Looking at trading my Chevy 2.8 Z71 for Ruby with 3.0, need input please!

[FreakShow333]

Good morning everyone!

First off, sorry but this might be a bit winded.

So I do love my Colorado, however, since driving my girlfriends Wrangler I have fallen in love with the Jeeps. Long been a fan, watched the Gladiator since its early concept with the slightly extended cab and side mounted spare to what it is now. I mostly do a boat load of long distance highway but do enjoy some occasional mild off roading. Obviously if I had a Gladiator Id do a lot more bush running as I would have the capability. Found a lovely loaded Ruby and the dealership will give me pretty much what I owe on my Colorado.

I'm seeing a lot of mix online information so I thought Id come to the forums myself and just ask. On of my gripes is, and I'm prepared for backlash and groaning here, is the fuel mileage. With my Colorado, the absolute BEST I have ever achieved was 5.9 L/100KM (39.8 MPG) this was on a 600+km trip (373Miles). On average though, daily struggle, Im getting anywhere in between 7.5 and 8 L/100 (29-31 MPG). All my mileage is calculated from the fuel receipts.
I do a lot of long distance trips and with the stock fuel tank I had no problem going 1200km between fill ups (750Miles) but with the Titan tank its 1600 KM (1000Mi). I know unfortunately the Diesel Gladiator has no options for extended range midship tanks, but I do know some sacrifices will need to be made. Would be nice to hear some max miles with the Gladiators stock tank.
The only real issue I've had with my Colorado was cold weather starts. Anything below -35C (-31F) Was a no go. To solve this problem I had to run a thinner oil for winter and I also upgraded the battery to a big group 31 and have not had a problem since. Yes you can plug in the truck but where I have to park for work, this is not an option and the truck is left alone for 7 days straight.
Next issue is road noise different. Wondering if anyone has attempted to remedy that in their Gladiator? Cab of my Colorado is defiantly quieter, but hey, open cab Gladiator am I right? Following that bed space. Another big hit sadly for the Gladiator. I managed to get the unicorn long bed Colorado. Its only an extra foot but I've also had the short bed and that extra bit has come in handy for quite a few things like carrying larger ATVs and cramming mine and my GFS motorcycles in the back.
Now for my big upset, the rear end! Both my Colorado and the Gladiator have the Dana M220. BUT Chevy being the ass hats they are, modified theirs by a blond one so that I can not use the Jeep parts in my diff. The G80 locker in my truck is a ticking time bomb unfortunately, I'm wondering how the Rubys Electric locker fairs for durability. To match this sadness is my transmission. Its also got longevity issues with Chevy. The memes about it slipping and failing are endless ha ha. I've had good luck so far but Im all over vehicle maintenance like ands on a sugar hill. Anytime the shifting has started to be less that perfect, had transmission serviced. how has the TorqueFlite been? I wish we could get stick in the Gladiator like my gf's Wrangler, but no go if I wish for Diesel. Even the 6 speed has had some odd issues on random note.
I knoe there were also fuel pump issues with the 3.0 but they seemed to have been resolved with the 3'rd gen release if I'm not mistaken.

Ive probably missed some things but see how the ball rolls with that.

Almost all input is accepted, I just ask please do not waste my time with "just get the 3.6 gasser". Not what I'm chasing here.

Thanks in advance!

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[Escape.idiocracy]

I will hit a couple points in your post. I have zero concerns with the ZF trans in the diesel. Gas I have read a few issues. Plan to change the fluid every 40k miles and check the block. (ZF recommended interval vs Jeep…)

Can’t speak to -31 cold starts…. ??‍ I imagine a lot of diesels are in the same boat at these temps.

Cab noise. I pulled the seats and carpet lined with killmat and siless pad and it’s great. Also pulled the rear behind seat panel and all door cards and lined the inside of the metal door skins will killmat, back metal with killmat and it’s made a huge difference.

