Ive never heard anything good about the v-6 in the cherokees. Ive was in the market for a cherokee and I stayed away from those like the plague. Everyone Ive never driven behind was smoking like a freight train.

With that, the 3.7/42rle is a ok setup but its not where near the I-6 4.0/aw4. I like the 4.0/42re in the zj's alot more than I do the 3.7/42rle too.

_________________
LOST KJ'S
Where are you going???
Current Jeep: 2004 Jeep Liberty
-Atlantic Blue
-Air Ride Rear Suspension ; OME/Rustys Lift ; Powertrax Locker ; Moog Lower Ball-Joints ; 245/70/16 Yokohama Geolander A/T-S's on MOABS ; Flowmaster 50 SUV
Lost #007082
http://www.cardomain.com/id/jeepjeepster

Well, the v6 XJs are ancient by now, and even predate the renix 4L, unless your buying an 84-86 XJ, chances are you would be getting the I4.

the 4L was a very good engine, and with a redesigned crossflow head I think it could have been a very good engine to compete with more modern engines.

However being an I6 limits its use, and at the end of the day it does really make more sense to stick with one family of engines(ie the 3.7 v6, v8, etc).


I did notice that dodge is now advertising the fact you can get a 68RFE or an Aisain tranmission.............I think the AW4 was a solid trans, but I can see the desire to switch to a single family of parts for cost savings reasons.......hence the 42re.

_________________
http://www.Colorado4Wheel.com
"Its not about what you can DO with your Jeep, its about where you can GO with your Jeep."
Knowledgeable - But Caustic

The 2.8L V6's used in the XJ's and Blazers were gutless crapballs.

_________________
2006 Midnight Blue Jeep Commander 4x4
Bone stock for now.
http://www.pnwjeep.net/forum

yes, but the 4L used in the other 15 years of production(read 3 times longer than the KJ) was an excellent engine.

_________________
http://www.Colorado4Wheel.com
"Its not about what you can DO with your Jeep, its about where you can GO with your Jeep."
Knowledgeable - But Caustic

The interesting thing is how much this depends on it's use. In the road racing crowd the 2.8L V6 is a very sought-after engine. When properly tuned they can run smoothly to ridiculous RPM's and are very reliable.

As far as debating which aspects of the KJ generation is th best.... the CRD is the only appreciable difference I see that really sets it apart other than the chassis design. If the after market embraces the KJ (I almost said that without laughing) then we could really see what it can do. In the meantime I will continue to drive around getting 30mpg in the same stock vehicle that I can run all over moderate trails in Moab without breaking a sweat. I think that speaks pretty highly of our "generation" in and of itself.

_________________
Former CRD owner... now I just sit around and stare at the wall.

Agreed, the CRD is what really set the KJ apart for us. without the CRD we would not have purchased a KJ. The VM2.8 is a great powerplant that should last a long time.

_________________
http://www.Colorado4Wheel.com
"Its not about what you can DO with your Jeep, its about where you can GO with your Jeep."
Knowledgeable - But Caustic

I am a big fan of Consumer's Reports and interestingly note that the KJ is the ONLY Jeep that they recommend albeit it is not based exclusively on it's off road capabilities.

_________________
[_|_, [""""""]
l--- L---ollllllo-
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Hare on my Chest

Those reports are very baised,the ratings depend on how much the car company gives them.Also they don't take into acount the vehicles full potentail,just some of the traits and mis-match vehicles agaist each other that have nothing in common.I bet they would rate a rav4 better offroad then a Rubicon Wrangler,little baised there.

http://www.allpar.com/cr.html

Let's not forget that Consumer Reports also recommended the first and 2nd generation Saturns...

If I remember correctly at least in 2005 and 2006 CR reported the Liberty as one of their "BEST BUYS" even though they also praised the RAV 4. The mere fact that the Liberty was so highly praised the fact that the Jeep was based off of a truck suspencion and most other SUV's were cars with a 4 wheel drive train and looked like an SUV. The Jeep was always the best ride for the money.

