Rubicon or jk crd i need convincing either way

[NTRubicon]

Originally Posted by Krump_7

Thanks graham great reading in your post. My patrol chews 25 or so litres p/h kms off road. Is the rubi anywhere near those stupid figures? I can see the 2 versions using close to same fuel figures on road give or take some. Love to hear off road ball park figures, being fully aware of driving style affecting the numbers aswel as the terrain types. Fully loaded touring type stuff id be happy with 17 to 18 litres p/h from a petrol. From watching you tube a diesel pushing 16 or so kms p/h seems to be the norm off road. Is this an unrealistic expectation of the wranglers?

Cheers
Brad.

I have auto JKUR on 2” and 33” muddies, and with a full load and a Glendambo headwind (read: nasty headwind) in 45degree heat I can run figures close to 20-22 but that is a rarity. 12-14 around town, 10-12 highway (12-14 on NT roads - 130k), 12-17 offroad (light to extreme).

After weighing up the options I went petrol as the need for diesel range and efficiency was outweighed by capability, availability of fuel and the service costs. In practice I would fit a long range tank for a Simpson crossing and carry one extra jerry for insurance on a petrol engine, just a long range tank or two Jerry for the diesel.

If possible consider the cost of upgrading axles and getting a GVM increase as the existing gvm is woeful and with the mods you are planning you will unlikely be able to carry more than a can of coke each before pushing dangerously close to the limit

[Turismo07]

Originally Posted by Krump_7

Ive joined the crd facebook page and had a squizz through there.

This is agreat FB group, some really helpful people on there. Damian is the creator and is "MidnightMods" on this forum. He runs a online store that supplies CRD owners with a bunch of servicing parts and quite often has specials on expensive big ticket items such as injectors. If you are in the Melb area he also does servicing as well. But beware that the fb group is usually filled with problems, there are heaps of members but people only post if they have a prob so it can seem overwhelming.

Originally Posted by Krump_7

I was watching a youtube series called sidetracked in which the wrangler they had crapped it self. Is there any specific reason these cars seem to crap out or is purely just down to servicing neglect?

I have seen that vid and follow that channel. I was disapointed to see that happen to the JK. They didn't go into great detail on the vid, but the owner is on the JK CRD fb group and asked for help, he had a injector go bad. This can happen to any modern diesel engine, like I said above the high tech and tiny tolerances in the common rail fuel system means that the fuel must be clean, any contamination or condensation build up will damage something, and usually its a injector that goes first. And they are expensive to replace.

Its for this reason that so many tourers are running secondary fuel filters, and there are kits avail for all the usual Landcruisers, Patrols, etc. When I first bought my JK I looked into this and nobody really knew anything about hooking one up to a JK. I ended up figuring it out and custom fitting a secondary 2 micron fuel filter and water trap. Happy to share more info on this for anyone that is interested.



My biggest trip in my JK so far has been from Perth into SA and NT and back again. My 5 month pregnant wife and I did the trip in 18 days and covered 12,000 kms. We swagged it everywhere and explored everything that we could. Heaps of driving on dirt roads and remote places. We thoroughly enjoyed it and the JK was awesome. I absolutely loved not thinking about where to get fuel next (always had petrol 4wds before).



Just a word on the auto diesels and their issues. I have a manual so not a prob for me, but what I understand from other people's issues. The fix is to fit an aftermarket auto trans cooler. The stock auto trans cooler is shared with the AC condenser. Not a great idea on Jeep's part. Once you separate the cooling duties, the auto trans is fine.

The coolant temps do get hot like I said when the engine is working, but the general consensus is that once a aftermarket upgraded clutch fan is fitted no one really complains anymore (unless there is an actual issue like leaking radiator etc).



Like I mentioned and others have posted as well, modern diesels need preventative mods to last longer, mainly to get rid of the emissions rubbish. EGR delete (will keep the intake nice and clean from soot), oil catch can fitted (will keep the intake clean from oil mist and make your turbo and vacuum hoses last), DPF delete (to free up the exhaust and reduce EGTs), secondary fuel filter (to make sure the engine gets the cleanest fuel possible). And some real diesel fanatics (me included) will also add that you should run 300ml per tank of TCW3 marine oil in your fuel which helps lubricate the common rail fuel system and injectors. But in saying all that, there are some people getting around now with 250,000km+ on their CRD JKs who have not done any of that stuff.

