Building a diesel powered RHD TJ Wrangler (Picture Heavy)

an inexpensive set of transfer punches is a better buy........ABN Hole Transfer Punch Set for Steel, Wood, Etc – SAE Transfer Set – 28 Piece Transfer Punch Set 3/32 to 17/32in
 
Hey TJers,

Here is the video of the crossmember getting fabricated and installed into the Wrangler! It spans several weeks but it's the entire process of what it took to get it done!


I'm getting ever so closer to getting this Wrangler up and running! Today I'm actually trying to tackle the entire fuel system from the fuel tank with a lift pump, modifying all the fuel lines, installing a water separator and installing a fuel pressure regulator as well. I'm actually going to bypass the stock Kubota mechanical lift pump and run the electric lift pump designed for a Jeep Liberty CRD.

Let me know what you think!

Thank you so much!
Grant
 
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Hey TJers,

Just wanted to give a quick update! I got the new lift pump installed into the Wrangler. Ended up having to modify the Lift Pump to get it to fit into the tank. I will be installing the tank, and rear driveshaft tomorrow night, and then I'll be tackling installing the starter, alternator, starter, power steering pump and maybe even the front grill.

At this point I'm hoping to be able to turn the Wrangler on before October!

Thanks
Grant
 
Hey Guys,

So first off here is a picture of my 2006 Jeep Wrangler Right Hand Drive:

View attachment 62505

My TJ is pretty much bone stock, has just over 200K, 4.0L, 42RLE auto with a NP231-J transfer case. Has factory air conditioning that works, power steering, and cruise control which I added after I bought the Wrangler. Currently has a Dana 44 in the rear with a factory LSD on Goodyear Wrangler 235/75r15 tires which are great year round and dirt cheap.

I bought the Wrangler last summer, it was my first Wrangler and I love it, except for gas mileage. My daily driver is a 2006 Jeep Liberty CRD 2.8l turbo diesel, which gets fantastic mileage and has a ton of torque. The Wrangler gets around 13 ~ 17 mpg, my Liberty gets just above 30mph highway, consistently 28 ~ 30mpg. Here's a picture of my Liberty:

View attachment 62506

The transmission I will be using is an AW4 out of a Cherokee.

View attachment 62507

I'm going with the AW4 for multiple reasons. First I injured my left knee a few years ago, and while I love manual transmissions, an automatic makes off-roading so much more fun for me personally. Also has the added benefit that my kids prefer it as well, so they go on more wheeling adventures when we are in my automatic Wrangler.

Second I can just manual shift the AW4 by controlling two solenoids. Third I don't have to get an adapter from my NP231-J transfer case which is a huge cost savings as well. Really the main issue is there is no aftermarket transmission controller for the 42RLE transmission that is currently in my TJ, plus it has over 200K on it.

I'm going to be controlling the AW4 automatic transmission with an Arduino setup so hopefully later on I can program the Arduino to shift the AW4 automatically, but at the beginning it will just be a manual shift.

For transfer case I'll be using a rebuilt NP231-J that already has a SYE installed.

The Kubota V2403 Diesel engine should be perfect for this swap. I will have the horsepower of the 2.5L and way more torque than the 4.0!

View attachment 62508

I'm getting my adapter from Ken at KubotaSwappers.com. He is making me an adapter plate and accessory brackets and motor mounts so I can still have my air conditioning and Power Steering on my TJ.

In talking to Ken, he tells me I'll probably be closer to 110hp, and 300ish /lb once I dial in the turbo and the fuel pump on the V2403. The Kubota's from the factory were really detuned for reliability so they are running around 30% of their max fuel settings.

Now for the important bit! In talking with Ken from KubotaSwappers, from his experience in swapping these Kubota engines into XJ Cherokees, he said I should get into the mid 30s for MPG, depending on speed and gearing.

Right now I have 3.73 gears, which I'm going to leave alone until after I get the TJ running and see how it does. I might be doing a gear swap to 3.55s later on, not sure yet. My goal for my mileage will be 30 ~ 34mpg, effectively doubling my current MPG. However I'm really hoping to tune the turbo and fuel pump to get my closer to the 40mpg mark but really anything over 30mpg is going to be a win.


Why am I not lifting my Wrangler? I might in the future but I was my Wrangler back on the road asap!

