R2.8 Cummins Build

Thanks for responding. I'm thinking I might have received the wrong CAC for the cold intake. Did you have to get different couplers (I know that's not the name been a long day and can't think of it) for yours? I might be able to get it to work with 45 degree?

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Thanks for responding. I'm thinking I might have received the wrong CAC for the cold intake. Did you have to get different couplers (I know that's not the name been a long day and can't think of it) for yours? I might be able to get it to work with 45 degree?

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Your CAC looks right. Of course my radiator or maybe the fan didn't bolt up without mods, but I assume maybe they fixed that. I just modded mine and moved on.
 
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You're making good progress, before you know it you're going to be going everywhere in the Backcountry. I do envy you guys out west, with so much ground to explore.

I know there's places here in the East, but so much of the land we used to traverse when I was a kid is off limits and the places reminded me of Mars back then. Weird colored "sand" and "canyons" that seemed to come from nowhere. Lots of spent ordinance from where the national guard roamed too.

It was ordinary. Now I just know it was associated with the mines, but there's no way I would know where from a map.

I am excited to get back out and find cool spots in my neck of the woods. I hiked some parts of the Sheltowee Trace right after college and there's a bunch of trails sprinkled around and some really cool remote camping spots.
 
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Decent amount of land to roam around Mammoth caves? Never been to KY myself, but seeing pics from that area it seems like there would be sufficient area to roam.
 
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Yeah we've got some places, but I just have to learn about them. We've got a lot places, but I guess I typically think of the Daniel Boone Forest area. I want to go to one of the Forest Stations and discuss access. Guys I know at work tend to go places where they're testing the limits of their gear and they stay in a cabin or RV nearby. I mainly want to get to an area, setup camp, maybe hike around a bit to explore, but I don't want to do anything that has high risk of breaking components. I just want to get deep in the woods and try to enjoy the scenery.

Now that we have elk, I wouldn't mind observing them from a distance and think about what it would take to get one out if I was ever drawn in the lottery to hunt them.
 
Quite exciting getting in close to elk as the bull is bugling. Quick question, did the R2.8 kit come with a fan?
The Axis kit did come with a fan. From Cummins there's some wiring for it I believe, but you'd need your own relay.

In Gatlinburg, I've seen Elk pretty close and I saw some people get extremely close and traffic would stop when they're out in the field. Though interesting I'd prefer the less zoo feel I guess when it comes to most wildlife. Even bears are kind of fun to see when you're out, but they do require some precaution and respect.
 
I think this is my last question for now. Did you remove the stud underneath the air filter or did your kit come with some sort of bracket to hold it up?

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I can't remember the stud you're showing, but axis does include a little bracket.

Ask away with your questions. Happy to help.
 
Got another video cobbled together. It's some unboxing stuff, first thoughts, and wandering off. I show a lot of what I used, but I know I forgot a few things and some items, just weren't detailed as much as I'd have liked.

 
Awesome swap, I’d love to do one. Still loving it???
Yes. It's been great. I think the R2.8 is a great engine and it's sized perfectly for a Jeep (you can argue it's a bit wide for a narrow frame if you wanted AC). Unfortunately Cost is obviously the hardest part to deal with for most of us, which is my only gripe on the engine, but from what I can tell the pricing is reasonable. The engine seems high until you go check on what completely new engines tend to run with all new accessories and ECU and realize you're talking about diesel, which gives you the torque you need on and off road and fuel consumption you can daily drive with even heavily modified. The kit components are pricey, but they're high quality low production components, so that's very normal.

If you're ever contemplating wanting to pick up a new vehicle due to a blown engine or using your financial measuring stick vs a new vehicle and you like to wrench a bit, then I highly recommend this swap. There are lots of other swaps out there and which one is right for you really depends on your time vs money availability chart. It seems like I can't stop modifying my Jeep, but I think I'd do the same on a new one, since I see a vehicle as a system and entertainment.
 
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I guess some updates are warranted on my never ending build. I got the Gobi Stealth Rack installed a few weeks ago. Installed the Currie Anti-Rock, and the Morryde tailgate reinforcement with heavy duty brackets.

Here's the rack install. Haven't gotten around to any other install videos.

I've been messing around with folding solar panels, so maybe one of these days I'll come to conclusions. Unfortunately I'm having an issue with my Redarc BCDC 1240D. It's not charging the aux battery when I'm driving and the input is very close to my volt meter readings of the starter battery/alternator, but I'm getting a low input voltage. I'm still within warranty, but it's a little frustrating.
 
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Sorry if you already answered this, I just found your post and I want to do a build like this but I want to be able to register it and deal with emissions. What state are you in, and did you figure out a way to get your title changed to diesel? I cannot find good current information online or people that have done swaps in Maryland.
 
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Sorry if you already answered this, I just found your post and I want to do a build like this but I want to be able to register it and deal with emissions. What state are you in, and did you figure out a way to get your title changed to diesel? I cannot find good current information online or people that have done swaps in Maryland.

In KY you don't really have to do anything for registration other than pay. It would be smarter for me to do something on say the title and that way it would be more likely to be registered in other states, but I wouldn't move to a state like that and I'm not selling my Jeep either.

Often this is a county by county by state kind of an issue. I would probably talk with your county clerk about this and see what they suggest so you can register your vehicle. The laws for this kind of thing are often very poorly written by people that are highly ignorant and some are very biased. Sometimes that bias helps because some areas don't test diesel vehicles for emissions, so if you can get it changed to diesel, you may not have to do testing.

