EcoDeisel, Should I?

[PuddleJumper]

So I have a 22' Rubicon and a 23' Mojave. Love em both. My end goal with the Mojave is to eventually get it 392 swapped. I'm not gonna do anything with the Rubicon because its basically my family/Aunt's winter/tow truck. I got a blazin deal on it and it will stay stock for reliability sake. I on the other hand am crunching numbers and deciding if i really wanna drop 40k on a hemi swap. I love my Mojave it rides amazing, but it doesn't ride as good as a stock rubicon anymore. Having a stock truck to go back to, really points out where you have "ruined" your truck. I wanted a truck that could be 90% stock, run 37s and be a do it all rig. And originally the Mojave was (currently still is) the route there. Its got the deisel frame, and other little goodies that make ideal for a V8 swap. But i was looking as diesel sports and overlands. 40k for a lightly used deisel gladiator, delete and tune that bad boy. get some fox elites under it and would I have a equivalent to my endgame Mojave for half the price? I love V8s, i want it so badly. But would it be smarter and quicker to step back and change platform? I want whatever truck i get to last, like a really long time. I want to get a decade worth of offroad trips and memories out of it. Cus there is another thing nagging at me. My range is leaky dog shit rn and the path I'm on won't get it any better. V8 and 37s on a 20gal tank. I'd get what? 180 miles a tank offroad? Not very nomadic if you ask me. Deisel I feel can get a lot more out of 20 gals even with big tires. I want something that will go the entire TransAmerican Highway. My heart says hemi, my brain say I should start lookin elsewhere. I could get 10k out of selling my Mojave and put 20 towards a eco. or I could throw 40 at a v8 swap. the swap costing as much as an entire vehicle is whats rubbin me wrong. Can i do it? yeah. Is it smart? not really.

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[Chris A]

Love my stock Overland and the 30mpg highway. I know most of the problems are EGR / exhaust treatment systems.

 

[MaximusTX]

I have a 22 Diesel gladiator and my wife has a 23 Wrangler 392. Mine has a 6.5 inch lift with a bunch of other mods done running 42 inch tires and I am still getting 17mpg and my wife's 392 has a 3.5 inch lift on 35s and is getting 12mpg. Both have about the same amount of torque with the 392 having almost double the HP. The 392 is definitely a blast to drive and sounds awesome but I would take my diesel any day over the 392. Just be aware of the additional maintenance with the diesel (Fuel additive on each fill up, Fuel filter, higher cost of oil changes, DEF Fluid if you are not deleting it). I am doing the first oil change on mine since I got mine and it has costs about $300 for the oil, oil filter and fuel filter. I did opt to use Amsoil which costs a little more but should last longer. Just something to be aware of going into a diesel.

 

[PuddleJumper]

I have a 22 Diesel gladiator and my wife has a 23 Wrangler 392. Mine has a 6.5 inch lift with a bunch of other mods done running 42 inch tires and I am still getting 17mpg and my wife's 392 has a 3.5 inch lift on 35s and is getting 12mpg. Both have about the same amount of torque with the 392 having almost double the HP. The 392 is definitely a blast to drive and sounds awesome but I would take my diesel any day over the 392. Just be aware of the additional maintenance with the diesel (Fuel additive on each fill up, Fuel filter, higher cost of oil changes, DEF Fluid if you are not deleting it). I am doing the first oil change on mine since I got mine and it has costs about $300 for the oil, oil filter and fuel filter. I did opt to use Amsoil which costs a little more but should last longer. Just something to be aware of going into a diesel.

whats the diesel oil change interval? I will delete immediately as well. I'd have the kit before i got the truck. Any other maintenance thats extensive that a gasser wouldn't have?

 

[Jrgunn5150]

I have an Ecodiesel Ram with 421,000 miles on it.

There was an Ecodiesel Gladiator sitting right next to the Mojave I bought I could have had for 8-10k less money, and I left it there.

I wouldn't buy any new diesel from any manufacturer I couldn't delete, and I wouldn't delete a new one under warranty.

 

[MaximusTX]

whats the diesel oil change interval? I will delete immediately as well. I'd have the kit before i got the truck. Any other maintenance thats extensive that a gasser wouldn't have?

I am kind of new to the diesel ownership so I am still learning everything but maybe someone else can chime in on this but the oil interval kind of depends on the oil that you use.. You can check out this thread for more information. From my understanding from reading the thread the Amsoil could go the 10,000 miles but still recommended to change around 7,500 and the other oils should be changed around 5,000-7,500 depending on which oil you used.

Official 2020+ EcoDiesel Oil Recommendations

The only other maintenance that I know is different is the fuel filter as the diesel is very susceptible to debris and water contamination. You have to drain the water out of the fuel filter once a month and change the fuel filter with every oil change. It's not hard and takes about 5 minutes to drain the water. I add this to every fuel up as it seems to be recommended by a lot of people.

Hot Shot's Secret Everyday Diesel Treatment

 

[PuddleJumper]

I am kind of new to the diesel ownership so I am still learning everything but maybe someone else can chime in on this but the oil interval kind of depends on the oil that you use.. You can check out this thread for more information. From my understanding from reading the thread the Amsoil could go the 10,000 miles but still recommended to change around 7,500 and the other oils should be changed around 5,000-7,500 depending on which oil you used.

