[Liles]

The Wrangler and Gladiator are set to have a 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V6 available for order, the engine will cost $4,000 and it will only be available with the eight-speed automatic that's $2,000.

After going through some articles, it got me curious about the engine being available for the Wagoneer. Personally I think it would be a great idea for it as an option, especially if it can improve mileage.

Does anyone else think this would be a good idea?

 

[Simcoe]

Do I think it's a good idea? yes. But I don't know if they're going to offer it when the Wagoneer releases. I think that engine stays with the Wrangler and Ram 1500 first.

 

[Liles]

TFL offroad spoke with Jeep chief engineer Pete Milosavlevski about the ecodiesel engine. It looks like they really crammed it in the Wrangler.

 

[Simcoe]

The reviews are coming in about the EcoDiesel and they're very positive.

America's First-Ever Diesel Jeep Wrangler Is The Torquey Off-Road Beast You Prayed It Would Be

For decades, diehard Jeep CJ and Wrangler fans in the U.S. have prayed for the low-end torque and high(er) fuel economy of a diesel engine, and for decades they have been denied. That is, until now; the 2020 Jeep Wrangler EcoDiesel ends the drought by bringing absurd off-road capability and the...

jalopnik.com

You might also have noticed that the 442 lb-ft torque figure, which is made all the way down at 1,400 RPM, is lower than the 480 lb-ft on the Ram. According to Milo, this is the result of the Wrangler having a rear differential with a smaller ring gear and thus lower torque capacity than that of the DT Ram.

Speaking of differentials, all JL diesels regardless of trim receive the 220 mm rear axle ring gear and the 210 mm front ring gear normally reserved for Rubicon trims on gas variants. Non-Rubicon gas Wranglers have a 186 mm ring gear up front and 200 mm ring gear out back. (Plus, gas Wranglers are offered with various axle ratios, while the EcoDiesel gets 3.73 gearing across all trims).

It’s not just torque output that makes the JL’s 3.0-liter engine different than the Ram’s. Jeep says it moved the alternator to a higher location to help with water fording, and that this necessitated moving the injection pump to the driver’s side of the engine. In addition, the intake and exhaust are quite different than the Ram’s, as is the oil pan shape due to different packaging constraints.

But the torque isn’t what surprised me. I expected tidal waves of torque. But what I didn’t expect was the 3.0-liter diesel Wrangler to feel genuinely quick (in the context of Jeep Wranglers). Honestly, I’d be surprised if it was much slower to its gas counterparts.

On a few occasions, I brought the Jeep to a stop and then hammered the accelerator to the floor just to see how quickly the boxy machine could get up to speed. On one launch, I noticed a clunky shift out of first gear, but otherwise the eight-speed, along with the diesel motor, moved the heavyweight Jeep with vigor.

 

[Liles]

I've been watching some of them on YouTube and it's more positive reviews on the diesel engine.