Engine Swap: V8 Magnum or TDI?

[TreverStevens]

Greetings TJ community!

First time posting here, but I've been using the forum as a reference for a while now. So here's the run down for me, I picked up a TJ back in early Sept with roughly 130k on the 2.5L with 5 speed manual. About 5 weeks after having it and starting to address the various little issues on it as I could my engine went out. Still not exactly sure what's wrong with it, but it knocked, bangs, didn't want to accelerate, but the engine also raced at idle (to the point I almost had the clutch all the way out while on the breaks to hold it in place at the stop light), top of the radiator is cracked/split, coolant was puking everywhere, but oil was still good (checked the top of the engine later and there's no oil to be found?). I barely got it back home then a few days later finally got it fired up and barely limped it to the garage I'll be working on it until I get it running again.

I'm planning to do either the V8 Magnum swap (probably the 5.9/360 over the 5.2/318) or the TDI swap. From what I can deduct the Magnum swap is slightly easier than the LS, and I can pick up a Magnum for roughly the same price (possibly slightly cheaper) than the LS around here. Plus it's "slightly" more plug and play with the wiring by keeping everything in the Mopar family. On the other hand, I am somewhat of a "diesel nut" (multiple diesel trucks and currently a diesel car too). I can pick up a TDI for about the same price as the V8 options. I have some funds set aside for the build, but somewhat limited (still waiting on my winning PowerBall ticket). Is there one swap that is significantly cheaper than the other option? One that takes less time (and won't cause me to go into fits of anger (as much))? I know with the V8 I'll have to grab either the AX15 or NV3550, where as the TDI I can keep my current AX5 (but still might swap it).

Hoping to finish pulling the engine and transmission this weekend. I'd really like to have everything up and running again by about the first of the year. I know a lot of guys devote months to these swaps, but I gotta get this thing up and running. I got the Jeep for winter driving because my daily driver is a rear wheel drive and MidWest winters don't make that easy to get around in sometimes. I want a Jeep that can be driven daily, I can haul cross-country on road trips, camping/backpacking trips, and some rock crawling/off-roading/overlanding.

Can I get any input from anyone willing to render about these swaps? Any previous threads or discussions on here?

Current setup:
1997 TJ
2.5L
5 speed AX5
33's
~4" lift

Thanks in advance for anyone that replies,
Trever

 

[Chris]

@RangerRick has done a V8 Magnum swap to his I believe, so hopefully he'll chime in shortly with some advice. In the meantime, here is his build thread:
Project "Red Headed Stepchild" A restoration & build

@disjaukifa knows a thing or two about the TDI swaps, but IMHO, he found something a lot better than the TDI swap, which he is documenting in his build thread here: Project Felicity: 06 TJ Wrangler RHD V2403 Kubota Diesel Swap

If I wanted a diesel, I'd go that route any day over a TDI. Still, he'll probably chime in here to give you his input on this matter, since I believe he said he considered a TDI swap at one pint.

 

[ac_]

Now I was asking those questions myself, but I live in an emission area, so I cannot change to a V-8. it It is stupid because it would probably get better gas mileage and probably better emissions as I wouldn't have to keep it floored all of the time. I can probably get way more power with tons less gas.

Anyway I got a response from @RangerRick about how he did his. It was very meticulous, and he blended the stock wiring with the v8 Magnum. If it were me, with the choices you gave, I would think that would be the best option. You could keep everything more stock that way, plus you can probably get a dodge truck with a 360 in it and all of the wiring for cheap around the same year as your Jeep. You would need a manual for each vehicle, but he described to me in pretty good detail on how ot blend the wiring. Also I am pretty sure dakota's came with 360/ax15 combos so it will hold up. I also think your ax5 will hold up enough where you could do a trans swap later if necessary.

So I am thinking that will be your quickest and cheapest route, but there are a lot of details to work out, like possible throttle cable reroutes or changes. Another reason why buying a whole dodge truck would be nice. You would have a ton of usable parts including all of the pulleys and belts.

