How bad are the 2.5Ls really?

[dharmabum]

I am looking to pick up another YJ and have come across a few with the 2.5 for pretty cheap. It happens to be the one jeep motor I have never had in any of my jeeps so I was wondering from those who have it how bad is it really or is it livable? I would most likely be running 33s or 35s and it would be for around town and offroading use. I am thinking if I swap to an 8.8 with 4.56s and match the front it might be okay or no ???? I would rather a 4.0 but the price goes up and I'm not dealing with a carb anymore so the 2.5 opens up alot more years to me.

[armpuller]

They're not terrible. Torquie little motors but don't expect to cruise above 70 mph especially with anything over 31's. Hills can be a bit tricky. With 33's look to go to 4.88's which is the lowest you can go in the d30. 35's can be done but you'll definatly notice the lack of power. However, for what you say you're going to do, I'd say go for it. Look for 93 and up for the external slave for the clutch. The rest aint bad but I've had to replace my slave 4 times and gets to be a pain to drop the tranny each time. The nice thing about getting the 2.5l is that it's cheaper so you can upgrade more stuff and who knows, you might get to be in the same boat as me and looking to swap to a v8. Good luck

[Vape]

Not bad at all. You gotta be humble -- pretty much everyone's car is faster than yours, so no blowing past people who tick you off on the highway ;). With the manual trans, though, I can downshift and get a good jump of speed out of her from time to time. It's tough, and can pull the jeep it lives in out of just about anything the tires can grip to. Lots of room in the engine bay to work on stuff, too, which is always a plus :). I think it's a nice setup overall, and a great platform for future upgrades.

[armpuller]

Not bad at all. You gotta be humble -- pretty much everyone's car is faster than yours, so no blowing past people who tick you off on the highway ;). With the manual trans, though, I can downshift and get a good jump of speed out of her from time to time. It's tough, and can pull the jeep it lives in out of just about anything the tires can grip to. Lots of room in the engine bay to work on stuff, too, which is always a plus :). I think it's a nice setup overall, and a great platform for future upgrades.

Exactly. In fact if it wasn't for my slave going out in for the clutch, my 2.5l having 180,xxx miles and needing a rebuild, and the fact the wife needs an auto, I'd leave mine in instead of swapping.

[LJ2dr]

I've got a YJ 92 EFI 2.5L with a small lift with a new 8.8 w/4.56's And a Detroit. I also have an aussie locker up front running 33x10.50 BFG KM's..
I love it on the trails..
It is not a highway performer by any means. I would give it a D grade there on any unlevel ground. I live with it knowing the trade off. It's my trail rig.
And I can still drive to the trails, with out being a trailer queen.

But once on the trail it holds it's own. Especially with 33's, it is a lot lighter up front which allows you to get up on top of things that some 6cylinders may not.
My choice, If you want to run 35's, I'd eventually get the 4:1 transfer gears and then you can go anywhere those 35's will take you.
Yeah, I hear ya' EFI baby.. more power. I can't imagine a carbed 2.5L..

Also 4.56's are fine for 33's.. but I could see that 5th would be just about useless with 35's.. other then going down hill.
w/4.56's 4th gear is not too low to stay in on slight grades and maintain
freeway speeds either... It's only about 150 Rpm diff between 456's & 4.88's.. and you know 4th gear will get used.. Good luck either way...
I'll post mine up later if you want.

[Chris142]

I had an 89 with the 2.5L. Off road it was great. Was downright dangerous on the highway because it wouldn't keep up with traffic. Always had a Swift truck up my @$$.

I maintained it better than most people and it still blew up with 99k on it.

[Dutch_Neck95]

The 2.5L is a great motor. It is surprisingly strong and dependable. I have 4.88 and 33's and can still cruise at about 75 on the highway. granted i get only about 13mpg when I do. The point is that the engine is a tough little bugger. If you are interested in going to the 4.0L you can find them on craigslist nearly on a weekly basis cheap.

