To buy a jk diesel or wait for the jl
 

Hey there forum members, i have been trolling this forum for as much information on the diesel jk as possible, as im really tossing up getting one real soon. Ive read most of the posts from earlier years, im looking at buying one as new as possible with next to no kms on the clock. Adding a secondary fuel filter and an auto trans cooler and going from there. My query what sort of kms have people got out of their diesel wranglers as a genuine long range tourer, as alot of the posts on here are from 5 or 6 years ago, would be good to hear some tales good and bad of why not to buy one based on people owning these well to 2017.

Im really hoping to get into seeing some more sites that west aus has to offer, further abroad then just the city limits, so the diesel economy is what is appealing. Ive owned a petrol 4wd and ive had to pretty much put all my posessions into a shoping trolley during the week just to get out a few times a month lol. Wanna stay away from an ifs 4by ute and a cruiser ute is way to expensive at nearly 70 odd grand, so the wrangler is only of a few legitimate solid axles available now a days. Only me and missus in the car so space isnt an issue really, and i can always tell her to leave the hair dryer at home lol.

Jk or wait for the jl?..... dont flame me to hard please, ive read the crap out of just about every diesel forum post on here aha.

Cheers for any replies
Brad.

I would definitely wait for the JL. It will have the 3.0 Lt V6 Diesel from the Grand Cherokee. I have had my Grand for 3 years now and the engine is awesome.
Have added a tune, exhaust and DPF delete. It now delivers 224Kw and 720Nm..... and has averaged 8.4 Lt per 100 Klm's. You won't get that sort of power and economy from the current 2.8 Lt 4 cylinder.
A mate of mine is in the process of selling his petrol Wrangler with the intention of buying a JL diesel as soon as they are released.

Cheers, Craig

Is this not wishful thinking ?
We'll have to wait and see if V6 VM unit is designated for the Wrangler.
So far I've only seen the 2.0 L twin turbo & current V6 Pentastar listed.

HAve you got further info on this ????

My mate who is hanging out for the JL claims that he has some inside info. Guess we will have to wait until it is officially announced by Jeep to be 100% sure.
Either way, I would be hanging out to find out before buying the JK.

Cheers, Craig

Not flaming, you are in the right place for information. It's just that I haven't seen you "trolling". That's when you go and start internet arguments and deliberatly antagonise people. What you have been doing is trawling. Sifting through a sea of information and fishing for the tasty bits that you need for your brain to digest! :)

I'd love to give you some info on how well my diesel JK has done but, sadly, I have the 3.8V6 minivan motor. :(

Sure looks like it will have the 3.0L diesel:

http://www.jeepscramblerforum.com/fo...revealed.1353/

I own a 2.8 CRD and love it, but....surely it's worth waiting to see what the 3.0 is like in the JL

you might also be able to score a 2.8 cheap once the 3.0 is announced too

I have heard the 3.0 td engine will be available, and that it will be available in the rubicon version aswel. Doing a bit of online reading, although all conjecture at this point, the new jl will be far more reliant on electrics and gadgets more then it does now, which kind of concerns me in regards to track side repairs and what not. I can see points in waiting for the new one to take a look at it, but i can also see sticking with a jk that has most of the bugs ironed out with many fixes and accesories available. As invariably the original 3.0td release will most likley have "all the issues" to begin with.

Appreciate the replies fellas and ladies, and its good to see no one has said to stay away from the 2.8 diesel, as alot of joe smoe in the public i tell of my plan to buy one say to do. Pretty excited to get going into the world of patrol eating jeeping aha.

Cheers
Brad.

I have a 3.0 grand Cherokee and if the motor and 8 speed box is fitted to a wrangler then I will be trading my wrangler for a new JL

570nm at 2000rpm would be awesome in a wrangler

I've had my CRD for about a year can't fault it

In relation to the JL the Jeep dealer told me that it would only be petrol models that will hit Australia, but who knows how accurate that is

I own a 3.6 Wrangler and a 3.0 Grand Cherokee / 8 Speed.

The 3.6 is getting traded/sold once the 3.0 / 8 speed is available in a Wrangler.

They are worlds apart.

I keep hearing it's a few years away at best though, still in development even though it's a planned option.

Diesel rubicon years away?? I cant understand why crysler australia wont release a diesel version of this model. A diesel rubicon would be on par with the major players here in australia with much better off the shelf performance. They would sell like hotcakes. :(

Last i read was the 3.0l diesel is not coming till 2019

Probably limited engineering / staff to do everything at once, get the basic new one rolling out the door then start work on the other options.

Yeah I hear 2019 in USA rest of the world following year.

