Anyone ever swap out the 3.6 gasser for the 3.0 diesel?

[Flyin6]

You're setting yourself up for a very expensive nightmare. Pretty much everyone who has responded so far is saying as much. I say again... sell your existing truck and buy what you want. Put it back to stock first and sell off your upgrades separately - or keep them to build your next one with.

Well in light of the comment about these vehicles having different frames, the 3.0 is no longer an option. That is EXACTLY the kind of information I was hoping to glean from this posting. It's a dead-ender to be sure

No 3.0, but I won't sell this to purchase a 3.0 and do all this over. Since a diesel does not seem like a viable option, a gass V8 will be the decision, I think.

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[bleda2002]

Check out bruiser customs, they do plug and play ls swaps, again any of this is gonna be 20-40k though but you'll have one hell of a jeep then.

 

[aFatBird]

I doubt the frames are different, once again just the brackets and location of things would be different. There's no chance a company would make a whole new frame for an engine that gets a small percentage of sales in comparison.

 

[Flyin6]

Check out bruiser customs, they do plug and play ls swaps, again any of this is gonna be 20-40k though but you'll have one hell of a jeep then.

Yea, copy that
I think that spending 30K to get a killer overlander is not a bad deal. I have spent far more building other overlanders that were not as capable, nor as much fun as this Gladiator. I like this truck, and I won't ever sell it. I'll just use it until it ends up in the barn someday of one of the grandkids doesn't take it from me!

 

[Flyin6]

I doubt the frames are different, once again just the brackets and location of things would be different. There's no chance a company would make a whole new frame for an engine that gets a small percentage of sales in comparison.

Hmmm
Now we have one member who says the frames are different, and one who says they are not.
I wonder where the truth lies...
I would not consider a 3.0 swap if my frame needed modification, but if you are correct, well...
Oh, and it is well within my capability to do this myself. Although I did different things professionally, I am a fabricator and have done all sorts of swaps before. I could do this in my garage if I so chose and it were possible.
Now having said that, for a nice well sorted turn-key swap, I'd stroke the check and move out smartly.
And, Mopar is rather famous for making different frames for low-production vehicles. In decades past they would build a frame with different K-members to fit anywhere from a 6-cylinder up to a 440 big block in, what, the Dart/Baracuda chassis. Someone check me on that, but I think I'm right. Also, the larger cars would sometimes (rarely) get a Hemi with a different frame.
Nope, if anyone would do it... different frames, Mopar would.

 

[aevgladitorrubi]

I haven't heard of this happening, but I wonder if anyone has.

Personally, I am totally underwhelmed with this 3.6 wheezer. By my reckoning, it has very little power.

Since I paid a lot for a new AEV JT370 that I have added a bunch of stuff to, I will be keeping the Jeep, however, it needs more power.

On the subject of the 3.6 gas engine, I think it is a poor example of what an engine of that size should be. My wife drives a Cadillac XT6 with a 3.6 gasser and a 10-speed transmission. All I can say is WOW! That car is almost quick. It offers 306HP and man does it move out. We get around 25 mpg out of it, and that car is AWD. So the weight is comparable to the Gladiator, and yet the Caddy feels great with that engine, and doesn't need anything more. By comparison, I have a darned hard time just cruising at 70mph with my lifted/37" tire/5.13 gear setup. The difference between the two is dramatic.

So, I am now planning on an engine swap. I am not all that impressed with the 6.4 hemi. It costs a lot and has about half the features of a GM LT/10-speed setup. I spoke with a gentleman who drove a 5.3 LT powered JL and he said it was quicker than his 6.4 hemi JL. So my default will be to swap up to an entire GM 6.2LT 10-speed setup and not look back...at a hefty mid $30's price tag, I'm guessing.

This brings up the question of the 3.0 eco diesel.

Surely a complete drivetrain could be had from a recently totaled unit, or it could be purchased new. The 3.0 can be tuned and would likely have all the torque that a GM 6.2 would have.

