Who is wheeling their 4 cyl. XJ?

I am looking to by a trail rig by next weekend and I found one by me that I really like for the price except for one thing...its a 4 cyl. It has 4.11 gears. I would like to know who is wheeling their 4cyl XJ's and what they think about them. I will swap a 4.0 in sometime later (maybe summer) if it is not too difficult (how much work is required for this swap?). I have a 2001 TJ with a 4.0 and owned a 91 XJ with a 4.0 but havent even driven the 4 cyl. Also what kind of gas mileage do they get? If it is good then I am gonna buy the 4 cyl anyways because it costs me between $40-60 to drive home and back to college right now with my wrangler.

I got 25+ with my 4 banger. I wheeled it hard for 3 years before putting in a stroker. It was a dog in the mountains, but with 4.56's and 31's on the trail it did fine. When I went up to 35's it still wheeled ok but the road performance took a dive.

The engine swap is a non-trivial project. Personally I would wait and find a 4.0L rig. They don't get all that much worse gas mileage if you tune them up and keep your foot off the accellerator.

Thanks..... that was very helpful. Although I wont be in the mountains I will be doing some driving in mud where I will need the power. It has 31's on it too. I am keeping an eye out on here and on michiganjeepers for a good 4.0 but nobody wants to return any messages....or maybe im just too impatient. Anyone else?

My first xj was a 2.5L... I wouldn't buy it again. I put in a Chevy 4.3vortec when my 2.5 blew and although it was a lot of work it was worth every penny. With 4.0's so available why bother with either the 2.5 or the 2.8(generally known to be garbage). I got about 18 mph on the 2.5L. Hope that helps!

I have an 86 First it had a 4sp manual in it we ran 31s and 32s SS Ran pretty good even out on the HWY. We went to 4:88 and boy what a difference those gears made but now we have swaped in a 904 auto and are running 34s SS and on a hill might as well get out and crawl unless you get your spend up. But on the trail its great.

Toms I-4 to I-6 was non-trivial because he was doing the swap in a pre-I6 XJ, so there was a bit of massaging needed for the metal.

I don't have a 4-cyl XJ but I've driven one and on the trail it did just fine. 4-cyl '87 XJ with 5.38s in the D44/D60, with 33" ProComp XTerrains...it was pretty sweet, I tell ya. Of course, on the freeway is where it was a dog - we could do 70mph but only if the wind wasn't blowing.

Yup, that's my shoulder...

I have an 86 2.5l, 5-speed stick with 4.11 gears. In first gear and low range it chugs through axle deep mud with ease. I like it so much, I'm on the lookout for later model but not many around. I have to admit it is a little bit of a pig, but I like shifting gears and it gets 25-26mpg down the highway.

I think I found a 4.0 that I might get. I am going to look at it this weekend.

well, i am going to say that yes the 4.oL is better everyone has one and will agree on that. Whats cool about the 2.5L is that its small, its rare, and when you pop open the hood and take a look at the engine your like wow man it looks so small under the bay compared to the 4.oL. This is more true with the wrangler but still is looks small with the Cherokee XJ As well. Its kind of like the 4.ol but has less of everything from wiring to engine mounts to bolts.
you cant forget the 2 less cyls either!!.

They are easy to work on as well. As is the 4.oL

I have not got My XJ YET so i know i am getting a 2.5L 2-door.

Thanks

Why Not Both

I have a trusty 4-banger. I got the engine from Old_Man and have done a few tweaks to it. I run 4.56 gears and tow a trailer thru the mountains with it (even over Monarch Pass). 18 mpg is very low for a 4-banger. I regularly get 23-24 in the city and almost 30 on the highway. No problem on the trail. Plenty of torque to crawl with. I love it and wouldn't swap it for any other engine.

On the other hand I have a stroked 4.7l. I have a much larger trailer that I needed a torquier engine to pull it with and like everyone else am enamored with hp and torque. It's great. I love it and wouldn't trade it for any other engine.

I think that you need to hold out for a 4.0l if that is what you ultimately want. It isn't worth the effort to swap when there are plenty of them out there with the engine you want. You will need to tweak the 2.5l for good performance but it makes a great daily driver. BTW I have tried to stroke the 2.5l but the cost of the crank is prohibitive.

The 2.5Ls get better economy. If you are putting around in a trail it will get better economy than if the 4.0l was doing the same. It can use almost as much fuel if you have to push the motor in the city and want the vehicle to go fast. They have good power, but are not a performance engine right?
You have said some good info, but your XJ is a 1985 right? YOU said you got your motor from OLD MAN? What is that?

jayeepxj said:

YOU said you got your motor from OLD MAN? What is that?

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old_mand is Tom, one of the locals around here and also the Prez...he's known for doing the difficult swaps and making them look easy...Hoss got his 4-cyl because Tom wanted to put an I-6 in an engine bay that wasn't designed for it

white99z said:

Thanks..... that was very helpful. Although I wont be in the mountains I will be doing some driving in mud where I will need the power. It has 31's on it too. I am keeping an eye out on here and on michiganjeepers for a good 4.0 but nobody wants to return any messages....or maybe im just too impatient. Anyone else?

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great thats good

my first xj was an 85 w/ the 2.5 and 5spd and so is my 86 that i currently have they are pigs... both only get about 18 hwy and they blow on hills even in 4lo and 2nd gear u need to have some run at them just get something that it 87+ cause the 84-86 wernt designed for the i6 so it takes a-lot of work something i just found out today... :rattle: So i went and bought another truck trader and i am gonna try and find a 87+ so either it will have the i6 or i can put one in... hope that helps some

Trent

Yucca-Man said:

old_mand is Tom, one of the locals around here and also the Prez...he's known for doing the difficult swaps and making them look easy...Hoss got his 4-cyl because Tom wanted to put an I-6 in an engine bay that wasn't designed for it

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If you really must know, I got the engine from Tom because I had just swapped an engine in and it threw a rod a week later. I had to get it back on the trail quickly and Tom happened to have just pulled it from his rig. Thank heaven for small favors. :laugh3: Tom had already done everything that I would have done myself including boring over, new cam and header. I had retro-fitted the tbi onto the old engine so it was wham, bam, thank you ma'am. Ghost has put efi in his four-banger and I'll do that as soon as there is a donor. 4-bangers are fun and easy to work on.