A lot of people I work with and know asked me “why the f*** did you get the 2.5 and not the 4.0?” and “why is it 2wd and not 4wd?”

Well, for starters, I needed something to get me 40 miles away and back every day that was cheap to maintain, reliable, and decent on gas. I had 2k to get me car after my BMW decided to go up in flames, and I found this XJ. 2.5, 2wd, 5 speed manual, and a lot of problems.

When I first got it, the valve cover was spraying oil, and the oil pan was just as bad. Before I got to changing those gaskets, my transmission blew up, because the guy put 31 inch mud tires on a 2wd 4 banger, and that poor AX5 didn’t stand a chance.

Found an AX5 for 250 bucks with 250k miles, put that in, with a brand new clutch, pressure plate, release and pilot bearing, clutch fork and spring, and a new slave cylinder. Fixed the VCG and OPG at the same time, along with plugs, wires, cap, rotor, and a new coil pack. Excluding the transmission, everything else I did totaled about 150.

My point i’m trying to make here is that even though the 2.5 is about as powerful as a lawnmower, and I don’t have 4wd, I didn’t need the gas pig known as the 4.0, and the extra hardware to carry around to further tank my mileage.

Sadly, the AMC 2.5 lives in the shadow of the great 4.0, but it’s every bit as reliable as the 4.0, cheaper and easier to work on, a hell of a lot better on gas, but is really really slow. So slow that if I want to go 70 on the interstate, I have to have the A/C off.

Regardless, I get about 17-18 in the city, and if i’m feeling brave for a long interstate trip, then I can get about 25 depending on hills and such.

As much as I want a 4.0 and 4wd, I don’t need it. This little motor has enough power to get you up to speed, and since i’m only driving it every day to a grand total of about 400 miles a week, it’s all I needed.

Plus I love the paint color and the 2-door design.

Bottom line is, if you want an XJ to drive around for a daily driver, look for the 2.5 with a 5 speed. It might be underpowered, but the difference between 17 in the city vs 13 in the city with the 4.0, you’ll learn to live with it and love it

 

I hear ya. I was content with my 2.8L. Worst mileage I ever got was 16 mpg hauling a wrecked Xj on a trailer over the mountains. Clear down to 1st gear a few times and still didn't drink the gas. Alas though, the state of CA forced me to change motore or crush it, so I put the 4.3L in. Now GM is no longer supporting the V6, so it will be getting an LS of some kind. But I love my XJ

 

How can the State force you to change motors?

 

Smog specs. I had a CA electronic carb and couldn't get parts to rebuild it. So update or crush it. Could have sold it out of state I guess

 

I'm looking forward to making the 2.5L turbo manifolds. Unfortunately I couldn't find a 4 cyl xj so I'll need to mock up on the TJ.

 

If a 4.0 is only getting 13, something is wrong with it. The 2.5 only got 1 mpg better than the 4.0 according to the EPA mileage numbers. The stick versus the auto added 2-mpg regardless of engine, primarily due to putting in 3.07 axles in which killed power. As a reference, my 1989 MJ, 4.0 auto on 32s with 4.11 axles gets 17 mpg on mostly rural roads and hwy. It got 22 with the original 4.0, stick, 235s and 3.07s.

But I agree the 2.5l is fine around the city and off-rad. It just sucks on hills at speed with the stock gearing. I remember my 2.5l/ax5 YJ struggling up mountain passes in 3rd gear at 40 mph, getting passed by all the semis.

 

Sorry. I should’ve clarified how it gets around 13 with 4wd, auto, and 4.0, or at least around that. Finding a manual 4.0 is apparently really hard, but if I found one, I’d snag it in a heartbeat since those get about 1 mpg less than the 2.5 5 speed, as long as it’s 2wd

But it is very annoying to do clear any hills, going any speed in 4th or 5th. I have 4.10 gears, so that doesn’t help any with slightly bigger than stock WJ wheels. But you learn to live with it, and it’s not like it’s unbearable. Just an inconvenience

 

With similar features, the 2.5 gets around 1 MPG better in the city. Highway it's a wash. Yep, 4x2 will by you one more MPG and a manual transmission about the same as 4x2. You'll find very few people singing the praises of the 2.5, and I'm sorry but I never trust anyone's testimonial of their fuel economy online. My first XJ was a brand new '92 SE 2-door 5-speed with a 2.5, and I'll never buy another 4 cylinder Jeep. Woefully underpowered, and horrible in most categories.

 

I 100% agree with you. I was looking for a 4x2 4.0 with the AX15, but that wasn’t to be found anywhere. I looked for probably about 2 months, and never could find any.

I wanted the 4.0 because with the 5 speed, it gets about the same gas mileage, but a lot more power. Sadly, that’s like finding a needle in a haystack. I’m content with my 4 banger, because i’m stuck with it now. At least I own an XJ, and I enjoy driving this thing around, and I absolutely love working on something this simple, compared to a BMW or the likes.

If I ever find a 4x2 4.0 with a 5 speed, i’ll buy it in a heart beat as a daily driver. But until then…

I got my 4 squirrels