1997 SE 2.5: Looking for upgrade advice

[SSwrangler]

Hey everyone,

I am brand new to jeeps. I just picked up a 1997 TJ SE with the lil 2.5 manual tranny. Bone stock. Being my list of upgrades. Looking for any advice on does and don’t. I added some pictures of what she looks like.

 

[Chris]

Welcome from Salem, Oregon!

What are your plans for it? The general rule of thumb is that if you have the 4 cylinder, you really don't want to go over 33" tires, and you want to keep the weight down as much as possible (i.e. aluminum bumpers instead of steal), as the 4 cylinder will struggle a lot more with bigger tires and extra weight.

Another very, very I'm important thing on the 4 banger will be re-gearing, as that's going to be absolutely necessary if you want to be able to drive it with larger tires and not have it completely suck.

 

[astjp2]

Great candidate for an LS conversion..

 

[pagrey]

Save money for regular maintenance, Wranglers cost a bit more with the solid axles to maintain. Keep it and wheel it for a year minimum before lift or any other substantial mods other than good AT tires. I think people should burn at least a full set of good all-terrain tires on the trail before they even think about changing anything. You will save a ton of money in the end if you learn what you need and not what somebody on the internet wants you to get. Get all the safety and recovery equipment for wheeling first. With the correct tire pressure on that little mountain goat you will be impressed. This is assuming you want to actually use it like a Jeep, for the mall get whatever you want.

 

[SSwrangler]

Plans at this point are go threw the engine. I was talking to our local shop. They only recommend a 2 inch lift with the 2.5 cause of the tires as you mentioned. I have a posion spider front bumper for it. I need new mirrors looking at the Bestop replacements. Still looking since I am new to off reading. She isn’t going to be a pavement pounder. My family wants to go up the mountains So I will be looking at all my options

 

[SSwrangler]

Save money for regular maintenance, Wranglers cost a bit more with the solid axles to maintain. Keep it and wheel it for a year minimum before lift or any other substantial mods other than good AT tires. I think people should burn at least a full set of good all-terrain tires on the trail before they even think about changing anything. You will save a ton of money in the end if you learn what you need and not what somebody on the internet wants you to get. Get all the safety and recovery equipment for wheeling first. With the correct tire pressure on that little mountain goat you will be impressed. This is assuming you want to actually use it like a Jeep, for the mall get whatever you want.

That is the plan. Since I have never had anything like this. I want to see what she can do. As I have been reading the one thing that everyone says is to re-gear the 2.5. She doesn’t get up and go lol

 

[SSwrangler]

This is the bumper. Got it from a friend for the TJ

 

[SSwrangler]

Great candidate for an LS conversion..

I will look into his as an option. The only LS I have experience with is the LS1. Lol

 

[SSwrangler]

Welcome from Salem, Oregon!

What are your plans for it? The general rule of thumb is that if you have the 4 cylinder, you really don't want to go over 33" tires, and you want to keep the weight down as much as possible (i.e. aluminum bumpers instead of steal), as the 4 cylinder will struggle a lot more with bigger tires and extra weight.

Another very, very I'm important thing on the 4 banger will be re-gearing, as that's going to be absolutely necessary if you want to be able to drive it with larger tires and not have it completely suck.

Nice to have someone in the PNW!

 

[Chris]

This is the bumper. Got it from a friend for the TJ

View attachment 86797

Avoid it. It's steel, and you REALLY want an aluminum bumper given that you have a 4 cylinder. Every little bit of weight counts on the 4 cylinder models. @StG58 will back me up on this I'm sure.

 

[Chris]

Nice to have someone in the PNW!

Oh trust me, there are tons of us from the PNW on here

 

[SSwrangler]

Avoid it. It's steel, and you REALLY want an aluminum bumper given that you have a 4 cylinder. Every little bit of weight counts on the 4 cylinder models. @StG58 will back me up on this I'm sure.

Ok. What should I look for? Brand? My buddy won this, he has a Cherokee lol

 

[Chris]

Ok. What should I look for? Brand? My buddy won this, he has a Cherokee lol

Savvy makes aluminum bumpers as well as GenRight. I believe UCF does as well. Savvy is my favorite (and looks so damn good too).

The difference between that steel bumper and an aluminum one is going to be over 50 lbs usually. It's shocking how light the aluminum bumper are.

