3.6 with air intake vs. 3.0 ecodiesel

[bod925]

Hey all - looking to order my first Gladiator! Trying to determine which powertrain to get. I will be upfront and say cost is not a factor in the decision, just want the best performance for my application.

I will be ordering the Rubicon trim. Test drove with the 3.6 and it just seemed a little bit lacking on get-up and go power (merging on ramp, passing on interstate, going up mountain roads). Unfortunately there are not any Rubicon trims with the 3.0 ecodiesel that I can test drive to compare.
So I asked a guy at the dealership and he told me (based on his personal Gladiator Rubicon with 37's) he thinks the 3.6 would be better for what I described above IF an air intake is added to it. He says with the turbo lag on the ecodiesel, the 3.6 would be just as good with an aftermarket air intake due to the Rubicon having 4.10 gearing standard with the 3.6 pentastar. He said the 4.10 gearing is more important than the extra torque provided by the ecodiesel using 3.73 gears for going up the hills, passing acceleration, and such.

Just wanted to get others thoughts. The ecodiesel is more maintenance and finicky with the emissions, so if all other things are equal and there is not much of a difference after adding an air intake to the 3.6L then I guess the gasser route I would go.
Has anyone driven both setups (3.6L w/4.10+intake VS. 3.0L w/3.73) and could comment if they notice a difference between the two powertrains?

Will not be doing any towing.

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[MF Comics]

Aftermarket Intakes are cheaper, and there are other mods too.

Even without a Diesel Delete, still can make the 3.0d a beast

Diesel Intakes, charge pipes, tune

I'd consider a diesel solely for the uniqueness and the range, but that's just me.

 

[rharr]

FYI, most folks with 3.6 end up ditching the 4.10 gears and go for 4.88 or bigger.

There are a ton of conversations in this forum about 3.0 vs 3.6, each with pros and cons.

simply put though a 3.6 can't touch a 3.0 in the torque department. The 3.0 has a 180 extra ft/lbs which is a lot.

With the extra ompfff of the 3.0 come a lots of extra complexity BS that you need to be ok with dealing with.

For me I am a hands on guy that likes to get dirty, so dealing with extra challenges is a ok trade off for the extra omphhh. I also don't daily drive it.

Also i believe there is a stop sale order on all new 3.0 because of a open high pressure fuel pump recall.

If you want a 3.0 right now you need to buy used.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

The diesel is no quicker than the 3.6 according to Car and Driver.

https://www.caranddriver.com/jeep/gladiator

An air intake is a waste on a stock 3.6. You'd be lucky to get 2 hp.

 

[MF Comics]

Totally forgot to congratulate you, welcome to the club!

 

[bod925]

Thank you for the welcome, MF Comics!

 

[rharr]

The diesel is no quicker than the 3.6 according to Car and Driver.

https://www.caranddriver.com/jeep/gladiator

An air intake is a waste on a stock 3.6. You'd be lucky to get 2 hp.

Let me stand on the brakes and build a little boost before launch, the 3.6 is a dog.

 

[bod925]

Let me stand on the brakes and build a little boost before launch, the 3.6 is a dog.

So are you saying the 3.0 would be a better option for me? Even with the little extra maintenance like the fuel filter and more frequent oil changes?

 

[rharr]

So are you saying the 3.0 would be a better option for me? Even with the little extra maintenance like the fuel filter and more frequent oil changes?

No i am saying you need to dig through the forum read about the known failure points of both engines. Read about pro's and con's of both, understand the maintenance differences and use function of both and then compare that to what you really need.

There are a lot of guys on here that buy a EcoD, the HP fuel pump fails, they fight with the dealer who is going to pay the $8k repair bill and get pissed. Or buy the ecoD and get pissed when it goes derated because they are trying to tow a 6k lb toy hauler up a very long grade at 75mph and the oil temp is pinging off 255 degrees. Or they get pissed cause the wire harness rubs the egr flange and leaves the truck in Christmas tree mode in the middle of no where.

Or the gas guys get pissed cause their cams have eatten themselves, or cause they have to drop anther 2k on a regear cause the 4:10's are still to tall which makes the motor extra lathargic.

Simple put take a month and look at this forum on your lunch break, you will start to better understand all the nuance's of the JT.

The EcoD will end up costing you more money when something goes wrong simply put, and the lack of dealer techs that know the motor will frustrate you.

In the back of my mind my escape strategy is putting a LS in mine if the motor ever decides it's done doing it's thing. But I will do what i can to prevent that.

 

[CrazyCooter]

I have built a few JT/JL's, regear them regularly, and own an Ecodiesel. I wanted a JT back in 2020, but it was not even on the table till the 3.0 option came available. If you live in hilly country, tow, and/or want to install larger tires......It's a no brainer.

Oil change interval should be about the same as gas but does cost more. You do have the 20K fuel filter change and DEF that gas rigs don't.

