Nice honest review on EcoDiesel

[RedTRex]

A little perspective from my personal experience and a reminder (as was stated above) this is NOT a "new" motor just a generational upgrade to an engine that was originally made by VM in 2011 and has been in the Ram 1500 and Grand Cherokee since 2014. If you want to monitor the reliability/performance of the new generation of the engine keep a watch on the Ram forums where the Gen 3 engine is currently in higher production than with the Jeeps.

I have a daily driver 3.0 EcoDiesel in the form of a 2015 Grand Cherokee and I have zero complaints about the engine. My Gladiator order will be one of the first diesel orders when the order books open up. With a lifetime average of around 28 MPG with highway runs at 31-32 mpg you can't come close with the Hemi which is the most comparable for torque (reminder, the Hemi is a $3895 option on the Grand Cherokee with negative MPG impact over the 3.6). The 3.0 engine efficiency has actually got better with more miles. You never see that with a gas engine. I do take a bit of a hit while towing but never dropped below 20-22 mpg towing a 4500 lb boat. My biggest complaint with the Gladiator is the proposed smaller fuel tank. The 26 gallon tank in the Grand Cherokee gets me a highway range north of 700 miles which is really nice on longer trips. The towing figures will more likely be a bit lower than expected due to cooling but unless you are a regular on Eisenhower Pass performance will more than likely exceed current specs for the Max Tow package. The Wrangler engine compartment is just too tight to get good cooling flow (see David Tracy on Jalopnik for more detail).

EcoDiesel maintenance is not that bad if you do it yourself but it is more expensive than a NA gas engine. I am nearing the 100k mile oil change on my 15 Grand Cherokee and just went to order parts. Amazon 2 pack of the Mopar oil filter is $28. Aftermarket options can be had for $9. I have been running the EcoGuard branded filters for 80k with no issues. Fuel filters are a little more expensive at around $30 x 2 and I have been changing them every 20k miles. The Penzoil Euro-L oil is where it gets pricey at around $9/qt and you need 8 quarts (2020 Ram is 8.5, down from 10.5, so that might change with the 3rd gen of the engine).

I have a 14 GC with 113K on the clock. Installed a tune (not GDE since they are still figuring what to do) 485 ft lbs and haven't seen a regen in 3,000 miles she burns so clean. Filters are cheap from Amazon Like you pointed out. Wish I could dump this engine into a JT. Or get a tune for the Gen 3 but I don't see either one happening.

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[biodiesel]

Or get a tune for the Gen 3 but I don't see either one happening.

The tune for the Gen 3 will be available soon. There's a guy on the Ram1500diesel forum who has already deleted his two EGR coolers.

If GDE sells an aggressive tune, they will sell it through Diesel Supply in Canada. That's what they are currently doing for the Gen 2 engines.

 

[RedTRex]

Ahhh Good! That is where I got my tune from, it is repackaged GDE? if so that is good to know. If we could only get our hands on that damn trans tune though - any ideas?

 

[biodiesel]

Ahhh Good! That is where I got my tune from, it is repackaged GDE? if so that is good to know. If we could only get our hands on that damn trans tune though - any ideas?

Yes, the Diesel Supply tune is a rebadged GDE tune. SOFA King Tuned LLC is the company about to release a tune for the 2020 Ram Ecodiesel. The last time I talked to Keith at GDE, he said his tune would take about a year for it to be tested and released. If you want a transmission tune for your Ram Ecodiesel, then I would get one here: https://www.sofakingtuned.com/ecodiesel.html#/

 

[AJ-MJ]

What a great video!! I liked it for the general comments they made about the Wrangler's ride, noise, drivability etc. Really laid it out nicely. THANKS FOR SHARING.

 

[Fcmalie]

Living in California is the reason I've decided I'm not waiting for the diesel. Even if they don't outright ban it other than commercial use in the near future I can see them taxing the crap out of it since they got the gas tax bill passed last year and it no longer needs to go on the ballot.

 

[RH 67]

Living in California is the reason I've decided I'm not waiting for the diesel. Even if they don't outright ban it other than commercial use in the near future I can see them taxing the crap out of it since they got the gas tax bill passed last year and it no longer needs to go on the ballot.

