I have the same 3 year old agm battery that my 4.0 had, but I also have a 27 series deep cell battery for the rear winch that is wired directly to the engine starting battery. I did not route my crankcase venting hose to the intake tract, instead I routed it to the bottom of the radiator where it vents into the air. On occasion I smell some oil vapor coming from the crankcase vent, but it isn't terrible.
Cummins R2.8 97 TJ
- Thread starter nuffsaid
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I have the same 3 year old agm battery that my 4.0 had, but I also have a 27 series deep cell battery for the rear winch that is wired directly to the engine starting battery. I did not route my crankcase venting hose to the intake tract, instead I routed it to the bottom of the radiator where it vents into the air. On occasion I smell some oil vapor coming from the crankcase vent, but it isn't terrible.
Cummins changed their battery specs since I installed my engine and my OEM battery didn't last long. I ended up with 1 huge AGM battery, but I should have just gone dual battery. I do have dual battery, but the other is just an aux battery that's isolated from start up.
i was planning on doing a dual battery set up too.
also, I ran out of time. My last year in Fairbanks was kinda Hectic. Alaska Tent and Tarp makes one off radiator covers. i have one for my F-350. i wanted to get one for the Jeep. but i didn’t think i’d drive it much in winter. so it took a seat on the back burner.
super nice product. Cardboard always works of course. but if you have lots of winter.
also, I ran out of time. My last year in Fairbanks was kinda Hectic. Alaska Tent and Tarp makes one off radiator covers. i have one for my F-350. i wanted to get one for the Jeep. but i didn’t think i’d drive it much in winter. so it took a seat on the back burner.
super nice product. Cardboard always works of course. but if you have lots of winter.
The worst thing for me is that I have brackets and everything for dual battery and my battery is a dual-purpose, which in my experience means, doesn't last as long and really should have just used starting batteries, as they're better for winching and starting and 2 batteries gives enough capacity to run the grid heater for a bit and starting duties when it's cold in my area.
Really I think I just wanted to see how big of a battery I could fit rather than do dual battery. I put a group 31 in there and it fit with a little tweaking.
Really I think I just wanted to see how big of a battery I could fit rather than do dual battery. I put a group 31 in there and it fit with a little tweaking.
I have been having a lot of fun with my Jeep this winter. I did replace the thermostat last month and it's a big improvement. The thermostat temp is 180 and now I can actually maintain 170+ now. Kind of weird to have to replace a thermostat on a new engine with 2000 miles. I might bring the old one with me next time I am close to a cummins dealer and get it warrantied. I added a TDI performance tuning box that is rated for an additional 50 hp and about 60 ft lbs, it really woke up the little R2.8. Several days ago I rerouted my crankcase vent hose to the intake tract because I was getting tired of breathing the blow by. Much better now. This little engine really surprises me when it comes to spinning tires in deep snow, I constantly see the tach at 4000 rpms pulling hard to get through snow drifts. I was also driving through 8-10 inches of snow the other day and the engine was pulling 4th gear low range pretty well until the snow suddenly got deep, lol. I am in the process of sourcing spare chrome moly axles for my front end and so far I have new 30 spline 4340 outer axles, new yukon hardcore locking hubs and new yukon hardcore axle ujoints. I am still waiting on my front inner axle shafts from currie that are supposed to ship the end of the week. My current front axle shafts are chrome moly I believe and they are running alloy usa ujoints (made in china) so I am not super confident of their quality. When axle joints fail, they usually take out the ears of the axle shaft and because my front axle isn't stock, I want spares to keep in my tool box.
Winter storm warning here starting tomorrow, woo hoo, more snow to play in!!!!!
Another winter storm warning starting tomorrow! Let's see how much snow we get this time. Last storm gave us about 6-8 inches and then the wind blew and made huge drifts everywhere. My buddy burried his F350 up to the windows today and had to crawl out of a window to shovel himself out. I got my new chrome moly front axle shafts installed yesterday along with yukon hardcore ujoints and yukon hardcore locking hubs. Now it is time to play and know that if I break a front axle shaft at least I have a spare.
