GW V8 vs. 6 Cyl Opinions

[medinajim2000]

I sold my last GW several months ago, and have been looking (without the wife knowing it) for another one since the guy drove off in it. I've found one with a 6 cylinder engine it. All I've ever had was the V8. Anybody got opinions on the 6 cylinder ones (1986 GW)? Thanks.

[KaiserMan]

The 258 is a pretty darn good motor. Plenty of torque and decent power. I'm running one in my 83 J10 with 33" tires and it does okay.

That said, I don't think I'd want one with the 2.73 gears and an auto. I would think it would be a dog.

[medinajim2000]

Unless you are into competing with Camaro owners at the light, or intent on hauling a king-size trailer on the rig, the I6 is perfectly fine as an engine, and will serve you well as a reliable twirler.

Nope. Just going to be using it for daily trips back and forth to work. And the occasional trip hauling a couple of Harleys.

[The PIG Smith]

The 258 is a pretty darn good motor. Plenty of torque and decent power. I'm running one in my 83 J10 with 33" tires and it does okay.

That said, I don't think I'd want one with the 2.73 gears and an auto. I would think it would be a dog.

X2
I had an '81 Wagoneer Limited with a 258/727 and had 2.73 gears and yes it was very doggy.
Was not really able to pass trucks on the interstate or do well on small hills.
On flat open ground, it did okay.

[bushwood44]

I wouldn't get it if your towing a couple Harleys,you will just start planning a v8 swap.Unless its a deal you can't pass up.

[addicted]

If the 6 isn't quite enough with the horrible factory gearing in it it will be a whole lot cheaper to change out the gears than do an engine swap. If it were me i'd snatch it up and run it as is and change the gears if I needed to down the road. I bought an 82' with the 258 and T176 4 speed with 2.72:1 gears and it got up and went as well as the 89' with the 360 and auto. The auto will definatley rob some power though.

[Rhino Racer]

I'm running 33" tires and stock gears and the 258 does just fine. It'll pull from a stop in 2nd gear, it's not a drag racer but it pulls it's weight just fine.

[ob1jeeper]

I have an '80 6-auto (727 & NP 228) with 3.31's, and it's just fine. Not a powerhouse by any stretch of your imagination, but certianly adequate. For years when my kids were growing up, I used it pretty regularly for pulling an 19 ft open bow runabout to the lake (60 miles one way).

It's only downfall for me has been that it's not a very good "dune runner", even in low range. The lack of torque in deep sand, even when in Low range, is such that you can get into sand deep enough to stall the convertor, with no way out other than to dig, or take a strap. (pretty minor issue IMHO...)

It's also survived two teenagers (survived is a relative term here, as the body is NOT what you could call very straight anymore ). It has 279K on the clock with the engine having never been opened up, other than to put a new timing chain in @ something like 248K, when my son let it run down to less than one qt of oil left in the pan...

Strange that it didn't hurt the crank or cam bearings, but am thankful for that, and the teen learned a few things about responsibility and the feel of shoe leather for a few weeks...

Tranny, T-case and axles also never been opened up... Been VERY impressed with it's reliability. Only major parts EVER replaced include;
Two fuel pumps, one water pump, one set of propshaft u-joints (frt & rr), one radiator, two sets of brake shoes, and three alternators (suspect the first vato-zone replacement alt. which only lasted about 2K, was a dud from the start).

[tgreese]

Re being tempted to do a 360 swap, the 4.0L HO engine makes about as much power as the 2V 360 engine (185@4750 v. 175@4000, per Jeeptech). Tro me, this would be a much more appealing swap for a 258 Wagoneer than a 360. Of course, you'd need to take the Mopar MPI along with the engine, but I expect this combo would give you both better power and better fuel economy than the 258. Plus, it just drops in to the 258's place, whereas with the V8 you'd have to change the mounts fore and aft to make it work.

[bushwood44]

Re being tempted to do a 360 swap, the 4.0L HO engine makes about as much power as the 2V 360 engine (185@4750 v. 175@4000, per Jeeptech). Tro me, this would be a much more appealing swap for a 258 Wagoneer than a 360. Of course, you'd need to take the Mopar MPI along with the engine, but I expect this combo would give you both better power and better fuel economy than the 258. Plus, it just drops in to the 258's place, whereas with the V8 you'd have to change the mounts fore and aft to make it work.

