dasbulliwagen

My mom bought a 2001 PT right when they came out... paid too much at the time but that didnt matter. She still has it and has had few if any problems. The auto trans issues are more with the minivans than they are with the PT's or Neons. We don't see many issues with them at the dealership, so I wouldnt be too afraid of an auto if thats what you find. But the manual ones like that are few and far between. Like you said, may be just what you need to keep from messing with it. Some of the biggest issues we see with them at the dealer are for cam sensors, and electric cooling fans going bad. I say go for it.

I'm not trying to say youre wrong, and I know they were designed a certain way for a reason, but the experience of myself and others shows no loss of performance or reliability doing this. And there isnt an inspection station anywhere that will gamble the cost of inspecting the inside of a cat. Now if our trucks had an after cat monitor, this would be a different story. In that case, having the guts inside is mandatory to keep the CEL off. I know it is better to keep everything intact in most cases, but this isnt one of them.

Its been over a year since this was updated, but I think progress is about to be made on the chopper trike. I finally found the rear tires I wanted, so i brough it up to my wife, and she says " great, can you finish it in time for Griffins 2'nd birthday?" Griffin is my buddy's boy, and his birthday is 1 month away. So we will see if if I can get this thing fixed up and done in time. Ill take pics for you and update it as the process goes along.

I still have my original window sticker for my 87. Getting the truck from the original owner helps with things like this!

Many companies will also do "agreed value coverage" where you and the company agree on a vehicle value, often after an appraisal, and then get coverage based on that value. Just FYI

When we see this cap issue at the delaer, we pop the top part off and use some channel locks to unscrew the part in the valve cover, but I like the JB weld or epoxy idea, Ill have to remember that.

The 02 sensor can cause that as well. Mine ran similar to yours after I got it going. I did all the same tune up stuff with only marginal improvement. I put the O2 sensor in and its been great ever since. Mine was also stored for a long time rarely being driven, though the PO did try. Let us know what you figure out.

2.5 or 4.0.... auto or stick. A little more info would be helpful. Where in NC are you?

http://www.allpar.com/trucks/jeep/honcho.html

I have a gutted and sleeved cat on my 2.5 and noticed no loss in torque and maybe a slight pickup in high end power. I need the appearance of a cat in my area, so thats why it is the way it is. I think youll be OK. My boss's 88 4.0 MJ is missing the guts in the cat, and his runs fine as well.

I have to diasagree with you Rob. Stacy was the worst in my opinion. Completely fake act on TV. I'm not sure where his show is now, but then again, I don't want to know... I can't even stand to look at the guy. Sorry. And I took his image out of your quote so I wouldnt have to look at him again.

I set the series to record. And I agree about the hosts they find for these shows, and the ones on Spike. can't they just find some normal people to do these shows? And it seems like the Spike ones get recycled into shows on other channels... Not good.

I hope I'm not alone on this, but I think I need more explaining on what is the problem in the pic.

If youre hearing noise from it the bearings are already shot. Clean it, refill it with 75/140W and run it like that until you can look for a new axle.

As clean as it is, I was thinking ask $2500, and settle at $2000.... my 2 cents.

The "X" was a trim package... mostly in 86 I think. My "X" has the 2.8 V6.

Others may chine in, but the 2.8 sometimes has oiling issues that cause the bearings to go out unexpectedly. This problem was fixed on later engines and the 3.1 and 3.4 versions of this motor. The 3.1/3.4 is a popular swap after the 2.8 dies. Much better power, and much better longevity. All the 2.8 stuff like the manifold, exhaust and accessories will bolt right to the 3.1/3.4 block, and after you get the flywheel nuetrally balanced it is a bolt in and run situation. May be a better option for you in the future.

Forgot to mention on mine, I gutted and sleeved the cat converter, and installed a Flowmaster 50 series muffler to the original 2 1/4" tailpipe. It has a nice growl under load, but is not loud or annoying and doesnt have any drone.

On mine, I just used pieces of a cold air intake form a Mazda 3 that I had laying around.... just happened to fit. I made a bracket to support it, and have had no trouble. I'm not sure I saw any performance gain or not, but it sure didnt hurt anything. Another thing I did was remove the engine driven radiator fan, and installed an electric one. That too didnt make much if any differance, but every little bit helps on the 2.5. Gearing is what helped me the most, but if you have a 4wd 5 speed, you already should have 4:10 axle gears. Mine was a 4 speed and was 3:55, so going to 4:10 made a big difference. Another thing with the 2.5 is to not expect too much. If you do, you WILL be dissappointed. Keep your expectations low, and youll be OK.

I think you put it best by saying... maintinance and tune up. Change out all the oils, check all hoses, give it a tune up (plugs wires cap and rotor) maybe a new O2 sensor, and then fix things as you find them while driving it. The 2.5 is as reliable as the 4.0 and can reach the same high milages. Just check it over and drive!

You can't swap a 4.0 into a 2.8 without changing trannies. There also may be firewall clearance issues, but from what Ive read, it is a minor issue, and can be dealt with with a BFH. Your best bet if you were to swap a 4.0 would be to get a coomplete running donor, and swap EVERYTHING over. Engine, radiator and core support, trans, crossmembers, engine wiring, dash wiring....everything! If you have the time and knowledge to do it yourself, its really not that bad of a job. Good luck.

Being in a Jeep dealership we see these problems too with the fancy spark plugs in 4.0's just get the coppers, youll be fine, and the engine will be happy.

Mine was like that when I got it. I did the whole tune up thing, put several cans of fuel system cleaner through it only with marginal results. I drove it like that for a while, till I decided to throw in an O2 sensor. That did the trick... has run great ever since... been almost 4 years now since then. Good luck.

Later Gm 2.8, 3.1, and 3.4 are direct swaps including all accessories. The 60 degree GM bellhousing will also fit 3.8's, I think jeepcomj has done this. There may be other 60 degree engines that would phisically bolt up, but I'm not a GM guy, so I don't know.

Are you taking into account the tire size difference in your milage calculations? If you havent changed your speedo gear to reflect your taller tire size, your milage calculations are going to be off one way or another. It may not be as bad as it seems.