I love my 2.5l but if you looking for highway speed on large tires, might consider a larger engine. But your wanting to get a Wrangler, and to so 9 times out of 10 you are always sacrificing top end speed.


Cheers

[drwall]

the 2.5 is pobably one of jeeps most reliable motors. Yes it lacks power, but as already stated with the right gears you will be able to go anywhere with it. I have had mine for 7 years now and it has almost 200K on it and is still running strong. If you search the Jp magazine archives you will find several issues about the 2.5 and they will tell you they are great reliable but weak engines also. For what you say you plan on doing with the jeep I think the 2.5 will be perfect for you.

[silver97tj]

Hi all

The 2.5l is the best engine I have in regards to reliablity and durabilty/
lack power, so-so but will get you wherever you want to. have gone cross country and its a little noisy but its a jeep :)

87, 92, and 98 all 2.5L and still going........:)

[Vape]

Forgot the bit about reliability :P. Mine's over 170k, never done anything to it besides oil changes, plugs, and other stuff like that.

[PATNHISYJ]

if run 31s and theres no worries good gas mileage and is peppy around town. as soon as u put the lift and bigger tires it all goes down hill. i used to be able to get it up to 96 now i cant get it past 73ish downhill and mpg around 16 from 22 city and still at 13 on the highway

[Sinear]

itll get you around but it leaves something to be desired...

especially when you live in the mountains most of the time like i do

[TJx2]

I am looking to pick up another YJ and have come across a few with the 2.5 for pretty cheap. It happens to be the one jeep motor I have never had in any of my jeeps so I was wondering from those who have it how bad is it really or is it livable? I would most likely be running 33s or 35s and it would be for around town and offroading use. I am thinking if I swap to an 8.8 with 4.56s and match the front it might be okay or no ???? I would rather a 4.0 but the price goes up and I'm not dealing with a carb anymore so the 2.5 opens up alot more years to me.


I would stick with a manual. I had a TJ with a 2.5L and an auto and thought it was too pokey. Otherwise, there is not a thing wrong with them. I have never not been able to follow someone or clear an obstacle because I felt I didn't have enough engine.

[Raleighjeepguy]

I had a 2.5 tj that was fine. Had a 95 2.5 with some goodies, 35"s, 4.56 in an 8.8 and it was a pita on the highway (unlevel) but around town its great. Depends on what you are using it for. I loved it on the trail cuz you could beat the dogs ass off of it and it wouldn't break anything but if you are gonna be taking 8 hour trips its prob going to suck on anything bigger than 31's

[JustPassinThru]

X2 on the reliability.

Mine has been horribly neglected - it was passed around a California used-car lot catering to Mexicans; was repo'd...and lightly wrecked before. I doubt the oil got changed much...

...but with that, I've put 35,000 miles on it for a grand total of 109,000 - with only a water-pump bearing failure.

Not even a tune-up - just oil and filter; and it stands idle every winter with minimal prep.

For all of that, it's never refused to start - not even in the odd blizzard when I hurriedly brought it out of "storage" to get through the drifts for supplies.

The 2.5 is a meek but resiliant little mill...proven technology, made to lug...not unlike the original Willys powerplants.

[ryanalexander4]

I have a 1992 Wrangler YJ with the 2.5L - 158,000 miles... still running. Not a lot of power, and about 18 mpg. Acceleration is the only problem you'll have with this motor... it's kind of a pain to get on the highway.

[adventurebob]

2.5L is a good little motor but dont expect to get a HP monster out of it. We know the guys who built the 2.5L SCCA race truck Jeep ran in the 80s. You can make it put out 205HP/230ft-lbs of tq for about $3.5K. It will run all day. In a season, jeep rebuilt the motor once. Problem is that the guys who built the motor didnt do the computer, Jeep did. So while you could build it, you couldnt control it. And for those kind of prices and having to do a custom computer you could yank the 2.4 out of a wrecked chrysler product and have a modern motor you can find programing for.