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.
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