All that makes it an interesting option.

I love my diesel and would and am not trying to talk you out of it... BUT the hurricane incline twin turbo 6's are going to be avail as a crate purchase... and it's only a matter of time before someone does the conversions

 

[Flyin6]

I love my diesel and would and am not trying to talk you out of it... BUT the hurricane incline twin turbo 6's are going to be avail as a crate purchase... and it's only a matter of time before someone does the conversions

What's this???

 

[bleda2002]

The diesel frames have different reinforcements and gussets than the gasser. Do you need all the reinforcement and gussets? I don't know but I doubt they added them just for fun.

 

[22EcoDs]

What's this???

Twin turbo 6 , same one they are putting in the wagoneer.

 

[Barnaby’sdad]

If I had engine swap money, I’d go the HEMI or LSx route, but you do you.

I’d be shocked if you can find too many people that are going to advocate for a 3.0 swap vs. selling your rig and buying one that came that way from the factory.

As for what you’ve already got in your rig…that’s a sunk cost. I wouldn’t go using that to justify one COA vs. another.

 

[sharpsicle]

While it might be entirely possible, it’s not worth it considering all the retrofitting that has to happen just to bring it to a state equivalent to how it’s already sold by the factory anyway. And not just the physical stuff, but the sensors and harnesses and computers as well. If you really want the diesel, you should trade in for it. Otherwise, no matter what you do, you’re going to be forever upside down on a vehicle that will never be as reliable and you’re gonna have a hard time unloading if you ever want to get rid of it.

Doing swaps for other engines make sense, because they’re not factory available and they’re a novelty. Or if your current engine is broken and you have to replace it anyway. This isn’t either of those though.

As someone who claims they could do this themselves, and has experience doing engine swaps, I would hope this all makes sense to you. You should be familiar with all the nuances that go into something like this. To spend all that time and money on something that you could just go get off a lot doesn’t make sense. I think you’re blinded by thinking about the possibility, but not really considering whether it’s practical or not.

 

[rharr]

Gone are the days of throwing a 350 in something welding up some new motor mounts and slapping on a carb. Everything is now a integrated computer system.

Your best chance for success is doing a aftermarket engine swap that is divorced from the rest of the jeep.

This might mean getting rid of factory gauges and going after market.

 

[Chief_jeep]

Like everyone else has said… that is a terrible idea for many reasons. Also, I drive the 3.0 and while it has plenty of torque and is very efficient it’s far from fast. I’m okay with that though. It’s a giant Jeep.

Of course your wife’s Cadillac is quicker. It’s a 10spd awd with way better aero, probably much lighter than your current setup and doesn’t have to turn 100+lbs on each corner.

If you want to do a motor swap I’d wait for the new hurricane I-6. I believe it’s going to make 550hp in the highest tuned crate motor. If you don’t care about your gas mileage then I’d look into doing an LS swap. Options are endless there.

 

[Dim]

Swapping for a diesel on a gaz basis could be possible but a many other days … welcome to the biiig nightmare . Besides reinforcement parts émissions etc etc … nothing is impossible that always depends how deep is your wallet I guess .
3.6 power is decent it’s enough it works , but torque isn’t the same story . It won’t be bad to have a big spoon of extra torque .
I’m surprised than American doesn’t offer something about internal parts … like more torquy camshaft or something like that .
It’s sometjing common with European cars . But I guess when you have the option to put a bigV8 instead you don’t bothering yourself with specific parts who requires a lot of engineering ;-)

 

[PJZ]

There is a recent thread building up the 3.6 with forged internals and then supercharging. That would be the most straight forward beyond a hemi swap. The hemi is heavy so supercharging would be better if you can get the motor to last.

I love my diesel but not sure there is any scenario where swapping in a diesel would make sense to me. Also comes with a host of new issues to contend with. If there was a 392 JT available my money would have went there - poor mileage and all.

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/building-3-6-with-forged-internals.66653/

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