Any Jeep gurus on the forum?

[drs1321]

My '97 Jeep Wrangler SE is just sitting up at my land and will probably rot away if I don't sell it or fix it. It's kind of special to me since my father helped me buy it and fix it up in high school and it was my first car. The body is still in really good shape, new tires, I have a 2.5" lift and 31's on it with good treadwear. But the engines blown. Everything else is good. My question is, would it make more sense to just replace the 2.5L, or, what I'd like to do, is put a v-6 or v-8 conversion kit into it and lift it more, but that's going to get pricey..

Anyone have any idea what this type of conversion would cost? I'd have have a mechanic do it; I'm handy, but not naive enough to think I could do it myself. Any input helps!

[Ridge]

Don't know about the total cost but sure would be a great project.

[Breadman03]

Trust me, look at a jeep forum for first hand experience. If you like to go fast, I say go for a V engine. If you like to putter around in the woods, I think the 4.0 inline six is a much better engine. You would also be able to pick most of your parts from the junkyard and bolt it right in. Good luck with your build!

[4.0B2]

i'm an offroad activists... jeep guy kinda. more ford..but yeah.

i'd do at least the 4.0 inline... maybe a Small Block Chevy.
depends on your budget and time constraints.

all in all tho.. i know a guy w/ a 2.5 in his TJ with 4.88 gears and 37's. he runs every trail at superlift offroad park. if its not a DD, you can live w/ the 2.5 and just gear the crap out of it. find a rubicon transfer case and gear the axles right

[Bullhed78]

If you are going to upgrade the engine you will also have to upgrade the axles. Stock axles will not hold up to the power of a V8. I had a modified 1990 YJ that was fun and impressed alot of people. However, I was always chasing down the weakest link. Fix one find another type situation. I now have a 2000 TJ that has a 2" BDS lift and 33x12.50 BFG KM2 mud terrains. 4.0L, 5 speed, dana 44 rear axle,dana 30 front axle, I'm running 3.73 gears. Love the fact that I can just play with this Jeep rather than fix problems on modified drive train like on my other one.
Cliff notes: If you want a V8 in a Jeep it will cost a fortune to do it right.

[TeXJ]

I second what Bullhed said.

[bilbo]

Ultimately, it depends on what you want to do with the Jeep when you getting running again. Do you want to go wheeling? Mud? Rocks? Both?

If your goal is to just get it moving again so you have a "fun" around town vehicle then just find a junkyard 2.5L, drop it in and call it done...

[mhen]

The 4 cylinder is one of the best engines I have seen for off-road jeep work. It may not be the best on the highways, but it's easy on the gas and will go anywhere. I don't have any off-road vehicles, but my parents have a jeep with a 4 cylinder and my uncle has a jeep with a V8. The 4 cylinder will run circles around the V8 out on the trails and will run twice as long on the same amount of gas. We went a lot of places that my uncle couldn't touch. If I were to buy a jeep for off-road I would get a 4 cylinder. If I were to get one for the paved roads I would probably try to find a V6.

[drs1321]

Originally Posted by bilbo

Ultimately, it depends on what you want to do with the Jeep when you getting running again. Do you want to go wheeling? Mud? Rocks? Both?

If your goal is to just get it moving again so you have a "fun" around town vehicle then just find a junkyard 2.5L, drop it in and call it done...

Yeah, I think I'm gonna just drop in another 4 banger. It would be a hell of a lot cheaper and this would be a weekend warrior, no tough mudding. It's more than adequate with the 2" lift and 31's, and the setup looks nice. Thanks for the input!

[drs1321]

Hoping to resurrect this topic. I'm gonna drop another 2.5 in it. Anybody know a good company that sells remanufactured engines? I need an AMC 2.5 L inline 4.