Let me know what you think! I'm currently in the phase of getting all the parts I need, which has already been more than I was initially thinking. I will be posing updates each day I get new parts in or when I start getting the Wrangler torn done for the swap!

If you have any questions feel free to ask!

Thanks
Grant

Aaaawesome Grant 👊🏿👍🏿

Gasoline is for camp fires - DIESEL makes power !

—•|||||•— 👋🏿

DETOUR overnout
 
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Hey TJers,

So I finally got a Lift Pump in and modified it to fit into my Wrangler Fuel Tank. I also got the Fuel Tank bolted back into the Wrangler. Check out the video below:


Turns out the driveshaft that I thought would fit doesn't so I dropped off the front and rear drive shafts at a shop and they should be ready later this week.

I'm also picking up an alternator, ac compressor and starter for a Cherokee hopefully this week so I can finish mounting all the accessories for the V2403 and then I'm looking at starting the engine very soon.

Truthfully I feel like I'm over the hump on this build, I know I still have to figure out all my wiring, shifters and exhaust, but if I can at least just starter and stop the Wrangler I'm going to consider that a win!

Let me know what you think!
-Grant
 
Hey TJers,

No video yet, but I got the couple pictures today! I got my driveshafts in today and installed!!!

YvYyHVTl.jpg


pC220HBl.jpg


mVchIWZl.jpg


It was weird installing the driveshafts today because everything went perfectly!

Let me know what you think!!!

Thanks
Grant
 
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Looks great! Can’t wait to see it rolling

Thank you so much! I'm excited to see the Wrangler moving under it's own power again and I'm getting closer each day I work on it!

Here is the video of the driveshafts being installed. Super short video, but it's amazing how fast stuff goes when parts just bolt in without fighting you!


Thanks
Grant
 
Damn, if only I had known about this type of swap earlier I would have jumped on this in a heartbeat and avoided the massive expense and headache that my stroker rebuild has put me through.
 
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Damn, if only I had known about this type of swap earlier I would have jumped on this in a heartbeat and avoided the massive expense and headache that my stroker rebuild has put me through.

Sorry to hear about all the problems you have been running into with your stroker build! I actually considered several engines, both gas and diesel powered before finally settling on the Kubota engines. It just seemed like the perfect combination of low end torque and fuel economy for my application!

-Grant
 
Hey TJers,

I've turned my attention to the interior. I went ahead and decided to swap my black interior for a tan interior. I realize that might be an odd choice, my tan interior has always been my favorite and since this build has become more than just a diesel engine swap, I've decided to make this my dream TJ Build!


I learned a lot of lessons from removing the dashboard, specifically the order in which you should remove stuff! Overall wasn't too difficult, and I'm actually surprised I didn't break anything in the process!

I'll be painting/dying all my interior pieces tan along with wiring up all the new gauges and connecting the shifters to the transmission, doubler, and transfer case.

Let me know what you think!

Thanks
Grant
 
Hey TJers,

SO got away from the interior and back to getting the V2403 running. I tried to get the alternator and power steering pump installed with the brackets I got from KubotaSwappers, but like most things on this project, things did not go according to plan.


I'm going to figuring it out tonight/tomorrow to see if I can finally get the power steering pump installed and not hanging on my front bumper!

Thanks
Grant
 
Hey TJers,

So I don't know if everyone is wheeling or I'm just pushing too many videos, which I actually think is the case here. So I'm changing my updates here. The video if you want to watch it will be at the end of the post, but I'll share more details and pictures in my posts going forward.

So I got the alternator and power steering pump figured out. Turns out the most people have to get new lines made anyways when they do engine swaps, but it was something I never thought of doing. KubotaSwappers told me to try bending the line upwards to see if I could get the power steering pump hard line to clear the alternator. I had tried bending it down but I think because of the bend already in the line that wasn't possible. Turns out bending the hard line up was much easier to do and it worked as well:

kfkVPJCl.jpg


It's hard to see but the hard line does clear the alternator now. The only reason any of this worked was because I moved the engine forward 6.5" inches. The challenge was getting the power steering pump pulley to line up with the other pulleys. I ended up getting a Power Steering Pump Pulley Puller/Installer and pressed the pulley further onto the shaft to get everything to line up. I actually pressed it too far and had to pull the pulley back off just a hair. Here is a picture, it's close, though the camera makes it look like nothing is lined up:

cLIOj08l.jpg


So I finally got the alternator and power steering pump installed. Working on painting the dashboard tan right now and figuring out where I can mount my transmission cooler. The Derale kit I got really doesn't work for my setup so I'm trying to find some new places I can mount the cooler to keep the AW4 automatic as cool as possible.

