2005 LJR R2.8 build

I just noticed, what you received is different than what I received. Looks great though. I can't wait to see some start up video or something.

A little early, but congrats!!! Now get to work :).
 
Getting everything installed. So far everything has gone together smoothly.

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You know I still haven't actually seen my fan turn on. I think it does, but it's hard to get it up to those temps.
 
Well it’s running!! I didn’t take a video of the first start because I was focused on making sure everything was squared away. I took the fuse out of the ecu wire and cranked the engine over for about 10 seconds twice to get everything pressurized. After that I did my initial start and it fired right up, took about 3 cranks and sounded good. Had a slight power steering leak at the fitting on the power steering box. Tightened it up and is good to go. Had a drop of oil on the oil filter line again just tightened a little more. I also had a bunch of codes pop up on the gauge when I did my initial key on, but after the first start they all cleared up. I did several runs for approximately 5 min checking oil and coolant levels and for leaks. everything checked out good so took it for a couple short drives again checking for leaks or abnormal things. Finally did a couple longer drives taking it easy probably 5 miles total. Sounds and runs good. Here is a couple videos. I’ll get some more in the next couple days after the exhaust is on.




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Having an unusual sound coming from the clutch/ transmission area. When I press the clutch in it goes away, when I let it out it comes back. Only in neutral.
Also there is another sound I’m hearing which to me sounds like a bad or dry bearing, I’m also hearing this near the transmission but can’t isolate it.... Any thoughts?

 
I’m thinking the transmission noise is the famous nsg370 clatter but it didn’t make this noise before. I did however change the transmission fluid while I was doing the swap to Amsoil synchromesh so maybe this has something to do with it.
 
I have the same transmission and have also put the Amsoil in mine, I do not have that particular noise. I did notice smoother shifting with the Amsoil, but man, does that 6 speed put out some heat!!!!
 
so I’m pretty sure the transmission doesn’t like the Amsoil fluid. I started the jeep up this morning and the noise wasn’t there. After a couple mile drive to get things warmed up it started getting that noise again.. I’ll try another fluid and see what happens.

Other than that the R2.8 is running very good and has more power than I was expecting. I had an LJR with a modified 4bt and this is close to the same feel I got with that thing, power wise. And I still have to get the tune upgrade from Cummins, so needless to say I’m very impressed.
 
how is the comparison to the stock 4.0? Do you feel you got your money's worth? $20,000 is a lot of performance.....
 
It’s a big improvement to a 4.0 the performance is so much better acceleration and being able to go 65 up a hill without flooring it and shifting multiple times is amazing. We purchased the engine before they did the hp increase so it’s only going to get better after we get the new tune.... I’ll be getting some comparison videos hopefully next week against my ljr with the 4.0

20k is a lot I agree and I think everyone justifies things differently. Some are willing to put thousands in gear changes for a tire upgrade which all cost some serious coin. And others will buy a brand new Jeep off the lot for much more than we have in this jeep. Personally we plan to do lots of camping trips around the state and country for that matter so heck yeah it’s worth it but If you dont drive it to often then yeah it’s probably not worth it for the money. I don’t think anyone would be disappointed in doing this conversion though.
 
That is good to hear!!! I just bought a 1996 F350 crew cab diesel in anticipation of doing this swap next spring. I gotta have something to drive......
Thanks for the replies and for doing this thread!!!
 
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Hey no problem! I think you’ll really like the conversion and it’s kind of a fun project. I’ve had all 4 types of engines. 2.5 4.0 4bt and now this 2.8. I need to get some miles on it but I’m definitely the most impressed with this one. The 4bt was awesome but I didn’t do the conversion so it wasn’t the way I wanted it, and I will say it was to loud a engine for every day driving especially long distances. This one is perfect in my opinion but I don’t like gas vehicles haha. I’d one day like to do a 3.0 v6 tdi swap out of the vw Touareg but will see on that one.