Jake kozlowski
TJ Enthusiast
Reviving an older thread....
Starting my R2.8 swap, and was looking into this dash setup, but havent seen much on the tach working. I see you got yours working.... any details would be greatly appreciated.
Jake kozlowski
TJ Enthusiast
I'm about to start one! I just got the motor earlier this month and have started getting the old one out.
It's very helpful in the future if you document all of this and video is even nicer. I have to recheck my own stuff sometimes. R2.8 is a great fit for a TJ. It's just too bad you couldn't order something similar from Jeep at the time. It's not the most robust engine. I wish it was a 6BT, but moves a TJ around the way a TJ should drive from the factory.
With the state and price of new vehicles, if you have the time, skill, room, money to build, I think it's a no brainer compared to the price of a new and even a lot of used vehicles. If you even look at something comparable like a Wrangler with the Eco-diesel, there's a lot to like about the eco-diesel, but it's not a robust engine and it's much more expensive to replace and it has inherent issues over the life of the engine. The R2.8 is not a perfect engine and I would love having a 300 or 400 hp diesel under the hood, but for the wheelbase ~200hp is very friendly for all around driving and comparable towing. It'll pull way more than your TJ can stop, but that's pretty much the same for any TJ engine due to the wheelbase in my experience.
Congrats, but now the work is about to begin.
Jake kozlowski
TJ Enthusiast
Completely agree! I've been following your YouTube and I have thought this motor would be a killer power plant for a TJ since I saw it on motortrend years ago! I'll need to read through your forum as well to prep me for the hiccups along the way.
It's a big project but should be a fun one!
It is a fairly big project, depending on kits and stuff. If you make everything yourself, it's a much bigger project. I have the tendency to over design and try to make everything perfect, which would have caused me to never get mine even running, so I knew I had to buy a kit when I got my engine and that really sped up my build.
I have been meaning to do an update on my Jeep (especially the areas I messed up), but my transmission started going out (because I just went with my 180k mile transmission and it apparently didn't love ~ 300 ft lbs) like 2+ years ago and most of that time I've been debating what transmission to even get. I get my new transmission hopefully at the end of this month and hopefully I'll be able to install it December/January. I have beat the transmission stuff to death in my head and forums and in person with other builders and transmission providers before I actually decided what I'd get, so I'll be very interested and somewhat opinionated when I do follow your build posts.
i wonder if that’s the problem with my grid heater. i’ve got the generic stock gas engine battery
i’ve never had the Grid heater work.
I’ve get about two starts till i drain the battery, too many other issues i’m dealing with to worry about the battery.
but the other day i ran the tank empty and drained the battery trying to get it started up. guy came over with a 2000 amp pocket battery jump box.
the fastest i’ve ever seen the engine turn over. I will be ordering one to keep in the bin once i get this jeep trail worthy
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C42Y5TPD/?tag=wranglerorg-20
I used the OEM size battery when I installed my R2.8 and the grid heater worked fine, but it would start slow. My Cummins manual only called out CCA and not AH. The newer manuals mention both and basically I think they want to steer you towards a Cummins brand Group 31 I think.
I think your grid heater problem is different and my R2.8 uses the grid heater at EVERY single startup regardless of ambient temps and/or engine temps.
Jake kozlowski
TJ Enthusiast
To the intelitronix question on the Tach, I run mine in 8 cylinder mode and the tach is very close to the murphy guage, within a couple percent. I also have a rear winch and installed a second 27 series battery for the winch that is tied into the main battery. On cold starts, the grid heater pulls the voltage down to about 10.5 volts, but my main starting battery is a 4 year old AGM that still tests good. I have about 3500 miles on my swap and I love the engine off road. I added a TDI tuning box for an additional 50+ hp and 60+ torque. I don't drive highway much, but while deer hunting last month I needed to get a couple new batteries for my truck camper so I took a 120 mile round trip in the TJ and based on fuel used on the murphy guage, I was at 25 mpg, not bad for 35 inch mud tires and 4.56 gears. I usually drive 60-65 mph. So far my AX15 trans is surviving, but I try not to work it real hard in 5th gear.