How underpowered IS the 4 cylinder??

May 19, 2004 23 Replies

Alright, I love my Jeep. Sweet 2000 Sport, silver and lovely. The problem is she is out of warranty and starting to give me problems. I figure it's time to trade her in (don't tell her) for a new one, but I am upside down in the Jeep by a few grand and that wouldn't afford me the luxury of buying a new one... or even a used one with a 6 cyl.



It seems the best I could afford would be a 2003 SE model, around 15-16k plus whatever my negative equity is. I always said I'd never own another 4 cylinder, but I'm getting desperate.



So please... fill me in on the performance of the SE.



Thanks.


Like all things, it depends. If all you want is a no-frills, "will never be built" daily driver that won't see a lot of high speed highway use, it's fine. For most anything else, it sucks. Hey, that's why there's the 4.0L!

15-16K gets you a hell of a lot of repairs ! Jeeps are very well built; why don't you think yours will last reliably for more than 4 years ?

Dave Milne, Scotland '91 Grand Wagoneer, '99 TJ

Well, the problem is that it seems the original owner of the Jeep ran well water in the coolant system. I have had problems with all facets of the cooling system because of rust buildup. We managed to get the rust mostly flushed out, but the damage has been done. I've replaced the radiator, the water pump, and now several of the freeze plugs.

I'm wanting to get a Jeep that is still under warranty. I figure I am pretty much up sh*t creek, but anyway...

So you may need a new shortblock or long block, that's still a lot less that $15K!

I'd say, if you're used to the 4.0 six, you won't like the 4. Go to the dealer and drive one, check it out for yourself.

B

Apparently you're in Florida somewhere? When I was there with my 4L automatic

+air YJ, I was driving more than a little bit, and I was putting sometimes $400 - 600 or more a month IN GAS into the thing. That was a number of years ago, so it would be more now. Perhaps that's a consideration for you.

I bought a 2.5L stick (with no air) and it seems to be much less to operate - here in So. Cal even with preposterous gas rates I'm putting no more than $120 - $160 a month in the car.

YMMV

Capt. Purple

?!?!

How bad could the problems BE that you are considering this? I mean, radiator, manifold, what?

To give up a 2000 Sport for a 2003 SE is lunacy.

-jeff

So... you shoud be all about fixed now, right? Just drive the thing.

-jeff

I've got a 95YJ, 5 sp, 4 cyl, soft top. My wife has a 94YJ, 5 sp, 6 cyl, soft top. I drive 135 miles a day back and forth to work. No matter which Jeep I take my mileage is in the vicinity of 21 mpg. No performance mods made to either Jeep. At about $1.899 a gal(yesterday, tomorrow, who knows?)that's $277 a month.

-- Old Crow '82 Shovelhead FLT 92" 'Pearl' '95 Jeep YJ Rio Grande ASE Certified Master Auto Tech + L1 TOMKAT, BS#133, SENS, MAMBM, DOF#51

my next one will be a 6 .. but after getting my plugs changed by dealer (tsb) my '03 2.4 is getting around 23 mpg with the windows down... ~D

$2.35 in Oregon... they say it'll get to 3 bucks/gal in June (the gas station guys say this and said they were told to "start warning people...")

-jeff

Why do you want a Jeep that's under warranty? You *like* bringing it into the dealership for repairs?

-Fred W

My 2000 TJ 6 cyl 5spd averages 19mpg.

Arkansas. I *am* paying over $2 for the good stuff for the Harley, however. It's only $10 a day to commute on the bike. :-(

-- Old Crow '82 Shovelhead FLT 92" 'Pearl' '95 Jeep YJ Rio Grande ASE Certified Master Auto Tech + L1 TOMKAT, BS#133, SENS, MAMBM, DOF#51

"L.W. (ßill) Hughes III" wrote in message ...

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Thanks for the link Bill... You might like this one: LA compared to London Ontario (where I live)
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