Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ radiator

Cummins R2.8 swap Alaska build

It's still a PITA because it's going to be easy to hit too when you install the motor Just make sure the fitting to the AL oil cooler has an oring seal and is torqued properly and you'll be fine. I just didn't get the sensor into the adapter right and then rushed around when it was leaking oil and didn't properly get my wrench on the adapter. Completely stupid, but you're going to make mistakes unless you do this for a living and then you may have a few swaps where you don't make some mistakes.

And conversely you don't want to have the sensor installed perfectly and then slightly tap something inside the frame while you're struggling getting everything inside the frame lined up and shear a sensor off or something.

Agreed! No crazy rush on the swap since I'm still awaiting parts to get to Alaska.

This weekend will be dropping the fuel tank and adding submersible hose. Then the part I don't want to tackle, cleaning up wiring in the engine bay and getting the old ecm out!

Might rip out the old cluster and mock up an aluminum gauge cluster... Well without the gauges.

More to follow!!!
 
Agreed! No crazy rush on the swap since I'm still awaiting parts to get to Alaska.

This weekend will be dropping the fuel tank and adding submersible hose. Then the part I don't want to tackle, cleaning up wiring in the engine bay and getting the old ecm out!

Might rip out the old cluster and mock up an aluminum gauge cluster... Well without the gauges.

More to follow!!!

Just get a good pin out and a schematic for everything and the engine stuff is very easy, especially since you're going with aftermarket gauges. From there just go slow and sometimes the 97 doesn't match all the TJ stuff. You could actually REALLY clean up your wiring with the diesel swap, but verifying everything as you go is really gonna be a time suck.

When I got my engine, I was so excited because I had been planning a diesel swap for years and years and I'd always dreamt of building in general, but never had a clear enough idea to start spending money. So I rushed some stuff working 14-16+ hr days for weeks once I started having stuff arrive.
 
If it ever makes sense to build vs buy new, you should look at that payment, the taxes and the insurance you'll spend and compared to these older vehicles are incredibly cheaper to operate and that build list can get pricey, but not in the same neighborhood. Not to include that I like having and practicing my skills and I like building in general. I know someone is a better builder than I am, but also I'm capable of keeping a shit box on the road. Of course right now I'm kind of burned out on working on equipment and I want to get out and enjoy the outdoors and not busting my knuckles and emptying my wallet all the time.

When I was thinking about a new truck, I told my wife the monthly cost and she was like, wow you could do a lot to your current truck for that. I literally purchased my house for less than a new truck even before the necessary delete and tune kit. I guess new houses are insane right now, but seriously how much do you have to make to not care about spending that much?
 
If it ever makes sense to build vs buy new, you should look at that payment, the taxes and the insurance you'll spend and compared to these older vehicles are incredibly cheaper to operate and that build list can get pricey, but not in the same neighborhood. Not to include that I like having and practicing my skills and I like building in general. I know someone is a better builder than I am, but also I'm capable of keeping a shit box on the road. Of course right now I'm kind of burned out on working on equipment and I want to get out and enjoy the outdoors and not busting my knuckles and emptying my wallet all the time.

When I was thinking about a new truck, I told my wife the monthly cost and she was like, wow you could do a lot to your current truck for that. I literally purchased my house for less than a new truck even before the necessary delete and tune kit. I guess new houses are insane right now, but seriously how much do you have to make to not care about spending that much?

It all comes down to what works best for you at the given time I suppose. We all could have bought a diesel JL for close to what we will be spending on our own builds. I've always wanted a diesel swap my TJ since purchased back in 2007.. I'm in the same boat not wanting to wrench, but then i buy the tools that make it much easier to do so. Not just working with a off the shelf craftsman socket set anymore. I still love the look of a TJ over the newer Jeeps. THey all look good, but I have a tone of great memories in the ol TJ :]


Prices of houses.... whole that's a whole different story....
 
