Building a diesel powered RHD TJ Wrangler (Picture Heavy)

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

Hey TJers,

I got my new GT1752v turbo in and installed into my BEW TDI swapped TJ Wrangler. The turbo bolted up and fit perfectly. Once the turbo was in place I went about getting it all plumbed for exhaust, oil, vacuum and intercooler piping. Though in getting the pictures ready for this post I realized I forgot to take pictures of the new turbo before I installed it.

It would have been really nice to run a newer style turbo on my swap but at this point, almost 4 years into this build, I'm just wanting my TJ back on the road and more importantly back on the trails. The GT1752v was quite literally a bolt on, there were no issues getting it installed at all.

Next I turned my attention to making a downpipe for the turbo to connect up to the rest of my exhaust system. I had gotten a flange made from KubotaSwappers so that I could fabricate a downpipe that would connect to the back of my turbo. I was planning on using my plasma cutting table to make one myself but my plasma cutter is not working at the moment.

With the exhaust all figured out, I then went about figuring out how to hook up the oiling system for the turbo. I had ordered a kit so that I could put together my own oil return line from the turbo to the TDI block. However the placement of my motor mounts interfered with the supplied fitting for the turbo. I ended up modifying the original return line by using a ¼ NPT die and attaching a ¼ NPT to 3/8 barb fitting to the turbo which worked perfectly.

Finally I hooked up all my boost piping and the vacuum for the turbo. The TDI fires right up, sounds great, but I have other issues I'm still trying to solve at this point. It's a project though and I'm just happy to still be moving forward with everything.

Here is the video if you want to watch:

Thanks
Grant

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

Hey TJers,

After finding a power steering pump that worked with hydroboost braking and steering system, I was finally able to do some road testing of my BEW TDI powered TJ Wrangler. I still have a few other issues that I need to address but it's great to get some seat time in my build. Also probably my first post without pictures. I ended up going through so many parts and pumps I stopped taking pictures

Here is the video if you want to watch it:

The power steering pump ended up taking me a little over 3 weeks to figure out. I haven't been able to find out much information on the VW power steering pumps and ended up trying a bunch of different pumps, pulleys and serpentine belts to get everything working. What I did learn is that the stock VW power steering pump on a BEW TDI is 100bar pump or 1450psi. I know my hydroboost setup requires between 1300 ~ 1500 psi to work but it also requires 2.5 ~ 3.5 Gallons Per Minute of volume as well.

The stock pump wasn't able to supply the volume I needed even though it had the correct pressure. I ended up getting a power steering pump off of a MK4 Jetta with a 2.8l V6 (VR6?) which is also a 100 Bar pump but has larger GPM though I don't know what the actual amount is. The MK4 Jetta Power Steering Pump was able to provide enough to finally allow the power steering and power brakes to work properly on my TDI swapped TJ Wrangler.

With those two systems now working, I decided to take my TJ Wrangler up and down my street a few times. My first impression was just how fast and how much torque the TDI has, even compared to the Kubota. Though I don't feel that is a completely fair comparisons, I never got the intercooler setup correct on the Kubota and I never had a good torque converter in the Kubota either. The TDI has been great so far and it's a blast to give it some throttle and hear the turbo whistling as I drive my TJ up and down my street.

There are things I need to address, specially I'm going to work on swapping out the Ford 6r80 transmission with another one. I know my current transmission has several faults and I bought another 6r80 with a stock torque converter and lower miles that I'm going to swap into my TJ to see if it fixes the issues I've been having, mainly not shifting automatically and giving me error codes for both the Input Spend Sensor and Output Speed Sensor as well.

For the first time in 4 years I feel like my TJ is almost done and ready to be back on the road.

-Grant

 

[Sea Cot]

That first successful test drive is a great feeling, eh? After you sort out the trans, do you have any major plans for the perpetual project or just tinker with the fine details and maintenance? Looking back, would you do it all over again?

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

That first successful test drive is a great feeling, eh? After you sort out the trans, do you have any major plans for the perpetual project or just tinker with the fine details and maintenance? Looking back, would you do it all over again?

Completely missed this. So yeah I have two more projects kind of planned, I want to build my 1947 CJ-2a and honestly I want to build a LHD TJ though I'll be doing something different with that build as well.

I would do several things differently again but I'll need to think about over this weekend and I'll update you on that later this weekend.

With that said time for an update on my TJ!