From what i hear diesel will be over $5 a gallon soon. Yesterday i filled up my F250 and diesel was $4.49 a gallon it cost me over $150.00 to fill up. with the next diesel tax $6 a gallon is possible.

 

[Fcmalie]

Not quite that high up here in the Central Valley, but it's getting there.

 

[kclendaniel]

From what i hear diesel will be over $5 a gallon soon. Yesterday i filled up my F250 and diesel was $4.49 a gallon it cost me over $150.00 to fill up. with the next diesel tax $6 a gallon is possible.

$2.60/gallon here in Maryland. It continues to amaze me the level of BS that you Californians put up with.

 

[Karnaj]

$2.60/gallon here in Maryland. It continues to amaze me the level of BS that you Californians put up with.

Deisel is the same price as premium in Orange County CA. Some of this b.s. is exaggeration.

Edit btw that's $3.70 a gallon.

 

[aj8544]

Unless Jeep changes something on the JT differently than they did on the JL, the payload reduction from the added weight of the diesel will make it pretty unattractive to those who intend to use the JT for its truck purposes. For example a gas Rubicon really has just enough payload (1200lb) to support 7k towing, average size driver and a passenger. If that payload is reduced a few hundred pounds the diesel won't make sense, despite the fact it will probably tow better (but not tow more) than the pentastar. Remember, Jeep has stated all along that the diesel will not out tow the pentastar as far as max weight is concerned due to cooling restrictions. Add to that the poor history of the ecodiesel, price premium of the engine itself and diesel fuel, added service costs etc... it just doesn't make sense to me unless you really want to turn huge tires easier and don't care about the cost or reliability.

 

[WXman]

$2.60/gallon here in Maryland. It continues to amaze me the level of BS that you Californians put up with.

Their largely democrat-controlled government has regulated the state into oblivion. Socialism and environmentalism makes everybody poor. It doesn't help everyone, it hurts everyone. The state is in financial ruin and instead of trying to turn it around, they keep digging the hole deeper. But, I digress....

AAA keeps showing the national average for diesel to be $0.40/gallon higher than 87 octane gas. Since diesel is a less refined product, it's all a bunch of B.S., but I suppose it'll never go back to the glory days ever again.

 

[KennyKustom]

I swore i was going to wait for the diesel. But then i remembered how much time both my other diesels has spent in the shop, due to DEF issues. DEF and -35c dont play nice.

 

[kclendaniel]

Unless Jeep changes something on the JT differently than they did on the JL, the payload reduction from the added weight of the diesel will make it pretty unattractive to those who intend to use the JT for its truck purposes. For example a gas Rubicon really has just enough payload (1200lb) to support 7k towing, average size driver and a passenger. If that payload is reduced a few hundred pounds the diesel won't make sense, despite the fact it will probably tow better (but not tow more) than the pentastar. Remember, Jeep has stated all along that the diesel will not out tow the pentastar as far as max weight is concerned due to cooling restrictions. Add to that the poor history of the ecodiesel, price premium of the engine itself and diesel fuel, added service costs etc... it just doesn't make sense to me unless you really want to turn huge tires easier and don't care about the cost or reliability.

This is assuming the same suspension is used in the calculation and just an increase in the static weight of the truck. The Diesel will most certainly have a different front spring ratio (possibly also rear) which will change the variables. My Grand Cherokee ecoDiesel has a 7400lb tow capacity with only 1090lb payload. From what I can find the VM EcoDiesel is 505lb and the Pentastar V6 is 326lb making that a 176lb potential reduction in payload all things being equal. Not much all being equal but FCA has already stated that there would be differences in the spring ratios which could even things up. The Wrangler front end design not the weight of the engine is the biggest limitation in towing capacity due to limits in the ability to cool the engine and transmission (not enough space around the engine and a grille design that cant be drastically modified to allow for bigger radiators). I do wonder if the diesel Wrangler is using the slightly larger slot hole Gladiator grille to increase cooling. If not it would be a good mod for them. As far as towing, it may not come in with bigger numbers than the pentastar for towing but that 220lbft extra in torque I can tell you makes towing much more enjoyable.

 

[futzin']

they keep digging the hole deeper.

Like they say: When you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is PUT DOWN THE SHOVEL.

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