So disappointed in this Diesel platform; wish there was a return policy.

[Rat2Desert]

Hey CreepyJeepy,

I am very confused you are getting such bad performance - my experience has been completely different with the same outside temps and a lot more weight:

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...with-your-eco-diesel.38774/page-2#post-714739

I have 5k on a stock Overland and it pulls fantastic... for a 1/2 ton truck. Never struggles unless the hill is real steep or Im passing with a full load.
Only question I have is how many miles are on it?
Maybe its still breaking in?

Thank you both for your detailed reports ! These kinds of discussions are what makes this forum so valuable.

In my experience towing similar loads with a V8 Cherokee the slope and length of grade are crucial. A percentage point or 2, or a mile or 2, difference determines if I'm cool and happy at 55 mph or slow, hot and frustrated at 35-40 mph. Ambient temperature is a major factor as well.

When going up a hill or other heavy load situations (strong headwind) my speed is determined by coolant temp. Which I keep really low due to blowing a few hoses over the years . . . which was due to bad maintenance and not paying attention early in my towing career, but I'm still very leery of high temps.

Anyway, in a few weeks will have my diesel JT and can add more relevant experience to the thread.

Sponsored

 

[Overland-2021]

JT and Overland, What elevation do you tow at?

It's only at 900 miles now. So the break in might be the issue.

The dealer does want to check it out, so it's scheduled to go in in 2 weeks (soonest appt they had). (for the heat issue while towing and the soggy front springs bottoming out on potholes / speed bumps)

It's 6-7% grade up i70 in those parts. Steep and Long.

Im in New England so hills are not large. Going to upstate NY I saw a few stretches maybe three miles long up to about 1500'MSL. I think on one long uphill I dropped it into 6th briefly. Still held 62-65mph no issues ~2700RPM tops. Temps where up during those pulls for sure but nothing like what you have going.

 

[Advguy]

So I’m wondering if something like this might help she


Hey there! The images were taken with me full throttle going up i70 towards evergreen Colorado. 6% grade with about 3100(ish)total weight in the trailer.

I am told I should try to pull in Manual mode as you can jump RPMs up a bit higher if needed. (I haven't tried that)

I am also wondering if the engine was in a regen phase and maybe that caused the extra heat...

It's really good to hear you can pull 3500 lb with that type of fuel mileage.

What type of terrain do you tow on?
What type of camper is it?
What is the frontal area on that camper?
What type of speed do you typically tow at to get 20mpg?

Let me start with my truck. I have a loaded Overland with stock wheels and upgraded tires to 275/70R18.

We have a T@B 400 Boondock camper and tow it from Raleigh NC into the NC Mountains (Asheville, NC area). There are some decent hills. We basically go from 100 ft above sea level to 5,000 feet. I don’t know the frontal area of the camper. I think the width of the camper is 8’

when I tow I usually drive 60-62 mph. I can easily do 60 on big hills but I usually back off to 50-55. I only tow in automatic and have found the truck does a good job downgrading when it needs to. The truck has plenty of power throughout the range that it never really struggles for us.

I’m sure you triaged just about everything - have you checked to see if the brake controller is working right? Any chance the trailer brakes were slightly applied? With your torque and the setup you described - it should’ve been easy peesy

 

[Granitelvr]

Sorry to hear OP. This pic is from a 10k lb tow up a 6% grade in 104 degree temps at 4Kish elevation. I’ve towed up to 13k on some pretty steep long grades around 7-8k feeey elevation and she definitely felt it/slowed/ coolant temp went up near redline. But she did it. I am eagerly awaiting aftermarket cooling options for the Jeep because it is the limitation to more effective towing. At 6k I’ve never even felt my trailer behind me on any terrain. I will grant that I am towing a dump trailer and as I read through this thread I now understand that it could be a significant consideration. Also, just driving without towing, wind mph makes a difference. The days you towed was it windy? The brick(i.e. Jeep) doesn’t like the wind for power/efficiency. I’ve not towed anything with a wind profile, but dang this thing pulls like a dream. It torches my 2007 Tacoma hands down. It even gave a modern F350 diesel a run for its money on the same grades with similar weight. I do use manual mode when towing and shift frequently to have more control over what’s happening with the engine/power/cooling. May be a helpful suggestion when max towing/the truck is straining.