My plan was to order another truck before they discontinued the diesel to replace this one eventually, but it looks like that won't be an option with the fuel pump recall and the way they might have faded out.

Only irritations I have had is towing heavy in the mountain with temps above 90° the oil/ water temps run warm and having to deal with the dealer on the emissions reflash. Other than that, I LOVE this truck.

 

[bod925]

I have built a few JT/JL's, regear them regularly, and own an Ecodiesel. I wanted a JT back in 2020, but it was not even on the table till the 3.0 option came available. If you live in hilly country, tow, and/or want to install larger tires......It's a no brainer.

Oil change interval should be about the same as gas but does cost more. You do have the 20K fuel filter change and DEF that gas rigs don't.

My plan was to order another truck before they discontinued the diesel to replace this one eventually, but it looks like that won't be an option with the fuel pump recall and the way they might have faded out.

Only irritations I have had is towing heavy in the mountain with temps above 90° the oi/ water temps run warm and having to deal with the dealer on the emissions reflash. Other than that, I LOVE this truck.

I do not own anything that can be towed. So towing is a non factor. But you mentioned living in hilly country...that does matter alot.
We live in the foothills of NC and like to go hiking/exploring up in the Appalachian mountains. Nothing worse than trying to climb a mountain road and the vehicle dogging down. That is what I am trying to avoid. After the initial investment, looks like an extra $200 bucks or so a year for maintenance compared to gas maintenance. That is worth the cost to me having the lower rpm power.
Dealership I'm working with hasn't said anything about a recall on the 3.0 yet....

 

[MF Comics]

No i am saying you need to dig through the forum read about the known failure points of both engines. Read about pro's and con's of both, understand the maintenance differences and use function of both and then compare that to what you really need.

There are a lot of guys on here that buy a EcoD, the HP fuel pump fails, they fight with the dealer who is going to pay the $8k repair bill and get pissed. Or buy the ecoD and get pissed when it goes derated because they are trying to tow a 6k lb toy hauler up a very long grade at 75mph and the oil temp is pinging off 255 degrees. Or they get pissed cause the wire harness rubs the egr flange and leaves the truck in Christmas tree mode in the middle of no where.

Or the gas guys get pissed cause their cams have eatten themselves, or cause they have to drop anther 2k on a regear cause the 4:10's are still to tall which makes the motor extra lathargic.

Simple put take a month and look at this forum on your lunch break, you will start to better understand all the nuance's of the JT.

The EcoD will end up costing you more money when something goes wrong simply put, and the lack of dealer techs that know the motor will frustrate you.

In the back of my mind my escape strategy is putting a LS in mine if the motor ever decides it's done doing it's thing. But I will do what i can to prevent that.

Or keep it OEM with a Hemi swap

 

[CrazyCooter]

I do not own anything that can be towed. So towing is a non factor. But you mentioned living in hilly country...that does matter alot.
We live in the foothills of NC and like to go hiking/exploring up in the Appalachian mountains. Nothing worse than trying to climb a mountain road and the vehicle dogging down. That is what I am trying to avoid. After the initial investment, looks like an extra $200 bucks or so a year for maintenance compared to gas maintenance. That is worth the cost to me having the lower rpm power.
Dealership I'm working with hasn't said anything about a recall on the 3.0 yet....

You can't look at this from a cost standpoint and I think you said in your first post money is not a factor.

In theory, a gas truck should climb the hill faster because it makes 25hp more and it's lighter. I'd rather loaf up at 1900-2100 rpm than listen to 5500rpm. There also the range distance factor from the increased fuel economy.

If money was not a factor and I didn't live in CA, I might consider a hemi swap and custom fuel tank.....But then there is all that noise and I'm getting to old for that!

Back when I had more time than money, I built my 1973 K20 up to tow. I found I was worn out after just 300 miles towing to a camp spot. It had rang even at 5mpg towing because I had 80 gals on board. As my business grew I bought a 2006 Ram Cummins truck because it was SO much more comfortable and quiet in comparison.

The K20 outran it on the hills because it made 120 more HP and had more range because of the fuel capacity. The Ram was much smoother and quieter to drive since it lugged up the hills at 2200 rpm instead of 4500rpm.

Later I bought a Peterbilt to replace the Ram and it went up the hills at 1600 rpm....much smoother and quieter yet!

 

[rharr]

Or keep it OEM with a Hemi swap

Hemi's aren't great, LS platform has a bigger support network for anything and everything and even has options to pair up the 8hp75 i already have.

 

[bod925]

Hemi's aren't great, LS platform has a bigger support network for anything and everything and even has options to pair up the 8hp75 i already have.

We are getting a bit off topic lol. Since this is a brand new Jeep, I won't be doing any tunes, swaps, etc. Leaving it stock as not to void any warranties.
Another thing I noticed is the 3.0 has a 100,000 mile warranty and the 3.6 only has 60,000 mile. That extra 40k miles is a nice buffer...

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