I am not trying to sway you towards diesel or anything. Just putting the facts out there for you as I wish someone had told me about these before I jumped into a diesel. But after having petrol 4wds (mostly v8's cos I like power), I did not think I'd like the CRD life as much as I do. Its not a race car by any means, but once its on the open road, loaded up, cruising at 100-110kmh in 6th gear, the engine settles in, and I can drive it with my little toe, just cruises along, and I love it now. But I fully understand that the modern diesel life is not for everyone.

[rjl3175]

I wouldn't dismiss the smaller diesel just yet. It will probably have similar output to the 2.8 and the benefit of the 8 speed, so would probably be a better package than a used (no idea how it was taken care of) 2.8 crd.
Having said that I will not give up my 2.8 till the v6 oiler arrives.

[Krump_7]

Thanks guys awesome reading everyones thoughts and views. I am located in perth, ive heard about the midnight mods guy, seems to be the guru on the crd.

Having never owned a diesel 4wd in my short 4wding adventures the fuel range is enticing as id like to see more then my local woolies before having to fill up again being a petrol. Super easy to work on which is part why i bought it as it would of been a good cheap easy to fix learning experience. But now im ready to upgrade to something a little better outside of a 70k landcruiser v8 ute.

Ive heard this there and back gaurantee jeep offer. Is it true that its void if you go off road and or do some mods for example fitting a catch can and egr delete tune to a crd?

Cheers
Brad.

[Turismo07]

Originally Posted by Krump_7

Ive heard this there and back gaurantee jeep offer. Is it true that its void if you go off road and or do some mods for example fitting a catch can and egr delete tune to a crd?

Going offroad no. But modding your Jeep, generally yes. Any mod that changes the way the Jeep works from the factory will void your warranty... It does usually depend on what you are claiming on though, as it has to be related. For example I've heard of people getting knocked back on diff issues because they installed bigger wheels and tyres, or knocked back on elec issues because they installed a aftermarket headunit and UHF. But there are plenty of stories where highly modified rigs have had no probs with warranty claims. But generally they would have an out if you have mods.

Also worth pointing out that the worst thing about owning a Jeep is dealing with the dealership... Typically they are horrible to deal with. I have had a recent bad experience with Waneroo Jeep regarding my the airbag recall on my JK. But my philosophy has always been that if I choose to buy a Jeep I must be willing to forget any warranty and never deal with the dealership unless I have no choice (like the airbag recall). I am onto my 5 Jeep now lol.

In regards to the specific mods you mentioned. Oil catch can could probably be argued in the court of law that it can only help improve an engine's efficiency, there are zero side affects of having one installed. But it could also be easily removed if you needed to return to the dealership and claim on something. Getting a dyno tune to delete the EGR and DPF, can easily be returned to factory ECU settings by your tuner. Typically a dyno tuning place will have a free service where they can return your ECU to stock and reload their tune after you have been to the dealer. Most of the time the dealership can't tell that there is a tune on there anyway, but sometimes they will 'update' your ECU which means that your EGR and DPF will be turned on again, which you would return to your tuner and they would reload their tune again (usually for free).

[OzRick25]

Originally Posted by rjl3175

I wouldn't dismiss the smaller diesel just yet. It will probably have similar output to the 2.8 and the benefit of the 8 speed, so would probably be a better package than a used (no idea how it was taken care of) 2.8 crd.
Having said that I will not give up my 2.8 till the v6 oiler arrives.

Bit off topic but I'd be surprised that if for the 2.2 diesel they didn't down spec the 8 speed to the 8HP50/850RE that you will find in the JL.

It's a variation of the 845RE that you see in the GC pstar and the 300C (and the VW amarok). Dont get me wrong its a nice smooth light duty trans but it's not a great selection for a ute IMO. Despite VWs non disclosure policies you still hear a fair amount of complaints about it bringing the amarok to a standstill when towing. For recreation and most peoples purposes it would be pretty decent I guess.

Fingers crossed for the 8HP70 though.

[anthony1]

I would buy a Rubicon and enjoy the few extras it comes with.

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