Vehicle details:
98 Wrangler 2.5L w/ manual transmission, 4.10 gearing, 33in tires, ~140k miles
About a year ago I had a hard time traveling about an hour away on the highway. I didn't consider this part of the highway to be an uphill climb in my other cars, but based on my vehicle details it is difficult to stay up with the flow of traffic due to the tire size and gearing, so I think I wound it out too much and when I got off the highway it was ticking pretty bad to the point I decided to tow it back home. I was able to keep moving it around the house on its own power, but the tick was considerable. I know ticking is common on these engines, but I had a gut feeling that something was wrong.
Fast forward to today, I finally found a shop that I like that installed a lift kit on another rig of mine. After that job I gave them my Jeep to see if they can figure out what's wrong, crossing my fingers it is just a valvetrain job. However they couldn't proceed with the job due to the loud exhaust leak from a large crack in my manifold. After getting the new part finally, the exhaust leak is gone, but they said it is sounding like the tick is coming from the top and the bottom so they are thinking it will need a rebuild or replace.
The problem I'm having right now is price, as I thought the 2.5L engine would be more readily available compared to the 4.0L but I'm seeing what looks like junk engines (imo) being offered for at least $1.5k, while a 4.0 is going for hundreds. I'd personally just go the swap route to 4.0, but since I live in California, specifically a city with biannual smog inspections, I am cautious about changing the engine as I don't want to hit any snags with the state ref. For a "little bit more", there is a remanufactured route I can go, which I believe the shop said that costs about $3500, and including all parts and labor, I was told it would be about $5500 for that job out the door, which includes a 4 year unlimited mile warranty for the engine.
I have personally dropped my trans to replace my clutch and had the transmission rebuilt over 3 years ago, so that side of the drivetrain is good. I do think I could be confident with pulling the trigger on some used 2.5 and doing the swap myself, but I just don't have that much free time and I'm hesitant on taking a week off of work to tackle that job. I've done an engine swap on my integra before and swore to never do one again, but I may consider it if I'm saving myself from spending several thousand.
Lastly I do have a close friend bugging me to buy it from me. I have a number in my head for it, and he knows a little bit of the situation, but I *could* see if he would be interested in going a particular route he prefers and I can knock that number off the number I'm thinking of since he would be paying for it.
So that's about it, just wondering people's thoughts on either rebuild, replace, or sell to my buddy. Bonus pics of my tj and explorer. I was planning on swapping the wheels so that the jeep would have better freeway performance.
(If I forgot any important info please let me know)
I forgot to add I've had the Jeep for about 6 years now if that makes a difference
98 Wrangler 2.5L w/ manual transmission, 4.10 gearing, 33in tires, ~140k miles
About a year ago I had a hard time traveling about an hour away on the highway. I didn't consider this part of the highway to be an uphill climb in my other cars, but based on my vehicle details it is difficult to stay up with the flow of traffic due to the tire size and gearing, so I think I wound it out too much and when I got off the highway it was ticking pretty bad to the point I decided to tow it back home. I was able to keep moving it around the house on its own power, but the tick was considerable. I know ticking is common on these engines, but I had a gut feeling that something was wrong.
Fast forward to today, I finally found a shop that I like that installed a lift kit on another rig of mine. After that job I gave them my Jeep to see if they can figure out what's wrong, crossing my fingers it is just a valvetrain job. However they couldn't proceed with the job due to the loud exhaust leak from a large crack in my manifold. After getting the new part finally, the exhaust leak is gone, but they said it is sounding like the tick is coming from the top and the bottom so they are thinking it will need a rebuild or replace.
The problem I'm having right now is price, as I thought the 2.5L engine would be more readily available compared to the 4.0L but I'm seeing what looks like junk engines (imo) being offered for at least $1.5k, while a 4.0 is going for hundreds. I'd personally just go the swap route to 4.0, but since I live in California, specifically a city with biannual smog inspections, I am cautious about changing the engine as I don't want to hit any snags with the state ref. For a "little bit more", there is a remanufactured route I can go, which I believe the shop said that costs about $3500, and including all parts and labor, I was told it would be about $5500 for that job out the door, which includes a 4 year unlimited mile warranty for the engine.
I have personally dropped my trans to replace my clutch and had the transmission rebuilt over 3 years ago, so that side of the drivetrain is good. I do think I could be confident with pulling the trigger on some used 2.5 and doing the swap myself, but I just don't have that much free time and I'm hesitant on taking a week off of work to tackle that job. I've done an engine swap on my integra before and swore to never do one again, but I may consider it if I'm saving myself from spending several thousand.
Lastly I do have a close friend bugging me to buy it from me. I have a number in my head for it, and he knows a little bit of the situation, but I *could* see if he would be interested in going a particular route he prefers and I can knock that number off the number I'm thinking of since he would be paying for it.
So that's about it, just wondering people's thoughts on either rebuild, replace, or sell to my buddy. Bonus pics of my tj and explorer. I was planning on swapping the wheels so that the jeep would have better freeway performance.
(If I forgot any important info please let me know)
I forgot to add I've had the Jeep for about 6 years now if that makes a difference
