Buying JTR - Spend the $ on a diesel or to regear a 3.6 for 37's?

[Rocksalt]

I can't believe you are speaking from experience regarding a JL or JT diesel. I have yet to even detect a hint of a diesel smell on my JT. The joke is what comes out of a new diesel with a DPF in LA is cleaner than what the engine is taking in.

I've yet to experience gelling in the 19 years I've been filling my diesel vehicles, but I understand that if I buy diesel in the summer, it might have a gelling issue if I let that fuel sit until winter.

If gelling was really a problem, how is it that all the trucks that transport products all over the US and Canada seem to run just fine all winter? FYI, the fuel is seasonally adjusted to account for the colder temperatures. As long as you are regularly purchasing diesel fuel, you won't have a gelling problem.

live in a cold climate???

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[UTRZRDOG]

I have a JTR Diesel and there is no smell to it whatsoever. Old diesel trucks yes, but the newer ones have zero smell. Now the fuel on the other hand, if you spill it or get it on you, it for sure has a smell but so does gasoline. As far as daily commuting I drive daily less than a mile to and from work and have had no problems at all with the carbon building up.

 

[RodRecket]

Since you already have seat time in a gasser why not go test drive a diesel and then reconsider your question?

A gas Rubicon version isn't going to drive that much different than your overland.

I went gas and will regear. Too much around town driving I think would be hard on the diesel.

I think the real question is: which engine makes the most sense for how you put on the majority of miles?

 

[RodRecket]

Rocksalt and KurtP, think you can knock the internet bickering off now?

 

[Dainbramaged]

Outside of the fascinating exchange on who know more about the merits of diesel vs gasoline, whether it stinks or which is harder on the environment, just curious if anyone had any experience to share with the ability of the JTR diesel- with all its extra torque - to perform well enough with 37’s that a regear wouldn’t be needed at some point to tow?

 

[Dainbramaged]

Since you already have seat time in a gasser why not go test drive a diesel and then reconsider your question?

A gas Rubicon version isn't going to drive that much different than your overland.

I went gas and will regear. Too much around town driving I think would be hard on the diesel.

I think the real question is: which engine makes the most sense for how you put on the majority of miles?

We did test drive a Wrangler diesel and a Gladiator diesel, but haven’t found one locally yet with 37’s on the stock 4.10’s to try. We’re reaching out through the local Gladiators club to see if any of the members have one they would let us test out.

The majority of our miles would be well served by gas, but then they would have also been well served by our Overland and yet we’re trading it in for the benefits of a Rubicon for the times we want those added capabilities.

 

[RodRecket]

We did test drive a Wrangler diesel and a Gladiator diesel, but haven’t found one locally yet with 37’s on the stock 4.10’s to try. We’re reaching out through the local Gladiators club to see if any of the members have one they would let us test out.

The majority of our miles would be well served by gas, but then they would have also been well served by our Overland and yet we’re trading it in for the benefits of a Rubicon for the times we want those added capabilities.

Are those capabilities in the rocks, sand, mud, snow...all the above?

I guess what I'm trying to get at is making an engine decision based on what you want to do with the truck should dictate the purchase.

Just wanting to run 37s without a regear doesn't really justify a diesel over gas or vice versa. Both can do it.

Just my opinion. Give us more info about what you want out of the truck and maybe someone will have a better answer for you.

 

[stickshifter]

Both have their merits...but diesel will be up over $4/gal by the end if this year or next and is squarely in the sights of regulators....just something to keep in mind as you weigh pros/cons. Europe has already started, and US is discussing, not allowing diesel vehicles into cities.

Regearing a gasser wont void your warranty; but tuning the diesel to stop it from killing itself over time will. I prefer a diesel engine all things being equal, and loved my cummins that i traded for the gladiator. But i have questions/concerns about the future of diesel vehicles for light duty consumer use.

I’m wondering who told you that regearing won’t void your warranty. I checked with my local dealer and the warranty department took the question up the chain. It’s a small town dealer, and they wanted to give me a good answer. They said that regearing voids the power train warranty, but not other stuff like interior cabin, etc. if I was regearing and expected Jeep to honor the power train warranty I’d ask the service department or warranty department for something in writing.

 

[Dainbramaged]

Are those capabilities in the rocks, sand, mud, snow...all the above?

I guess what I'm trying to get at is making an engine decision based on what you want to do with the truck should dictate the purchase.

Just wanting to run 37s without a regear doesn't really justify a diesel over gas or vice versa. Both can do it.

Just my opinion. Give us more info about what you want out of the truck and maybe someone will have a better answer for you.

Are those capabilities in the rocks, sand, mud, snow...all the above?

I guess what I'm trying to get at is making an engine decision based on what you want to do with the truck should dictate the purchase.

Just wanting to run 37s without a regear doesn't really justify a diesel over gas or vice versa. Both can do it.

Just my opinion. Give us more info about what you want out of the truck and maybe someone will have a better answer for you.

I appreciate people taking the time to try to help. My question was specific to exactly what I need to know to make my decision between the two options - “can a JTR diesel support towing small camping trailers with 37’s without a regear” because while I would like to have the extra diesel torque for rock crawling and towing, I don’t want to spend the extra bucks if I would still need to regear in any case. That would just be too much money for the benefit. But if I can buy the diesel Instead of rehearing, it seemed like it would a good trade-off for me.

