Diesel Comanche

Hey Jeep Fans,

I have been driving around in my diesel Comanche for about 6 or 7 years now. What makes it different, is that it has a 3.3 Cummins 4 cyl. diesel engine under the hood. It's hooked up to AX15 5 speed trans. and it's also a 4X4. I did all the work myself in my shop. The engine makes 85 hp. and 210 ft lbs. of torque. It's not a lot of hp. but it's the torque that makes it a killer setup. It gets 33 mpg city, 40+ highway, 3:08 gears, and 26 mpg city 30 highway with 3:54 gears, all day long. The size of the load doesn't seem to make a whole lot o difference. I'am new to this site and I'am having trouble getting pictures on to this site. I applied the Img key but I can't get it to go anywhere from there. Any help would be appreicated.

Welcome to the Club... :cheers:

CLICK HERE for the picture posting "How To".

Very cool. We had advance notice you might be coming. What is the 3.3 diesel out of?

Glad to see you make it. I appreciate the walk around your truck.

Welcome, definitely looking forward to as much info as possible on your build and then getting to know you as you, hopefully, jump in the fray. :cheers:

I am totally with Jeep Guts. I understand why the uninformed do not purchase Diesel vehicles in the US but it is very frustrating they are in limited supply. I would take a diesel over gas engine any day. If I could drop a diesel in my tahoe, I would. I had a VW Jetta that got 50mpg on the highway and cruised at 80mph down the interstates while doing it.

VW makes a V10, twin turbo diesel that is a real road rocket and gets 23 mpg. No HP and all torque. I drove one and it was unbelieveable. It is butt ugly though (sorry if anyone here has a touareg). :eek:

I recently found out the next generation Grand Cherokee will be basically on a car platform. I have thought about getting an '08 diesel before they disappear. A diesel wrangler would be impressive too (or better yet a Gladiator!)

The J8 supposedly comes with a 2.8l turbo diesel. Not a Comanche, but still a Jeep p/u truck. Wonder if/when they will be available to the general public in the US.

The J8 supposedly comes with a 2.8l turbo diesel. Not a Comanche, but still a Jeep p/u truck. Wonder if/when they will be available to the general public in the US.

There is nothing "supposed" about it.

And they will never be available to the general public in the US.

VW makes a V10, twin turbo diesel that is a real road rocket and gets 23 mpg. No HP and all torque. I drove one and it was unbelieveable. It is butt ugly though (sorry if anyone here has a touareg). :eek:

I've always thought, spec wise, that was one hell of an impressive engine and always wanted to drive one or talk to someone who has. Although, at 313hp, I'd say it's not ALL torque. Maybe because it has over 500 ft/lbs of torque!! it seems that way, but HP makes the speed happen.

Caution::::::::

:hijack:

Was he saying the Touareg is butt ugly???????? :eek: WTH those things are FREAKING SWEET!!! I would LOVE to have one.. Just like this..

the R50 is bad arse!!!!

Hey Guys,

I've got some pictures for to you to see. The engine was purchased new from a dealer in penn. It was intended to be a power unit , gen set or water pump. I machined the flywheel to except a clutch and pressure plate from the jeep. The oil pan had to be altered as well as the oil pump suction line. All the accessories on the front of the engine had to be mounted as well. Of course the motor mounts had to be custom made . The water pump had to be changed to, Cummins makes 2 different pumps, high mounted fan and low mounted fan. Guess which one I had. The battery had to be switched from right to left side, to accomidate for the air intake and turbocharger. Oh yeah the turbo had to be changed also from high to low mount. The bellhousing had to be fabricated also, I made that to. All in all I did the entire job myself. It took, I'am going to guess, because the truck had many other issues, about 2 months to complete. And then there was the trial and error period, probably1 year or so. I made all components bolt-on so I could change to different bodys without any major work or alterations. Something else I almost forgot, the first diesel I put in this Comanche was a Nisson 2.4 Liter, it was gutless and needed to be rebuilt. Thats when the Cummins came into the picture. Still have the Nissons (3), anybody interested?

since you have the 4 cyl radiator setup it looks like you've got the room, you should think about running an intercooler.

Guts, that is one awesome truck. Super impressive work you've done. :bowdown:

Make yourself comfortable around here, I'm sure there is a lot you can contribute.

:clapping: INCREDIBLE!! :thumbsup: :bowdown: ...that is all...

Got any pictures of during the swap? It looks like it fits pretty well.

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the positive feed back. Sorry I don't have any pictures of the build-up. But I do remember I lot about it, so fire away!

I will tell you something that happened when I drove it the first time out the door. I wanted to check the 4X4 out, to see if it was working. So I drove it up against a large tree, and put it in low 4x4 and let the clutch out slowly. The truck just sat there and idled in 1st gear, my first thoughts were, DAMIT, the 4X4 doesn't work! I got out of the truck, with it still in gear idling. None of the wheels on the drivers side were spinning, so I checked the other side, both wheels were spinning away! I was shocked to see that, it was idling, that's torque! It is an impressive engine, I'am not trying to brag. It takes a lot to impress me, just the way I am.

You still on here Jeep Guts? That's a cool build.

Would be nice to have some updates on it if u still have.

out of all the research i did before i did my 3.3 swap i never came across this thread! and after years on the forum i hadnt either until now! WOW!!! i thought i had the only comanche with a 3.3 in it. :/ o well. 

good looking set up. i like how it is stock height. wish i could have kept mine like that! 

Ya would be cool to hear some feed back from this guy.

Mine has a 3" lift i hope that will be enought to NOT modify the oil pan.

Considering he has not been on the board since 2009, I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for a response from him.

I went I went 4.5" cuz it has 3" of down travel and this left a little just in case...