2.8 GM V6 (Chevrolet LR2)

Chevrolet's loaner V6 in the first Cherokee, before the 4.0

When the Cherokee XJ launched in 1984, AMC didn't yet have its 4.0 straight-six ready. As the top engine it borrowed one: General Motors' 2.8-liter V6 (the LR2), the same unit from the era's Chevy S-10 and Blazer. It filled in until the 4.0 arrived in 1987 and retired it.

A borrowed engine

The GM 60° 2.8 V6 (here in a Pontiac Fiero Formula) — Jonrev · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

The LR2 is a 60° V6 with pushrod overhead valves (OHV), a cast-iron block and heads, fed by a two-barrel carburetor. In the XJ it started at 110 hp in 1984 and rose to 115 hp in 1985–1986, with torque between 145 and 150 lb·ft. Modest numbers, but above the base 2.5 four-cylinder, so it was the 'big' option in the early years.

It shared its family with half the 1980s GM universe: the same 2.8 powered the Chevrolet Citation, Camaro, S-10 and Blazer. For AMC it was a stopgap while it finished cooking up its own modern straight-six.

Why it lasted so briefly

The 2.8 didn't earn a bad reputation; it simply got outgrown. In 1987 AMC launched its own 4.0 straight-six, which beat it comfortably on power, torque and smoothness, with the bonus of sharing its block and philosophy with the in-house 2.5. With that own engine in the range, keeping a V6 bought from the competition no longer made sense.

That's why the LR2 is a rarity today: it only appeared in the 1984–1986 XJs. The vast majority of Cherokees you'll meet —and every one that reached Argentina— run the 4.0.

Specifications

2.8 GM V6 (LR2) — data
Displacement	2,837 cc (173 cu in)
Configuration	60° V6, OHV 12-valve, cast iron
Fuel system	Two-barrel carburetor
Power	110 hp @ 4,800 (1984) · 115 hp @ 4,800 (1985–86)
Torque	145–150 lb·ft (197–203 N·m)
Years	1984–1986 (in the XJ)

Where it was used: Jeep Cherokee XJ (1984–1986), as the top engine before the 4.0.