ok guys i dunno what to do with this thing... never owned a truck but now i do. my crossfire owner instinct tells me to paint it nicer and polish it but somehow i think the jeep will take offense to this. i think it wants to crawl through a swamp or something. i am all for pure function but damn this may be a little too utilitarian for me.

 

Nice Jeep... I'm in the process of trying to help my girlfriend with her '89 Jeep... Yours is pretty cool the way it is now... As far as new paint it seems nice the way it is, although I know pictures can be deceiving. If you get a cheap paint job you'll regret it in a few years and if you spend the money you won't want to take it off roading (tough decision)... Personally I'd keep it the way it is for the most part and do some work on the interior (sound system, custom panels, etc). I'd also look into engine mods or a whole new engine all together because if it's anything like my girl's jeep, it's a dog. Well hey, at least you can pull a small tree out by the roots with this thing. Best in luck!

 

Hmmm, an '87.
I had a '95 for about 6 years (bought it new before college).
Had 86,000 miles on it when I finally let it go (and 3 trannys later).
Loved that Jeep. Had it been more reliable, I'd have another one in the fleet right now.

You'll want to (if you haven't already) request catalogs from:
Quadratec - http://www.quadratec.com/
4wd Hardware - http://www.4wd.com/
And so on. The mods/goodies never end with Jeeps.

Good luck.

 

thx for the tips ... its a 5 speed manual 2.5 with over 160K on the clock ... i already started with a order of a full gasket kit for the motor and a power steering pump seal kit ... i'm tearing into the motor hard as i do not like stains all over my blocks street from ill maintained cars.

so far i like it for what it intended it for, a total beater and toy. seems like there is massive amounts of improvement to be made to the engine compartment and interior. which is music to my ears as i love projects that require plenty of attention to detail.

 

We built a jeep for my cousin, if you want a great toy try this.
1. Replace the stock motor with a carbureted 350.
2. Swap the Stock axles with a Danna 60 in back and front.
3. Buy a good 6 inch + lift.
4. Have fun mudding, crawling, and yes pulling wheelies.

 

ah yes the v8 swaps have been taunting me greatly ... lol ... but it must wait as i do not have a garage where i can work on the car in through bad weather and i just do not have the will and funds to pull it off before winter hits.

BTW you guys are nuts with the lifts... this thing is on 30 inch tires and a 2 inch lift and i am scared to drive it around already... too used to cars i guess.

 

that's why you do the swap to danna 60's, the axle is about 8 in longer. this with a wide set of tires makes the jeep more stable than they are stock, and for the record the v8 swap is extremely simple. it might take you a weekend max. but it is worth it when you dump the clutch and stare at nothing but sky.

 

Best thing about having a Jeep...

It lets you leave the Crossfire in the garage when the weather is cruddy !

Cheers,

Slim

 

^ yuppers that's what its for ... took it for a ride today ... seems the exhaust manifold gasket is leaking like crazy cause its noisy as crap and lacks torque (even for a 2.5 lol) so i am ordering a upper end gasket kit and will port and polish the crap out of the exhaust manifold when i take it off as well as ceramic coat it ... and just port the intake manifold since its throttle body injection so you do not want a surface smoother than 40 grit in there to promote tumbling of the fuel for better atomization ... i am looking for a multi port injection intake manifold from the newer '92 - '95 YJ cause i can use that with a custom injection controller to give it a bit more pep and mpg ...

overall ... very happy to have a toy again as i did not want to tear into the crossfire since its still new ... i enjoy fixing old buckets for some reason.

 

i will keep that in mind ! perhaps thats in its future ... for now i will toy with the 2.5 thats in there but its hopelessly gutless even when running like new.

 

for the record i have heard of guys turbo charging the 2.5. just don't try to take your jeep through a creek if you do this. hot turbos + cold water = very poor driver.

 

intense, the 2.5 is a DOG. I did about everything you could to my '95 and it was still s...l...o...w.
A neighbor of mine when I lived out in CO had a 454 in his. It was one evil machine. You might want to check around for a newer 4.0 I-6. They have fairly decent power and are fairly reliable too.
Good luck.

 

We have had about 20 or so Jeeps in our family, my opinion the YJ is the best. Here is a TJ site http://stores.ebay.com/jeep-recyclers with engines etc. Your 4-banger may not be a super highway machine, but the can be wonderful for slower roads and parking lots (tight turning radius, good view over other cars).

John

 

^ thx for the tip ... i found the door locks and handles i needed on ebay for much less than other places now ... woot can't wait till i can lock the doors ...

i have new shocks, steering strut, steering gear box (too much play in the current one), and a few other small items on the way ... this crap is so cheap i love it, especially the 2.5 parts since no one wants them hahaha.

 

update on the jeep project ... i have the engine torn down to the point where only the short block remains in the truck. i have the multi point injection manifold for it as i was going to convert from throttle body injection to mpi with use of a megasquirt 2 with on the fly wideband o2 correction (this is what i consider fun, efi systems, lol) but i decided to put the tbi system back on and get it back in decent shape for the winter and start collecting parts for a 350 v8 swap ... i just have to decide on the trans, either a th350 or a 700r4 ... money will ultimately decide that one however as the th350 can be had for around 600 new. novak makes a great adapter to bolt it to the decent np207 transfer case that already resides in the truck and not sure what to do with the rear as it will definitely blow even with the measly 250 hp i am looking at with this basic new GM performance motor.

overall .. i have learned plenty from this new project and really think its worth the money just in the lessons alone. i was very used to fwd performance before this and now am knee deep in old school goodness. wooot !

 

A very nice Jeep! I have a '91... 4 banger/5 speed with 31's. You could use some deeper gears first. The 4.10's don't get it with the 31's. 4.56 or so will do it. RPM's are the secret of 4 bangers. 2,500 and up is where the power is. Get yourself some deep gears and a locker in the rear if you have $. Do not put a locker in the front. You'll be sliding all over the place in the snow. A Auburn unit will work great. (More $$) Out here in the Pacific Northwest soft tops don't cut it. They always leak and only last a couple of years, so most Jeeps have H/T's. I think YJ stands for Yuppie Jeep, or so the joke goes. Check out www.jeep4x4center.com for every oem part you need and all the aftermarket stuff. Good luck with it!

Joe

 

thank you for the compliment and tip there old school ... i will look into the gearing change as i intend to keep the 31" tire size ... i just did some powder coating on a few pieces as i rebuild the 2.5 (v8 ls1 is coming in a year or two or three, for now i am having fun with this 2.5) ... i did this mainly as a test as i intend to do my crossfires valve covers in the same way. turned out well other than the fact the parts i coated had 20 years of imbedded rust scale i was unable to remove that gave it a bumpiness in certain spots.

 

Castle Rock Machine (360) 274-7727 in Castle Rock, WA had a cam made for my 2.5. Just a little stouter than factory (didn't want to mess up the computer). For carb motors you can run a lot more duration, but the powerband will start at 2,500+ rpm. Anyway, it cost me $40 bucks and they used a new core. Works good too!

Joe

 

hmm that sounds like a good idea especially at that price...