I decided to replace the Ford 6r80 6-speed automatic in my TDI powered TJ Wrangler with another one to see if replacing it that would fix a few problems I had with the transmission, specifically the transmission not shifting automatically.

I've been fighting the Ford 6r80 in my swap for a while now. I made several mistakes with this transmission when I original purchased it. First I didn't ask any questions about the transmission when I got it. All I know is it was a 2012 Ford 6r80 automatic out of a F150 with a 5.0l V8. I don't know the mileage or anything else about the transmission.

Secondly I've been using a torque converter that was designed for a different diesel engine. When I was running the Kubota V2403 I had ordered a custom torque converter for that diesel engine, specifically I went to a higher stall and a smaller diameter torque converter to help with the torque the Kubota was producing at idle.

Lastly I didn't do enough research when I first got my Kubota running with the 6r80 transmission. I was getting an OSS error on the Gen1 Quick6 controller which stands for Output Speed Sensor. For whatever reason I thought that sensor was on the transfer case in a 4x4 model of the Ford 6r80, it's not. It's an internal sensor to the transmission.

I've upgraded my Quick6 to a Gen2 controller while I was getting the BEW TDI pulled and install in my TJ Wrangler. Since getting my TJ running again, the Quick6 has never been able to register my speed since I've gotten my TJ running. It uses the Output Speed Sensor to do that, and after reading all the documentation for the controller, and the Quick6 depends on that data to determine when it needs to shift the transmission as well.

So I ended up getting another Ford 6r80 out of a junk yard that had 78K miles on it and it came with the stock torque converter as well for the 5.0l V8 Ford Engine. My hope was running that stock torque converter would work better than the custom converter I had made, which was way too loose for my BEW TDI. Meaning I was having to rev the TDI really high to get the transmission to move.

After 3 days of wrenching on everything, and fixing a wiring issue that I caused on my Quick6 to control my Ford 6r80, I took my TDI powered TJ out for another test drive. For the first time since switching to the Ford 6r80, I had the 6r80 shift to another gear automatically without me having to do it manually with my Lokar shifter.

I have several things I need to address, the transmission tune is way off, I need to replace all the boost clamps as I'm fighting several boost leaks and at some point I'll need to install some gauges as well. With that said, for the first time since I started this build back in 2018, I feel like I can say that I'm finally nearing the end.

Here is the video if you want to watch it:

Thanks
Grant

 

[Wildman]

That is great that you have a shifting auto now. I know it's got to be a great feeling.

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

That is great that you have a shifting auto now. I know it's got to be a great feeling.

It really is, with the engine working good and transmission finally shifting, I feel like I'm finally to the point of fine tuning and just getting the small things buttoned on up my build. I'm so looking forward to the major parts of this build being done so I can start actually going on trips and trails after going on 4 years of work!

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

Hey TJers,

With my transmission now working I now needed to address the boost leaks that I've had on my BEW TDI powered TJ Wrangler to see what my Jeep could do. I knew these VW diesel engines were powerful and could rev but I didn't quite realize just how effortlessly it would be able to propel my TJ down the road.

After the first video of my TJ driving down the road, I had several people comment on how it sounded like I had boost leaks which I did. I had installed clamps that were too big on all of my boost piping. I was able to bottom out the clamp before it was as tight as it needed to be.

I ordered another set of clamps one size smaller and went about redoing all of my intercooler piping. I did try using a different pipe that I thought might fit easier on my lower intercooler inlet but that ended up not working. In the end I re-ranged how I was hooking up the lower boost pipe which went from my turbo to my intercooler which worked out great.

The test drive really surprised me. Until now, I've just been barely able to get on the throttle otherwise I would blow one of the boost pipes off, usually the pipe connected to the turbo. With the correct size clamps this was no longer an issue.

I don't know what I expected but this BEW TDI engine just pulls and pulls hard. I don't even have the best tune and turbo on my setup. I've had this TJ running now with 3 different engine/transmission combos and I can say without a doubt this is the fastest setup that has ever been in my TJ. The combination of the torque and RPM range of the TDI mixed with all the gears on the Ford 6r80 has made it so my TJ zips right along. Is this the fastest TJ in the world, heck no but it's the fastest one I've ever driven personally.

