Hey guys,
Been thinking of selling off my Cherokee and
acquiring a wrangler. I hit alot of trails and
sometimes the dunes.

I don't have anything to haul and I usually
travel alone.

Wondering if I can get away with a 2.5L.
I'm inclined to think that the 4.0L is a litte
overkill for my needs.

What can I get for around $10k ?

Thanks,
Lefty12

I'd stick w/ the 4.0L if it were me.  I haven't
heard bad reports on the 2.5L, but a friend of
mine has the 4.0 in his quite "peppy".

I wonder if there's a huge gas/mileage
difference between the 2.5L and 4.0L.

I assume there is a huge price difference too.

I agree. Get the 4.0.

My friend has one and it is easy, as in very easy, to add hop-up parts that don't invalidate the manufacturers' warranty.

Then they are REAL peppy. They handle pretty good too. My friend was in a hurry one day and was swapping places with a Porsche at 90 for most of a hundred miles on interstate. The Porsche driver was impressed.

We have a 92 Wrangler with 4.0 and 5 speed.  If you need to drive on highways much at cruising speeds (60+) you'll probably want the 6-cyl. The brick like shape of the Wrangler creates a lot of drag.  

The downside is that the motor is a heavy item.  I suspect that the 4 cyl would make for a better balanced off road vehicle and provide better gas mileage by a fair margin.

It will really depend on your off-road activities.  I use it mainly on forest service roads and some double track and don't subscribe to the "more horsepower is better" school of rock-crawling.  

10 grand should get you a nice late model with reasonable mileage.  My 92 has less than 50K on it, is in nice shape, and is probably worth about 6-7K, so you should find a lot of possibilities.  You should think about what aftermarket accessories you may need (e.g. minor lift kit, racks, etc.)  and look for one that is partially equipped, since the accessories do not increase the value much if at all.  

I don't have any experience with the newest version, but I understand the coil spring suspension is very effective.  Parts are cheaper for the leaf spring verions, however.

HTH

BP
Atlanta

Owned a 2000 Wrangler Sahara that was a 4.0L. It had a lot of pep from stop-light to stop-light but I ended up selling it because I do a ton of highway driving and it was topped out at 75mph. I don't think it was the rear-end because I got the lower of the two or three offered.

Must have been my driving style.

As a side note, I work with two guys that both own 1994 wranglers. One is a 2.5 with a few problems 173,000 miles. The other is a 4.0 with 138,000 and zero problems.

I would go with the 4.0. After I sold mine, I found tons of performance goodies for the 4 liter I-6.

Sometimes I miss top down driving...

Also, for some reason Wranglers hold their value extremely well.

I had in mind to spend about the same $$$ when I started looking.

I got tired of looking at these jeeps with tons of miles for a ridiculous price. After I saw what that would get me I bought a new one.

4.0 the only way to go other than 350.

i have a 2.5 and a 4.0. the 2.5 is good enough for cruisin around, top down, trollin for babes or whatever, but the 4.0 is absolutely critical if you plan on ANY highway, altitude or off-road driving. the 2.5 gives you like 65 HP with 120 ft-lbs. of torque (IIRC) and the 4.0 has around 90 HP, and 220 ft.-lbs. of torque! for 10 G's, expect around 40 - 50k miles, on a 1999 or up sport (4.0). good luck, you'll be happy with any wrangler/cj IMO!

Big Bear and fatty are both right-on.....we have 4 litre autos at work......and one of the guys just got a 99 with 2.5.......I can tell you that the 4.0 is a real nice motor and has some balls...especially with a 5 speed.....my buddy says he appreciates the 2.5 fuel mileage but would rather have a 4litre overall......Me, I would try to find a 4L-5 spd.....one of the "kids' has one and it`s pretty damn zippy......some day soon....I probably will do just that........good luck.......[smoke]

Get the 4.0, you will never find yourself wishing you had a smaller engine.

The 2.4 has 120hp and 140fp of torque and the 4.0 Wrangler has 190 hp and 235 fp of torque. The older YJ Wranglers had 180hp/220fp. Both are always listed near the top in 0-60 speed(SUV's).

[url]http://www.jeepunpaved.com/wrangler/specs/feature4.html[/url]

I would try to see if you could get a used TJ series, these came out in 1996 and have the quadra coil suspension. It gives you a softer ride with more suspension travel. Quadra coil is basically an independant suspension. The older leaf springs are easy to work on but ride really rough.