 

[CreepyJeepy]

Sorry to hear OP. This pic is from a 10k lb tow up a 6% grade in 104 degree temps at 4Kish elevation. I’ve towed up to 13k on some pretty steep long grades around 7-8k feeey elevation and she definitely felt it/slowed/ coolant temp went up near redline. But she did it. I am eagerly awaiting aftermarket cooling options for the Jeep because it is the limitation to more effective towing. At 6k I’ve never even felt my trailer behind me on any terrain. I will grant that I am towing a dump trailer and as I read through this thread I now understand that it could be a significant consideration. Also, just driving without towing, wind mph makes a difference. The days you towed was it windy? The brick(i.e. Jeep) doesn’t like the wind for power/efficiency. I’ve not towed anything with a wind profile, but dang this thing pulls like a dream. It torches my 2007 Tacoma hands down. It even gave a modern F350 diesel a run for its money on the same grades with similar weight. I do use manual mode when towing and shift frequently to have more control over what’s happening with the engine/power/cooling. May be a helpful suggestion when max towing/the truck is straining.

This is a great question. Yes the trailer brake controller I know is working, and I do not feel any drag when driving at low speeds around my neighborhood. Now my trailer tires are in need of replacement and do have some very bad wear patterns (they have 15k miles on them). I wonder if there is some drag being created by the trailer itself. I'll tear into the trailer tonight, and inspect brakes, and bearings.

FYI I see 210 - 220 with no trailer attached for coolant temps often.

 

[Davekayc]

Maybe get your oil filters cut and see if you have silver. Maybe there is heat generating from a bad break in . I wouldnt be towing with those for a couple thousand miles on it first. I know with some equipment if oil level is too high heat can build larger than the rated cooler. And for the feller with the limp mode check throttle . Push all your fuses in all the way. More than HALF of mine were barely in ! Maybe the electric fan isnt happening. Dunno , ideas.

 

[ratherbskiing]

All spring I towed my teardrop with my new JLUD on 35s with no issues. I would pass folks towing uphill over steep passed at any speed I desired. The power was endless and I was ear-to-ear grins. Then. It hit 90+ degrees and everything changed. I was downright embarrassed the past two weekends having to pull over and let the 3.0 cool down frequently while towing only about 2,300 lbs. It's the long grades that really hurt it. They don't even have to be steep, but if they are sustained and it's over 90 degrees...look out. I was the largest 3.0 fanboy until July came. I can't keep coolant out of the 230s and oil temp out of the 250s.

 

[CreepyJeepy]

Tore apart the trailer axles, there is nothing anywhere that is causing drag, I did find some bad seals which got greese on the trailer brake shoes, so those will get replaced this weekend but zero drag. Just like you if towing when hot, the Jeep lacks in performance big time.

Colorado is full of those long grades….. I guess I’ll tow at night in the summer….

 

[Jt-wrx]

wow, i have manual v6 and towed through 104f (40c) heat through mountains in alberta british columbia and hottest temp i saw was 112 (edit, must be celsius as canada truck so 233f) on my oil, coolant always about 10 degrees less, towing about 3000 lb loaded up trailer, 36' sq/ft frontal area (6x6x14' enclosed cargo trailer camperized), full camping trip with 3 paddleboards strapped to roof of jeep, bikes and fuel in box etc. Likely about 3400 lbs of trailer, gear and people total

sounds like these diesels need delete and tune (dpf and egr delete would be on my list)...otherwise if towing was your jam get the pentastar and get those axle ratios proper

oh, edit time...Celsius to Fahrenheit


"good catch, i didn't notice units on my display, will check again when driving, usually it runs around 88-90 which when convering from c to f would be 190-194 f, so the hottest i saw of 112 would convert to 233 f

i am in Canada and every other dang thing is labeled in metric etc.

