An opinion on TJ SE models

[Wildman]

My 97 SE right after I bought it in 2002. It had never been off-road and it had 33x14x15 TSL Boggers on it. I took those off ASAP.

Those Boggers getting it done.

I was use to under powered rigs as I had this Samurai before the TJ. And while I was in Germany I had a Suzuki SJ410 which had a 850cc engine in it.

My SE growing up a little.

Playing around a little. As we all know off-road you wouldn't know you had 4 cyl instead of 6. I was running 4.88 gears, Warn full floater kit and a Detroit locker in the rear. In the front 4.88 gears and a Warn small hub kit. While I was deployed to Iraq I found someone selling a Superior axle truss so I bought it and had it shipped to my sisters home.

When I came back from Iraq I found a TeraLow 4:1 transfer case kit. Man did that thing crawl with the 4:1. I had also installed a 2Lo shift mod while I had the case torn apart. I had also stepped up from 33" tires to 35" Toyo M/T's.
They were a really good combo and I liked how the Jeep worked back then. I'd also installed a TriCounty 4x4 inertia ring on my flywheel and that thing was amazing.

Then one day someone glued 4 more cylinders into my engine bay.

I do miss those 4 angry squirrels sometimes.

 

[StG58]

That's ok if they stay around. I tend to run people off.

I'm hoping that more SE drivers start speaking up and talking about their rigs. They're cool little TJ's. SE tech could use more discussing.

 

[Jake kozlowski]

Yeah I ditched the goofy silencer box and used the tube from a 4.0 when I did the throttle body. Much easier to work on things without the extra crap in the way.

Ill have to look into this!

 

[Josh H.]

Figured I'd throw my 2 cents in as well. I've got a 98 with the 2.5l. I bought it from my aunt that lives in Texas about 7 years ago. I drove it from Texas to Ohio and let me tell you that was an adventure. It was the first time ever driving a Jeep and I didnt really know what to expect. I was also afraid to give it the skinny pedal. Pretty much held 60 the entire drive and stayed in the slow lane. 26 hours later I was home.

The Jeep is my DD and through the years you learn what the little 2.5 likes and doesn't like and it definitely likes high rpms. I have no trouble keeping up with traffic and don't feel as though I'm "dangerous" on the highway (drive about 10 miles everyday to work on the 4 lane). I just keep the rpms high, downshift on hills and can keep my speed between 60-70 as long as there aren't really strong headwinds. I have seriously contemplated an engine swap and even bought a 4.0 before I decided against it.

The 2.5 is perfectly fine for me. Its my daily driver and weekend trail rider that is easy and cheap to work on, reliable, and simple. If i want to go fast I take my Tundra or my motorcycle. That isn't the purpose for the Jeep. I have 32's on it now but plan 33's in the spring or summer when I update the lift. It will be getting regeared when I can find someone around me that will do it (which has been pretty difficult thus far).

Not really sure what my point is here but all in all I think the 4 angry squirrels just adds a little character to my Jeep and I don't really want to take that away from it.

 

[John’o]

Pulling your popup is probably a nonstarter with the 2.5. No argument there.

Talk about getting spanked. I ran into a guy on a horse with his dog out in the back country and we got to talking. I liked his horse and outfit, he admired my Jeep. I told him how good it was off road. He said "follow me, and we'll see". Made a right hand turn off the road and headed up the the hill, disappearing over the ridge line in short order. I just sat there dumbfounded. I doubt that I could have HIKED up that hill as fast as he disappeared over the ridge. Old farts with sick senses of humor.

And he only had one horse power...

 

[Wheeler]

My view on stuff like this is pretty black and white. Nobody from the internet put up any money to help me buy my '97 SE so anyone with an opinion on what a poor choice I made can keep it to themselves, I'm not really interested. I joined this forum to learn from folks who had more experience than I on how to work on the many problems that I've never encountered. I didn't join for approval on how I spent my money.

 

[TheBoogieman]

Thread back from the dead. I like that.

 

[CptnMurica]

I had a 4 cyl yj for 10yrs. Was bullet proof. Until it got rolled. I’ve had my current 01 tj 2.5 for a year. I was shopping for an older jeep. Didn’t care about the engine. I already knew the 2.5 was fine. It keeps up on the highway and I wheel the shit out of. I never planned to lift it. Just 31s, shocks and winch. Not for big rock crawling obviously. But that’s not my thing. I have been running groups through the forest with it. Wondrous machine. I love it.

