jason.sgtski

Greetings everyone.
I am looking at possibly pulling the trigger on buying a 2002 WJ with about 80k miles on it. It has the 4.0 and I have not looked at it yet. Heading tonight and may buy it if it looks to be in good shape.

Question is, Is there a significant power difference between the 4.0 and the 4.7 HO? Can i pull a 5x8 Uhaul enclosed trailer without issues? Could i still upgrade tire size to like a 33? The listing says 3.55 ratio if that helps. It is a Laredo. I know a little about Wranglers having owned a 2.5 Rio Grande YJ and a 2013 JKU Sport, but buying an older WJ to be a daily driver makes me nervous.

Rooch1008

The 4.0 has 195 hp...4.7 has 235 hp and the 4.7 HO has 265 hp...not sure about the tires and gears....hope this helps

Fred/N0AZZ

I have both engines the 4.0 in my XJ and the 4.7HO in my 04 WJ. The WJ has the towing pkg. on it that includes the Class IV hitch, 3.73 gears, oil/steering/trans coolers.


I use it to tow my 99 XJ on an all steel race car trailer and it does the job fine. My WJ has 212,000 mi. on it and uses no oil and runs very well in fact it is my DD also and has more options than our 2014 Town Car.


The 4.0 is marginal for towing that size trailer but depends a lot on the weight/loaded. You would need to add a few things like trans cooler for sure and mountain use loaded not a good idea with those gears.

jason.sgtski

What about when compared to a 2005 limited with a 4.7L and a possible tow package (there is an image of a button in the dash with a Tow/Haul) ? How is the aftermarket for the 2005? Looks like more options available for the WJ vs the WK.

Thank you all for the feedback. I want to get something that will fit my needs so i can start feeding the Jeep life that I have been missing since I sold my Wrangler.

Fred/N0AZZ

For many reasons the WJ's 99-04 are a better 4x4 than the 2005 and later models differentials a big one and look for an Overland Edition if you can find one reasonable with the 03-04 having several improvements over the early run 99-02.


That button is on them all it locks the trans out of OD to keep from up/down shifting with a heavy load. On my WJ the button is on the shifter for this.

dave1123

Locking out the O/D actually is better for towing because it gets the engine into it's torque range for more power. I actually lock mine out on those back country roads at night where you've got hills and curves and you don't want to be running over about 40 mph. I use less throttle to take the hills and to slows down quicker for the curves.

Third gear is 1:1 anyway.