177 horses want fuel like 177 horses- you will call them all if you have them.A girlfriend of me does have the JK- she is not able to go below 15l from day one

Here in Ivory Coast there are a lot of Toyotas, too. When the VM 2.5 in my 98 XJ died after spending lots of money on two rebuilds, I decided to put in some other engine. I wanted something simple that any mechanic could fix with parts easily available where I live. There are also a lot of mechanics here who'll try anything.

My mechanic wanted to try a Pajero 2.5L TD that he had lying around. It worked for three weeks and while power (about 85hp) was less than the VM, it was quite driveable. However, the adapter plate he made up to match my AX-15 transmission wasn't right and the clutch disintegrated.

It sat for several months and then I discovered on one of these forums that a Toyota pickup engine would bolt right up to the Jeep transmission with an input shaft change. So we went that route. We looked at used Toyota 2LT engines but most smelled burned. So the mechanic got hold of a Toyota "L" block that he built up and put in. He said he couldn't find a Toyota W151 class bellhousing which would bolt up to the AX-15 but he did find a smaller Toy G52/W58 class bellhousing which would bolt up to an AX-5. So we got a used AX-5 and its transfer case and put that in. I think the bigger bellhousing would be out there somewhere if you looked hard enough.

So, the Toy "L" 2.2liter naturally aspirated engine in my XJ has about 10,000km since it got rolling 14 months ago. It is very slow - it tops out at 95kph on the highway. No a/c. There isn't much power for 4wd. I don't use that much, but it works. No problems at all with the engine/transmission marriage. It has a 3.73 rear end. It's OK for going on gravel roads and muddy trails in the forest.

It consumes about 11-12 liters per 100km, the same as what I got from the original engine and I'm happy with that. Starts every day.

The mechanic knows I'd like more power so he wants to put a "2L" 2.4liter engine in it. That engine has a good reputation here - widely used in minivan taxis to transport a lot of people and baggage. So we'll see.

Well, this is an old thread and no one posted after I did in 2010. But
just to give an update. My 98 XJ has a 2.4liter Toy "2L" since July 2011.
This engine came out of a wrecked pickup and it has worked out better
than the 2.2 liter that was put in there in 2009, (which my mechanic put
together from a block he had plus parts from here and there and seemed to
be missing on one bad cylinder).

The 2L starts every day, very little maintenance other than regular oil
changes, consumes 10.5liters/100km with 4.10 gears. It hits 60 mph
(100kph) but it is no powerhouse so I can't pass many people. It works
fine for me on the trails. It has been much easier on batteries than the
VM.

Since the conversion from the VM was done in 2009, I have driven about
60,000km on the Toy motors. Seeing as how the XJ was headed for the
junkyard in 2007 when the VM failed, this was economically a good
move for me.