It's good though, the bugs in the JL will be ironed out by then.

To answer your original post, why not buy a JK CRD now, maybe even a slightly older one, and then use it to get out there now and experience our beautiful country. Then after the JL has been out a couple of years and the 3.0 is proven, upgrade to the JL? Any money you lose in the exercise will be more than repaid in the joy and experiences you have getting out there now rather than waiting.

The only fundamental thing wrong with the JK CRD's is that the cooling system is not big enough to cope when the engine is labouring and making high boost for a sustained period (i.e. when carrying heavy loads, towing, turning 35"+ tyres, driving up long steep hills at 100kmh+, etc, or a combination of all of these). If left stock you won't have any overheating issues.

Furthermore, if you get an auto JK CRD, the auto transmission suffers from the same issues as the engine's cooling system. And then compounds the issue with the engine cooling system (cos the trans cooler is hot and transferring this heat into the engine radiator).

The small wedge shaped engine bay is my guess as to the cause of the JK's inefficient cooling system. I really hope Jeep address this issue on the JL with bigger radiators etc.

The fix on the JK is not too hard or complicated. I would start with the auto trans, fit a new cooler and preferably mount it somewhere away from the already cramped grill area. Then see how you go with your desired built JK (i.e. loaded, bigger tyres, etc). If it still runs warmer than desired, then look at engine cooling system mods (i.e. upgraded clutch fan, heat reduction hood, bigger aftermarket radiator).

Check out the JK CRD Owners Group on facebook for heaps of info on this kind of stuff.

I personally have a 2009 JKU CRD manual, built as cheaply as I could but to be reliable and to travel to remote places etc.

My longest trip so far is from Perth to Adelaide to Alice Springs and back again. We covered 12,000kms and lots of that was driving on outback roads and exploring random places. We just lived out of the JK swagging it everywhere. My fuel economy was 11.5L/100km for the trip, with gear on the roof rack, barwork, 33" mud tyres, standard gear ratios, loaded up to about 3t.

Like you I have always had petrol 4wds before, mainly because they were v8's and I love the power, but for this 4wd I knew I wanted to travel more remote places and wanted the range/economy of a CRD. MY JK now has 137,000kms and so far no issues.

With the 2.8 CRD (and like all modern diesels really) you need to look after them. Keep them well serviced. Change the timing belt well before the recommended interval. Do not get lazy with servicing.

My philosophy is to try and make sure the engine gets the clean air, has clean oil, and clean fuel, and in theory it should be happy and last longer. So I have a snorkel for clean air, I have also fitted a oil catch can as well to keep oil mist out of the intake and therefore keep the intake air cleaner. I change my oil and filter every 5,000kms and have had the EGR deleted to help ensure the oil is clean. I have fitted a 5 micron secondary fuel filter and change the filters regularly to help ensure that the injectors get clean fuel.

The EGR delete must be don via a ECU remap which most do as part of a dyno tune, which I have had done as well. I have also fitted a 3" exhaust from the turbo back, my JK is a pre-DPF model but if fitted to a DPF model this will have deleted the DPF. Depending on how you feel about emissions vs engine life, you may be for or against deleting the DPF, if you are for prolonging engine life then deleting the DPF is a very good idea and will also reduce your exhaust gas temperatures which is also a good thing.

Overall the 2.8 CRD is a decent little motor. Back in its day (they came out in 2005 in KJ Cherokee's/KA Doge Nitro's) they were punching well above their weight for power and torque. Even now the same engine is used in the Holden Colorado's and Colorado 7's and re-branded as a 'Duramax' (which I find that insulting to the real 6.6 litre v8 turbo diesel Duramax's found in US Chevy trucks) and is currently Australia's most powerful ute with 500nm of torque (tuned for higher output then our JK's) ...at least until the new Amorok 3.0v6 CRD comes out soon.

I love my 2.8 CRD because I feel it is the best engine offered in the JK's and certainly most suited to what I wanted to do. It is however a mid-teir modern diesel engine by current standards, there is no comparison to the 3.0 v6 Mercedes and VM Motori CRD's found in the Grand Cherokees, they are amazing engines that produce huge amounts of power and torque. Unfortunately that engine wasn't offered in the JK. Like you I am waiting in anticipation to see how well the JL performs with the 3.0L v6 CRD and I hope it is really well engineered to work in that platform (i.e. no cooling issues etc), if its everything that is promised I will def get one in a few years, but until then I am loving my JK and am always smiling as I drive down a nice beach or bush track to a nice destination somewhere.