I did a v-6 vortec swap in my YJ years ago, and I bought a Painless wiring kit and it went together pretty painless and easy. Although I did buy a donor S--10 so I had pretty much everything I needed. I just welded on new motormounts from advanced adaptors and tried to keep everything as stock as I could. I did use the S-10 computer to run the new 4L60-e that came out of the s-10. My Yj was a stick so I converted it to an auto at the same time. I think I was able to drill new holes in the stock crossmember so that was the easy part.

Anyway by no means is it an easy cut and paste job. This is going to take a lot of work. The hard part is all of the little things you are not thinking of. For example. Mine had the aluminum plenum and left little room for an air filter. That was probably the part that took the longest was fabricating up a way to run an air cleaner. Also figuring out what I was going to do about a radiator. Your 4 banger radiator is not going to cut the mustard for the Magnum, so you are going to have to figure out how much cooling you need and how you are going to fit it in there.

Good luck and whatever you decide start a build thread, and share your progress with us. Lots of pics please!

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

@RangerRick has done a V8 Magnum swap to his I believe, so hopefully he'll chime in shortly with some advice. In the meantime, here is his build thread:
Project "Red Headed Stepchild" A restoration & build

@disjaukifa knows a thing or two about the TDI swaps, but IMHO, he found something a lot better than the TDI swap, which he is documenting in his build thread here: Project Felicity: 06 TJ Wrangler RHD V2403 Kubota Diesel Swap

If I wanted a diesel, I'd go that route any day over a TDI. Still, he'll probably chime in here to give you his input on this matter, since I believe he said he considered a TDI swap at one pint.

Thank you @Chris for the mention!

First off let me say this before anything else, check you local emissions and DMV laws around motor swaps! Where I live I have no emissions and there are no laws around motors swaps so I've lucked out!

That being said because you do have a 1997 several places require the swap to be the same year OR newer to swap. At that point the TDI swap would be a great option, especially because you can go with the earlier ALH TDI motors which are purely mechanical though the BEW TDI are computer controlled can give you way more power and fuel economy.

Onto what I'm doing which is a Kubota V2403 diesel engine swap. My main reason for this swap was light weight and FUEL ECONOMY. Yes I'm putting that in caps because everyone says you can't get good fuel economy out of a Wrangler. I have a 2006 Jeep Liberty CRD that weighs over 1100lbs more than my 2006 Wrangler and it averages 28.5 ~ 29mpg mixed and I've gotten over 30.5mpg pure highway on several occasions. With the Kubota engine I'm looking to go from 14 ~ 17 mpg to around 30 ~ 34ish mpg. This conversion has been done with Cherokee's with even better numbers so I'm keeping the estimates low, but at minimum I'm going to do be doubling my fuel economy in my Wrangler.

These Kubota diesels are low rpm engines, max around 3000 ~ 3200rpm, out of tractors, generators, refrigerator trailer units and other small heavy machinery units. They are completely mechanical diesel engines with their diesel injection technology from the mid 2000s.

The 03 series of Kubota engines came in the following sizes for 4 cylinders V1903, V2003, V2203 (most common) and V2403. There are 3 and 5 cylinder versions as well, the 3 cylinders just won't have enough power and the 5 cylinder models which are the F2503 and F2803 are fantastic for torque but almost impossible to find and when you do they are expensive.

In terms of horse power and torque with these Kubota's you are looking at around any where between 39 ~ 61hp and 95 ~ 120 ft-lbs of torque depending on the displacement. However these engines love boost when intercooled! I'm going to be running a Borg Warner K03 turbo on my setup from a TDI so I'm looking at roughly 28PSI of boost. So my V2403 will be going from 60hp/120ft-lbs to around 130hp/300ft-lb or torque. Also that 300ft-lb of torque is going to be at like 1600rpm compared to your 2.5l which gets peak torque of 145ft-lbs at 3300rpm.

As for the adapters, I've been working with KubotaSwappers for the adapters and also the motor mounts. They sell an adapter that will make the Kubota 03 engines look like the Jeep 4.0l engine so any transmission that bolts to a Jeep 4.0 will bolt to the Kubotas. I'm testing an new motor mount adapter from them next week as well for our Wranglers so you will be able to get motor mounts that will bolt in, though I haven't tested them for a 2.5L mounts, just the 4.0l mounts.