I do think there have been some very good points made about the potential future of diesel and the type of driving best suited to diesels, but I’m also hoping that I can get hear back on my base question.

 

[KurtP]

I’m wondering who told you that regearing won’t void your warranty. I checked with my local dealer and the warranty department took the question up the chain. It’s a small town dealer, and they wanted to give me a good answer. They said that regearing voids the power train warranty, but not other stuff like interior cabin, etc. if I was regearing and expected Jeep to honor the power train warranty I’d ask the service department or warranty department for something in writing.

Try talking to another dealer, because that answer is bunk and opposite of what my dealer said. There are so many jeep dealers selling regeared jeeps, and i think they have mopar options for regaring anyway dont they? I think they would have a difficult leg to stand on voiding the entirety of your powertrain warranty for gears if you use dana spicer; since they made the axles. They couldnt say they wont cover cyl misfire or a trans issue on account of gears. If you used non factory gears installed by someone else, then yeah they wont cover a gear or likely a related axle issue; but they cant declare your powertrain warranty void because you regeared, especially with a factory or oem type part.

If you change all the parameters and tq output of a diesel engine, then they can use those reasons to deny all sorts of powertrain claims.

 

[Dainbramaged]

Try talking to another dealer, because that answer is bunk and opposite of what my dealer said. There are so many jeep dealers selling regeared jeeps, and i think they have mopar options for regaring anyway dont they? I think they would have a difficult leg to stand on voiding the entirety of your powertrain warranty for gears if you use dana spicer; since they made the axles. They couldnt say they wont cover cyl misfire or a trans issue on account of gears. If you used non factory gears installed by someone else, then yeah they wont cover a gear or likely a related axle issue; but they cant declare your powertrain warranty void because you regeared, especially with a factory or oem type part.

If you change all the parameters and tq output of a diesel engine, then they can use those reasons to deny all sorts of powertrain claims.

I’m asking the dealer that’s been helping us to confirm if their work would be covered by the warranty if I have them do the regear as part of the purchase.

I’ll post the answer when they respond.

 

[Oil_Burner]

We did test drive a Wrangler diesel and a Gladiator diesel, but haven’t found one locally yet with 37’s on the stock 4.10’s to try. We’re reaching out through the local Gladiators club to see if any of the members have one they would let us test out.

The majority of our miles would be well served by gas, but then they would have also been well served by our Overland and yet we’re trading it in for the benefits of a Rubicon for the times we want those added capabilities.

I've got the JTRD. It's still stock. I have had it in 4L, and that 4:1 transfer case is something else. You have 70% more torque with the diesel over the gas, and that torque is delivered at low RPM.

I've just had mine in snow / ice so far. If it started off in first, it shifted to second so fast, by the time I looked at the console, I saw a D2, and it was switching gears so fast as I was accelerating in the snow.

@TTEChris has been modifying his JTRD on this thread You’re my boy Blue (Diesel JT Build). He had 37's on the JTRD. You could PM him and ask him what he thinks of that combination in reference to what you are looking for. He is planning on replacing his axles, but I don't know what gears he will have then. He said he was getting 24 MPG on his 37's with the 3.73 gears. Then he removed the muffler and his MPG jumped to 28 with 75% of that highway.

 

[Dainbramaged]

I've got the JTRD. It's still stock. I have had it in 4L, and that 4:1 transfer case is something else. You have 70% more torque with the diesel over the gas, and that torque is delivered at low RPM.

I've just had mine in snow / ice so far. If it started off in first, it shifted to second so fast, by the time I looked at the console, I saw a D2, and it was switching gears so fast as I was accelerating in the snow.

@TTEChris has been modifying his JTRD on this thread You’re my boy Blue (Diesel JT Build). He had 37's on the JTRD. You could PM him and ask him what he thinks of that combination in reference to what you are looking for. He is planning on replacing his axles, but I don't know what gears he will have then. He said he was getting 24 MPG on his 37's with the 3.73 gears. Then he removed the muffler and his MPG jumped to 28 with 75% of that highway.

Thanks Jim, I’ll reach out and see what he can share. The diesel’s flat torque band you mentioned is one of the primary features that has me thinking about it for our off-roading.

We’ll keep an eye on things and upgrade to alloy axles later if needed, but I’m hoping that doesn’t prove necessary.

 

[Sekgunnut]

I would put the extra money into the diesel instead of a regear for sure if I knew that it would perform well with the stock 4.10s on 37's, I'm just afraid that I'll get it and then find that I still need the regear going up that big on tires. I'll take your advice and see if I can find someone in our local Mid-Atlantic Gladiator club that has a diesel on 37's that I could drive.

We're only looking at 23-24ft trailers, so nothing too extreme to tow.

Maybe I’ve missed something but all the diesel gladiators are a 3.73 ratio. Gas are the only ones with 4.10 gears.

 

[Dainbramaged]

Maybe I’ve missed something but all the diesel gladiators are a 3.73 ratio. Gas are the only ones with 4.10 gears.

Nope, that’s on me. I thought 4.10’s were std on all Rubicon’s, but clearly missed the fine print on that one.

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