I like the older style round lights on the TJ's better too.

yeah, there's the #s! thanx! still a notable difference. i too like the round headlights, and the suspension is unbelievably smooth, even off-road.

Anybody ever tried both the I4 and I6 4.0L ?

yeah, I'll probably be on the highway alot.
So the 2.5L is out of the question.

Just went to the dealer and checked out
a 2.5L SE, $15k without the radio and backseat.
$17.5k for the radio and backseat.

$2.5k for the radio and backseat???
I must have heard him wrong.

Nah, you heard him right! Didn't you see him reaching for the 5# pail of KY?[:D]

When I test drove a 2.5 Cherokee, I found out that the advertized gas milage difference was slight. The small engine has to work harder . . .

For the same reason, my Cherokee 4.0 gets better gas milage than my mother-in-law's 4 banger Previa.

The 4.0 is an excellent engine. I-6 engines inherently have the best harmonics (unless you step up to a V-12). It also provides quite a bit of torque at low rpm, a good thing off road.

Get the 4.0!

Any Wrangler before 97 with the 4 cylinder engine was WAY underpowered.  When I bought my 92 I was told by the dealer that running AC was a no no.  If you REALLY wanted in they would put it in but he HIGHLY did not recomend it.  Plus he told me at the time that the mileage was only like a 2-4 mpg difference city/highway. SO I bought the 4.0 HO and am glad to report she is still running strong today.  If you are buying used, I believe they started in 92 with the new bars and the fuel injection, 93 with anti lock breaks and soon after the airbags.  I'd try to find one without the air bag if you plan on doing some serious offroading, and to me ABS="another breakable system"

I own both a 95 wrangler 2.5L and a 94 cherokee 4.0L. They both get comparable mileage due to the 2.5 having to work harder. BUT, if you are going to off road it the 2.5L is more than enough, with the 2.5 you get a lower gearing of 4.11 which helps a ton off road and there is plenty of torque. I run 31" tires and a mild lift kit on the wrangler and even with the 2.5L it has more than enough power to cruise at 75 mph on the highways here. Either way you can't go wrong, it's a JEEP!!

idaho-ar15

Keep the Cherokee. The front coil suspension will out perform the leafs on the Wrangler. Also once you start carrying spare parts, recovery equipment, camping stuff, long rifles and ice chests there is no room left in the wrangler. I also feel that the Cherokees longer wheel base is more stable off road the the wrangler.

I own a 90 Cherokee that has about $8000 in mods to it. I go almost everywhere similar modified wranglers go. The people that go further usually have a trailer to tow they home if something breaks.

I have a '98 Wrangler 4.0 liter  Sport, and love it.  Mine has 5 speed, Dana 44 (heavy duty) rear axle with limited slip, and I got the larger tires/aluminum wheels from the factory. I plan to add a lift, winch, air-locking differentials and 35" tires when time and money allow, but it's pretty respectable, as-is, for the moment.  My research showed there is little gas mileage difference between the 4 cyl. and 6 cyl.  For rock crawling, you can get the 4.11 differential gears with the 4 cylinder (I believe they are still not available with the 6 cyl.) which will help, as mentioned above. I special ordered my Jeep and waited a year before ordering so that I could get the Dana 44.  It's a bargain --only about $300 extra if I remember right, but a much tougher diff. than the standard, and comes with a "free" limited slip.  I also ordered mine with full steel doors, not the half-doors.  That was only about $150 extra but makes a BIG difference in durability over time -- to buy hard doors aftermarket is EXPENSIVE, and the zippers/plastic, etc. wear out on the half doors, are a pain and expensive to fix. The new design of the TJ's canvas top is GREAT -- mine went through a hurricane, about 18 hours of uninterrupted, monsoon-like rain driven by 90+ miles per hour wind, and it literally did not leak a drop.  Wish I could have Chrysler's engineers design a roof for my house that did likewise!!!!  [:)] I highly recommend these options, if you can get them.  I would personally NOT want a Wrangler older than 97 (they skipped the '96 model year
and went straight from '95 square headlight, leaf spring Wrangler, to '97 round headlight, coil spring TJ Wrangler when they introduced the new model.) IMHO the new TJ's are lightyears ahead of the older Wranglers, although the older ones can certainly be built into very good offroad machines.  I had an '80 CJ-5 with leaf-springs and it would about rip the fillings out of your teeth when you went over small bumps, etc.  The TJ is a joy to drive, both on and off road.  Hope helpful!
John
(Edited to correct one fact that I mis-remembered.)

