jamesRichardSisson Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 After my first Comanche at 16 and having to get rid of it I've been keeping my eyes pealed for another. Yesterday I picked up an 89 2.5l 4 speed manual. I've never seen a Jeep frame as new looking as this. Unfortunately on my way home going probably a a bit to fast the truck quit 5 times and is hemroging oil out of the top of the motor(not a mechanic ha). The truck was not the zippy 4.0 I previously had. I was planning on swapping engines any way but I need more power. I'm thinking I should either have the engine rebuilt or buy a rebuilt and swap keeping the size the same and adding a turbo or supercharger for some extra zip. Any suggestions ???!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeepjeff859 Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 4.0 or bigger, I had a 1986 with the 2.5 and ax4 with 36 in tires and that thing couldn't handle anymore, so far with my swap I'm just under 500 and only have a few parts left to go. Your probably going to pay more than its worth for the parts and labor to have that engine rebuilt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesRichardSisson Posted July 5, 2015 Author Share Posted July 5, 2015 Switching to a 4.0 will require changing trans, drive shaft etc will it not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 switching to a 4.0 will require changing just about EVERYTHING. the 2.5 with a 4speed was paired with 3.55 gears and that's what's really holding you back. swapping in 4.10 geared axles will liven it up a bunch. add in a 5spd if you plan on lots of freeway travel. don't bother with the 5spdif you intend on big fat tires as 5th gear then becomes useless. and the oil is likely just a bad valve cover gasket. very common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeepjeff859 Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 Like he said you could re gear for cheaper, just depends on what you want, if you rear gear you can always do a engine swap later and then have a bigger engine and lower gears Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesRichardSisson Posted July 5, 2015 Author Share Posted July 5, 2015 Ya I think I will put big tires on it so I'll leave the 4 speed. The thing stalls out every time I come to a stop. There is almost 300000 km on the truck so I'm not sure if its even worth salvaging. Any thoughts on turbos or superchargers for some extra go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesRichardSisson Posted July 5, 2015 Author Share Posted July 5, 2015 Oh and its pushing oil up into the air filter. Its soaked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 also very common. not necessarily a deal killer. clean out or replace the PCV valve and run a compression test to see what shape the cylinders are in. for Jeep engines, the total mileage numbers are less meaningful than the quality of care they got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeepjeff859 Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 In my opinion I wouldn't put a turbo or supercharger on a 2.5, do what Pete said and regear and go from there. That engine will run forever if you take good care of it, I had my 2.5 for years and every mile it had a rod knock but never gave up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnkyboy Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 My MJ was a 2.5l 4spd,i swapped the 3.55s for 4.88s,it performed pretty well on 33s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collkid Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 4.0 or nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesRichardSisson Posted July 5, 2015 Author Share Posted July 5, 2015 I think swapping a 4.0 is going to be way more work then I'm prepared to put into it. I guess I will take it to a mechanic to see if my motor is salvagable. If not I'll have to see about having it rebuilt or getting a rebuilt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 have him run a compression test and a leak-down test. or better yet, do it yourself! plenty of auto parts stores will loan tools for free (refundable deposit style) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-man930 Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 have him run a compression test and a leak-down test. or better yet, do it yourself! plenty of auto parts stores will loan tools for free (refundable deposit style)This. Look up a video on YouTube and give a compression test a whirl. If you're not confident in your results (or the results suck) THEN pay a shop to verify your findings and give you their advice if you so desire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbulliwagen Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 It sounds like you're not going to be happy with this no matter what you do. Even a rebuilt 2.5 is still going to be way down on power compared to a broken in 4.0. I think you should fix the stalling problem and re sell it and wait on a 4.0 to come around. You'll be much happier later on when you want lift and big tires. don't screw this one up to the point you won't be able to sell it and get your money back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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