If your area is very strict about swaps, you may be able to find a more lenient county and somehow get the title or whatever updated there and then transfer to your county if they would allow it. Unfortunately this stuff is overly complicated and mostly gray areas. There's often a lot of registering in other counties and then you never know what people or bureaucrats will decide to do when the talking point sounds good to those that are unaffected.

I did a quick search and one site said your emissions testing had to have a working check engine light, catalyst and muffler. You'll have the DOC and use your stock muffler if you want and the check engine light should work, but I have no idea if this is actually all you'll be required to prove when swapping to diesel.

I think 1 county in KY used to do testing and then abandoned the program. I worked in that county, but there's no way I'd ever make that a permanent location. A bunch of guys I knew had to deal with this every year and basically this meant spending hundreds of dollars a year to cheat and/or pay fines for their older cars they liked to play with.

In any case I'm interested in this stuff as it pops up a lot and there's no reason a bad law should keep people from having good engines.
 
In KY you don't really have to do anything for registration other than pay. It would be smarter for me to do something on say the title and that way it would be more likely to be registered in other states, but I wouldn't move to a state like that and I'm not selling my Jeep either.

Often this is a county by county by state kind of an issue. I would probably talk with your county clerk about this and see what they suggest so you can register your vehicle. The laws for this kind of thing are often very poorly written by people that are highly ignorant and some are very biased. Sometimes that bias helps because some areas don't test diesel vehicles for emissions, so if you can get it changed to diesel, you may not have to do testing.

If your area is very strict about swaps, you may be able to find a more lenient county and somehow get the title or whatever updated there and then transfer to your county if they would allow it. Unfortunately this stuff is overly complicated and mostly gray areas. There's often a lot of registering in other counties and then you never know what people or bureaucrats will decide to do when the talking point sounds good to those that are unaffected.

I did a quick search and one site said your emissions testing had to have a working check engine light, catalyst and muffler. You'll have the DOC and use your stock muffler if you want and the check engine light should work, but I have no idea if this is actually all you'll be required to prove when swapping to diesel.

I think 1 county in KY used to do testing and then abandoned the program. I worked in that county, but there's no way I'd ever make that a permanent location. A bunch of guys I knew had to deal with this every year and basically this meant spending hundreds of dollars a year to cheat and/or pay fines for their older cars they liked to play with.

In any case I'm interested in this stuff as it pops up a lot and there's no reason a bad law should keep people from having good engines.
I was just wondering if Cummins helps at all to navigate that legal gray area. Hopefully they sell enough that they can pave the way a little for people wanting to do swaps on their aging JKs and TJs. I’ll have to talk to my county/state, but looks like it will definitely be an up hill battle. Thanks for your reply and for posting about your build.
 
They may help a bit, but I don't know. The official claim is 1999 and earlier on light duty trucks (which I think is sub 4k lbs) I'm not sure JKs are sub 4k lbs and they're obviously too new. The early v6 in JKs screams of the need of the R2.8 though.

It wouldn't hurt to call them, but personally I'd want to make sure my county is on board first and then do the swap before the administration changes.

I've looked into this mildly as a way to import something like a Toyota Hilux or maybe a defender, if they aren't super pricey, by simply buying one south of the border and driving it or towing it home and registering it locally. This is a VERY gray/shadowy area, but if you don't make too much of a fuss the EPA probably won't crush it for me (though it may not be an EPA issue, rather than the safety certs purchased by US companies to pass regulations ie another tax you pay for a new vehicle).
 
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I just figured I'd post this, though it's not really relevant to my build. There are some guys tuning these engines and piling up some miles on tunes that produce at the tires, slightly over 200 HP and over 400 ft lbs of torque (low RPM). Stock tune is supposed to be 172 hp and 303 ft lbs and the hot tune is supposed to be 219 HP and 459 ft lbs. And there's some talk on performance goodies, like a stroker or something. They did not mention swapping out stock components, except the EGR.

To put this in perspective, my 3/4 ton with 5.9 Cummins is rated somewhere around 235 HP and 460 ft lbs and it moves well for an 8k lb truck. Granted it'll last that way for 500k mi or more, but that's still incredible from a 2.8L engine. I'm not sure of the longevity of the 2.8 in those conditions, but I doubt it's very long. My AX-15 is maxed out as it is with a stock 2.8, but if you're looking for a torque monster, this small package sounds pretty promising if your rig can handle it.
 
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I just figured I'd post this, though it's not really relevant to my build. There are some guys tuning these engines and piling up some miles on tunes that produce at the tires, slightly over 200 HP and over 400 ft lbs of torque (low RPM). Stock tune is supposed to be 172 hp and 303 ft lbs and the hot tune is supposed to be 219 HP and 459 ft lbs. And there's some talk on performance goodies, like a stroker or something. They did not mention swapping out stock components, except the EGR.

To put this in perspective, my 3/4 ton with 5.9 Cummins is rated somewhere around 235 HP and 460 ft lbs and it moves well for an 8k lb truck. Granted it'll last that way for 500k mi or more, but that's still incredible from a 2.8L engine. I'm not sure of the longevity of the 2.8 in those conditions, but I doubt it's very long. My AX-15 is maxed out as it is with a stock 2.8, but if you're looking for a torque monster, this small package sounds pretty promising if your rig can handle it.

That is insane....
 
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