Rubicon or jk crd i need convincing either way

[YamahaDOC]

You have probably figured out everyone is biased towards what they have. Some of the fuel figures quoted here are simply not true which doesn’t support their cause, only makes it look look worse.

The diesel has cooling problems even in standard form. I have a 3.6 auto and would have gone diesel if I had my time again. What the CRD really needs is an engine oil cooler. Engine oil is responsible for around 40% of engine cooling. I think Damien from midnightmods is close to releasing an engine oil cooler for the CRD. I would get that along with an upgrade auto trans cooler, catch can, clutch fan, vented hood and tune. Another thing I like about the CRD is the removal of the rear muffler makes little difference to sound levels and allows a uneek storage tub to be cut into the floor for a proper dual battery set up. A rear locker will take you on the hard tracks and use the BLD on the front, trust me that’s more than enough unless you are sure you want to take a 50k vehicle on six stage type trails. Heck it will even get you through those with lift and tyres, the BLD is under rated imo.

Actually I’d wait until the JL is released and drive one. You may regret buying a JK.

[MightyMouse]

Always interesting to keep an eye on the Facebook CRD owners page..... helpful to read about what's happening to CRD's over time.

[rjl3175]

A clever man once said "If you don't know what to do, do nothing."
At this stage I would not make a decision until you see the JL. I'm thinking this could be a seriously good car. Certainly the on road experience will be more enjoyable with the reduced un-sprung weight and less rotating mass. How well the lighter components stand up to abuse remains to be seen.
The other thing to consider is how low the price of a new JK will get when the JL arrives. The price of 3.8 powered cars dropped heaps when the pentastar hit our shores so you may pay considerably less in a month or two.
The smaller 8 speed seems to be coping well in 3.6 powered Jeeps, haven't heard any horror stories yet and would be fine with the torque of the 2.8, just not enough for the V6 diesel. Could be why the 3.0 is still some time off.

[Turismo07]

Originally Posted by YamahaDOC

You have probably figured out everyone is biased towards what they have. Some of the fuel figures quoted here are simply not true which doesn’t support their cause, only makes it look look worse.

Not me. I do like my choice, now that I've got the CRD, and glad I ended up with it, I have already stated that. But have been trying to be as informative as I can as if someone has told me everything I know now before my purchase of the CRD, I would most likely have gone Pentastar.

I don't know about other people fuel figures, mine are correct, but as I also said in my earlier post, comparing fuel economy is a joke because every vehicle is different and every driver is different.

Originally Posted by YamahaDOC

The diesel has cooling problems even in standard form. I have a 3.6 auto and would have gone diesel if I had my time again. What the CRD really needs is an engine oil cooler. Engine oil is responsible for around 40% of engine cooling. I think Damien from midnightmods is close to releasing an engine oil cooler for the CRD. I would get that along with an upgrade auto trans cooler, catch can, clutch fan, vented hood and tune.

In standard form the CRD is fine (provided that all the cooling system components are in good working order). Loaded up its not. Typically only autos have cooling issues. The manual JKs run around 10 degrees cooler on average.

Yes Damian is working on a upgraded oil cooler, and I agree that this would be very effective in bringing the temps down. When I first bought my JK I was looking into ways of upgrading this, I spoke with many people that had no idea, never been done on the JK, and I spent plenty of time researching and planning how to do it custom myself (and I am glad Damian is coming up with something nice now). But after doing other upgrades like upgraded clutch fan, re-gearing the diffs to suit my vehicle and needs, not sure I need it to be honest.

For example, this last weekend I went on a camping trip, loaded up, with gear on the roof rack etc, 35's, cruising at 110kmh, AC on, boost averaged out around 15psi, ambient temp of 34 degrees, my coolant temps stabalised at 84 degrees. That's pretty low, I would not want my JK to run any cooler to be honest. If my temps were up around the mid-high 90's with those conditions then yeah I would want a oil cooler.

[YamahaDOC]

Why would you have gone 3.6 over CRD if you had your choice again??

[Turismo07]

Originally Posted by YamahaDOC

Why would you have gone 3.6 over CRD if you had your choice again??

If someone had told me everything I know now about what it takes to own a modern diesel with all the preventative mods, emission deletions, etc, that I feel is necessary to ensure their longevity, then I would have gone 3.6.

BUT now that I've got the CRD, I am soo glad that I've got this rather than the petrol. It suits my needs and I enjoy driving it. No question, I would def get another JK or JL CRD (unless they bring out a Hemi JL).

[JKU-CRD Noob]

Originally Posted by Turismo07

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.



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.

Hi Turismo07,
New to the forum having just acquired a 2007 JKU CRD.
I'm looking to install a 2 micron post filter / fuel trap, probably a Fuel Manager unit which seems to be readily available You mentioned you have some information you can share regarding installation. Any info re: install location / fittings required etc. would be well received!
Cheers,