ive got a 95 YJ with the 2.5 and i was wondering if its even worth lifting and using it as a trial/daily rig?      i would like to lift it 4 inches via a rustys kit and throw in some revolvers and Zboxs, ontop of some 34 LTBs.    i know id have to gear the diffs. with either 4.56s or 4.88s    but what fits my stock carriers?   and will the little mill be able to turn the tires?    i live in northwest connecticut and its hilly so i need all the nut i can get.   i just dont want to start buying parts and working on it jsut to find out that its terribly underpowered.  Can someone help me out?       

thanks for the help guys!           JEEP-ON!

I have had both the four banger and now the six. I had a 3in. lift with 32" bfg's on the four. Stock gearing is 4.11 on the four and it was a dog. Now I have the six with a four inch lift with 33" boggers (which are going as soon as possible). Stock gearing with the six I believe was 3.07 and it was ok but no fifth gear. I just switched to 4.88s which are the largest ring gear that will fit in the dana 35. I love the 4.88s not alot of top speed about 65 or 70 mph. Not very good fuel mileage either, But It is just a toy. Everything has a trade off you just have to decide what you want it to do and what you are willing to give up to do this. I dont know if I helped at all or if I just gave more questions but that is my .02.  

Yeah ... it's 3.07.  unless your jeep came with 30" tires from the factory.  I forget what the ratio was (3.83?), but with the stock 30" tires the gearing was between the 3.07 and 4.11.

Also, i think all of the 4cyl's came with 4.11 gearing.

my 2 cents,

         pete

I was looking for a jeep with a 4.0 and ended up with a 2.5 with a perfect body.  93 YJ.  I ended up putting in a ford 8.8 with disk brakes in the rear with ARB lockers. Completely rebuilt the front end adding hubs and ARB locks there also.  Added gearing with 4.88's and 33" Super Swapper tires.  It had a 2 " body lift so I just added a 2.5" rancho lifted spring package.  My last add was a homemade front bumper and a 8000# winch.  I have not done anything to the engine, yet.

Even though I have a 2.5 with 150K on it, this rig can go anywhere my freinds can go with their v8's, so far.  I'm very happy.  It handles great on the street and really looks cool, even though I don't have that v8 engine sound that I like so much.  The nice thing about the 2.5 is that it's hard to brake stuff on the trail, but when I put that pedal to the floor to get up a muddy rutted section of trail, it goes!  If I can't make it up, hardly anyone else will either.  Ony issue is going up hills on the street above 50 is a challange.  If  I can get about 30 more horsepower, I think I'll be happy and there are plenty of mods I can do to get there.

Go for it!  If you have a decent body and the motor has some life in it you will have a great rig.  Now on the other hand, if you need to put a new motor in and you need to rebuid the transmission, that's another story.  If you decide to swap the 2.5 with a 4.0, then you will need to change out the radiator, transmission, wiring harness, engine guages and maybe even the transfer case.  In that case it would be better to find a jeep with a 6 and use that as the starting point. If you want to move to a v-6 or v-8, then starting with the 2.5 is fine cause your going to have to convert everything anyway.  Have fun, I did.  No matter what direction you choose, over time, you'll probably spend $6000.  I wanted to spend only about $4000, but spent 7.  oh well. 

CT eh?  I'm involved with 2 clubs from CT and there are a few of us with built up 4 bangers.  If you're interested check out the following clubs:

http://www.ctjeep.org

http://www.nejeep.org

Hope to see ya around.

RJ