Thoughts on 4 cyl?

TA2Jeep · Apr 23, 2012

Looking for an XJ for a 1st car for my nephew, and came across a pretty clean '95 4x4 with the 4 cyl.

Thoughts on the 4 cylinder (Power, will it work worth a damn offroading, longevity and lifespan, known issues)??

Thanks!

Sillyfast · Apr 23, 2012

The 2.5 is a good little motor, the only issue is the power. If its an automatic I would pass. Offroad: trail and rocks with the right gearing is fine. It will never blast around the dunes though.

old_man · Apr 23, 2012

I ran just about every trail in Moab and Colorado with a 2.5L and 31's. I swapped up because I wanted to hold 75 on the freeway through the mountain passes here in Colorado.

Iwannagofishin · Apr 23, 2012

Had an 85 with the 4 cyl. So this was before fuel injection. Slooooooooow. But for crawling around the trails it was fine. Just don't get in a hurry.

garr · Apr 23, 2012

What kind of MPG did you guys get with the 4Cyl ?

XJFrankenstein · Apr 23, 2012

I have a 1995 YJ with a fuel injected 4 banger and 5 speed. It works OK on trails if you have the right gearing and don't go too big on the tires. e.g., Most of the 4 bangers run 4.88 gearing with 33s.

For ideas on how to get minor improvements from the fuel injected 2.5, check out this site:

www.4bangerjp.com

Some ideas include:
Regearing
4.0 throttle body
Mustang 19 lb injectors
Adjustable fuel pressure regulator
Electric Fans (remove mechanical fan)

The 4 banger is more likely to stall out than a 6, so some crawlers install an inertia ring to reduce this problem. Tri County Gear sells them:

http://www.tricountygear.com/tri-country/tcg_engineered.html

xj_maniac_newb · Apr 23, 2012

On 31's and stock axles its really about the same as the 4.0 honestly, but with stock tires it was pretty nice. On 235's i could get something like 25mpg highway if i kept my foot light. As far as the engine goes, the 2.5 is a little tank motor.. just cant seem to kill the thing. But as far as the ax5 tranny... That would shy me away. Dont get me wrong the ax5 is decently stout, but its no way in the same league as the aw4 or the ax15...

Get a 4.0, if you dont you'll be wishing everytime you wanna up tire size that you did.. Im personally planning a 4.0 swap so i can run 33's.

XJFrankenstein · Apr 23, 2012

Gas mileage on the 4 cylinder is only marginally better than a 6 cylinder (maybe 2 MPG better). The problem is that you have to wind it up, and with Jeep aerodynamics, you're pushing lots of air. The 2.5 is not a bad motor, but the 4.0 gives much better performance with only a slight loss of economy. Plus you can make a stroker out of the 4.0 when its time to rebuild!

birchlakeXJ · Apr 24, 2012

Go 4.0. You'll never regret it. Plenty of 4.0 powered XJs out there; just take your time.

2X_01_Jeeps · Apr 26, 2012

Nephew + under powered -- that's the way to go if he's under 30

My '84 2.5 went long and far. Wasn't powerful enough to run 75 mph on the interstate here at altitude. But it crawled up the 4x4 roads just fine.

You ought to be able to buy it for less because everyone wants the 4.0.

Thoughts on 4 cyl?

TA2Jeep

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Sillyfast

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old_man

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Iwannagofishin

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garr

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XJFrankenstein

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xj_maniac_newb

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XJFrankenstein

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birchlakeXJ

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2X_01_Jeeps

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