At some point I’ll order hot heads liner and cover the area they install with killmat as well. Pretty happy with the difference the floor and side coverage has made to the cab… it’s a Jeep, but I like my ears not to ring after a few hour road trip….

The 3.0 has the same fuel pump as a lot of other diesels. Run an ounce- ounce and a half of hotshots edt treatment per tank.

Pretty sure Canada you can get away with more than we can. So get a secondary ECU and have them shut off the pre DPF EGR plumbing….

Have not read much of any negatives from:
https://ecodiesel-owners-canada-performance-parts.square.site/

one of the other more popular tuners I have read a few counts of high fuel dilution. ??‍???

 

[fourfa]

Welcome

Those MPG numbers look high to me, like maybe you're using imperial gallons instead of US gallons? 1 imperial gallon = 1.2 US gallons which would make that 39.8 mpg (imp) into 33.2 mpg (US) which looks a lot more reasonable. There are years-long threads on real-world MPG, check those out. And watch the conversion math lol

The diesel comes with a made-in-Germany ZF 8HP75 transmission, which is outstanding. Very very few problems. Gas Gladiators with auto have a made-in-Indiana licensed copy (but those too have been very good)

I have a bed-mounted aux tank, which works for me but you're right, there are no off-the-shelf underbody solutions at the moment. Sounds like the Colorado has a big tank. Gladiator is 19 gal (US) / 72 liters. I don't think you'll see 1200 km.

Interior noise: there's a great carpet replacement kit that adds a LOT of sound deadening (and makes it much easier to clean BTW). I did this recently to mine (and added a few sheets of Kilmat to boot) and it got a lot quieter. This is a factory option on the Wranglers but so far on the Gladiator, it's DIY only.

Likewise there's a Mopar factory option for a simple headliner kit, which helps reduce noise a little. I installed something similar myself, again with Kilmat under the panels, which helped a lot. But the most benefit probably comes from this Coverking kit, search on it.

Generally the e-lockers in the Jeeps are pretty good with up to around 37" tires (Rubicon comes with 33s stock). It's very easy to mount huge tires on the Jeeps, much easier than traditional midsize trucks, so people find out what breaks with big 42s a little more frequently over here I think... 40+ tires people are usually looking at bigger 1-ton axles (D60-D80 etc) with stronger diffs. But with 37s and below, we're not seeing many of them fail. (There was an early production problem with locker sensors clogging with metallic sludge, which didn't have a fix kit until recently, but those problems seem to have faded away in the past few years). Anyway, the weakest links in the stock axles seem to be the rear half-shafts, the front U-joints, and the axle housing at the FAD (mainly breaks when jumping in dunes etc). Not the e-lockers.

 

[FreakShow333]

To answer your question fourfa, if its the milage in my Colorado I've done the calculations in fancy US gallons ha ha. No point in using any other ones, they are long dead. I've been getting way better than sticker with my Rado. I monitor tire pressure like a hawk, ALWAYS use a premium fuel additive as I knoe the European diesels are fussy with their lubricity. Very conscious of the fuel pedal usage too seeing how that's the largest factor in fuel consumption, the nut between the seat and steering wheel :P

Also thanks for the noise reduction comments, defiantly checking em out.

 

[Warped]

Just my $.02, keep the Colorado and by a Wrangler. No compromising.

 

[Chaos Theory]

I traded in my diesel Z71 Colorado last year for the JT, and while I enjoy the Jeep, I still sometimes think I should have gotten another Colorado. Road trips/comfort & mileage are a downgrade with the Jeep. As a daily driver, the Colorado also wins. I knew all of that coming in, so there were no surprises-- just wanted something a bit more desert-capable out here where I live. It's very good at what it does, but as an overall vehicle, it's a compromise.

Do your research before you pull the trigger. Make sure you understand what you're giving up AND what you're getting with a Jeep.

 

[Rusty PW]

Almost all the negative comments will come from people who don't own and have never driven the Ecodiesel.

