Engine and transmission swap

[NEVERLIFT]

I have a jk wrangler now that's a 3.8 stick shift. I can not make up my mind on auto vs stick shift. Motors options are a TDI or LS. I have done some crawling with mine but its hard to tell because the 3.8 and 3.21 gears were terrible.

If you have done a motor and or transmission swap. Whats your thoughts now.

Was it worth it to go from auto to manual?
Is the hassle of making the auto worth it?
Does it really feel like cheating?

 

[Lil'John]

If I am swapping, it is going to be an upgrade and not a side grade. So I'd go LS of some sort. OTOH, I'm a "200hp snob"... I hate underpowered vehicles with a white hot passion. Most of the vehicles in my fleet are V8s.

As for auto vs manual, I won't touch that other than it is preference in my opinion. All but two of the vehicles in my fleet are manuals; one is that way because numbers matching 68 Mustang fastback.

My daily driver and primary wheeling rig is 6.0L LSx with Nv4500. My "hold my beer" project rig is turbo 5.3L with 4l80... I know that I can't shift smooth/quick enough for the turbo.

 

[NEVERLIFT]

I have no faith in 3.8 in my JK.
I am looking for reliability and bump in torque.

Both the LS and TDi will do that.

The thing I am more tore about is manual vs Auto.