New guy... which one? jeep 4.0L or 2.5L

[kjswensen]

Several years ago i had a wrangler with the 4.0L and loved it. I am now looking to get back into off roading and i want another wrangler, probably early 90's. It will not be too extreme but still capable of getting on some fun rock. do i need to stick with the 4.0L or will the 2.5 be ok? what about supercharging a 2.5 or even a carburated 6cyl?
Let me know your experiences and opinions....

Thanks everyone!

 

[Jared]

Get a '91 or newer Wrangler with the fuel injected 6 cyl. While some do okay with the 2.5, the 4.0 just has SO much more power and torque to offer, without a large difference in fuel economy. You'll certainly be money ahead to just get a 4.0 rather than doing forced induction on the 2.5. A supercharger kit will likely cost as much or more than the Jeep!

Carbs are just crap. Steer clear.

 

[Maverick]

Yup, I'd go with the 4.0 too, especially if you're gonna spend any time in snow, mud and sand or on the freeway. On trails and in rocks though the 2.5 in my sister's jeep works pretty good with the 4:1.

Brett

 

[spencevans]

4.0 is the only way to go, especially if plan on spending any time driving it.

 

[kjswensen]

i would like to drive it around so i guess the hunt is on for a 4.0L. Thanks everyone and i'm sure i will have plenty of other questions regarding axles, gears, lockers, suspension...etc....

 

[rondo]

I will tell you that i found my 4cyl 95 wrangler stock in 98 for only 8500. I thought it was a great deal. Ever since i've pretty much regretted it because of its lack of power. I've gone from 4.56 gears to 5.38s trying to find a useful gear for high range. I put in a 4:1 tcase for rockcrawling and that works great, but is useless for everything else. I then got a Klune 2.72 for everything else. But that is even more $$ to add to the bottom line.

Someday i'll get a 4.3V6 or V8 transplant. Until then i do like, er, tolerate my 4banger because:
1. It's a rock crawler and works great in its element.
2. I don't and never have cared about gas mileage or high speed freeway stuff.
3. it doesn't have enough power to break anything.

If your choice is to have a jeep that fits the above, you might be okay. If you want a stock jeep for commuting, you might be ok with a 4 banger.

In other words, i think a 4banger off road jeep fits a very small niche and is definitely not a good overall choice.

 

[Slangy]

I will tell you that i found my 4cyl 95 wrangler stock in 98 for only 8500. I thought it was a great deal. Ever since i've pretty much regretted it because of its lack of power. I've gone from 4.56 gears to 5.38s trying to find a useful gear for high range. I put in a 4:1 tcase for rockcrawling and that works great, but is useless for everything else. I then got a Klune 2.72 for everything else. But that is even more $$ to add to the bottom line.

Someday i'll get a 4.3V6 or V8 transplant. Until then i do like, er, tolerate my 4banger because:
1. It's a rock crawler and works great in its element.
2. I don't and never have cared about gas mileage or high speed freeway stuff.
3. it doesn't have enough power to break anything.

If your choice is to have a jeep that fits the above, you might be okay. If you want a stock jeep for commuting, you might be ok with a 4 banger.

In other words, i think a 4banger off road jeep fits a very small niche and is definitely not a good overall choice.

I agree with you, In 1998 I bought my dads 97 TJ from him w/ a 4 banger in perfect condition for $5,000. I was 18, poor and wanted a vehicle. For that time in my life the 4 banger was great. But now for the type of things I use it for I would have much rather had the 4.0. But if you get a 4 banger for practically nothing, you can overlook the lack of power.

 

[rholbrook]

I have a 4 cyl in my 97 TJ and has worked great. Yes, it does struggle on the freeway since I put 33 inch tires on it but I don't drive on the freeway much so its okay. If its flat I can use 5th gear, if its not, I use 4th gear. If I drove it on the freeway more, I would put 4:88s in it and it would be fine. The effect of bigger tires is a higher gear ratio. Most of the 4 cyl came with 4:10 gear ration while the 6 cyl came with several different ratios. The key to any jeep using bigger wheels is the gearing. Bigger tires changes how a vehicle runs. My brother has a 99 TJ with a 6 cyl and 3:07 gears in it and when he went to 33s he wasnt able to keep it in 5th gear on the freeway so he put 4:88s in it and now he can.

My TJ is very capable off road and once I put it in low range, it will pretty much go anywhere I want it to go. I go to Moab with friends that have 6 cyls and they can't go anywhere I can't. There really isn't any difference in gas mileage. Would I rather have a 6 cyl? Yeah, probably. Would I buy this same jeep again? Yeah, I would because the price was right and I wanted to get into jeeping and didn't want to spend a ton of money until I knew I would enjoy it. My opionion is to go with a 97 or newer so you can get the coil suspension and if you can get a good deal on the 6 cyl, get it, if not and your not spending a lot of time on the freeway then get the 4 cyl. I have enjoyed it so much I am going to buy a new 4 door but I don't know if I want to part with my TJ yet. Can you have too many jeeps? If its not your main driver, buy what you can afford. If it is your daily driver, get the 6 cyl.

 

[UNSTUCK]

There's no replacement for displacement!

 

[themaniam1]

4.0L no question and a '97 or new so you get the coil spring suspension.

 

[mesha]

I have had both and liked both. My YJ right now has the 4 cyl. I miss the power sometimes of the 6. I have 4.88 and 35s and it does okay on the road. i don't care if I can go over 65 MPH though. that being said I never really drive it on road. If it's a "car" then buy the 6 if its a wheeler then it doesn't matter.

 

[NoTrax]

91 and newer

 

[TJDukit]

A couple years ago I bought a '99 with the 2.5 and like everyone said, it's pretty much crap on the highway although I did hit 90 with it once with a good tail wind. I don't think I'll ever buy another 4 banger. On the other hand that thing did amazing on the rocks in stock form with 31' BFG M/T's. I could take that thing almost anywhere I could get a tire up, and some places I shouldn't have.

 

[rondo]

I agree totally with that statement; they can be made into great crawlers. Mine has finally evolved where it can beat my buddies toyota buggy on most rock terrain. I never thought that would happen. However the lack of ponies is really sad in the dunes where i used to like to play, sorry in the mud, even in snow where sometimes ya want or need to blast thru.

 

[sprueitt]

YOu can't beat the 4.0. Lots of torque and these engines will last forever. Putting 270K miles on it is common, and they just keep going. I have two Jeep Cherokees with the 4.0 and I love them. I even raced a 5.0 mustang off the line with my little jeep, and I beat him for the first 50 yards and then he caught up with me.

However, for offroading I do like the 8.0 liter V10. 500 ftlbs of torque Stock...not bad... If you can stuff a Viper V10 into a jeep you wont be dissappointed. I have know a guy who did!!!! WOW!!!!

 

[keithro]

If it's off-road only gear it down and a 2.5 will be fine. If you're going to be driving it elsewhere you'll regret not having the 4.0. Either way, fuel injected on a crawler is the best way to go.

 

[NoTrax]

Like Keithro said, I love my Zuk on the rocks but driving it on the freeway could be much much much more enjoyable with a larger engine....

If your going to drive it everyday, even once a week get the bigger motor... no reason to get a small one