You didn't list the torque of the 4.0 and 5.9?

[tgreese]

Yes, the 360 has more torque (285@2400 v. 220@4000).

[FloridaFSJ]

The 4.0 is nothing compared to the 360. It's a night and day difference. I've had FSJs with both and I'll take the 360 any day of the week coming and going.

[jeepdreamer]

My 2 cents are being thrown in!!!

Ok,
So I own,daily drive and wheel the snot out of (ask Tad!?!) my really ugly '83. Its a N/t Cherokee, 258, T-176-177 4 speed, NP208, and the AWSOME factory 272 gears!!!!LOL! I'm using a 4" rusty's kit to clear the BFG 33X10.50 MTs. I would'nt say its a complete dog.... maybe just a 3 legged one!! The only engine mods have been a webber carb, HEI ignition, and a straight pipe exhaust with some resonaters i nabbed from the scrap bin. It sounds like an Army 2 1/2 ton truck or some kind of cummins but it holds its own. The gears are the real limiting factor! 272's???? come ON!!! Who's the tard at jeep that though THAT was a good idea?? Still, should be cheaper to gear swap than change engines. I'd shoot for one with a good body/ little rust and a 6 cyl/4 speed. I'm still averageing between 16-19mpg... I never got that from my V8 powered waggy! Feel free to e-mail me if you'd like more in depth opinion! Cheers! Ted

[The PIG Smith]

If the 6 isn't quite enough with the horrible factory gearing in it it will be a whole lot cheaper to change out the gears than do an engine swap.

I agree with this line of thinking, but...

I thought and hard about regearing my 258 powered '81.
I would have needed to buy two new gear sets
Also, because I am not equipped for a gear swap, I would have paid someone $$$ for swap these gears out.
I could ahve found a rusted out Waggie to use a donor for less $$$ (easy to do here in the Rust Belt)

When I was planning what to do for my '81, for me, it would been much cheaper to buy a couple of axles that had the proper gearing and swap axles.
Yes, swapping axles and/or swapping engines are a lot more work than swapping gears.
To me, the axle or engine swap would be far simpler work to for me to complete than a gear swap.

When looking at a project like this, one must look at their skill sets, tools/equipment/facilities and budget.
I have time, skills and am equipped for a axle or engine swap.
I am not skilled or have the special tools (dial indicator) or the budget for a gear swap.

Another factor for me not swapping gears, was my 258 was tired.
Had I swapped gears, I would have spent more $$$ to get the 258 healthy.

In the long run, I scrapped my '81 after I used it for a donor for the '86 I had.

[The PIG Smith]

If the 6 isn't quite enough with the horrible factory gearing in it it will be a whole lot cheaper to change out the gears than do an engine swap. If it were me i'd snatch it up and run it as is and change the gears if I needed to down the road. I bought an 82' with the 258 and T176 4 speed with 2.72:1 gears and it got up and went as well as the 89' with the 360 and auto. The auto will definatley rob some power though.

Ok,
So I own,daily drive and wheel the snot out of (ask Tad!?!) my really ugly '83. Its a N/t Cherokee, 258, T-176-177 4 speed, NP208, and the AWSOME factory 272 gears!!!!LOL! I'm using a 4" rusty's kit to clear the BFG 33X10.50 MTs. I would'nt say its a complete dog.... maybe just a 3 legged one!! The only engine mods have been a webber carb, HEI ignition, and a straight pipe exhaust with some resonaters i nabbed from the scrap bin. It sounds like an Army 2 1/2 ton truck or some kind of cummins but it holds its own. The gears are the real limiting factor! 272's???? come ON!!! Who's the tard at jeep that though THAT was a good idea?? Still, should be cheaper to gear swap than change engines. I'd shoot for one with a good body/ little rust and a 6 cyl/4 speed. I'm still averageing between 16-19mpg... I never got that from my V8 powered waggy! Feel free to e-mail me if you'd like more in depth opinion! Cheers! Ted

The key to both of these testimonies about how well the 258 does in a FSJ is have a 4 speed transmission.
IMHO, a 258/727 is a less than desirable combo for a FSJ.