I had an 86 with the tbi 2.5L and 5 spd. super reliable, I couldn't kill it. But power and gas milage wasn't anything to write home about. i think my 4.0 is as good or better on fuel than my 2.5 was

 

sorry I had to research for my jeep.

weird, why is that my 1998 2.5L 4cylinder 4x4 cherokee sport runs
ave 8MPG

then the past posts says ave 20MPG?

all stock

is there something wrong with my jeep?

just acquired it tuned it up and recently maintaned all parts

its only has run 34k kilometers, its nearly mint

 

CEL light on? Even if not have it scanned for tripped codes.

 

I'm guessing that your brother is looking at that moss green 98 4 cylinder XJ for 2500?

That's been for sale for a long time. I bet he could get that thing for $1600 if he showed up with cash in hand. Maybe go up to $1800.

If I recall that one was an Auto trans i thought? If so then it has 4.56 gears.

The 2.5 is just a short version of the 4.0 so I imagine reliability being the same as the 6 cylinder. Not a hard swap to add a 4.0 in down the road either, then your already geared for 33s or 35s.

 

I had an 87 MJ with the 2.5 and ax-5. Loved that little truck. got 25 mpg highway and about 20 in town. Drove it 1200 miles one way to college about 4 times. Great little torquy engine for a DD. Just dont expect to get anywhere in a hurry. Only had one hiccup at about 250k, it somehow popped a pushrod loose from a rocker. Opened the valve cover. put t back down, tightened the rocker, and never had an issue after that.

 

I suppose it has, since the OP posted that 7 years ago.

 

I love mine
I drive Toyota 4X4 trucks normally .....but this lil engine has done nothing but impress me
good power, good mpg , and peppy around town
I hate to say it but it has more power that the old V6 toy I owned (and hated, 3.0 pos)

 

Mj MJ has a stroked 2.5L and 4spd with 31" tires. (I switched to 4.10 gears over the old 3.55) does great. I get 20mpg w/o an OD gear. Now don't expect a rocket or race car and you'll be fine. It's a reliable little engine.

 

Ive had a 96 2.5l manual for the last 20 years. Main things to watch are radiator hoses, catalytic converter and just regular fluid maintenance. Ive never been stranded outside of a busted rad. hose once and a bad spark plug leading to a misfire. I have 236k miles. Yes, Ive had many things replaced, but you cant beat the ease of finding parts and the low cost of said parts. Its not speedy but its a great urban beater, easy to park and willing to take the beating of the urban environment. Replaced the trans at 225, cost me 1k for rebuilt trans, clutch and labor. Some might say it wasnt worth it, but for a reliable daily driver that can handle inclement weather and be able to take a beating that is our crumbling infrastructure, I would say that it is worth far more than "blue book value". Even a novice can fix and repair many problems with a quick trip to the nearest AutoZone.

 

First thing I'd do is get a multimeter on the Coolant Temp Sensor. I'd bet it's running super rich because the computer thinks the engineis cold. If not, it's a good place to start as it costs nothing to check.

 

my 2.5 ran for ten years I put 200000 miles on it and beat the hell out of it

 

'Tis torque at the tire contact patch rather than torque at the crank that pulls us through the rough. Where high speed is irrelevant, gearing is our friend and a great equalizer.