The other main reason I went with the Kubota engine swap was the cost. I also have a V1903 which originally I was going to use in my swap and if I had my total swap cost with the V1903, adapters, turbo, and motor mounts, transmission and transfer case I was right at $2500 total. Because I found the V2403 engine which has way more hp and torque and I had to ship it from Michigan my total conversion cost is now closer to $3200 bucks total. My cost is higher but I'm doing other upgrades to my build that are not related to the diesel swap so I'm not including those cost in my build.

Here is a video I posted on my youtube channel about all the different diesel engines I researched for the Wranglers and why I went with the Kubota engine:

WOW okay long post but I hope this has a ton of good information for you, let me know if you have any questions!

Thanks
Grant

 

[Alex01]

Thank you @Chris for the mention!

First off let me say this before anything else, check you local emissions and DMV laws around motor swaps! Where I live I have no emissions and there are no laws around motors swaps so I've lucked out!

That being said because you do have a 1997 several places require the swap to be the same year OR newer to swap. At that point the TDI swap would be a great option, especially because you can go with the earlier ALH TDI motors which are purely mechanical though the BEW TDI are computer controlled can give you way more power and fuel economy.

Onto what I'm doing which is a Kubota V2403 diesel engine swap. My main reason for this swap was light weight and FUEL ECONOMY. Yes I'm putting that in caps because everyone says you can't get good fuel economy out of a Wrangler. I have a 2006 Jeep Liberty CRD that weighs over 1100lbs more than my 2006 Wrangler and it averages 28.5 ~ 29mpg mixed and I've gotten over 30.5mpg pure highway on several occasions. With the Kubota engine I'm looking to go from 14 ~ 17 mpg to around 30 ~ 34ish mpg. This conversion has been done with Cherokee's with even better numbers so I'm keeping the estimates low, but at minimum I'm going to do be doubling my fuel economy in my Wrangler.

These Kubota diesels are low rpm engines, max around 3000 ~ 3200rpm, out of tractors, generators, refrigerator trailer units and other small heavy machinery units. They are completely mechanical diesel engines with their diesel injection technology from the mid 2000s.

The 03 series of Kubota engines came in the following sizes for 4 cylinders V1903, V2003, V2203 (most common) and V2403. There are 3 and 5 cylinder versions as well, the 3 cylinders just won't have enough power and the 5 cylinder models which are the F2503 and F2803 are fantastic for torque but almost impossible to find and when you do they are expensive.

In terms of horse power and torque with these Kubota's you are looking at around any where between 39 ~ 61hp and 95 ~ 120 ft-lbs of torque depending on the displacement. However these engines love boost when intercooled! I'm going to be running a Borg Warner K03 turbo on my setup from a TDI so I'm looking at roughly 28PSI of boost. So my V2403 will be going from 60hp/120ft-lbs to around 130hp/300ft-lb or torque. Also that 300ft-lb of torque is going to be at like 1600rpm compared to your 2.5l which gets peak torque of 145ft-lbs at 3300rpm.

As for the adapters, I've been working with KubotaSwappers for the adapters and also the motor mounts. They sell an adapter that will make the Kubota 03 engines look like the Jeep 4.0l engine so any transmission that bolts to a Jeep 4.0 will bolt to the Kubotas. I'm testing an new motor mount adapter from them next week as well for our Wranglers so you will be able to get motor mounts that will bolt in, though I haven't tested them for a 2.5L mounts, just the 4.0l mounts.

The other main reason I went with the Kubota engine swap was the cost. I also have a V1903 which originally I was going to use in my swap and if I had my total swap cost with the V1903, adapters, turbo, and motor mounts, transmission and transfer case I was right at $2500 total. Because I found the V2403 engine which has way more hp and torque and I had to ship it from Michigan my total conversion cost is now closer to $3200 bucks total. My cost is higher but I'm doing other upgrades to my build that are not related to the diesel swap so I'm not including those cost in my build.