I am impressed with the kit from Axis, although it took a long time to get the radiator and fan ( not their fault) the kit is top notch quality and pretty straight forward although some instructions would have been nice for some of it. I was able to call Kevin and get everything figured out and I think I documented most everything I had to get clarification on. I still have to get AC lines made ( I wish those were supplied with the kit ) and everything hooked up for that. It’s a very tight fit on the passenger side and more than likely need to remove the intercooler tubes to get the AC lines attached. The battery is a narrow red top and is a very tight fit with both the ecu and pcm. I had to remove the 3 plugs going into the pcm to get the battery to slide into place, But it fits.

We have some pretty steep grades above 6k feet where I live so hoping to get some good comparison footage so you can see the power difference.
 
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1945GPW said:
Hey no problem! I think you’ll really like the conversion and it’s kind of a fun project. I’ve had all 4 types of engines. 2.5 4.0 4bt and now this 2.8. I need to get some miles on it but I’m definitely the most impressed with this one. The 4bt was awesome but I didn’t do the conversion so it wasn’t the way I wanted it, and I will say it was to loud a engine for every day driving especially long distances. This one is perfect in my opinion but I don’t like gas vehicles haha. I’d one day like to do a 3.0 v6 tdi swap out of the vw Touareg but will see on that one.

I am impressed with the kit from Axis, although it took a long time to get the radiator and fan ( not their fault) the kit is top notch quality and pretty straight forward although some instructions would have been nice for some of it. I was able to call Kevin and get everything figured out and I think I documented most everything I had to get clarification on. I still have to get AC lines made ( I wish those were supplied with the kit ) and everything hooked up for that. It’s a very tight fit on the passenger side and more than likely need to remove the intercooler tubes to get the AC lines attached. The battery is a narrow red top and is a very tight fit with both the ecu and pcm. I had to remove the 3 plugs going into the pcm to get the battery to slide into place, But it fits.

We have some pretty steep grades above 6k feet where I live so hoping to get some good comparison footage so you can see the power difference.
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I can't wait for you to get their updated tune. It's a bit subtle, but it really seemed to smooth everything out a bit and give you a little extra kick.

That V6 VW TDI build sounds really awesome. I'm not really a big fan of V6 engines in general, but I've got to see that build and V6 gives you some different installation options. I had a GTI VR6 (which was supposed to be a compact diesel, but never worked out well) for a really long time that was a lot of fun and I looked briefly at the V6 TDI/drivtrain so I could have an AWD diesel that was still very quick. Just too big of a project for me and going fast just doesn't interest me much so I sold the GTI.

Now that I've got my Jeep squared away, there's a part of me that wants to build a small crewcab truck with a flatbed. I'm thinking maybe an early 2000s S10, but funds aren't gonna catch up for awhile so I'll just have to live vicariously through others' builds.
 
FireJeep said:
That is good to hear!!! I just bought a 1996 F350 crew cab diesel in anticipation of doing this swap next spring. I gotta have something to drive......
Thanks for the replies and for doing this thread!!!
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That's a good truck once you can work through all the stuff that just happens with old trucks. That's one of my favorite looking bodies. I really wanted one with a 12V conversion, but honestly a 7.3 is a great engine.
 
Having a bit of an issue with the jackwagon that drove the tractor trailer to deliver it, they did about $3000 worth of dents and scratches to it, not to mention the cab clearance lights were missing when it showed up along with the hub cap/axle cover on the right rear...... The truck only has 78,000 miles on it, the interior is a little worn but not horrible, the rest of the truck seems pretty sound.....
 
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Got the banks exhaust fitted today. the kit is for a stock lj so the muffler flange originally bolts to the cat and since we don’t have that anymore I purchased a strait 2.5 inch by 4 feet of stainless pipe and cut to size. I think it turned out pretty good. Had to modify the tip slightly down since there is a hitch on this jeep. It sounds good I’ll get a video of that later.


All that’s left is custom ac lines an egt gauge, trailer brake controller and we should be good

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That looks great. I still haven't finished my exhaust. I kinda like it short and stubby, but it's pure laziness on my part.
 
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