have a 1997 tj, pondering trading in my F350 crew cab for something a tad bit more fuel efficient. have a 20ft. pontoon boat to pull and 28 ft car trailer what kind of mileage could one expect on the XJ with 4.0 & 3.7 ? any recommendations on what to look at & what to stay away from. thinking along the line of used
XJ's mostly have a 4.0L inline 6 that has the power. However the XJ only weights 3100# and I think would be too light for your car trailer. Also their fuel mileage might be better then your F350 but sucks at maybe 10-12 city to 20 highway depending on your driving style. I don't think the 3.7 V6 was ever used in the XJ. Last year for the XJ was 2001. I've recently gotten a 06 Liberty CRD (diesel) and it's 4200# and rated to tow 5000#. The 2.8L diesel has the guts to do the job and get the mileage you want. At 2000 miles mine is not broken in and has been averaging 20+ in all city short trip, AC on driving. (double the 99 XJ). Once broken in, 5k or more miles, owners are reporting mileage as high as 30's highway with the norm being
28-29 mpg.. They've stopped making the Liberty CRD's for the US in May but some are still in the dealer's lots. It's possible to get them at a highly discounted price. My 06 Limited stickered at $28,400 and I got $5k off, some report as much as $7k off. Just get the extended warranty as they're having "growing pains" like most diesels in the US.
What do you put on that car trailer, and what engine does the F350 have in it? A pontoon boat doesn't sound too heavy for the XJ, but I would hesitate to recommend one without knowing what kind of iron you haul on that car trailer, how fast and how far. Fuel mileage when towing will depend on engine size, vehicle weight, total payload and aerodynamic profile of the total package. I suspect that total payload and profile are going to limit the savings you can realize by changing the tow vehicle. I am guessing here, that you should be looking at vehicles with a small V8 engine instead of the XJ.
Bill you're great for a quick link to a subject but you're hardly an authority, XJ's also can be had with D44's and the Chrysler 8.5 (which is a better axle than the D35 by most accounts I've seen).
I'd echo others in wondering how much you're trying to pull. The XJ is very very light... it wieghs less than Wranglers, Hell it wieghs less than some Mustangs.
That said it gets great fuel mileage for an SUV, bone stock I've gotten
22 to 24 MPG mostly highway from my 92 2dr 4.0 automatic with over 140k miles.
Far from bone stock they still get pretty fantastic mileage my 94 4dr has a 4.6 litre "stroker". That is a 4.0 bored 0.30 over with the crank and rods from a 4.2 litre YJ/CJ engine for a longer stroke (thus the term stroker) 33" tires, 4.56 gears, Detroit trutrac and factory front limited slip. And it's an auto, and it gets 21 MPG on longer highway trips if I keep my foot out of the gas. On average (including plenty of foot in the gas, and occasional hard launches at lights, and mild 60-ish MPH highway crusing) it still manages 18 to 19. This with a very pleasing amount of power and torque that rivals an old convertable 5.0 mustang GT I had.
I had a hard time believing my mileage especially considering the gears and tire size.
I towed a car trailer a few times with a 5.2L ZJ. With a station wagon on the trailer, it was a bit much weight but it got down the road. Brakes were totally inadequate and I'm sure the XJ is the same.
Moving down from a 1-ton, you'd hate it. Keep the F350 and buy a moped.
A buddy of mine has a Dodge 2500 Diesel with mods that dynos over 1000 ft-pounds and gets better than 24mpg. My Dakota gets 12.5mpg. Go figure.
Sorry Bill, my 2000 XJ had a Chrysler 8.25 with limited slip, no less... I'll have to dig for pics.. Really wish I'd have kept that instead of my TJ. Oh well.
I've seen the dyno printout but I have to take his word on the mileage because I was holding onto the passenger seat for dear life and didn't get a good look at the mileage computer.
In line at the dyno:
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Blowing smoke out the door:
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"494 RWHP and 1034 ft lbs of torque"
I've never seen another vehicle that can boil 38" tires like that thing. Turbos, injectors, pumps, propane, water injection, computers... It's just not right.
You know, I've been thinking the same thing. Bill has always had a ton of great info... I've reading/posting here for about 3.5 years now. But recently it just seems to be a lot of nasty-grams...
You know, I don't like liars either. Sometimes folks just don't have the right info (i.e. when you said XJs didn't have 8.25s when I know they did... as mine did). But geez, just let it go man. Go back to being the helpful Bill we all enjoyed. Not the spiteful guy your posts are portraying you as.
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