 

[ArmyRN]

1998 TJ 2.5/five-speed. 3.5" RE lift, 285/75/16" (33") tires, 4.88 gears, 30 front with Aussie/44 rear with Detroit & alloy shafts in both ends, lots of Currie steering and antirock, Rockmen armor, Dirtworx swing-away rear bumper, etc. etc. etc. (the list is long). I built it for hard-core four-wheeling. It is also my primary Overlanding vehicle. It has literally been driven across the country multiple times pulling a small trailer, has been up into Canada and Alaska, been to Moab, and I've had a ball with it. Gear it right (which is key) and you'll be fine. It isn't designed to be a rocket. But it is designed to put a smile on your face.

It just kills me when folks talk about the 2.5 not being capable. I'll say it: Those folks don't know what they're talking about. They need to get over themselves.

 

[Zorba]

It just kills me when folks talk about the 2.5 not being capable. I'll say it: Those folks don't know what they're talking about. They need to get over themselves.

Its endemic in the American car culture. I've said for decades that anything over 100HP in a passenger car is un-necessary, 200HP for a pickup truck - and one can get by with MUCH less. I sure as hell don't need a sub 10 second 0-60 time! Gear it right, and you can do anything. *shrug*

 

[TJRick]

The SE is horrible for running huge tires. If you bought a Jeep with the intention of putting 35s on it and having enough power to drive with them at 65+ highway speeds, you're not going to be happy.

You shouldn't be going over 65+ MPH on the highway in a Jeep Wrangler with 35s on it to start with. That is simply foolish.

However, if you bought the Jeep with the intention of using it mostly off-road, in-town, or for exploration, it's great at doing that.

I think that is the whole idea behind an SE model. And really, that was the original idea behind the Jeep CJ. The YJ and TJ models aren't that much different.

Now in all fairness, having owned a number of 4.0s with big tires (35s) and lots of extra weight, they too suck on the highway!

Better than an SE no doubt, but by no means what I would consider a good "highway cruiser".

I often like to tell people that if I'm in my TJ (4.0 with 35s and 5.38 gears) going up a mountain pass at 60mph and I want to pass someone, I'll turn off the overdrive so it downshifts to 3rd.

Guess what happens then? NOTHING! It goes from loud to insanely loud, but there is no noticeable increase in power, and it struggles to reach a higher speed.

So I guess what I am getting at here is that even the 4.0 when weighted up and overloaded with huge tires is still not going to be a good highway vehicle if you do a lot of traveling through the mountains or want a vehicle that can easily pass others on the highway.

For my intended use, both the 4 cylinder engines (SE) and the 4.0 suck.

I am going to disagree with you there. Neither the 4 cylinder engine nor the 4.0 "suck." Your logic does.

For *your* intended use, you need a bigger engine with more displacement, plain and simple. If you are smart enough to go through the trouble of upgrading your axles and gears to run those 35" tires and want to also go fast on the highway with the added extra weight of heavy bumpers and armor, you ought to be mature enough to understand you have modified your vehicle to do something your engine was never designed to do.

 

[Chris]

You shouldn't be going over 65+ MPH on the highway in a Jeep Wrangler with 35s on it to start with. That is simply foolish.

Well by that logic I guess a good majority of the people on this forum are fools.

Neither the 4 cylinder engine nor the 4.0 "suck." Your logic does.

I’d say they most certainly suck, just like your attitude in general.

It’s possible for two things to be true at the same time. In this case that is that I love the TJ platform but I also think the engine options SUCK. Both the 2.4, 2.5 and 4.0 suck. The only difference is the 4.0 sucks slightly (just slightly) less. The ONLY good thing about any of the engine choices offered for the TJ is that they are fairly reliable engines. Outside of that they really do suck. They’re old, outdated, heavy, inefficient, lacking for power, etc. The automatic transmission options suck as well.

So yeah, they do suck and so does your attitude, Rick. But as usual, thanks for digging up old posts just to prove your point that you really are a grumpy old asshole.

 

[Wildman]

You shouldn't be going over 65+ MPH on the highway in a Jeep Wrangler with 35s on it to start with. That is simply foolish.

