I am looking at buying a 79 CJ5. The guy has stock everything (axles, gears, etc.), 3 sp., 4" lift and 35s. I thought that sounded a little sketchy, but then he said it gets around 20-25 mpg and I was damn near convinced he doesn't know what he is talking about. Is this even possible? I have an XJ with 33 TSLs and get around 12 mpg on the highway. It seems odd that a stock 258 with over 100,000 miles (said he doesn't know exact miles) and carbeurated would get more than double my gas mpg. What do guys think?

not quite the same, but i dont get that with my 2wd toyota dd, and thats an EFI 4 banger

This guy's numbers are out of whack because the speedo on that truck (stock gears and 35's.) is waaaaaay off
Figure out the percentage that he is off and subtract that from the mileage...............

Speedometer Check enter 3 of 4 in green, press CALC
Orig Tire Dia. 29
New Tire Dia. 35
Speedometer MPH: 60
Actual MPH: 72.4
info from www.4lo.com
shaggy

I have a 77 CJ-5. It has a 304ci with a motorcraft 2bbl carb that needs rebuilding. It also has a 3 speed, but 33" tires and stock gears. Last time I went to Browns Camp, Oregon we stopped at the store 10 miles from there that is about 50 miles from where we leave from. I used 4 gallons of gas, making my MPG 12.5. When I rebuild my carb I might get 15??. That 258 is going to have a lot harder time pushing those 35's than my 304 has pushing the 33's.
Shaggy

H is on the pipe !! no way 20-25 mpg

with a 5 speed 33's and 4.10 i get 18 every now and then 19 on a good week thats carburated 258

Originally posted by AIRZUKI
This guy's numbers are out of whack because the speedo on that truck (stock gears and 35's.) is waaaaaay off
Figure out the percentage that he is off and subtract that from the mileage...............

Actually, if he was calculating the mileage with the stock speedo drive he'd get a lower MPG not higher. You can use the calculater shown above with gas mileage as well as mph and odometer reading.

I get 15-16 on my 4 with 4.88's and 33's with the correct speedo drive.

My freshly rebuilt 258 when I had stock gears (3.54) and 32" tires, would get around 16 mpg, with an "exceptionally" good running carter 2 barrel. Thats about the best these motors will do. Maybe a little bit better with a 5 speed on the hwy, at the right rpm, and a good tail wind.:D

-Jeremy

Thanks guys. That's kinda what I figured, but I have no CJ experience at all and only have about 2 years experience with XJs - that's right, I'm a fawking newbie:( . Anyways, this guy sounds to me like he didn't build the CJ well, and I am a little skeptical. The full run down on the specs are a full cage, fuel cell, 5 35" BFG muds with 10k on them, stock axles and ratios, no TADs, Clifford intake?, not exact miles but somewhere around 130,000 original (no rebuild, and no top (just bikini). He is asking $3000, but I feel confident that I could negotiate to $2000. I know that after I drive this for a while that I will want to swap the engine and drivetrain, so I am wondering if I should just wait for something better to come along. Any opinions? Also, how well would the thing even run at 8,000 feet? He has it down in Phoenix around 2,500 feet.

Originally posted by CJ-5shaggy
Speedometer Check enter 3 of 4 in green, press CALC
Orig Tire Dia. 29
New Tire Dia. 35
Speedometer MPH: 60
Actual MPH: 72.4
info from www.4lo.com
shaggy

that is cool, seen it before but forgot about it. That means I drive my jeep a whoppin 56 mph on the highway he he oh well :)

Damn my 258 only gets about 13 mpg on its good days if you use the calculator to figure it out!!!!!

My 65 cj5 with 3spd, 3.73, and 33 radial swampers, with a stock 69 302 got just over 20 mpg. I think that this guy is just adding a little.

my CJ w/ 2.73 gears and 33" tires, 258, I got 20 on the highway.

My XJ, 4.0, stock tire size, I got 22 going over 88 to Reno.

I have a '73 CJ5 that had the 258 6cyl for about 5 years. The Jeep had 32' BFG and 4.27 gears. It never got over 20mpg unless going down hill with the engine not running. It got between 12 and 16 mpg, but was used mainly on the trails and mountian driving.

the best I've heard is a 85 CJ-7, ~35,000 after rebuild, with jacobs ignition (made a bit of a differance) 33's, and 4.10's got over 22 on the highway going up to the mountains, and the same coming back with low air pressure (22 psi or so, OBA broke)