_________________
LEAD FOLLOW OR GET OUT OF THE WAY
2002 Sport 4x4 3.7 L w/auto
Amsoil from bumper to bumper, Amsoil Air Filter
PIAA head light bulbs, Fog Light switched out to SilverStar 9005's
MagnaFlo Muffler, New Radiator, Rebuilt A/C system,Rebuilt Rear Diff, LBJ's twice
Dunlop 245/70-16 Rover AT

I'll go out on a limb here and say that the 3.7, with proper gearing, is as good an all around engine as the 4.0L. Aftermarket support aside, what is wrong with the 3.7L?

( I have been driving jeeps for decades, and have had 225's, 304's, 360s. and 258's )

_________________
LOST # 633
'05 KJ 3.7L/6spd/241 245/75/16 MT's
'88 MJ 4.0L/AW4/231 SWB HPD30 & trac-loc D44 w/3.73's
A dirty Jeep is a happy Jeep

There were two different versions of the 2.8L V6. An Odd fire such as the one in the Jeep CJ5, Chevy Monza, and my Buick Skyhawk (Buick's Monza) were good engines. I don't know what happened between the end of the 70's and early 80's but for some reason they went to an Even fire. The Even fire engines just plain suck compared to the older Odd fire.

_________________
2006 Midnight Blue Jeep Commander 4x4
Bone stock for now.
http://www.pnwjeep.net/forum

Hmm... I didn't know there were different versions of that engine. I was talking about the 60 degree V6 that everyone puts in their Datsun 510's and spanks all the mustangs and miatas at the infield tracks. I was always intrigued by the fact that it was inherently balanced well enough to run a firing order of 1-2-3-4-5-6...that's just cool

_________________
Former CRD owner... now I just sit around and stare at the wall.

I haven't seen anyone with a Dime and a GM v6.......plenty of L28ETs, SR20DET's etc. though.

_________________
http://www.Colorado4Wheel.com
"Its not about what you can DO with your Jeep, its about where you can GO with your Jeep."
Knowledgeable - But Caustic

Ohh, the 60 degree V6. That's the newer 2.8 V6.

_________________
2006 Midnight Blue Jeep Commander 4x4
Bone stock for now.
http://www.pnwjeep.net/forum

the 2.8 was NEVER in the CJ5/6. that was the Buick 225. a 510 with a DOHC 3.4 would be cool (and a pain in the butt to work on)

the 2.8 was NOT inherently balanced...I've owned several of the 60* V6s..and while, IMO, great engines (if lacking in the power department), don't ever let me hear you accuse them of being smooth again

I will readily admit I have never driven one as they came from the factory... but I will assure you that the one I drove that was a built race engine was smooth as can be. I just assumed that the motor was born that way

_________________
Former CRD owner... now I just sit around and stare at the wall.

Consumer's Reports does not take advertisements so they are unbiased (they get $$$ from subscription sales) in contrast with Consumer's Digest which is what I assume you are referring to re: ad $$$ and BS ratings.

_________________
[_|_, [""""""]
l--- L---ollllllo-
( )_)-( )_)-o-)_) Liberator

....o_o_o_o
../| ,[_____],
|¯¯¯L--↨|||||||↨
()_)¯ ()_) ¯¯¯ )_)

(\__/)
(='.'=) <]{
(")_(")

( . )( . )

Hare on my Chest

Liberator, that does not equal being unbiased.

If people of a certain philosophy band together, they have a bias. If I was to solicit reviews from readers, but only readers of a certain publication, don't you think that would cause a bias because people of a certain mindset are likely to subscribe to that magazine? I am certain that the NRA has some sort of publication: do you think I would really get an unbiased gun control response from them even if I did not pay for or lead them to a response? You can also control responses by your hiring practices. An editiorial board who held the same prejudices could hire people who refelcted their beliefs, and therefore control their responses. If you only hired people who like purple or drove japanese cars, I am pretty sure that purple things and japanese cars would do very well on your "unbiased" reviews.

_________________
LOST # 633
'05 KJ 3.7L/6spd/241 245/75/16 MT's
'88 MJ 4.0L/AW4/231 SWB HPD30 & trac-loc D44 w/3.73's
A dirty Jeep is a happy Jeep

Hummm having both sitting in my drive way I will say I love the lower end torque in the 4.0 far better than the 3.7. On road they are fairly equal.

_________________
Jeep, its a way of life.

06 KJ Limited
10 JK Unlimited Rubicon
14 JK Unlimited Rubicon
14 KL Cherokee Trail Hawk