Not to sure how to reply direct to someone, but turismo, very informative reply thanks. Diesel engines of today are nothing like yester year with the big half million kms u see on the patrols these days. But this reply has given me food for thought, i will wait for the jl to be released and more solid info on it is available before taking the plunge. Altho at this stage the jl seems loaded with electrics that im not to keen on i.e electric retractable roof :s. So a jk could well be in my driveway soon.

11kms p hundred touring is but a dream for me atm. I go down the street and im pushing 19lph take it off road and im selling my soul to make it out of the bush with some fuel left aha.

You say mount the auto trans cooler away from the grill? Is there anywhere else to mount one? Always thought up in front was the best place for it.
Also your tune to delete the egr, how much was that and where did u get that done. I am from perth.
Cheers
Brad.

I agree. The modern day diesel engine has too much anti pollution crap hanging off it.
Not long after I buy a new diesel, I get a tune with a EGR delete.
Have never deleted the DPF & pipe before, but have on my Grand Cherokee. Usually do the exhaust and change the air filter to a non oil AFE.
I also add 300ml of Penrite TWC-3 2 stroke mineral oil per 90Lt tank.

My engines run quieter, smoother, cooler, more economical.... and the oil stays unbelievably clean, to the point where my mechanic has had the oil tested by his Penrite rep.

I do believe that if you buy a modern day diesel, you will have to give it a little help if you want to get the same Klm's as the diesels of old.

Cheers, Craig

I think it's good they are bringing the 3 ltr diesel out in the new wrangler.My jk with the diesel cost 46k back in 2009 now they are over 50k. Wonder how much the new Jl is I bet over 60k and will it be able to tow 3500kg

I went down the road of buying a wh crd limited with 100k on the clock.it only cost 16k . this sorted out my problem with towing and off road.
It all comes down to what you are will ing to pay and what you want



Sent from my SM-G900I using Aussie Jeep Offroad mobile app

The gill area is the most logical area to mount a trans cooler, but it's just too cramped already with the intercooler there etc. Some people do still mount a small cooler there and have had positive results though. Others with much better results have mounted the cooler somewhere else on the vehicle and usually with its own thermo fan (turns on/off at a set temp), the most common place I've seen people choose to mount them is above the rear diff (big cavity there that is somewhat away from potential damage). The most common argument as to why mounting above the rear diff is bad idea is because it can fill with mud if you like driving through that stuff, if not then its prob a non issue, also mounting it up there is pretty much the same height if not higher than where water/mud would reach on the grill area as you enter a mud hole anyway, so it would still get covered/caked in mud if mounted behind the grill. Also creating space to mount it behind the grill usually means switching to an angry grill style that is 'hiflo' (bigger grill opening), which may or may not be your thing...

For tuning, I highly recommend Infinitech Tuning in Wangara, Roger is the owner/tuner and he is really nice to deal with. For us Perth guys there's not much choice in tuning our CRD's and I did a fair bit of ringing around and asking on FB groups etc, and discovered where other's had bad experiences etc and everyone who had used Infinitech was very happy. There was a guy from Kalgoorlie who had is JK CRD with a EGR issue and booked into ECU West (very well known diesel tuning place) in Mandurah for a day to have it tuned and the EGR program deleted, he drove his family to Perth for an overnight round trip, ECU West stuffed up and couldn't sort it at all, so returned his ECU to stock and sent him on is way, he was devastated. He asked around for help and a couple of us told him to speak to Roger at Infinitech, who was fully booked but squeezed him in after hours and got his JK CRD tuned and EGR sorted.

Well, after waiting, waiting, have had to make a decision for our new 4wd.

JK/JL is too small with storage for our extended family outback trips. Was hopeful about the Scrambler JT but really it would take a couple of years for it to be sorted so 2019/20 and maybe it won't even be suitable.

Placed an order now for the Cruiser 79 series. Will arrive and be setup by mid year with luck. It aint no Jeep, but it is a useful outback 4x4, and lots of options available. Apart from being a front/rear live axle system, it has less tech than the modern 4x4's which I consider is a benefit offroad in the outback.

Ours will be somewhat like this one, but the rear canopy will be for storage etc, not a camper built in.
https://www.4x4australia.com.au/revi...ble-cab-review

Happy to post about it if anyone is interested when it arrives and I don't cop too many insults. Yep, I like Jeeps, but too long to wait for something for us :)

Enjoy! :D

Interesting reading;

https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&r...nWySWU7IkYlcYp

Nice, congrats on the purchase! Always exciting when you have a new vehicle on the way.

my understanding is the 3.0 TD is a few years away even for the USA. Honestly the 3.6 petrol with an 8 speed auto in a Rubicon would be an awesome package. I might be biased but I've been really happy with my fuel economy and the way it drives after years of driving TD four wheel drives. Maybe the mega issue I had with my previous TD 200 series Cruiser put me off. I hope the 3.0 TD comes out here though as it would be an awesome wrangler with that engine.