With that boost leaks solved, I now am finding other issues, specifically now the cooling system. I need to give a shout out to David Shoemaker, he sent me all the parts I needed so I can get the cooling system sorted. I did clean out my TJ and do some other small odds and ends such as re-installing the headlight, re-installing my half doors and I now have most of the dashboard put back together.

I still need to tune and do the learning setup the transmission with the Quick6 controller, but I really can't do that until I get my cooling system dialed in. So back to waiting on parts like normal!

Here is the video if you want to watch it:

Let me know what you think!
Thanks
Grant

 

[CV04TJR]

Good to see that you have an engine and transmission that are working together. Very cool

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

Hey TJers,

With parts finally coming in, I added an expansion tank and re-routed some of my coolant hoses on my TDI powered TJ Wrangler to fix the issues I had with the system not wanting to pressurize correctly.

I need to give a shoutout to David Shoemaker, again, for helping me figure the cooling system. David was able to send me the parts he used to on his cooling loop which allowed me to get similar parts for mine. What I have learned from David and others that have done TDI swaps, is that the Volkswagen TDI engine pressurizes the coolant loop to a higher PSI than the factory TJ Wrangler did.

To adjust for this I did the following things to fix the coolant system. I removed a Y adapter and had one cooling line now going to the expansion tank. I used a "T" adapter to connect the steam port on the back of the cylinder head and the overflow port on my factory radiator to connect to another port on my expansion tank. I then put a 0 psi radiator cap on my radiator so the overflow port would have flow to my expansion tank and I put a 21-25 psi radiator cap on my expansion tank.

The tank itself is mounted directly above my battery where my factory ECU for my 4.0l engine was originally mounted. Honestly with how tight my engine bay is becoming it was the only place where it fit. With all that figured out I went for a test drive, and can happily report that I have a cooling system that appears to hold water now without leaking!

After my first test drive, I went to give my daughter a ride in my TJ and kind of comically ran out of diesel fuel at the end of my driveway. As she and I went to get more fuel I realized I hadn't put diesel fuel in my TJ since June 2020. I did check the fuel coming out of the fuel filter and the diesel fuel is good.

However after putting 4 gallons of fuel in the tank, I couldn't get the starter to spin the engine. I also had difficulty spinning the engine by hand with a breaker bar. I did finally get the starter to work and the engine did run but something wasn't happy so I limped my TJ back to my shop.

What I found was my starter was damaged, which I've known for a while so I replaced it with a spare one I had bought last year. Also while doing all of this I decided to just check everything on the swap and found quite a few small odds and ends that I hadn't taken care of. A good example of this is was an open port in my intake pipe that was causing a massive boost leak.

With all those issues tank care of, I took it out for another much longer test drive and figured out the following. First off, my Quick6 TCU that controls my Ford 6r80 doesn't start it's learning process until the transmission hits 160° Fahrenheit. It seemed like very suddenly that the 1 → 2 shift got MUCH better. The other thing I discovered now that I could drive the Wrangler longer is my power steering is still getting too hot so I'll be installing a power steering cooler on the system next time along with gauges.

I feel like I'm almost to the point where I can go get my Wrangler inspected and have it running on the road again.

Here is the video if you want to watch it:

Thanks
Grant

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

Hey TJ,

After weeks of saying I need gauges, I finally collected all the parts and pieces to install my OneGauge Digital Gauges into my diesel swapped TJ Wrangler. The gauges look fantastic, and having all the information about when my driveline is doing is great. Though I did find out I need to update the cooling on my transmission.

I purchased the OneGauge Digital Gauge setup about 18 months ago when I still thought I was going to be running the Kubota V2403 in my diesel swap TJ Wrangler. I bring this up because I've had no issues with getting updates and support from the OneGauge team since I bought their setup. Every-time I've had a question or asked them to update a dashboard to meet my needs they have been very quick to respond and give me an accurate timeframe for when everything will be ready.

Their setup uses an LCD screen, there are multiple types to choose from, and a central hub setup. The hub is where you install all the sensors that will be displayed on the OneGauge LCD screen. It's also where you supply power and key switched power to the system as well.

I switched from my Intellitronix Digital Gauges, which I actually really liked, to the OneGauge setup because I wanted more information where I could easily see it vs having Digital Gauges installed everywhere on my TJ Wrangler. Also being able to customize the dashboards and having different dashboards for different scenarios is really awesome.

Also adding and removing gauges is really easy as well. You just message OneGauge with the gauge you are looking to add, they supply a part number for the sending unit you will need to run, and then they will send an updated firmware for that sending unit and display.