Here's a picture of the Savvy aluminum bumper on my TJ @SSwrangler:

 

[Wildman]

I have/had a 1997 SE TJ. Yes the 4 banger isn't any speed demon nor is it going to win too many drag races but it is a great little engine. I ran 33" tires for about a year before I was able to regear it. Then I went to 4.88 gears and I could use 5th gear again. Drove it like that for about 2 years and then was deployed to Iraq. When I came home I go the bug and installed 35" tires. Don't be scared to rev those 4 squirrels to 4-4.5K RPM. It will do it am not have any problem.
One of the best mods I did to my 2.5 was a inertia ring from Tri-County Gear and replacing the mechanical fan with an electric fan. I thought it was going to be a dog but I found as long as I drove it like other 4 cyl cars I had owned it wasn't bad.
Do a full tune up on it. Plug, plug wires, distributor cap, rotor and air filter.

The early TJ's are a prime candidate for an engine swap if you want/need more power. After I came home from Iraq I was going to put a supercharger on my engine but I got talked into a V-8 swap instead. I went the Dodge V-8 route instead of the GM LS route. Dodge magnum V-8's are more expensive to hop up but the initial swap cost is cheaper. Less wiring and other things.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[pagrey]

I'd run 30" or 31" tires and go from there. You don't need a lift for those and you don't need to re-gear with those tires, the 2.5 is never going to be an LS.

Aluminum bling is just that, it does nothing for your Jeep. There is a thread somewhere here about favorite mods and funny enough, not a single Jeeper said bumper. Go out and drive your Jeep, have fun. These guys will just drain your pocket book.

Go on a few club runs, most groups have a minimum set of required equipment which is a great starting point.

Here is a great example:
https://justruns.com/test/813-2/

Ronny Dahl has some great videos on the subject if you are a visual person:

 

[SSwrangler]

I have/had a 1997 SE TJ. Yes the 4 banger isn't any speed demon nor is it going to win too many drag races but it is a great little engine. I ran 33" tires for about a year before I was able to regear it. Then I went to 4.88 gears and I could use 5th gear again. Drove it like that for about 2 years and then was deployed to Iraq. When I came home I go the bug and installed 35" tires. Don't be scared to rev those 4 squirrels to 4-4.5K RPM. It will do it am not have any problem.
One of the best mods I did to my 2.5 was a inertia ring from Tri-County Gear and replacing the mechanical fan with an electric fan. I thought it was going to be a dog but I found as long as I drove it like other 4 cyl cars I had owned it wasn't bad.
Do a full tune up on it. Plug, plug wires, distributor cap, rotor and air filter.

The early TJ's are a prime candidate for an engine swap if you want/need more power. After I came home from Iraq I was going to put a supercharger on my engine but I got talked into a V-8 swap instead. I went the Dodge V-8 route instead of the GM LS route. Dodge magnum V-8's are more expensive to hop up but the initial swap cost is cheaper. Less wiring and other things.

Welcome to the forum.

Thanks for all the information. I am doing a. Full tune up today. The owner did a lot for me already. I have read these engines are great. So I will drive it for a while until I do a swap. I need a winter project lol. I will look at all the thing you recommend. Nice to have another Washington person here.

 

[StG58]

Hey! That's my Jeep!

Drive it a bit first, but I'll bet you end up with 31 or 32" tires, a small lift and a winch on the stock bumper.

The 2.5 / manual responds well to gears and will amaze you off road.

 

[Wildman]

If you are going to do a engine swap soon then I suggest you don't do a to the Jeep until you are done with the swap. But I would drive it for a while. If it is going to be just a mountain rig in 4wd it isn't any different than a 4.0 off-road.

 

[Fouledplugs]

Might want to start with diagnosing the issue behind the check engine light.

And taking photos of your dash while driving 55mph...makes you an idiot. There is no excuse. You could seriously injure yourself or someone else. Put the damn cell phone down.

Is this a common thing for the drivers in the PNW to drive like this?

 

[SSwrangler]

Might want to start with diagnosing the issue behind the check engine light.

And taking photos of your dash while driving 55mph...makes you an idiot. There is no excise. You could seriously injure yourself or someone else. Put the damn cell phone down.

Is this a common thing for the drivers in the PNW to drive like this?

Already done. Code was P420. The exhaust wasn’t tightened down. Fixed the code. Good eye