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and it’s not Red

IMG_0222.jpeg
 
It all comes down to what works best for you at the given time I suppose. We all could have bought a diesel JL for close to what we will be spending on our own builds. I've always wanted a diesel swap my TJ since purchased back in 2007.. I'm in the same boat not wanting to wrench, but then i buy the tools that make it much easier to do so. Not just working with a off the shelf craftsman socket set anymore. I still love the look of a TJ over the newer Jeeps. THey all look good, but I have a tone of great memories in the ol TJ :]


Prices of houses.... whole that's a whole different story....

I think TJ's are the newest old school vehicle with a lot of the better designs without as much of the stupidity. I think the R2.8 is a better engine, though different class, to work with after a decade than the 3.0 Ecodiesel, which has faults and it's going to be complicated and it's going to cost A LOT in the future.

However my wife likes the Gladiators and I can't stand the lack of low end from a v6 gas engine. The fact that you can get a 1/2 ton engine in a Gladiator is extremely interesting to me. The price of a v8 Gladiator is just stupid so it's not really an option, but getting mid 20's MPG and having torque where it's useful is very very tempting, but on a vehicle I'd want to keep for a lifetime, the wiring is going to be a nightmare eventually and I don't see a lot of reman Eco-diesels out there, which is imperative if you want to keep a vehicle for a lifetime.

After a couple of decades all the wiring and stuff in these vehicles start becoming a nightmare. I've been just trying to get my 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 in better shape to match the 350k mi drivetrain and decided I wanted AC over the summer and ended up messing with wiring for a couple weeks, even bought a bidirectional scan tool to help hunt down the problems. I decided I wanted to make the audio functional again and I got interested in Apple Carplay and On X maps on a big screen and now I'm weeks into trying to rewire almost every single speaker and the way they do wiring harnesses, this is extremely difficult and the intermittent wiring problems suck to hunt down with the way all these dashes and stuff are mounted and the plastic connectors are brittle.

And IMO the wiring of a 2003 looks simple compared to all the BS on even newer trucks and I really like picking out a vehicle for a lifetime and not just buying and selling before it grenades on me, but I don't even think that's going to be as possible going forward with all the new designs that are absolutely nonsense. It really grates at me too that if you go overseas to places that aren't crazy regulated you can buy pretty much a solid 70's vehicle with the best 90's designs and equipment and manufacturing. It's crazy how much other countries just want their stuff to work and get from A to B through difficult terrain. When I was in India new vehicles were like $15k for top of the line compared to $30k in the US because of all the regulations we have and for some reason OEMs aren't ever trying to make their vehicles better, just look different and lick the boot of CA regulators.
 
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I think TJ's are the newest old school vehicle with a lot of the better designs without as much of the stupidity. I think the R2.8 is a better engine, though different class, to work with after a decade than the 3.0 Ecodiesel, which has faults and it's going to be complicated and it's going to cost A LOT in the future.

However my wife likes the Gladiators and I can't stand the lack of low end from a v6 gas engine. The fact that you can get a 1/2 ton engine in a Gladiator is extremely interesting to me. The v8 Gladiator is just stupid so it's not really an option, but getting mid 20's MPG and having torque where it's useful is very very tempting, but on a vehicle I'd want to keep for a lifetime, the wiring is going to be a nightmare eventually and I don't see a lot of reman Eco-diesels out there, which is imperative if you want to keep a vehicle for a lifetime.

After a couple of decades all the wiring and stuff in these vehicles start becoming a nightmare. I've been just trying to get my 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 in better shape to match the 350k mi drivetrain and decided I wanted AC over the summer and ended up messing with wiring for a couple weeks, even bought a bidirectional scan tool to help hunt down the problems. I decided I wanted to make the audio functional again and I got interested in Apple Carplay and On X maps on a big screen and now I'm weeks into trying to rewire almost every single speaker and the way they do wiring harnesses, this is extremely difficult and the intermittent wiring problems suck to hunt down with the way all these dashes and stuff are mounted and the plastic connectors are brittle.