Installation was very straightforward. The most difficult part was figuring out how to mount the LCD screen where my original cluster went. I ended up cutting my mounting solution I had gotten from Autometer for my Intellitronix gauges to mount the LCD for the OneGauge setup.

I'm very impressed with the refresh rate that the OneGauge and also it's ability to adjust different settings in the menu system. You can also setup thresholds that make it very easy to quickly look down at the screen to see if any of the gauges are out of an acceptable operating ranges.

I still haven't gotten the speedometer fully calibrated yet because during all my testing I started having issues with Ford 6r80 transmission. Because I have gauges now I decided to take my Wrangler out farther than I've taken in the last 3½ years and ran into a problem of heat soak with the transmission. So I've ordered a new transmission cooler that I'll trying to install when it gets here somewhere in my front grill.

Here is the video if you want to watch it:

Let me know what you think!
Grant

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

Hey TJers,

At the end of my last video I had to limp my TDI swapped TJ Wrangler back home because I didn't have enough cooling capacity on my Ford 6r80 automatic. I ordered a 6r80 cooler for a Ford Mustang and installed it onto my RHD TJ Wrangler. Unfortunately while testing the cooler, I might have hurt/killed my engine. Good times.

When the new cooler came in I knew it was going to be a challenge to get this installed in between my AC condensor and my radiator. Not only did I have to space out the radiator even more than I had it already, I was also had to cut several of the brackets off the new transmission cooler as well.

During this installing I finally found where all my transmission leaks were coming from as well. I've had a misting of transmission fluid on the underside of my TJ that I haven't been able to figure it out. When I went to rearrange my transmission cooler lines, I was able to pull off every hose without having to remove the spring clamps. So I have replaced all the spring clamps on my Wrangler with hose clamps.

After getting everything all buttoned back up, I did a test fire in my shop, nothing was leaking, everything sounded good but it was after midnight so I decided to wait until the next day to test everything.

Unfortunately I decided to do some quick testing without filming. I took my TJ out and was just cruising up and down my street trying to get everything up to temperature while being close to my house so I could add coolant/transmission fluid as needed once things got warm. I was actually having problems getting the transmission warm so I decided to go about 1.5 miles done my street to get more heat into everything.

As I was going around a blind turn, I know my coolant was at around 160° and after the turn I looked down and my coolant temperature went from 200° to 210° to 220° VERY quickly and the engine shut off. I pulled off the road, called my wife and I got my Wrangler back to the house with my wife's help.

I haven't started tearing into everything yet, but at this moment I can not spin the motor with a starter or a socket wrench on the crankshaft bolt. I haven't tried forcing it either yet, still trying to figure out what I should do next. I know where another BEW TDI engine is that I might go pick up this coming week. I'm going to take apart the front my engine this weekend on the off chance that the water pump seized which is what caused both my coolant temperature to skyrocket and my engine to be currently locked up. I guess we'll see.

Here is the video if you want to watch it:

Thanks
Grant

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

Hey TJers,

I figured out what happened with my BEW TDI engine. Turns out the engine was not locked up. It was a combination of several things that lead me to believe I had an internal issue with my BEW TDI diesel engine.

It took me disassembling the entire front end of my TJ Wrangler to figure out that a wire crimp had failed going from my battery to the starter. The crimp on this starter power wire was important for two reasons. One, it supplies power to the starter motor from the battery when the solenoid is engaged from key switch start power. Secondly, and more importantly, I piggy back off of that main power terminal on the starter to supply hot power to my TDI ECU.

That crimp failing is what both caused the engine to turn off, and the main reason I thought the engine was locked up as well. I had tried turning the engine over several times, however for years I had been told by several mentors that if you think an engine has been damaged, do not try to spin the rotating assembly by force, you could actually make things worse. Between the engine suddenly cutting off, being able to hear what I thought was the starter failing to spin the motor, and this diesel engine having a ton of compression what I tried to rotate it but not wanting to force it spin, I thought I had damaged my engine, when in fact nothing there was nothing physically wrong with my TDI the entire time.

Since I had taken apart the entire front end of my TJ Wrangler to inspect the engine, I went ahead and pulled the valve cover again, checked everything in the head, and also pulled the oil pan and did an oil change at the same time. I'm glad I pulled the oil pan as I found a good number of the bolts holding the oil pan to the engine were loose and the pan was also leaking quite a bit of oil as well. After cleaning all the mating surfaces on both the pan and the block, I applied "The Right Stuff" to the surface of the oil pan and reinstalled it on the block.

