The 2.5 has the open cooling system. No Volvo cap needed. I have well over 220,000 on mine and it's still running strong. Maybe the PO gave mine good maintenance.
Correct.
Getting rid of it is like throwing the baby out with the bath water.
An afternoon of tweaks and maintenance and you're good to go.
The problem is that with a Renix you have more tweaks & maintenance to do the following afternoon and whenever the temperature changes or the sun shines.
I'm sure you're being funny, but that's not really true. My tbi'd 2.t is just as reliable and hassle free as my 4.0HO ZJ and my OBDII XJ.
Hood vents may not be the most efficient way to get rid of heat, but they probably do allow some heat to escape. I can feel some heat rising out of the engine cover vents on my MR2 when it's idling.
The Renix system gets a bad rap, I think. Once one catches up on all the neglected maintenance and some small tweaks are made, it's as reliable as anything else out there.
You just need to remove 4 bokts and pull up your shifter to do it that way. I've done it 5 times in two years myself. Oh, and when you fill it, use yellow metal safe oil. Personally, I've been using synthetic 10w30 with great results.
A buddy of mine with a leadfoot and a heavy tire/wheel package killed a 8.25 on 33's in an XJ. His trussed ZJ LP30 has survived for years under his truck, strangely enough.
Driving style is another factor, I guess.
As far as your front springs go, see if you can get some JK front take offs. We installed a set on my brother's 2.5 XJ. They dropped right in and brought him back to stock height while being very smooth on-road.