Here is a video I posted on my youtube channel about all the different diesel engines I researched for the Wranglers and why I went with the Kubota engine:

WOW okay long post but I hope this has a ton of good information for you, let me know if you have any questions!

Thanks
Grant

Just watched your videos. What a project I am excited to see the progress as it unfolds.

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

Just watched your videos. What a project I am excited to see the progress as it unfolds.

Thank you so much! I'm really interested in seeing how running two NP231 is going to turn out! I have several very tight technical trails around me and even with the 2.72 crawl ration it felt WAY to fast!

-Grant

 

[Alex01]

Thank you so much! I'm really interested in seeing how running two NP231 is going to turn out! I have several very tight technical trails around me and even with the 2.72 crawl ration it felt WAY to fast!

-Grant

When I heard that part I instantly looked it up how to run a doubler. Your crawl ratio will be really nice once it's done and a hell of a lot cheaper then dumping nearly 4k into a 4 speed atlas. (though you could go 10:1!!) After I regeared to 4.88 I have to say I am really happy with how slow I can crawl up things compared to before. But my 70 mph rpm of nearly 2700 would destroy your diesel in short order. Down the line I do want to swap a different box in though so I can crawl up things with even more control.

What gearing are you going to run with the new setup? I would assume you need to have a decently low cruising rpm.

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

When I heard that part I instantly looked it up how to run a doubler. Your crawl ratio will be really nice once it's done and a hell of a lot cheaper then dumping nearly 4k into a 4 speed atlas. (though you could go 10:1!!) After I regeared to 4.88 I have to say I am really happy with how slow I can crawl up things compared to before. But my 70 mph rpm of nearly 2700 would destroy your diesel in short order. Down the line I do want to swap a different box in though so I can crawl up things with even more control.

What gearing are you going to run with the new setup? I would assume you need to have a decently low cruising rpm.

So yes gearing is extremely important especially considering the lower RPM limits of the diesel engine. I have 3.73 gears right now that when in overdrive on my AW4 I will be at 1789rpm at 55mph and 2114rpm at 65mph and 2277rpm at 70mph.

So in terms of drivability I'm set with my current gearing, but that is running the Goodyear Wrangler 235/75r15 tire which I absolutely love because I can by them for like $52 a piece, I can destroy a tire and not worry about it. I'm really thinking about keeping my Wrangler more an all around overlanding TJ that a lifted off-road focused build.

There is a possibility of doing a lift and bigger tire in the future so I might go to a 4.10 or 4.11 depending on the lift and tires I end up going to. I'm a huge fan of the really narrow tires because they seem to perform better around here where I live.

With all that being said I'm really looking forward to playing with that 7.39 to 1 gearing!!! My crawl speed at 1600rpm is going from 4.86mph to 1.79mph!!! Also remembering at 1600rpm I'm going to have 300+ ft-lbs of torque! It's going to be fun!!!

-Grant

 

[TreverStevens]

So yes gearing is extremely important especially considering the lower RPM limits of the diesel engine. I have 3.73 gears right now that when in overdrive on my AW4 I will be at 1789rpm at 55mph and 2114rpm at 65mph and 2277rpm at 70mph.

So in terms of drivability I'm set with my current gearing, but that is running the Goodyear Wrangler 235/75r15 tire which I absolutely love because I can by them for like $52 a piece, I can destroy a tire and not worry about it. I'm really thinking about keeping my Wrangler more an all around overlanding TJ that a lifted off-road focused build.

There is a possibility of doing a lift and bigger tire in the future so I might go to a 4.10 or 4.11 depending on the lift and tires I end up going to. I'm a huge fan of the really narrow tires because they seem to perform better around here where I live.

With all that being said I'm really looking forward to playing with that 7.39 to 1 gearing!!! My crawl speed at 1600rpm is going from 4.86mph to 1.79mph!!! Also remembering at 1600rpm I'm going to have 300+ ft-lbs of torque! It's going to be fun!!!