Official 2020+ EcoDiesel Oil Recommendations

The only other maintenance that I know is different is the fuel filter as the diesel is very susceptible to debris and water contamination. You have to drain the water out of the fuel filter once a month and change the fuel filter with every oil change. It's not hard and takes about 5 minutes to drain the water. I add this to every fuel up as it seems to be recommended by a lot of people.

Hot Shot's Secret Everyday Diesel Treatment

Hmmm, I'm on the fence with the ECO cus it appears to be more like a car motor than a truck motor. I have a 94' bronco with a 7.3 in it. It has a kit on it that allows 20k oil change intervals, and it does so great. It has 780,000 on the motor no rebuild. But i also feel like i'm doing injectors every 2 months. which ain't cheap.

 

[Stuntman Mike]

I can fully understand the desire to put a decent V8 into the Gladiator.

But, as already mentioned by you, there are two drawbacks, the cost and the range.

With the EcoDiesel you will easily get double the range as with the 392 and you will have nearly comparable torque at lower rpm which is both a considerable advantage offroad.

So even with the flaws reported for the EcoDiesel I would select it again.

BTW, I am doing an engine oil change every 6-7K miles.

 

[PuddleJumper]

I can fully understand the desire to put a decent V8 into the Gladiator.

But, as already mentioned by you, there are two drawbacks, the cost and the range.

With the EcoDiesel you will easily get double the range as with the 392 and you will have nearly comparable torque at lower rpm which is both a considerable advantage offroad.

So even with the flaws reported for the EcoDiesel I would select it again.

BTW, I am doing an engine oil change every 6-7K miles.

I'm spending 50-100 bucks a month on oil cus i do 5-7k a month. with a 300 dollar oil change needed on a diesel. I may have to buy a drum. To me horse power is cool but 500 is unsuable when your Jeep can't go over a 100.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

Hmmm, I'm on the fence with the ECO cus it appears to be more like a car motor than a truck motor. I have a 94' bronco with a 7.3 in it. It has a kit on it that allows 20k oil change intervals, and it does so great. It has 780,000 on the motor no rebuild. But i also feel like i'm doing injectors every 2 months. which ain't cheap.

I change my oil in my Ram a week or two after the light goes off. At 10k.

I had an oil cooler failure, and a turbo coolant line failure which was an absolute nightmare in the Ram. It's still original everything else, including fluids.

I tow 6-8,000 lbs once a month or more.

It's been to Oklahoma, Colorado, Florida, Oregon, all hauling loaded trailers.

For me, the hang up is deleting it. I wouldn't delete one under warranty, and all the parts you delete, are the ones that will cause warranty issues lol.

 

[BourbonRunner]

There is no question the Ecodiesel is a torque monster. In many cases the Rubicon Diesel has enough twist to avoid using 4x4 on trails in the right cases that a Mojave would have to be in 4Lo to handle. I wouldn't believe it if I had not seen and done it first hand.

That being said if you did a 392 swap, what is keeping you from spending a little extra and doing a LRA or similar auxiliary tank? If you get about 14MPG on a 392 swapped JTM and add the 17g LRA tank you're looking at another 230+ miles of range.

You may want to call Joe's Jeep Jungle and see what he says. He's in Sykesville MD and known for his Hemi swaps. He is about 90 minutes north of you.

 

[aFatBird]

I'm getting about 7k per oil change on my ecodiesel but I change it at 5k. Main issue for me is fhe maintenance items just cost so much more than the equivalent gasser one.
An oil filter cost over $70 from sites like allmoparparts. The fuel filter, which is changed every other oil change is another 60. Even the cabin air filter cost over double.

Still love the diesel for the most part, it's just not happy in 100+°f weather climbing grades

 

[PuddleJumper]

There is no question the Ecodiesel is a torque monster. In many cases the Rubicon Diesel has enough twist to avoid using 4x4 on trails in the right cases that a Mojave would have to be in 4Lo to handle. I wouldn't believe it if I had not seen and done it first hand.

That being said if you did a 392 swap, what is keeping you from spending a little extra and doing a LRA or similar auxiliary tank? If you get about 14MPG on a 392 swapped JTM and add the 17g LRA tank you're looking at another 230+ miles of range.

You may want to call Joe's Jeep Jungle and see what he says. He's in Sykesville MD and known for his Hemi swaps. He is about 90 minutes north of you.

good point sir. thx

 

[biodiesel]

The only reason why I bought the Gladiator was because of the diesel! So yes, go with the diesel!

 

[Blaine]

I initially owned a 2020 Mojave, sold it, and now have a 2022 SportS EcoD on 33's. I miss the Mojave suspension, but the diesel more than makes up for it in my opinion.

Currently at 43k Miles on the diesel, never used hot shots or any fuel additives, and change my oil when the dash tells me (10K miles). Everyone has their own opinion on additives and oil change time frames, but if you keep in line with the owners manual the "increased cost" of maintenance is negligible. The fuel filter is every other oil change (20K Miles) unless you're using biodiesel, in that case you need to change it more often.

Oil changes are twice as expensive, (ok, maybe more than twice as expensive) but you do them half as often.

Took mine up Imogene in Colorado 2 summers ago. Got 30MPG on the way there, and idled up the side of the mountain with ease. I don't regret the decision to switch over at all.

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