I had a 90 4.0. It was a great vehicle. Drove it for about five years and got back about 70% or original new price.

There's no replacement for displacement.

You will eventually find out that you want the extra power every time you turn around.

john-feamster, YOU need to check your facts again. The 2.5L 4cyl. engine ONLY comes with 4.10front/4.11rear gearing. With the smaller engine they put the lower gearing in.

Now in the 4.0L 6cyl. there are a couple of different gear combos like a 3.07 with the track-lock locker and something like 3.77 with the dana 44 but you CANNOT have the low gearing like the 3.77 with the Dana 44 AND the locker. They won't allow you to order it with all three. It sounds stupid but that's the way they do it.

not a flame, just trying to make sure the original poster doesn't get bogus info.
idaho-ar15

The I4 isnt really that bad as long as you DONT get the automatic transmition. Wranglers are still stuck with the old 3speed automatic. With the 5 speed manual you can control the power really well, just means a heavier work load for you. Its no match for the 4.0 of course but they can still be pretty fun.

Had a '92 wrangler w/ the 2.5. . . it sucked big time. Have a '99 tracker w/ a 2.0. . . can't get the darned thing stuck in anything! Anyway, get the larger engine.

Go with the 4.0

[img]www.dredgeearthfirst.com/panoramic.jpg[/img]

Aviator  [img]www.dredgeearthfirst.com/aviator.gif[/img]

I'd get the 4.0.  Lefty, I know you said you don't haul anything, but with the 4.0 you have that option.

The Wrangler may be shaped like a brick, but with the 4.0, it's a jet powered brick!

DaMan

go 4.0!

                                            [img]www.ar15.com/members/albums/fattym4%2Fbaldy%2Ejpg[/img]

as you can see, there are options for extra storage space!

4.0 baby...

[img]http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1207778&a=11832448&p=47931146[/img]
[img]http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1207778&a=11832448&p=47931150[/img]
[img]http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1207778&a=11832448&p=52608694[/img]

Thanks for the pics and info guys....
Damn! Looks like 4.0L is the way to go.

Flying brick,...chick magnet....etc...

I don't plan on doing any neck breaking
off road stuff. No 3 storey jumps driving,
over logs and thru aligator infested swamps.

Just light/medium trailing and the occasional sand dunes.

Testing driving this weekend on both
the 2.5L and 4.0L (I4 & I6).

Idaho AR-15 -- thanks for correcting me!  That's what I get for quoting research originally done 4 years ago from memory...
John

Get the 4.0.  I have a '88 Cherokee with 210,000 miles on it and it still gets 19 MPG on the highway.  The Wrangler won't get quite that good, but probably 17-18 is to be expected once the engine hits maturity.  The 4.0 is a stump pulling engine.  Why go light?  The gas mileage in the 2.5 is not as high as one would expect.

Very easy...4.0
I have owned 3 Jeeps and have had the 6 banger in them all. Torque, torque, and more torque...I can idle up a hill in 4 Low without a hiccup!
- 30" Wranglers
- Dana 44 with 3:55s/limited slip in the rear
- Mile Marker Hydraulic winch
- Hardtop and AC

I have towed my boats with it...18 foot boston whalers...1800 pounds in tow from Austin to Pensacola...Naperville to Pensacola...and Pensacola to St Pete....set the cruise at 70 and smooth sailing all the way....
The only way they could make it better would to put a small V-8 in it...or maybe a Cummins Turbo Diesel....now that would be cool!

All Wranglers now have coils all over
The 2.5 works great and gets 23 mpg on the Hwy
You can put an aftermarket rear locker in for less than the factory Dana 44 with only limited slip.
2.5,rear locker and 4.11 is a good combo.
John F can shoot and knows ARs but I Know Jeeps and Medicine
cpermd
ps,5 Jeeps in various states of disarray along with a nice SS 454 Chevelle in my shop right now.

Your Chevelle?  Give details!
[beer]

For what its worth, I got a 97 Wrangler with the 4 cyl. Does ok on highway with a/c on. Has enough power for me.



Ol' Dad