4 cylinder vs. 6 cylinder

[Jono1289]

i am currently looking into buying a used jeep wrangler and was a little currurios on the engine specifics. i no that the jeep straight six is a very well made engine and last forever because my cherokee has 240,000 miles and still runs good, also it delivers alot of power. but i was wondering if anyone new what the average life for the four cylinder is because i can find alot of info about how great the 6's are but nothing on the 4's.
thanks for anyone taking there time to write back.

[Ray H]

Originally Posted by Jono1289

i am currently looking into buying a used jeep wrangler and was a little currurios on the engine specifics. i no that the jeep straight six is a very well made engine and last forever because my cherokee has 240,000 miles and still runs good, also it delivers alot of power. but i was wondering if anyone new what the average life for the four cylinder is because i can find alot of info about how great the 6's are but nothing on the 4's.
thanks for anyone taking there time to write back.

The 4 cyls. are reliable as well. They will generally last over 200000. I think the 4 is just as durable as the 6 but over the life of the engine, the 4 cyl. turns many more RPMs than the 6 cyl. because the differential gearing is lower in 4 cyl Jeeps than in 6 cyl Jeeps. Traveling down the interstate at 65 MPH a 4cyl Jeep may turn 2600RPMs while a 6 only turns 2200 RPMs. More engine RPMs means more wear on everything inside the engine as well as more wear on many items outside the engine such as alt, waterpump, belts, power steering pump, even the transmission and transfer case. People dont generally brag about the 4 cyl but they dont have any problems that stand out.
Ive got a 95 YJ with the 2.5 and 4.88 gears. Its only got about 70000 miles on it but the last 6 years of its life has been as a weekend off-road playtoy so its been a hard life. Its been an extra, extra vehicle for a couple years now so Ive been considering selling it but I cant bring myself to do it because it always starts and runs for me. It can sit for weeks, even months with no attention and I go out to move it or drive it and it always fires up. I neglect maintenance on it (10000 mile oil changes) no tuneup, Ive run through mud over the hood, layed it against trees, banged it on rocks, and it still runs for me. While the engine doesnt have much power (especially with big tires on it) its never missed a beat.

[hx214]

I've got a 97 with 103,800 miles on it and it has been a great little engine. My cousin has one with 147,XXX and he has never had any major problems either. Its just like any other vechile though, just make sure you get a good one. I looked at about 17 different 4cly. before I bought this one. If you get one that has been taken care of, and you take care of it, it'll last a long time.

[fredjacksonsan]

The 2.5L is supposed to be fairly bulletproof.