

In order to move the motor as far back as we do you will need to modify the firewall as shown to clear the
heads on the motor. Trim the factory firewall insulation back as shown and beat the firewall in with a dead
blow hammer. The passenger side gets pushed back about 2 inches and the driver’s side about an inch. Re-
cover the firewall with a sticky backed foil heat insulator such as Design Engineering part number 010412.

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Steering Shaft Relocation Bracket

In the kit is a small round flat metal bracket that will relocate the steering shaft outboard to create more
clearance to the side of the motor. Take the steering shaft out and modify the firewall as shown. The bracket
is attached with a pop rivet (you need to supply) and the steering shaft is bolted back into place.

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Fan Shroud Modification
Modify the fan shroud as shown to get a better fit to the new double pass radiator.

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Heater hose installation
Take the factory heater hoses and cut them down as shown in the picture and reattach.

Fuel Line Attachment

We reuse the factory fuel line with this modification. Cut the factory pressure line about six inches back from
where it snaps on the factory fuel rail. Discard the 6 inch piece and reflare the cut end so the rubber fuel
injection line has something to grab onto. Then clamp on the rubber fuel injection line and install a Napa quick
connect (part number 730-5624) on the other end and you are done.

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Spacer Ring Removal

Make sure you remove the rear spacer ring from the back of the crankshaft as the converter snout on the
545RFE transmission is slightly larger in diameter.

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6.1 Header Re-Clocking of Flange
Re-clocking the 6.1 header flange is necessary for additional clearance to clear the upper control arm mounts. Start by
cutting off the header flanges as shown here in this picture.

Then lay the header flat on the table as shown here

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Lay the flange on the table flat side down as shown in this picture and weld back in place. Repeat this
procedure for the other side.

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Transmission Cooler Mounting

This is where we mount the B&M transmission cooler. We use 1” aluminum angle 1/8 inch think and 1”
aluminum strap to hold it into place.

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Transmission Modification

Here are 2 areas we grind and or cut off to make additional clearance. These photos show a shaded area to be
removed in order for the transfer case shifter cable bracket to be bolted up
.

This picture shows material to be removed in order to make clearance for the 6.1 factory header to clear the
545RFE transmission on the passenger side of the motor.

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Battery Tray Modification
Here is a before and after picture of how the factory battery tray needs to be modified. This is done to provide
more clearance to the side of the hemi engine.

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Battery & Starter Harness

The factory battery and starter harness from the 3.8 will be reused. Cut the convolute as indicated by the
yellow line. Then pull back the main red battery connection to give more slack in the harness. Re-tape and or
convolute after you are done.

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Transmission Cooler Lines
Take the new factory transmission cooler lines and cut off the end that has the rubber line on them. Re-flare the
cut end of the metal line so the new rubber line can be reattached securely. Re-bend the metal lines as needed to
make a nice fit along the engine block and to reroute the lines around the oil filter.

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A/C Line Build
For our a/c lines we reuse the stock 3.8 a/c lines. For the large diameter line we start off by buying a new hose
from Mopar, part number 4596897AA (this is used on the compressor end). All we want here is the aluminum
pipe and fitting as shown in the photograph. Carefully cut the crimp with a cutoff wheel as shown being careful
not to nick the aluminum pipe underneath the crimp. Throw the rest of that hose away. Now take the stock 3.8
line and separate it as shown keeping the aluminum line that connects to the firewall. Then you will need a new
piece of rubber a/c hose that is 22 3/8 inches long and have that re-crimped together in the correct orientation so
that no binding occurs when it is bolted up.

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The very skinny a/c line that comes out of the firewall does not need to be cut just carefully re-bent to route it
around the hemi motor.

The last remaining a/c line that goes from the compressor to the condenser gets cut at the compressor end
and re-crimped at a length of 5.5 inches as measured from the compressor to the cut end of the rubber line.
So this line gets shortened and simply re-crimped.

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Air Tube

We move the air intake temp sensor to the spot indicated by drilling a hole at the silver circle and put the
breather hose back in that spot using a plastic tube push in fitting. Be careful when removing the sensor so
you don’t damage it.

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Motor Assembly Ready to Install

This is how we prep the motor and transmission. Remove the intake manifold and attach what you can as far
as the wiring harness is concerned.

General Assembly Comments

 The new transmission cooler is the only cooler used for the new transmission.
 The original transmission cooler in the AC condenser will now be used for the power steering
 The Air Cleaner comes already pre-oiled. Just clean are ne-oil every 5000 miles under normal driving
conditions – more often if needed
 The OEM transmission skid will need to be removed and discarded. An aftermarket skid can be used if
desired but will require your own modifications to use with the Hemi.
 Attach the new radiator overflow bottle to the frame by drilling and using self tapping screws
 The new engine comes pre-filled with oil.
 While there is some fluid in the transmission, it will need to be topped off after initially running. Check
after a mile or two of driving the first time and then again after a short distance until you know it’s
filled properly. Failure to ensure it is properly filled could result in “burning up” the transmission and
premature failure.

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Post Installation Pictures

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