I also have a tj with the 4 cyl, mine is a 97. It’s my only vehicle, and daily driver so I won’t be doing too much to it. I have 30” tires, has a hard top. I probably won’t lift it or get bigger tires and yeah in traffic on the highway it isn’t fast , I just ride in the right lane, I still enjoy it.
The 2.5 is a solid little motor as long as you are realistic about it's capability. 130hp is nothing to sneeze at in a Jeep IMO if you want something you can really drive every day and wheel keep the tire size as close to stock as possible. 235s will get you a lot of places with proper line selection and maybe a locker or 2. We wouldn't have the 4.0 without the 2.5 it came first and they based the 4.0's architecture off of it.
Excellent video. I've had a TJ with a 2.5L for about 20 years. Glad yours has worked out well for you. Thanks for the information you've shared with us.
my dad loved his 6Cyl TJ but lost it in an electrical fire a few years ago, he just got another 97 TJ and i was pretty bummed to hear it was only a 2.5L. Your video definitely put a lot of my fears aside! Thanks for showing it can still be a great offroader. It's actually the exact same as yours! a white SE.
They work around town and on the trail just fine. Highway use is where it struggles. This one actually had an electrical fire around 2004. Bought it back from insurance and fixed it
When you search YT for TJs, you almost find 4.0 related stuff - so this video is a desirable exception for me, as I have a 97 TJ 2.5, too, running on 31". Performance could be better, but overall it's a nice vehicle to have for fun. I'm not doing terrain rides and try to avoid highways (Autobahn) as well. Thank you for providing your experences and mods - looking forward to get more Jeep vids on your channel!
Just bought a tj and can never find any builds with a 4cylinder! Sick build really informative gonna definitely use some things in the video! Great job man!
New updates coming soon too. I lowered it 2” since this video and it was a world of difference in stability and on road driveability. Currently swapping to JK axles at the moment, so there will be plenty more content coming
I just subscribed ! This is what I'm trying to do with my Jeep, when I got my 97 tj 2.5 had 29 inch tires and 3 inch lift blocks, it rides like crap, i put on Cooper 33 AT and love them ! all suspension is worn out, planning on Metal cloke short arms game changer, Dana 44's and 35's and Best Top soft top in the next few months. Thanks for sharing your video
Sounds like my 98 I just got a little while back.. 3” body lift (which I hate) on 31x10.50 BFGs on 3” offset wheels. Suspension is shot so I plan on getting a 1.25 body lift/2.5 suspension lift combo, I think it was from extreme terrain. Right now focusing on refinishing the frame with POR15 to preserve what I have and going from there. Also planning on raptor lining the body. And the list goes on and on and on😜
Nice rig! I run my hi-lift on the hood. It is a bit awkward to get to, but not ridiculous. I think the placement makes me consider all other options (that are likely safer) before I pull it off the hood 😂
Great video man, I like how you keep everything simple and easy to work with. Myself, in the middle of a 4" lift on 35's with the little 2.5l some custom bumpers and some skids and corner wrap. Keep her dirty!
Can't wait to make some upgrades to my jeep. I have 92 YJ I've had since high school. I can't stand the 4 cylinder in my jeep one of the first things I'm upgrading is a more powerful engine.
Definitely would be cool to see a 185hp 2.5. Doesn’t seem like a cost effective solution to me though, especially considering the AX5 wouldn’t hold up. IMO for $3k + transmission, the parts you would need to adapt the AX15, driveshafts, and the effort of installing the stroker kit, swapping to a V8 would be just as easy and cost effective. Cool factor of a built 2.5 is there though lol
Thanks for the video man, appreciate it. very informational for what I should do with my Jeep. I also have a 2.5 L tj and I’m trying to put 35’s with a 4 inch lift on it as well.
You are the second person to recommend the 4.0 throttle body in the last 6 weeks. The other person also recommended a heavier flywheel. I'll have to find a throttle body
I do have to say thanks. Your video help alot. I'm new to having a new TJ and I really like seeing video like this to help buy thing that can help and you did a very good job at it
I’d have to disagree with the 4.88 + 35s. I think it’s to fast in low range. Though, I do have the 2004 2.4L. I’m just not sure if 5.13 is low enough, plus I have the HP D30. Also, I’m not to happy with Rampage quality.
thankyou for a very informative video. as a newbie looking to get in to trailing it is very good. when i get my TJ this year looking forward to getting one of those soft tops. could you make a video on putting it together or on and off the jeep please. many thanks forrest all the way from great britain
Great video bro.. i got my 2.5l on a 4 inch lift running on 33's.... but its starting to bother me cause it sucks bad at highway speeds.. two things that i need to attend to one is the vibration once doing 55mph where i don't know where to start and the second issue is it buggs out and starts firing and losing power up hills... well my 97 tj does come with a dana 44 rear that im sure it was added by the previous owner and ox lockers in the front... any help will be much appreciated ..
I just got a 2000 tj 2.5 a month ago. It had a lot of vibrations and the wheel would start shaking at 55 mph. I rotated my tires and added a steering stabilizer and the problem went away.
I was wondering if daily driving a Manual Jeep Tj with a 2.5 L4 , 6in lift, and 35’s would be very fun to daily drive. I might be looking at one that has all those features and didn’t know if I should lower it and put some smaller tires to make it more maneuverable in the city and as a daily driver. What’s your thoughts?