-Grant

Emissions is not an issue I'll have to deal with here in KS, so thankful for that. At this time I'm just considering the 360 or the TDI because I have a couple of those engines lined up that I can get at a pretty cheap price. All of which are in pretty good condition without needing any major overhauling. I'd rather go with the TDI, but from what I've seen the Magnum seems to translate over a bit easier and can be rushed along a little faster, especially if I'm forced to do most of the fabrication for the TDI. Waiting on a call back from Coty Built to see how cheap I can snag up various bits and pieces of their conversion kit because their complete kit is out of my price range.

As for the Kubota swap, very interesting build and if I had more time I wouldn't mind doing something along these lines. I briefly considered the Merc OM617 I think it was? Out of one of the newer Sprinter vans they have. Any reason this wasn't on your radar?

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

Emissions is not an issue I'll have to deal with here in KS, so thankful for that. At this time I'm just considering the 360 or the TDI because I have a couple of those engines lined up that I can get at a pretty cheap price. All of which are in pretty good condition without needing any major overhauling. I'd rather go with the TDI, but from what I've seen the Magnum seems to translate over a bit easier and can be rushed along a little faster, especially if I'm forced to do most of the fabrication for the TDI. Waiting on a call back from Coty Built to see how cheap I can snag up various bits and pieces of their conversion kit because their complete kit is out of my price range.

As for the Kubota swap, very interesting build and if I had more time I wouldn't mind doing something along these lines. I briefly considered the Merc OM617 I think it was? Out of one of the newer Sprinter vans they have. Any reason this wasn't on your radar?

So the OM617 is an older/heavier engine, the newer sprinter vans have the same engine I have in my Liberty the 2.8L VM Motori Common Rail Diesel. Great engine, nothing bad to say about it other than replacing the timing belt is a bastard to do. Also you would need to swap the entire wiring harness and ECU and I've heard of only like 2 people doing that swap.

I would highly suggest going with the TDI over the V8, just purely in terms of weight and MPG. Also as a consideration I'm tired on working on a V engine, I really like how simple the inline engines are to work on especially in the Wranglers.

But to each their own, I love my Jeeps and I did at one point consider an LS swap like everyone seems to do in everything, but ultimately I wanted the smaller footprint of the 4 cylinder engine and way better fuel economy than the sound of a V8!!!

-Grant

 

[Chris]

I really like how simple the inline engines are to work on especially in the Wranglers.

It's a lot more pleasant only having one cylinder head to worry about, isn't it?

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

It's a lot more pleasant only having one cylinder head to worry about, isn't it?

It truly is, and then you only have one exhaust to deal with, and you aren't cramming your hands between the fenders and the engine, I really could keep going . . .

Honestly the ONE thing I want you to consider, spend the money now on the TDI OR go cheap on the V8 Magnum and spend the money every time you go the fuel station feeding the thirsty V8 for the rest of the time you own the TJ.

I drive around 30K a year because I enjoy driving so much, and I hated filling up my Wrangler as much as I did which was like every 10 days versus filling my Liberty once a month if that. I could only get like 180 ~ 200 miles out of my Wrangler vs 600+ out of my Liberty!

-Grant

 

[RangerRick]

Note to all interested in swapping a V8 or a diesel:

I might have lots of parts for swaps coming up in the near future. Sold two project Jeeps, cut one up for scrap and am getting three other Jeeps ready for sale or for parting out. All this for a pending move in the near future. If this move happens, we will be back down to a one Jeep family (instead of 5).

There will be lots of Jeep parts made available soon.

Look to a parts add going to be posted soon with parts and prices for them.
This will be of interest to engine swappers.....

RR

 

[KCsTJ]

Following !
I want to do the Kubota swap to my 97 SE next year.
Will the Kubota bolt up to my 30rh 3 speed auto tranny?
Or would it require an adapter?
3.73 gearing

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

Following !
I want to do the Kubota swap to my 97 SE next year.
Will the Kubota bolt up to my 30rh 3 speed auto tranny?
Or would it require an adapter?
3.73 gearing

So yes you would need KubotaSwappers Jeep 4.0l adapter and the motor mount plates that I'm helping them prototype. 3.73 gears are fine but I would seriously consider the AW4 automatic out of a XJ Cherokee!

