What does eveybody think of the 4 cyl. 2.5 L powerplant? I have seen a lot of good looking Jeeps lately that are exactly what I am after, except the 4-banger. Am I being to hard on a good motor, or is a 4 cyl. to light for a Jeep? I am not looking for a serious off-roader, but I do want to be able to dump three people, gear and a dog in it and drive to hunt camp 350 km away through the Ontario snow.....What about options like aftermarket carbs and exhaust systems to tweak the 4 bangers? Any magazines and catalogs I have seen ignore them completely. Are they out there or are they not worth doing?Thanks,Dan Hoskin

Many people here swear by the four banger, they most have onlydriven VWs. I'm sure you'll be embarrassed by it's total lack of power,especially if loaded with your camping gear on the highway. There nosubstitute for cubic inches, and that's why most you find for sale arethe gutless ones. God Bless America, Bill O|||||||Omailto: Hosk

The 2.5 is fine for what you need IMO but if you must have more power just buy one with a 4.0 or you will be in upgrade hell spending more than you would just getting the 6.Jim

4 cyl Jeep?

Dec 23, 2005 23 Replies

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Mike chambers 20 years ago

Hay Dan The four cyl. Works fine. Yes they are very slow going up a hill. I run with a bunch of guy's who run V8's . Every year on are trip to Silver Lake sand dunes I have to tow one of them out. Sure I dont fly up the hills like they do . but its still fun. I also drive mine the 21/2 hour trip to the dunes and drive back home. They trailer there Jeeps. Anouther guy I wheel with is big into mud. I go with him alot also. I get stuck just as much as him with his 8. I have a winch so it's not that big of a deal . I'm more into trail rides. So it works good. Right now i'm changeing gears to 4.88's . That will really make a huge diffrence. Hope this helps. Mike 48 Willy's 4cyl 50 Willy's pickup flat head V8 87 YJ 4cyl. 33" winch.

Later Mike

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Bret Ludwig 20 years ago

A well designed air cooled vehicle installation and the VW Beetle are in fact two different things, although later examples and US aftermarket upgrades did help a lot.

A Deutz has a big blower and is designed for stationary as well as vehicle use. In a Jeep I think it would be fine for crawling. As far as contaminated cabin air-use electric heat or a SouthWind heater and be done with it. The noise a Deutz makes has to be heard though...on second thought, American offroaders, who are more interested in showing off than getting anywhere, maybe this would be a plus instead of a minus.

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Jimbo 20 years ago

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Earle Horton 20 years ago

"As far as contaminated cabin air-use electric heat..." How many watts do you think it takes, to heat a vehicle cabin to a comfortable temperature, in a reasonable time? You can arrive at a rough estimate using one hundred watt light bulbs, electrical pig-tails, and a couple of extension cords. You may need to plug them into separate circuits. You will wind up with a two thousand watt alternator, at least, to satisfy most people's cabin heating requirements.

Fuel powered heaters are effective and efficient, but they are a bear to maintain. You can find a radiator repair shop, or buy a replacement heater core, in most small towns in the U.S. or even in Europe.

Earle

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