1997 Jeep Wrangler 2.5L... Four-banger

My mom has one with over 200k on plain conventional all it's life. Use whatever 0/5w30 you want. Poor thing with those 32's 😉
 
After seeing plenty of worn out 2.5's.... can blame the oil on some and maybe the drivers on others, I'd recommend the higher HTHS and/or higher zddp oils. I am willing to sacrifice a couple mousepower to the thicker oil. Any oil with an HTHS >3.5!

Any 0w40 or 5w40 from /Mobil1Castrol/Valvoline/Pennzoil... availability!
Rotella T6 5w30 or 0w40
Delvac Extreme 10w30

And yes, that Euro Pennzoil L pictured would be a good choice too, as would the euro choices Valvoline/Mobil1/Castrol/Fram/Supertech or other competitors!

I'll recommend the purolator boss, wix xp, and napa platinum oil filters. Size is for you to choose(go biggest that'll fit).... ph16, ph43, or ph8a equivalents.

Get some fresh any brand synthetic ATF+4 and new OE filter in the transmission, and some ATF+4 or synthetic ATF in the transfer case(231?). And, dump the front/rear diffs for some good locally available synthetic gear oil. PSF? check to see if its ATF4 or domestic PSF.

Owners manual can be found on ebay or your local salvage yard. Might even find it on amazon(used book).
 
I’ve got a friend that has a ‘97 with the 2.5l and 5 speed manual and he is not easy on it. He has used nothing but conventional 10w30 store brand oils like Supertech, Carquest (now Fram), Harvest King, etc…
At 227k +, it shows no signs of dying. That’s a tough little engine, although as others have said, it’s slow,….very slow.
 
I'd run Mobil 1 0w30 and sleep well... It will be interesting to hear what you think about the 2.5 at our altitude once you swap the gears out. My experience has not been great especially with the Auto..

I'll reply back here with my observations and feelings about it. The reason I sprung for the $650 bucks of gears, is because two guys on the Jeep forum did this gearing switch, with exactly my rig and they were overwhelmed with the positive change. Basically, it brings the drivability back that it had when it rolled off the lot the with those tiny go-cart tires. It make 2nd and 3rd gear usable......

But.... I will report back.
 
After seeing plenty of worn out 2.5's.... can blame the oil on some and maybe the drivers on others, I'd recommend the higher HTHS and/or higher zddp oils. I am willing to sacrifice a couple mousepower to the thicker oil. Any oil with an HTHS >3.5!

Any 0w40 or 5w40 from /Mobil1Castrol/Valvoline/Pennzoil... availability!
Rotella T6 5w30 or 0w40
Delvac Extreme 10w30

And yes, that Euro Pennzoil L pictured would be a good choice too, as would the euro choices Valvoline/Mobil1/Castrol/Fram/Supertech or other competitors!

I'll recommend the purolator boss, wix xp, and napa platinum oil filters. Size is for you to choose(go biggest that'll fit).... ph16, ph43, or ph8a equivalents.

Get some fresh any brand synthetic ATF+4 and new OE filter in the transmission, and some ATF+4 or synthetic ATF in the transfer case(231?). And, dump the front/rear diffs for some good locally available synthetic gear oil. PSF? check to see if its ATF4 or domestic PSF.

Owners manual can be found on ebay or your local salvage yard. Might even find it on amazon(used book).

I have dropped the tranny pan, changed the filter, drilled the pan to add a drain plug and given her all new ATF+4.... with a couple of cycles of drain and fill and drain and fill....

The tiny little tranny feels really solid...... for which I am thankful.


........
 
That’s a tough little engine, although as others have said, it’s slow,….very slow.

Agree on all counts, but we just need this little dude for the wife to drive to school and back each day ('cause she ain't short trippin her BlueTec).... And we dink around town and get the mail and ....... the real treat is to drive all these Forest Service and BLM roads we have out our back door in the evenings to see all the deer, elk and turkeys.

I have also purchased all the tow goodies to outfit it to spend some time behind our Class C RV.

.......
 
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