I was doing 70MPH + with my 4 popper & 35" tires. Shit I use to go 65-70 MPH in an old CJ5 on the freeway. And my grandfather got pulled over in his CJ5 towing a trailer for doing over 80MPH. So I'm of the mind that you need to fix your rigs to drive properly on the road.

I think that is the whole idea behind an SE model. And really, that was the original idea behind the Jeep CJ. The YJ and TJ models aren't that much different.

REALLY? The MB models might have been designed for mainly off-road but beyond that I'd have to disagree.

I am going to disagree with you there. Neither the 4 cylinder engine nor the 4.0 "suck." Your logic does.

For *your* intended use, you need a bigger engine with more displacement, plain and simple. If you are smart enough to go through the trouble of upgrading your axles and gears to run those 35" tires and want to also go fast on the highway with the added extra weight of heavy bumpers and armor, you ought to be mature enough to understand you have modified your vehicle to do something your engine was never designed to do.

If you build it properly you can stop BETTER than it did stock. All that other stuff is just bling.

 

[CptnMurica]

I was doing 70MPH + with my 4 popper & 35" tires. Shit I use to go 65-70 MPH in an old CJ5 on the freeway. And my grandfather got pulled over in his CJ5 towing a trailer for doing over 80MPH. So I'm of the mind that you need to fix your rigs to drive properly on the road.




REALLY? The MB models might have been designed for mainly off-road but beyond that I'd have to disagree.



If you build it properly you can stop BETTER than it did stock. All that other stuff is just bling.

This boomer is already butt clinched 65-70 mph in mine on 31s with the wind blowing me around. I’ll let y’all young kids pass me. Get it.

 

[Wildman]

This boomer is already butt clinched 65-70 mph in mine on 31s with the wind blowing me around. I’ll let y’all young kids pass me. Get it.

Well I'd be willing to bet I'm older than you but I AIN'T no boomer. I dislike that term very much.
I guess I grewup not worried about these things. But I also like doing 120MPH+ on 2 wheels.

 

[CptnMurica]

Well I'd be willing to bet I'm older than you but I AIN'T no boomer. I dislike that term very much.
I guess I grewup not worried about these things. But I also like doing 120MPH+ on 2 wheels.

No doubt the term. Intentionally mis used. My mother was a baby boomer. With the proliferation of the internet things are skewed. I use that term about myself to save others from throwing it around. Very common. In forums and such. Always good for a smile. So says the gen x guy.

 

[Zorba]

The problem with the term "boomer" is it really encompasses far too many years. Some are now splitting it into two, "First cohort" and "second cohort". Which makes MUCH more sense. My sister, 11 years older than I am, is first cohort, I'm second. We have VERY different ways of looking at the world - she's a bleeding heart and I'm a Libertarian. With that said, I also think second cohorts tend towards being fuddy-duddies, even back in high school.

As for the 4.0 - its one of the BEST gasoline engines ever made to my mind. Not my beloved GMC Big Block V6, but still damn good. Reliability trumps all else in my "priority stackup". It could do with more low end grunt, but its not bad compared to many/most others. Other folks have other priorities...

 

[Wildman]

No doubt the term. Intentionally mis used. My mother was a baby boomer. With the proliferation of the internet things are skewed. I use that term about myself to save others from throwing it around. Very common. In forums and such. Always good for a smile. So says the gen x guy.

Yes the term "BOOMER" as used in a derogatory way as used by MANY on social media is why I dislike it so much.

I'm crazy enough I use to drive my TJ at speeds above 50 MPH with no swaybar. And I'd sling it into corners with nary a care in the world. But some would also say I'm a little crazy, which lead to the "WILDMAN" name.

 

[CptnMurica]

Yes the term "BOOMER" as used in a derogatory way as used by MANY on social media is why I dislike it so much.

I'm crazy enough I use to drive my TJ at speeds above 50 MPH with no swaybar. And I'd sling it into corners with nary a care in the world. But some would also say I'm a little crazy, which lead to the "WILDMAN" name.

WILDMAN! Right on.

 

[Jack72]

I’ve got 35”’s, a 4” lift with my 2.5 and, as long as there’s no headwind, I can click away at 65 to 75 mph on the Hwy. And this wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been called a fool. But then I also don’t tailgate, typically I stay in the far right lane and don’t drive aggressively. The highways where I live are mostly flat and wide with mild hills so….I don’t feel too foolish.