From I went about re-installing everything I had taken off along with pouring in some new Shell T6 full synthetic oil and installing a new oil filter as well. After getting everything put back together, I was able to hear it run again which was music to my ears. The following morning I re-installed the winch and headlights before work. I was hoping to do some road testings yesterday afternoon and evening. Unfortunately a massive rain/thunderstorm proceeded to hit my area and I only got to take my TJ on a quick test drive right before dark last night during a small break in the weather.

Everything felt good and sounded good during the test drive, though I ran into an issue with my new gauges rebooting while I was driving. Aside from that small hiccup, everything worked great, though I did discover that even with a soft 1 - 2 shift, this little TDI engine has more than enough torque to break both rear tires loose on wet pavement, though I'm certainly not complaining!

Here is the video if you want to watch it:

Thanks
Grant

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

Hey TJers,

Like so many other areas on this project, I've decided to switch the gauges I'm using on my build. Installing these Autometer Ultra-Lite gauges will be the third set of gauges that I will have installed on my diesel swapped TJ Wrangler.

The first thing I want to say is the OneGauge LCD setup I just took out is a fantastic product. I like the dashboards and the way you can customize everything from the menu system. I also really came to appreciate how simple the wiring is on the OneGauge when I was wiring up my Autometer Gauges. The only reason I decided to not run the OneGauge setup is it just didn't look right in my TJ Wrangler to me. That's it, nothing else. I'll be using the OneGauge setup on another project I own if I can ever get this TJ Wrangler done.



Oddly enough the reason I went with these gauges is because I already owned half of them before deciding to install them. I had been acquiring these gauges for the last several years for my 1947 CJ-2A build that I will be doing. Like so many things on this TJ project, I've already decided to use another set of gauges on my CJ-2a as well. I've learned my lesson to not buy parts for upcoming projects until I'm actually ready to start working on them . . . mostly.

The gauges I went with are a Speedometer, Tachometer, EGT, Boost, Coolant and Fuel Level Gauge. I skipped on a Volt gauge because my Quick6 will display an error message if my voltage drops and I didn't get an oil pressure gauge because the stock VW cluster didn't have one and admittedly I ran out of funds, I can always come back later and add one.

The speedometer is unique because I choose to run Autometer Marine GPS Speedometer. I went with the marine speedometer because I wanted the highest resolution of data when looking at my speed. What I mean by this is that when I select any gauge, I want to use around 75% of the gauge on a normal basis. If you look at Autometer's automotive GPS gauges, they range from 120mph, 160mph and 200mph. I'll never go anywhere near that fast so I'd only be using a small portion of the gauge. Also the Marine Speedometer can tell me several other useful things such as heading, current GPS location, Trip, Odometer and hours run as well which can be very useful information.

The Autometer tachometer is specifically diesel engines, which is interesting because you have to install a sensor on the casing of your alternator for it to work. I did something similar with the Kubota diesel engine I was running at first by going of the "W" terminal and I have to say once you get the Autometer tachometer adjusted, it updates VERY fast and works extremely well.

The other gauges are pretty straight forward, I ordered gauges in ranges where I would use the majority of the gauge so it's easier to read the information at a glance. So my boost gauge goes to 35psi which works as I believe my peak boost should be around 26psi. My coolant temperature goes from 60° to 210° because I really should never be over 210°, if I am, there is a problem. For my EGT gauge I went with 1600° because I know I'm not suppose to sustain temperatures over 1400° and truthfully I don't like it when it gets over 1300°. The last gauge is my fuel level gauge which is programmable so I don't have to adjust the fuel level sending arm in my tank to get an accurate reading on how much fuel I have, though I still haven't set that up yet.

In terms of making the custom mounts, I ended up using ⅛ ABS Plastic sheets so I could arrange the gauges how I wanted them and to make sure none of the gauges would get blocked by my steering wheel. When I had the Intellitronix gauges installed, the two gauges in the upper left and right hand corners were always cut off from my view because of the steering wheel. I also had cut up Autometer's TJ Wrangler Gauge Mounting Solution #5381. It took me several attempts to get the arrangement correct and I'm sure there were better ways I could have done it but I got it to work in the end.