 

[FreakShow333]

Escape.idiocracy
Good to knoe that adding some sound deadening made a difference! This is something ive been considering in the girlfriends Wrangler Sahara. And sadly no, In canada we cant quite get away with much more than you for emissions. Its a bit more grey, but I knoe shops here wont temper with it because if they get caught, that's a 1 000 000 fine. However, the highway patrol tends to stick to pulling over anything 3/4 ton and larger. I have yet to see or hear of them nailing a quarter ton truck or any diesel SUV, so I suppose there is hope.

Warped
No need for me to own both, girlfriend has the Wrangler with stick shift. Oh id drop kick a nun to get a nice eaton 6 speed in a Gladiator diesel.

Chaos Theory
Its awesome you did the same switch I'm looking into. I have no doubt on the comfort difference. As in previous replies the girlfriend has the wrangler. I dont find it too bad on long trips, but Im no stranger to discomfort. Ive done 10 plus hour trips multiple times crunched over on a little Kawasaki Ninja 650. Im surprised I have an ass and lower back still on me. I find the Colorado does good in adverse Canadian weather, however, when it comes to more snow packed highways it does struggle a bit and the bulk of that has to do with the limited ground clearance. Part of the reason Im looking into the Gladiator. Compromise as you said, good and bad with both. Joined this forum to help with my research.

Rusty PW
Thanks for that friendly reminder. I personally dont know anyone who owns an EcoDiesel Gladiator, but a co worker had it in his Ram and said it did pretty damn well.

 

[aFatBird]

Probably cause diesel gives you alot of fun torque. Just a guess based on my own experiences.

 

[FreakShow333]

not-sure
Just a big fan of diesels. Love their low end torque and tuneability. If I had the funds Id drop in a 4-71 Detroit in my pickup. Diesel also doesn't take a gouge in fuel economy the same way a gasser does.

 

[Stuntman Mike]

5,9 L/100km you will most likely never see with the Diesel Rubicon.

Even with my Overland on Duelers the best was 6,5 L/100km.
Normally, at speeds of 100-120 kph, mine is taking between 8 and 9 L/100km.

Regarding the range, you will be able to do about 800 km but not much more.

In my opinion, if you just compare pros and cons of the both trucks the GM might be the winner.

But if you look on both trucks with an aesthetical view the Gladiator clearly is the winner.
At any rate if you like the Jeep (or more specific Wrangler) look.

At least for me it was the case that I bought the car because of its great appearance and then, as a side effect, enoyed the other positve aspects
- fantastic ride comfort for a brick on wheels
- superb fuel economy
- very sophisticated drive train
- top class off road capabilities (even on the non-Rubicon trims)
- practicality of a "ute"
and much much more.

 

[Teqsand]

Wife has a 21 JLURD w/60K
I have a 23 JTRD w/20k
Both on 4" lift w/37's

WE LOVE OUR DIESELS

 

[FreakShow333]

Stuntman Mike
If your personal best is 6.5 that's more then good enough for me. I've never had issues beating sticker on any vehicle Ive owned. I knoe my Rado will always beat the Gladiator in fuel economy but Its good to knoe not by much. My friends got a Wrangler with the 3.0 and its been pretty good on fuel. Also a lot more get up and go than my 2.8. 800 km range would be alright in my books. Not the same as going from Sudbury to Winnipeg before needing a fill up but at least I'll not have to panic in Northern Ontario after hours looking for diesel since I can always make it to a city.
Im like you in that I do enjoy a nice Ute look. When I was a little me one of my neighbors had an ol Ranchero, I thought it was the bees knees back then ha ha.

On a thought for range though, how much DEF have you been burning through? I knoe with my Rado I seem to be eating twice as much as anyone else that I talk to but Im also hammering in on average 40 000 km a year on the highway.

 

[FreakShow333]

Teqsand
Thats a gorgeous pic! Also bonus points on the his and hers. Going through some interesting terrain there too, how do you find the engine/trans temp in warmer climates? I dont think I will see temps like you but be nice to knoe none the less.

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