The Hunt continues

[Onager]

1061885

I looked at a few more YJ's today in my hunt for a good jeep. After driving an 95 in good shape, I've come to really like the 4-banger. It feels like it has a lot of torque for such a small engine and the jeep is geared so low that you don't feel like you only have 2.5L.

I'm looking at a 95 right now that is in great shape except for 2 details: the exhaust is pretty much rusted out. If I buy this jeep it will definately need a cat-back system. The other detail is a leak from the rear seal of the xfer case. This is the ONLY leak! Engine and transmission look good. Even the rear diff isn't leaking.

The xfer case seems funny. Everything seems fine in 2-hi and 4-hi, but I had GREAT difficulty getting into 4 low it popped out of 4-lo once with a loud clunk. I suppose I would be looking at an xfer case rebuild?

The best part of this deal is that the body has no rust. The frame certainly has taken 8 years of salt and rain damage, but the body is in great shape. This YJ comes with a hardtop and good carpet. Center console lid is gone as so many are.

Oh, milage is 84000 and the asking price is 4995. What says the boards, good deal or pass?

Cheers,
G.

edited by: Onager, Mar 27, 2003 - 02:02 AM[addsig]

 

[bluebelle]

1061896

not to offend any quads on our team, but why would you choose the 2.5 over the 4.0? is the mileage that much better?

the 4's a great displacement (i'd prefer a chevy 350) and gets fair mileage.

the 2.5 has less torque, less hp and less acceleration.

just thought i'd throw my $.02 in.[addsig]

 

[Onager]

1061906

Well, I'm aware of the benefits of the 4.0, and I'm actually a big fan of straight six's. I prefer them to V8's personally.

My consideration of a 2.5 appeared from the following logic:

My Landcruiser (THREE TONS) had a 4.2L, low compression, carburated straight six
This was plenty of engine for the cruiser
The jeep is much much lighter than the cruiser
The MPI 2.5L will be plenty of engine for the jeep.

A couple additional thoughts:
I don't think I will ever be running larger than 33" tires and I prefer the tall skinny tires to the fat mud boggers.
I won't be rock crawling and we don't get serious mud here. The main offroad action I see is in the woods or in the desert.
I won't be getting a vehicle with A/C.
The 4 banger offers a lower total cost of ownership -- less oil, coolant, spark plugs, gas, and probably other stuff to pruchase.

So the real issue, to me, is not the 4.0 vs the 2.5.

I am concerned with the xfer case though. Does the 2.5 come with weak one? Does the behavior I described above sound like a blown xfer case or could it be caused just by a lack of gear oil?

Cheers!
ONAGER
[addsig]

 

[jeepmaster]

1061927

i know theres several 2.5 lovers on this site, but id say 90% of the jeep owners i know say the one thing they wish they'd gotten was the 4.0, just a thought on that. 2 of my friends who have wranglers have the 2.5's and both are selling them to be replaced by 4.0's its not that the 2.5 isnt any good, its just that if you plan to do any serious offroading, its one of the best engines to have under you. if you only plan on doing like 31's 32's or so i dont think youd have any regrets with the 2.5. but if you want to go bigger i hear its wise to get the 4.0[addsig]

 

[RayOvac]

1061966

Originally posted by Onager

I am concerned with the xfer case though. Does the 2.5 come with weak one? Does the behavior I described above sound like a blown xfer case or could it be caused just by a lack of gear oil?

The transfer case is the same behind the 4banger and six. Good ol NP231. The late 80s jeeps had the NP207 which is not as durable. The NP231 is shift on the fly into 4Hi but 4lo should only be engaged at a COMPLETE stop in neutral. I have heard of a few cases where the NP231 was hard to get into 4lo but not too many...mine never has been hard to shift....goes right in. The transfer case is not blown but if it continues to cause you grief then you can probably find a good used one for $100 or less. Much cheaper than to rebuild yours.

[addsig]

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

1061974

Sounds like the transfer case linkage needs adjusting to fully engage 4lo. That's why it's popping out easily.

Replacing the transfer case output seal is super easy, just remove the rear driveshaft, pry the old seal out, coat the outer surface of the seal with silicone, and tap it back in.

'95 is the best YJ, as it's the result of a lot of improvements since '87. It has the larger front axle u-joints than '94 and older, plus it has the external clutch slave that is a huge improvement over the internal found in '93 and older.

I'm a 4banger lover, it's a great engine and you'll mostly notice it's shortcomings on the road. Offroad it can spank many of the high HP dogs :lol: It's pros are:

• Light Weight
• More reliable than a 6 and 8
• Easier and cheaper to tune up
• easy to bolt on mods for even more pep
• Low axle gearing

The first thing to do after buying it is to replace the transmission fluid with Redline MT90, you most likely have a fluid in there now that is bad on the synchronizers.[addsig]

 

[Onager]

1061986

Thanks for the info on the xfer case. I dunno why I didn't think of linkage. I can certainly adjust that.

With stock gearing and 31's, can the 4-banger cruise at 75 on the highway? I'd like to be able to drive to the trail as well as on it

Cheers,
ONAGER[addsig]

 

[jps4jeep]

1062001

In my experience and from some of my fellow jeeper in my area, The 4.0 seems to be roughly a 200k mile motor on average, My friend put about 293K on a 87 4.2 before rebuild. The 2.5 seems to run great up to about 100K. A friend of mine had to rebuild his 93 2.5 after about 72K, but he did beat on that engine.

Once you get those hampsters warmed up, those 2.5 will hit about 75 mph! Just kidding[addsig]