I still have a bit of work to do to get all the gauges done. I haven't programmed the fuel level gauge yet and I need to install a new GPS Antenna for my speedometer as well. I've own the antenna for years and at some point kinked the cable which is causing an "Ant Shrt" error message on my gauge. Overall I'm very pleased with how the Autometer gauges came out and I'm looking forward to see how they work once I get a few minor issues resolved.

Here is the video if you want to watch it:

Thanks
Grant

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

Hey TJers,

I think for the first time since I have swapped out the original drivetrain fro my TJ Wrangler, I finally have all my temperatures under control on my TDI swapped Right Hand Drive TJ Wrangler. To get my coolant temperatures where I wanted them, I just had to replace the timing belt, water pump, coolant flush, lower temperature thermostat and wire my two speed electric fan to always run on low speed when the engine was running.

This has been an adventure in my to get my coolant temperatures under control. I couldn't figure out why I was suddenly having issues with my temperatures when they seemed better fine before. I eventually realized it was a mixture of a couple of changes. Right before I installed my Autometer gauges, I had to move radiator further into my engine bay to make room for my transmission cooler which I believe caused everything else to run hotter. ALSO my coolant system has had dirt/mud in it from when I had my Kubota diesel engine in my TJ as well. Turns out that dirt/mud clogged up the factory thermostat which wasn't helping things either.

Initially I had replaced my thermostat with a factory 192° thermostat after I flushed my coolant system and my temps on my coolants were still getting hotter than I like. It didn't help that my coolant gauge only goes to 210°. I had a few people point out that TDIs will run upwards of 220° which is normal, but I don't like running my equipment that hot, I like to get all my fluid temperatures under 200° whenever possible.

After replacing the thermostat with a stock temperature and flushing the coolant system I was still having my temperatures hotter than I liked. At this point I decided it would be best to take the timing belt off my BEW TDI engine so I could see what water pump had been installed when the timing belt was last changed. When I got the belt off and the water pump out I noticed two things. First both the water pump, tensioner and idler bearings were all generic parts made in China. Secondly the impeller on the water pump was a composite plastic versus being made of metal.

After seeing all that, I decided to replace the timing belt with a Gates kit and put in a German made water pump with a metal impeller from Geba. As a side note, I tried to design my swap so it would be easy to do maintenance on all the various components. For the timing belt, the only thing I had to remove was the serpentine belt and I had more than enough room to replace all the components associated to the timing belt on my BEW TDI. After getting everything replaced and water back in the system, I noticed significantly more flow in my expansion tank compared to the water pump with the composite plastic impeller.

After getting everything replaced, I took my TJ out for a test drive first with my electric fan off, specifically to see how the engine would cool itself. My temps would hang around 188° ~ 198° with the fan off. When I got back to my place to check everything, my temperatures at idle with no fan raised to around 205°.

After grounding out the relay for the low speed on my electric fan, my temperatures dropped from 205° to 185° in less than a minute. After that I took my TJ out on the longest test drive to date with this swap. Everything temperature related finally seems under control. I was able to climb long up hills with a peak EGT of around 1150°, transmission temperatures were around 192° and my coolant temperatures was right at 185° while maintaining 15psi of boost at 2100 rpm.

To date, this is best the temperatures have been on my swap on all my systems on my TDI swap. I decided to try taking it on the highway, and everything was going great until I had my transmission downshift out of overdrive again. I thought I had this problem solved but clearly it's still an issue. Like everything else on this swap, I get one problem resolved and another one shows itself. Regardless my TDI powered TJ Wrangler is getting closer and closer to being done. I just need to keep my head done and figure out the these remaining issues.


Here is the video if you want to watch it:

Thanks
Grant

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

Hey TJers,

I finally got the transmission to work with the TDI diesel engine in my Right Hand Drive TJ Wrangler and it's thanks to my daughter for helping me figure out what the issue was. For the first time in 3½ years, I have all the major components of my Wrangler figured out so I can drive it anywhere with confidence.

I've been chasing an issue with my Ford 6r80 6-speed automatic transmission where it appeared to downshift out of overdrive, usually when I was traveling at 55mph in 5th gear and would go to 3rd gear instead. After a while driving at 55mph, the transmission would downshift into 3rd gear. At the time I didn't know if it was an issue with my transmission, the Quick6 controller, my wiring or even the tune I had made. All of the technology I was using was so new that I didn't know what the issue was or where to look. Because of this, I had been limiting my testing of my BEW TDI engine and the rest of the drivetrain on the Wrangler to under 50mph as it would only go into 4th gear.