also my a/c was running was well, it hasn't really turned off, bit of a heat wave"

so i got up to 233f worst case towing on oil temp, normally runs 190-194, through mountains, through a heat wave, with manual pentastar

 

[ratherbskiing]

3.0 Towing a small teardrop, let's call it 2,300LBS. On skinny 35s, mopar lift. Note the elevation. Had to pull over to cool her down at this moment.

 

[CreepyJeepy]

3.0 Towing a small teardrop, let's call it 2,300LBS. On skinny 35s, mopar lift. Note the elevation. Had to pull over to cool her down at this moment.

I took a look on the map for your geo point, and altitude, that was flat land and your temps were tht high, I can see your AC is on Max as well.

Do you have this happen if you turn off the A/C?

Just curious.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

............. and hottest temp i saw was 112f on my oil, coolant always about 10 degrees less, towing ............

Can I assume you mean 212F on oil and 10 degrees less (202) on coolant?
I have seen temperatures far far higher than that just driving on the interstate tooling along at 70 mph. In fact, I saw coolant temps of 220 and 230 on the trip back from CO - and that's mostly downhill back to Iowa. Oil temp was a bit below the coolant temps most of the time.
It usually runs 190-200 but on a hot day, sustained highway speeds - NO TRAILER, no payload to speak of, 220 isn't out of the realm of normal.

Just driving around our local area, speeds 45-55 it appears the normal thermostat regulated temperature seems to be about 190 - that's typical of older engines so this may be the same. With any load (which means higher speeds and wind resistance) that means it's going to run above that.

 

[ratherbskiing]

I took a look on the map for your geo point, and altitude, that was flat land and your temps were tht high, I can see your AC is on Max as well.

Do you have this happen if you turn off the A/C?

Just curious.

That exact spot was actually one heck of a hill, but I had this happen on I-15 all weekend too. Oil temp was my bigger issue on the highway.

I played with AC off and on. Made no difference.

Another example here https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/diesel-cooling-options-and-ideas.46298/post-749285

 

[Jt-wrx]

Can I assume you mean 212F on oil and 10 degrees less (202) on coolant?
I have seen temperatures far far higher than that just driving on the interstate tooling along at 70 mph. In fact, I saw coolant temps of 220 and 230 on the trip back from CO - and that's mostly downhill back to Iowa. Oil temp was a bit below the coolant temps most of the time.
It usually runs 190-200 but on a hot day, sustained highway speeds - NO TRAILER, no payload to speak of, 220 isn't out of the realm of normal.

Just driving around our local area, speeds 45-55 it appears the normal thermostat regulated temperature seems to be about 190 - that's typical of older engines so this may be the same. With any load (which means higher speeds and wind resistance) that means it's going to run above that.

good catch, i didn't notice units on my display, will check again when driving, usually it runs around 88-90 which when convering from c to f would be 190-194 f, so the hottest i saw of 112 would convert to 233 f

i am in Canada and every other dang thing is labeled in metric etc.

also my a/c was running was well, it hasn't really turned off, bit of a heat wave, gonna edit original post as well with this response added

 

[engineeering]

WOW those temps are hot! Thanks for the posts... warning everyone of the diesels.

That is very disappointing. Jeep knew the truck ran hot while towing... and didn't update the coolant system. Those engines (historically different Mercedes diesels offered in 3.0, OM642) are also very troublesome with oil cooler leaks, turbo failures, emissions issues... and many other things. I just dropped 25k replacing one and am on my 3rd turbo. Best to go gas and steer clear of diesel on the Gladiator purchase.

Sponsored