And IMO the wiring of a 2003 looks simple compared to all the BS on even newer trucks and I really like picking out a vehicle for a lifetime and not just buying and selling before it grenades on me, but I don't even think that's going to be as possible going forward with all the new designs that are absolutely nonsense. It really grates at me too that if you go overseas to places that aren't crazy regulated you can buy pretty much a solid 70's vehicle with the best 90's designs and equipment and manufacturing. It's crazy how much other countries just want their stuff to work and get from A to B through difficult terrain. When I was in India new vehicles were like $15k for top of the line compared to $30k in the US because of all the regulations we have and for some reason OEMs aren't ever trying to make their vehicles better, just look different and lick the boot of CA regulators.

Agreed, the wiring in the 2000 is simple compared to the multiple computers in my 2020 Tacoma....
 
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Small update for the day. Short day to work on it, but nice to clean up a bit.

Fuel tank is dropped and drained.
PCM removed and main harness that goes the length of the jeep removed.

Ordered:
pack of 3in v band
Power steering fittings
multiple zip ties (Stud mount, double lock)
Bulkhead fitting for fuel return
Fuel line
 
Small update for the day. Short day to work on it, but nice to clean up a bit.

Fuel tank is dropped and drained.
PCM removed and main harness that goes the length of the jeep removed.

Ordered:
pack of 3in v band
Power steering fittings
multiple zip ties (Stud mount, double lock)
Bulkhead fitting for fuel return
Fuel line

are you going to reuse the fuse box? or get a smaller more compact one.

That is one project i want to redo is the wiring. mine is a mess with old and new laying everywhere.
 
are you going to reuse the fuse box? or get a smaller more compact one.

That is one project i want to redo is the wiring. mine is a mess with old and new laying everywhere.

So the plan was to reuse the one I have, but I did buy a much smaller one in case I change my mind... I'm no wiring guru by any means, actually I'm terrible at it.

Keeping the stock would most likely be simplest but I'll see how hard it is to transfer them over.
 
So the plan was to reuse the one I have, but I did buy a much smaller one in case I change my mind... I'm no wiring guru by any means, actually I'm terrible at it.

Keeping the stock would most likely be simplest but I'll see how hard it is to transfer them over.

I ended up with I think 4 fuse boxes at this point and it's something I'd like to address one day, but I keep having other stuff to address. I think there's 2 boxes that are OEM. The big box is mostly eliminated, but it still has a couple things I need in there. I have 1 that came with the axis kit and 1 that I use with aftermarket lights and other gadgets. It would be nice to put my ARB stuff in something too, but they're just mounted with all the wiring they came with for the compressor and lockers.
 
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I'm curious to see how this build turns out! I've always admired @BugoutJeep R2.8 cummins swap, and I think both of you made the correct decision to go with a crate engine Cummins. For my swap I told myself I didn't have the funds, but with the number of engines, adapters, transmissions, turbos, intercoolers and power steering pumps I've gone through, I could have easily afforded the cost of the R2.8 and saved a TON of time and money on my swap. I started with a Kubota but switched to a VW BEW TDI after I found out I was going to have problems getting it inspected where I was living at the time, though I've now moved to a different state, I didn't know that was going to happen years ago when I made that decision.

Also talking from experience, going with a manual transmission is the fastest way to go. I've been stubborn on going automatic, and I think I have a working combination that works, I should know this week actually. If this automatic gives me anymore issues though, I'm swapping in the set of Right Hand Drive manual transmission pedals I bought from Australia and I'm going to put in the NV3550 that currently in my wrecked TJ Rubicon behind my shop and I'll be done with swap.

Go luck with the build and keep the updates and pictures coming! I'm curious to see how it turns out and what you think of the setup!

-Grant
 
I ended up with I think 4 fuse boxes at this point and it's something I'd like to address one day, but I keep having other stuff to address. I think there's 2 boxes that are OEM. The big box is mostly eliminated, but it still has a couple things I need in there. I have 1 that came with the axis kit and 1 that I use with aftermarket lights and other gadgets. It would be nice to put my ARB stuff in something too, but they're just mounted with all the wiring they came with for the compressor and lockers.

where did you mount the OBA. i was thinking about getting a dual ObA compressor, mounted on the left under the brake master
 
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Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ radiator