With your 30rh 3-speed you are looking at 1921rpm at 45mph, 2385rpm at 55mph and a screaming 2819rpm at 65mph. I am assuming a stock 28.9inch diameter tire or a 235/75r15 tire size.

With an AW4 automatic you would be at 1464rpm at 45mph, 1789rpm at 55mph and 2114rpm at 65mph which would be MUCH better cruising RPM at highway and interstate speed!

Taller tires would also help BUT you also have to figure out the RPM drop between gears because you only have a 3000rpm limit with these diesel motors! Again it's a cheap swap in my opinion if you really source the parts and everything but you also need to make sure it will work for your setup.

So example I eventually want to run so bigger tires and a lift on my 2006, I'm pretty sure I will need to change my axle gearing to 4.11 because I need to have a good overlap of RPM between gears so the Wrangler stays drivable!!!!

I'll try to post more details later if you have more questions and if you can give me more information on your TJ that would help as well!!! Tire size, lift, transfer case, 4.0/2.5l etc nevermind if you have the 30rh then it's a 2.5l unless someone did an unusual transmission swap with the 32rh behind the 4.0!

Thanks
Grant

 

[KCsTJ]

So yes you would need KubotaSwappers Jeep 4.0l adapter and the motor mount plates that I'm helping them prototype. 3.73 gears are fine but I would seriously consider the AW4 automatic out of a XJ Cherokee!

With your 30rh 3-speed you are looking at 1921rpm at 45mph, 2385rpm at 55mph and a screaming 2819rpm at 65mph. I am assuming a stock 28.9inch diameter tire or a 235/75r15 tire size.

With an AW4 automatic you would be at 1464rpm at 45mph, 1789rpm at 55mph and 2114rpm at 65mph which would be MUCH better cruising RPM at highway and interstate speed!

Taller tires would also help BUT you also have to figure out the RPM drop between gears because you only have a 3000rpm limit with these diesel motors! Again it's a cheap swap in my opinion if you really source the parts and everything but you also need to make sure it will work for your setup.

So example I eventually want to run so bigger tires and a lift on my 2006, I'm pretty sure I will need to change my axle gearing to 4.11 because I need to have a good overlap of RPM between gears so the Wrangler stays drivable!!!!

I'll try to post more details later if you have more questions and if you can give me more information on your TJ that would help as well!!! Tire size, lift, transfer case, 4.0/2.5l etc nevermind if you have the 30rh then it's a 2.5l unless someone did an unusual transmission swap with the 32rh behind the 4.0!

Thanks
Grant

Thanks for your reply, 2" procomp lift, running 31s,.going to 33s. Lots to chew on.
Great info in your video ^!

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

Thanks for your reply, 2" procomp lift, running 31s,.going to 33s. Lots to chew on.
Great info in your video ^!

Okay for 31" tires with your 30rh you would be at 1819rpm at 45mpg, 2224rpm at 55mph, and 2628rpm at 65mph.

For 33" tires you would be at 1709rpm at 45mpg, 2089rpm at 55mph and 2469rpm at 65mph.

I need to find a graph for the shift points but I'm concerned at 33" tires the gap between rpm for 1st-2nd-3rd gears is going to be too big for the Kubota engine.

So 55mph would be easy if you are wanting to keep a 3 speed automatic but an overdrive automatic would help you immensely.

I'm out with family ATM so I'll post more this evening!

Thanks
Grant

 

[TreverStevens]

So the OM617 is an older/heavier engine, the newer sprinter vans have the same engine I have in my Liberty the 2.8L VM Motori Common Rail Diesel. Great engine, nothing bad to say about it other than replacing the timing belt is a bastard to do. Also you would need to swap the entire wiring harness and ECU and I've heard of only like 2 people doing that swap.

I would highly suggest going with the TDI over the V8, just purely in terms of weight and MPG. Also as a consideration I'm tired on working on a V engine, I really like how simple the inline engines are to work on especially in the Wranglers.

