To buy a jk diesel or wait for the jl

[SnakeDoctor]

Originally Posted by rjvines

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

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.

[Turismo07]

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.

[Krump_7]

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.

[Cherokee30D]

Originally Posted by Krump_7

Diesel engines of today are nothing like yester year with the big half million kms u see on the patrols these days.

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

[kx steve]

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

[Turismo07]

Originally Posted by Krump_7

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.

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.

[photojeep]

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