Jeep Comanche V6? I heard they were crap. Is it true?

[DesertJK]

Hello,

I have been looking for a little pickup for hauling crap around my wifes mini farm, picking stuff up in town, and that sort of thing. Not going to use it for wheeling, we have the JK for that, not doing road trips in it, also the JK's job, it will need to be able to handle snow, so I have been looking at 4x4's
I really wanted an inline 6 model with a 5 speed, but I would take the 2.5 4 cylinder. I keep finding deals on the 2.8 v6's. There is a really nice one for $1500 on Craigs List. I was told to run away from any of the 2.8 V6 jeeps. Why? I mean if it has made it 120K miles and still is running well, how bad can they be. I heard they were not reilable and leaked oil like crazy. Are they gutless too?

David

 

[jmxj]

comanche v6

I had one before my xj, did not think it was bad at the time, but compared to the 4.0, no power, and mine went thru head gaskets.

 

[TerryD]

Pretty gutless. HOWEVER, Cadillac made a 4.1L V8 that uses the same bell housing pattern and should be easy to swap in. Also the later 3.1L and 3.4L engines have the same pattern. One could probably swap in a GM automatic transmission and use the V8 S-10 conversion motor mounts to put a Chevy small block in there.

The head gasket problem is a first for me? Never heard of that one from that family of engines before. Oil leaks are common because of the o-ring used to seal the distributor instead of a gasket and the oil pressure sending units are known to leak through the body after they get some age on them. They are generally reliable engines, and were used in S-10 pickups and Blazer/Jimmys until the late 80's as well as the Citation, Cavalier Z24, Fiero, and several other GM vehicles with good track records. With a manual transmission they are livable, but in front of an automatic they do alot of work. It all depends on your intended use and what you are willing to do. :sombrero:



edit: And for snow, they would be great because with a decent set of snow tires they won't have enough power to break you loose spinning, just enough to keep you moving and keep you from spinning yourself stuck. $0.02

 

[Bill Beers]

Just to add one more anecdotal example, my '86 Comanche w/2.8 V6 sent one of its connecting rods through the side of the block.

I'd hold out for a 2.5 or a 4.0.

This one's a bit of a haul from Chelan, (~350 miles,) but it's a clean looking '89 for $950.

http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/cto/2419190529.html