My daughter this past weekend wanted to help me with my Wrangler, so I got her to operate my laptop, watch the dashboard and start a data log of everything the Ford 6r80 was doing in the hopes we would catch the downshift in the logs. My thought was it would point me in a direction to where the problem was with my setup.

Much to my surprise for 45 minutes of driving on a hot day, the transmission never downshifted once while my daughter was at the helm with the laptop. It was honestly the most baffling thing I had ever experienced. My daughter was having a blast riding in my Wrangler and I frustrated that it wasn't acting up like it normally would.

My daughter made the comment that she thought the laptop might be why the transmission was working. So I unplugged my laptop and my daughter and I went for another test drive. Not even a minute into traveling 55mph, the transmission downshift into 3rd again. My daughter told me "Hey dad, the Quick6 just turned off and back on again". The transmission wasn't downshifting, the Quick6 controller for the transmission was losing power, rebooting, and putting the transmission into a gear while Jeep was already moving.


What the issue ended up being was I had too small of a wire to supply power to my Quick6 controller. The instructions for the Quick6 controller even said to make sure to use a heavy gauge wire. It was an oversight on my part when I initially installed the Quick6 into my Wrangler over a year ago. I took the opportunity to also replace my battery terminals with some quality ones from Fastronics which have been working out great as well.

I have now put over 200 miles on my diesel swapped TJ Wrangler over the past few days now and I've had a blast driving my build. The more seat time I have in my Jeep, the more little things I notice that need to be addressed or adjusted, but none of that matters because after 3½ years of hard work, I finally of the diesel TJ Wrangler I've been wanting for so long.

Here is the video if you want to watch it:

Thanks
Grant

 

[Apparition]

Hey TJers,

I finally got the transmission to work with the TDI diesel engine in my Right Hand Drive TJ Wrangler and it's thanks to my daughter for helping me figure out what the issue was. For the first time in 3½ years, I have all the major components of my Wrangler figured out so I can drive it anywhere with confidence.

View attachment 356700

I've been chasing an issue with my Ford 6r80 6-speed automatic transmission where it appeared to downshift out of overdrive, usually when I was traveling at 55mph in 5th gear and would go to 3rd gear instead. After a while driving at 55mph, the transmission would downshift into 3rd gear. At the time I didn't know if it was an issue with my transmission, the Quick6 controller, my wiring or even the tune I had made. All of the technology I was using was so new that I didn't know what the issue was or where to look. Because of this, I had been limiting my testing of my BEW TDI engine and the rest of the drivetrain on the Wrangler to under 50mph as it would only go into 4th gear.

My daughter this past weekend wanted to help me with my Wrangler, so I got her to operate my laptop, watch the dashboard and start a data log of everything the Ford 6r80 was doing in the hopes we would catch the downshift in the logs. My thought was it would point me in a direction to where the problem was with my setup.

View attachment 356701

Much to my surprise for 45 minutes of driving on a hot day, the transmission never downshifted once while my daughter was at the helm with the laptop. It was honestly the most baffling thing I had ever experienced. My daughter was having a blast riding in my Wrangler and I frustrated that it wasn't acting up like it normally would.

My daughter made the comment that she thought the laptop might be why the transmission was working. So I unplugged my laptop and my daughter and I went for another test drive. Not even a minute into traveling 55mph, the transmission downshift into 3rd again. My daughter told me "Hey dad, the Quick6 just turned off and back on again". The transmission wasn't downshifting, the Quick6 controller for the transmission was losing power, rebooting, and putting the transmission into a gear while Jeep was already moving.


What the issue ended up being was I had too small of a wire to supply power to my Quick6 controller. The instructions for the Quick6 controller even said to make sure to use a heavy gauge wire. It was an oversight on my part when I initially installed the Quick6 into my Wrangler over a year ago. I took the opportunity to also replace my battery terminals with some quality ones from Fastronics which have been working out great as well.

View attachment 356704

I have now put over 200 miles on my diesel swapped TJ Wrangler over the past few days now and I've had a blast driving my build. The more seat time I have in my Jeep, the more little things I notice that need to be addressed or adjusted, but none of that matters because after 3½ years of hard work, I finally of the diesel TJ Wrangler I've been wanting for so long.