But to each their own, I love my Jeeps and I did at one point consider an LS swap like everyone seems to do in everything, but ultimately I wanted the smaller footprint of the 4 cylinder engine and way better fuel economy than the sound of a V8!!!

-Grant

Ya, there are just so many upsides to the diesel and the main downside (at least for now) is the up front cost. I'm wanting to kinda pick and choose what parts I want from Coty Built, but they seem to be having a hard time getting back to me so far this week. I don't want to drop $5k+ for their entire kit (even though a nearly seem-less plug and play kit would be nice) because that's beyond my budget. So looking to nab just a few of the parts from their kit and I'll do the rest myself.

Would you (or anyone else) be able to give me insight on my transmission setup? My Ax5 was fine when I tore everything down and from what I've seen it will hold up "fine" with the TDi. But part of me is wanting to upgrade now and would prefer going to the NV3550, but willing to settle for the AX15 if that's all I can find at a decent price. Would you say stick with my current trans and swap later, or just add it all in now with everything else I'm doing while I'm at it?

Thanks again for everyone chiming in, hopefully I'll have a build tread started soon. Once I can get my hands on a relatively decent TDi.

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

Ya, there are just so many upsides to the diesel and the main downside (at least for now) is the up front cost. I'm wanting to kinda pick and choose what parts I want from Coty Built, but they seem to be having a hard time getting back to me so far this week. I don't want to drop $5k+ for their entire kit (even though a nearly seem-less plug and play kit would be nice) because that's beyond my budget. So looking to nab just a few of the parts from their kit and I'll do the rest myself.

Would you (or anyone else) be able to give me insight on my transmission setup? My Ax5 was fine when I tore everything down and from what I've seen it will hold up "fine" with the TDi. But part of me is wanting to upgrade now and would prefer going to the NV3550, but willing to settle for the AX15 if that's all I can find at a decent price. Would you say stick with my current trans and swap later, or just add it all in now with everything else I'm doing while I'm at it?

Thanks again for everyone chiming in, hopefully I'll have a build tread started soon. Once I can get my hands on a relatively decent TDi.

View attachment 66986

If you can source one now I would recommend the AX-15, they are cheap, and you can pull it out of an XJ Cherokee if you have too. The AX-5 would probably be fine for on-road use but I would REALLY recommend an AX-15 or NV3550 if you are wanting to off-road with your Wrangler (and who wouldn't????)!

I get the cost of the kit, I have a BEW TDI motor with upgraded injectors, turbo, and tune that I could have used but I had a hard time justifying the cost especially because I needed another TDI motor!

I realize it's more money now but I think you will really be grateful for the diesel done the road especially when you start talking it on road trips and off-road weekend adventures!!!

-Grant

 

[TreverStevens]

If you can source one now I would recommend the AX-15, they are cheap, and you can pull it out of an XJ Cherokee if you have too. The AX-5 would probably be fine for on-road use but I would REALLY recommend an AX-15 or NV3550 if you are wanting to off-road with your Wrangler (and who wouldn't????)!

I get the cost of the kit, I have a BEW TDI motor with upgraded injectors, turbo, and tune that I could have used but I had a hard time justifying the cost especially because I needed another TDI motor!

I realize it's more money now but I think you will really be grateful for the diesel done the road especially when you start talking it on road trips and off-road weekend adventures!!!

-Grant

My TJ will definitely see some off road use, so the beefier trans is easier to justify. Any idea what transfer case if need to put on the back side of that to make things work? And what other vehicles potentially have that same TC?

Their complete kit comes with an engine that's been completely gone through and a few upgrades to it, so it isn't a terrible price at $5k. But I'm sourcing a TDi myself in hopes to save some $$$. If I can I'll probably buy their engine truss, fuel pump setup, cluster module, and their trans adapter. Any chance you're looking to sell that TDi you mentioned??? Ha ha.

Once I get an operational Jeep again my next task will be figuring out how I'm going to make cruise control happen. I know there's some stuff on here, but I'm still missing a lot of those parts, plus making it work with the new engine might be tricky.