Let me know what you think!
Thanks
Grant

 
Been following this for a while, anxious to see it run and drive.......Thanks for doing all of these videos and how to stuff......

Absolutely your welcome!

I kind of made a decision about the project last night. I think I'm going to skip the air conditioning, cruise control and CompuShift TCM for now to just get the Wrangler back on the road. The TCM especially has several required inputs that I haven't figured out yet which has been a hold up if I'm truthful.

I have a Radesigns manual shift designed for the AW4 that I'm going to just run instead and make it a manual-matic to just get it up and running. SO to condense a detailed list into a small list I just need to do the following:

  • Connect Fuel System to Kubota V2403 Diesel Engine
  • Install Exhaust System
  • Plumb Transmission cooling lines
  • Plumb Radiator and Hoses
  • Connect electrical to Starter and Shut-off Solenoid
  • Maybe Gauges?
  • Connect throttle pedal and AW4 TV Cable to Kubota Fuel Pump
  • Install Shifters
  • Install Driver's seat
And really that's it. I don't have much else to do and I'm now working in the shop around 2 hours a night to get stuff done. This is me being ambitious but I'm hoping in the next 4 weeks I can turn the key and drive the Wrangler around my property!

Thanks
Grant
 
Hey TJers,

Well the Derale transmission cooler install did not go nearly as easily as I had hoped it would go. Changing everything I have made the install way more difficult than I thought it would be. It didn't help that the AW4 automatic has the cooling lines on the opposite side of the 42rle.

I ended up securing the cooler directly to the frame using nutserts. I forgot to get a ton of pictures but here are few that I do have:

dlu9Q9Al.jpg


2qqahkWl.jpg


Overall I'm happy with the location, it's away from everything and I think it should work out quite nicely as well!

Let me know what you think!

Thanks
Grant

Video:
 
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I have not owned an automatic is 20 years so forgive my ignorance, but is the cooler not suppose to have a good bit of air flow? It seems to me that having it underneath like that will subject it to rock dings, mud, and abuse and when off road it could much more easily be damaged....or am I missing something?
 
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I have not owned an automatic is 20 years so forgive my ignorance, but is the cooler not suppose to have a good bit of air flow? It seems to me that having it underneath like that will subject it to rock dings, mud, and abuse and when off road it could much more easily be damaged....or am I missing something?

It's a trade off, if you do a ton of mudding yeah it can be a major problem, I'm debating looking for a different spot to mount it currently! I mostly do rock crawling and such, nothing extreme so I might be okay.

-Grant
 
Hey TJers,

Got more work done on my diesel swap TJ Wrangler. Got the dashboard completely torn down to be cleaned and painted. I used a Rust-oleum Adhesion Promoter and then a Rust-oleum Fabric and Vinyl Sand Color paint to change my black dashboard to a tan color.

Lh3bFJnl.jpg


Overall I'm very happy with the results, though you really need to let this paint cure, I didn't on one piece and chipped really easily though I fixed it, it now seems perfect. Let me know what you think!

mJIr3qgl.jpg


I'm working on it much more than I have been the past couple of months so I'm hoping to have big updates very soon on getting everything running!

Thanks
Grant

Video:
 
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Hey TJers,

So I finally got my Wrangler looking like a TJ again!!! Check it out!

gD7CPa9l.jpg


I did end up removing the air conditioning condenser and the auxiliary transmission cooler from the grill. Also I had to install the new radiator support bumpers into the grill for the body lift I had installed back in July. It took me way longer to get the bumpers to seat correctly into the bottom of the grill than I originally thought it would take!

I also put the back half of the two piece hard top that I picked up earlier this summer on the Wrangler as well. Somehow I don't have any pictures of it yet, so I'll go take a few this evening and post them soon!

Thanks
Grant

Video:
 
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