Here is the video if you want to watch it:

Thanks
Grant

Great story, glad you two were able to figure it out.

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

Great story, glad you two were able to figure it out.

If I thought we would have figured out the issue, I would have my GoPros recording. My daughter and I went for the drive the day after my her 12 birthday and she really has having a blast getting Jeep waves and riding around with the half doors as well. It's amazing what a fresh perspective can do when trying to solve a problem.

My daughter has been wanting to get a yellow TJ Wrangler and wants to do a diesel swap on it with me. After helping me figure out this issue, she is well on her way to getting her wish

 

[Apparition]

If I thought we would have figured out the issue, I would have my GoPros recording. My daughter and I went for the drive the day after my her 12 birthday and she really has having a blast getting Jeep waves and riding around with the half doors as well. It's amazing what a fresh perspective can do when trying to solve a problem.

My daughter has been wanting to get a yellow TJ Wrangler and wants to do a diesel swap on it with me. After helping me figure out this issue, she is well on her way to getting her wish

Sounds like another build thread to me.

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

Sounds like another build thread to me.

Yup it will be and I'm planning on using all the left over parts that I have used over the years on this build. I actually still have a TDI engine left over, a few transmission and various other parts as well!

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

Hey TJers,

So this is going to be a somewhat long post and the official welcome to Take 5 of this build


How I really feel right now:

ANYWAYS

Over the last three weeks I've addressed so many issues on my TDI swapped RHD TJ Wrangler. I've changed the turbo to one that is closer to a stock BEW Turbo and I've gotten the Hydroboost brakes finally working as well. With that said though, I'm going to be pulling the Ford 6r80 6-speed automatic out. I've been fighting so many issues with the 6r80 since I installed the transmission 18 months ago, so I'm going back to an AW4 4-speed automatic out of a XJ Cherokee.

Let's start with the turbo. The turbo I was running worked well, but the boost came on like an on and off switch and it was LOUD. A majority of this issue was because I didn't have the correct tune. In researching getting another tune for my ECU, I happened upon this turbo. Not only was very similar to the stock BEW Turbo, which is what my tune was setup for, but the turbo has a better bearing installed and billet center section as well. This new turbo is MUCH quieter and the boost now comes on in a more linear manor compared to the turbo I had installed previously.

The other thing I did while swapping the turbo out was switch the exhaust manifolds as well. I had a spare exhaust manifold for my build which I sent off to Jet-Hot to get my exhaust manifold ceramic coated. I did this for a number of reasons, but the main reason being I wanted to reduce how hot it was getting in my engine bay. The jet coat has reduce the temperature significantly but with all the issues with the transmission, I haven't had time to really test it and get accurate temperatures to see how much of a change it has made.

Next the Hydroboost with the power steering. SO many changes here. First I destroyed a $200 power steering pump because I didn't bleed the system correctly. After that I decided to change everything, new fluid reservoir from Holley with dual return ports, 10mm silicone hoses for the return lines, a new Volkswagen Armork power steering pump pulley AND bypassing the radiator's transmission cooler so that I now finally have working Hydroboost brakes and steering on my TJ Wrangler.

Finally onto the transmission. I have been fighting the Ford 6r80 since I decided to run it 18 months ago. I think it's a great transmission but there are just too many unknowns with the torque converter and tuning with the Quick6 that I haven't been able to get resolved. I initially decided to switch to the 6r80 because of the small RPM operating window the Kubota V2403 had which was about 800rpm. The BEW TDI operating RPM window is something like 3500rpm, so in all reality I don't need all the gears the 6r80 has to offer.


If it worked, I was going to run it, having a granny low first gear and two over drives is really nice but with all the issues I've been having I'm going to pull it out. I haven't really shown it on video but taking off from a stop in 1st gear with a 4.16:1 first gear, the Jeep is just sluggish. It's not until around 5mph that it actually starts to take off hard. That is mostly just torque converter, or at least that is the thought and part of the unknowns I've been having with this transmission.


So with that said I'm going to be switching back to the AW4 out of an XJ Cherokee and running the CompuShift Sport TCU to control the transmission. At this point on this project, I want to use parts and components that I know will work well together. The BEW TDI works and I know the AW4 will work as well so that is what I'm going to.

Here is the video if you want to watch it:

Thanks
Grant