I personally think 6” is too much lift for 35s. Plenty of people run it and mine is 5”, but honestly 3-4” and some high clearance fenders would be perfect.You won’t mind driving it around town, but down the highway sucks. The 2.5 hates the holding highway speeds, especially with 35s.. I have 4.88 gears and mine cruises well about 55. 60 is giving it the beans
Great video, thanks for posting. I've 97tj 4banger. 4 inch sus+1"body. Stock axles w/4.56. I'm looking to go chromoly axles. Lunchbox up front and welded rear(chirp chirp).upgraded links. I still need to do the sye kit. Did ya do any engine internal mods...i find the 4cyl is a bit weak. Thanks for the thorough run through of your rig - ya gave me a couple good ideas. Cheers
Haha awesome! Yea the 4cyl is definitely under powered. I have not done any major upgrades to it other that throttle body spacer and intake. I usually run the trail 4lo and 2nd or 1st gear. That gives it plenty of pep to make it up the steep climbs. It hates the interstate though
Just curious as to how your welded rear end has held up. Of course I’m assuming it’s a Dana 35? I’ve got an SE that I’m going to run with 29” mud terrains, a drop in locker, and alloy 27 spline shafts. I’ll see how that goes. 🤷♂️
Awesome video! I Have a 97 that looks just like yours just with the 6cyl. Im getting ready to do the 8.8 axle this winter. Did you regear both axles at the same time? Or is there a way to just regear the back and drive it to a shop to have the front regeared?
I did do both at the same time. You could do the rear first, but you would need to remove your front driveshaft until those gears matched. Otherwise you would destroy your transfer case. Setting gears is a bit of an art from what I am told. I personally have a shop set my gears. I know it is doable with the right tools, I just haven’t done it before.
With a 4cyl, I think it’s about right for all around. It does well on the trail. Only on occasion do I wish it was a little lower. Top speed it feels good around 60
What’s your top speed on the freeway? I’m thinking about doing this to mine, it’s my daily driver and I drive on the freeway a lot, so I’m thinking about doing a 4in lift with 33s or a 6in lift with 35s? What would you suggest
I run 3” lift with 35s now. Do 4. I was at 5” and lowering it is the best thing I’ve ever done. Drives a million times better down the road. Top speed is about 60, faster down a hill
I hear from so many people that if your guna do any kind of lift you need ajustable control arms sye new drive shafts ect... is all that really nessasary right away or is it something you can do slowly
Typically you don’t really need an sye until you get to 4” or more. I even ran the 4” with no sye for a few years, but that is just out of luck and kind of a vehicle specific situation. Some can get away with it, some can’t
I do. It’s been great. Never had an issue with it. 🤞🏽. Been pretty rough on it for a long time too. As long as it stays behind a 4 cylinder they tend to hold up.
Dont you think 35s are a little big for a inline 4? I have a 99 with and inline 4 and not sure what tires I'm gonna use. I'm planning on a 4 inch lift with 1 and a half inch spacers. What all do I have to do to to add the lift
I’d say it depends on your usage. For a trail Jeep the 2.5 actually works pretty decent. 4.88s in the axles and climbing in 1st or 2nd gear in 4low is pretty comfortable. If I was daily driving it and trying to keep highway speeds then, yes I’d say 35s are a bit big. For around town driving though it’s not really an issue. She just doesn’t like the highway mostly (60+ mph and up long highway hills it struggles) Why do you want to run so much lift? Honestly I think mine is too tall. If I could do it again I’d go 2.5 or 3” suspension lift with the 1” body (only to make room for the belly up). This would make it more stable. You could easily run 35s with 3-4” of total lift. If you are going with a long arm lift that may help some, but with the short arms I think that’s way too much lift. The angle on those arms is gonna be really steep.
I did this spacer a long time ago. I picked it up cheap and added it. Funny you mention this though, was talking to someone yesterday who was saying that I really should add the throttle body. I may give it a shot
I’m not really sure to be honest. When I did the super short slip yoke eliminator I needed an adapter to make the speedo and odometer work. Never got it haha.
Hey there! I also have a 2.5 with 4:88 gears. I usually ran 35's but got a great deal on some 33's. I gotta tell ya that the power is great but, the lil 4 banger is wound tight at 60mph. In 5th gear at 60, im tacking almost 3 grand on rpm's. Plus my speedo is off by 5. When im saying 65, im actually at 60. Im also off with 35's but the other way. 34's actually put my speedo right on with the 4:88's. If ur gonna run 33's, i recommend 4:56 so that ur not screaming like mine is. Hope this helps ya.
It was slow with 30s and stock gearing lol. It won't be fast, no matter what you do to it. It'll cruise just fine about 55-60mph down the highway without much struggle. It hates hills on the highway though. The 4.88s and 35s work well on the trail and cruising around in 4 low at the offroad park. I actually just moved to 5.13s and 37s, so we gonna see how it goes.
Haha not exactly sure. The radio short circuited and melted the dash in like 2005, so it got a dash from the junkyard. Original dash had 120,000 and the new dash had about 80,000. Then about 5 years ago it got a super short SYE and I never bought the adapter to make the speedo and odometer work since it mostly is a trail Jeep. Dash currently reads 100,590. You can’t kill these 2.5l engines haha
For 35 12.5 15r 4.10 how many km/h 4.56 how many km/h My 2008 nissan frontier (navara d40) vehicle Dyno test = 174 km 4450 rpm Tire = 33 12.50 15r Ring pinnion = 3.69 Im change tire 35 12.5 15r sometimes highway sometimes mountain Ring and pinnion ? 4.10 ? v 4.56 ?
Haha yea I’m not sweating it. 🤘🏽 In my opinion it does fine on the trail with proper gearing and does fine around town. Not great for the highways, especially up and down hills.