But ?

"But we won’t get the complete package as some new technology – including a new 2.0-litre turbo-petrol and overhauled 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel – either isn’t available or has been ruled out for Australia."

"Instead we will get an updated version of the current Pentastar 3.6-litre petrol V6 and a new 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine to replace the current 2.8-litre oil-burner."

From https://www.motoring.com.au/la-motor...vealed-110010/

Just remember to be careful in the car park at the shopping centre!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0687F-Sarao" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Yeah, I can see my missus pushing us out of Coles carpark so we can get home :rolleyes:

Well that sucks...

I guess I'll be keeping my JK until it dies, then looking for something else. I only want a JL Wrangler with the 3.0v6 CRD or a Hemi.

rumour has it they are having trouble making the 3.0L fit in the RHD JL

"Jeep has also announced that a 3.0L EcoDiesel V6 turbodiesel engine will become available on the Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited in Europe beginning in 2019. it will produce approximately 260 hp (194 kW; 264 PS) and 442 lb⋅ft (599 N⋅m). This is for the Europe market. The rest of the world except for North America will get a 2.2l 4 cylinder turbo diesel. North America will not get a diesel Wrangler right now, even though the 3.0 EcoDiesel is used in the North American Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee" from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeep_Wrangler_(JL)

I do wonder if this is correct due to the fact that many countries in Europe have Heavy taxes on big diesels and they are trying to bann them in the cities, maybe the smaller 2.2 diesel, but what do I know.

Here in Sweden the annual road tax for the pentastar is about 500 dollars and the current diesel is maybe 900 dollars, almost twize the cost and a new 3 liters V6 is bigger and will probably cost even more in taxes.

Pentastar v6 only for North america?

"The 3.6L Pentastar VVT V6 gasoline engine still remains available from the existing Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited, and is standard on all models, though has been redesigned for improved fuel economy. The engine features an Aisin D478 six-speed manual transmission as standard equipment, with an optional 850RE Torqueflite eight-speed automatic transmission being optional. The engine performance is unchanged from the previous model at 285 hp (213 kW; 289 PS) and 260 lb⋅ft (353 N⋅m). This is only offered on Wrangler models sold in North America.

However, a 2.0L turbocharged Four-Cylinder (Inline-4) gasoline engine is available on all Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited models. Paired exclusively with the 850RE Torqueflite eight-speed automatic transmission, the new engine features a mild hybrid system branded as eTorque for improved fuel economy and off-road performance, and produces 270 hp (201 kW; 274 PS) and 295 lb⋅ft (400 N⋅m) combined. This is the only gasoline engine offered in Europe. In North America, this engine will have late availability, and all Wranglers will launch with the existing 3.6L Pentastar V6 gasoline engine."

I will tell you to stay away from the diesel.
Fuel economy compared to the current pentastar is about 2 litres per 100km difference. Cost of petrol to crd is some $6K cheaper. Cost of parts is significantly cheaper.

Unless your planning to do at least 40 to 50000kms a year the sums are against the diesel atm.

And yes ive owned both and can talk from real world experience.

3.0 V6 CRD > 3.6 > 2.8 CRD > 3.8

It should be obvious but this is the order of engine "good"ness for current / legacy motors.

Where the 2.0 Petrol Turbo and the 2.2 diesel fit in is anyones guess but i'd be more than surprised if they both aren't better than the 2.8 CRD.

With the advent of the new auto transmission in the jl what are the likely benifiets to offroading as compared to a diesel. I have a petrol 4x4 now and it sucks filling it up 1km away from driving out the fuel station. A recent trip camping on some beaches returned embarrassing fuel per/100km figures in my current 4x4, which has put me off ever owning a petrol 4x4 again. Are the diesel and v6 jeeps really that much similar in efficiency. Any number under 16-18 ish lph offroad in low range would be heaven for me.

Well the engines on the EU LHD JL Rubicons aren't endearing me to spend on a new one. All done for the new BS religion of climate change and the mythical tax collecting, proprieties of CO2 0.04% of the atmosphere (barely above plant existent levels)
A 0.01% increase in over a 160 years (95% from natural sources) leaving human activity contributing 0.0005% !

Lets hope the RHD versions come with something more robust similar to the US or I will probably be keeping my 2.8CRD and spend on that.
Had a V6 petrol for 3 days from the dealer and found it very thirsty
Going back home up steep hills it just didnt have the guts in comparison to my Diesel with 4.10's