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

[bakobobby]

+1 wait on the tt hurricane a much newer engine design and going off the turbo four banger as reference will move a Gladiator quite quick. Much better option when you end up stuck half way across the country and need to take it to a shop.

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[Jteakus]

I think an LS7 would be be your best bet. There are companies already doing the LS swaps and have all the logistics covered. I have both a JL and a JT diesel and as much as I love them I am looking down the road at swapping them out. Factory support for the engine is horrible. We can't even get injector pumps for a recall and the engine has been dropped from the JL platform.
I would like to do a Cummins 4BT swap but I can't wrap my mind around all the electronics in these units and getting them to play together with an engine swap seems like a nightmare.

 

[ATL_Rubi]

4BT swap it and be the hero we need.

 

[Flyin6]

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.

All pretty much true^^^^^^^^^^
However, comma
When I do the "Don-Factor" part of the equation, the "What I want to do" carries a greater value than what may make sense to others or to any accepted notions about what makes sense.

Maybe that's just a personal issue with me, but it has worked out pretty well for me so far.
But, for the sake of this thread let me conclude:

1. No one has done this
2. It is not something that is popular
3. There may be some mechanical (Frame issues) that start to make this swap too difficult.
4. There are many good options out there already.

Concluding, I can put this notion to bed as having been discussed, researched, and found to be a bridge too far.

Thanks to all for their comments

 

[Oilburner]

I have a 4bt in a Scrambler, it is great but would not be a good match for a modern Wrangler imho. It is basically like a tractor (which is what I wanted)
My vote would be to swap the V8 of your choice in there ?

 

[Flyin6]

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/

Patrick
Supercharging is not possible
A computer change from the GEPC2 to the GEPC5 made all that history. No one can tune the new computer so we got nada for power adders.
Foolish me, I purchased this JT thinking I would supercharge it around month 6 and was shocked to find out it is no longer possible.
Would have been an easy fix...

 

[Flyin6]

I think an LS7 would be be your best bet. There are companies already doing the LS swaps and have all the logistics covered. I have both a JL and a JT diesel and as much as I love them I am looking down the road at swapping them out. Factory support for the engine is horrible. We can't even get injector pumps for a recall and the engine has been dropped from the JL platform.
I would like to do a Cummins 4BT swap but I can't wrap my mind around all the electronics in these units and getting them to play together with an engine swap seems like a nightmare.

To that, I would opt for the 6.2 LT, not LS. The new engine is capable of 24 ish mpg in our platform and would tow my overland camper up a mountainside keeping up with the sports cars.

 

[Flyin6]

4BT swap it and be the hero we need.

4BT would be a good choice for me because I can't hear all that well! (too many hours hanging beneath rotor blades or listening to jet engines spinning)
Those 4BT rattle cans make power but are SOOOO NOISY!
I had it's bigger brother in a 91.5 Dodge W250. So noisy you can't think, even for a hearing person

 

[Flyin6]

+1 wait on the tt hurricane a much newer engine design and going off the turbo four banger as reference will move a Gladiator quite quick. Much better option when you end up stuck half way across the country and need to take it to a shop.

I didn't know about this new engine. Never looked past the Wrangler platform. That would be a super cool swap to be sure. My summer is already framed up and will be with the V6 wheezer power. I asked to be added to the list to upgrade to a 6.2 LT with Motec, but they aren't really offering that yet. I was hoping they would have it sorted and since I'm going out west in the September, just stop by and drop it off at their shop on the way back. That is most likely where I am headed with this jeep. a low-mod 6.2 LT/10 speed with a Dana 60 rear axle and call it a day.

 

[Flyin6]

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.

Allow me to qualify my statement a bit more. I could do the entire swap, but not all by myself. I would do the transplant and all the mechanicals. I would possibly tackle some of the electronics and absolutely zero of the tuning. Although I own the HP Tuners device and tune my supercharged Suburban, I would not attempt to tune a transplant. So to be entirely accurate and not overstep, I would enlist help to do harness/computer/tuning aspect.

 

[PJZ]

Ugh, well that sucks! Will switch my vote to the hurricane or maybe the hellcat swap

Patrick
Supercharging is not possible
A computer change from the GEPC2 to the GEPC5 made all that history. No one can tune the new computer so we got nada for power adders.
Foolish me, I purchased this JT thinking I would supercharge it around month 6 and was shocked to find out it is no longer possible.
Would have been an easy fix...

 

[Minty JL]

LS/LT swap would probley be more cost effective.

There is a shop in Clearwater, FL that has this all sorted out.......everything works.

 

[Minty JL]

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.

The 6.6 LTx kit is $29k or $36k if you ship it to them and have them install it. That was the quote I got about 3 months ago.

 

[DC3]

Swapping over to the GPEC2 PCM wouldn't be bad. You could easily find the harnesses on eBay or through salvage yards. Getting the new PCM to function on the network is probably uncharted territory, and you will need a dealer (or locksmith) for the SKIM activation. I have deeply explored the system through the WiTech software, Chrysler Diagnostic Software, and HPT. All of this to understand how to modify and swap control modules. There is a lot that can be done, but it requires an extensive amount of time to self-train. Some benchtop programmers can simplify the process, but I didn't get that far.

If you could get the entire Diesel powertrain with harness and fueling components, I don't think that swap would be all that hard. The most challenging would be the module work. Mechanically, the Gladiator is super easy to swap hardware on. I wish the electronics were more accessible.

I remember swapping a manual transmission into an Audi S8 and having to decode and recode the ECU, I thought that was hard but I found the Jeep to be substantially harder. If you decide to do a powertrain or PCM swap, I am happy to share my experiences, learning lessons, etc. Just hit me up on DM.

I applaud your vigor to repower your rig.

 

[Flyin6]

Ugh, well that sucks! Will switch my vote to the hurricane or maybe the hellcat swap

Hellcat: Too expensive
and
I don't need all that push, really, I'm a candidate for the 5.3 LT
But
For nearly the same monee is the 6.2...
6.4 Hemi swap: Gives you less than a LT swap for same money
Hurricane swap is a future possible thing
LT 10speed is late summer, cost effective and better motor and trans than Mopar stuff

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