Project Felicity: 06 TJ Wrangler RHD V2403 Kubota Diesel Swap

RustyAutoholicGuy

RustyAutoholicGuy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2013
Location
Reidsville, NC
Hey Guys,

So first off here is a picture of my 2006 Jeep Wrangler Right Hand Drive:

tIG5Pk1l.jpg


My TJ is pretty much bone stock, has just over 200K, 4.0L, 42RLE auto with a NP231-J transfer case. Has factory air conditioning that works, power steering, and cruise control which I added after I bought the Wrangler. Currently has a Dana 44 in the rear with a factory LSD on Goodyear Wrangler 235/75r15 tires which are great year round and dirt cheap.

I bought the Wrangler last summer, it was my first Wrangler and I love it, except for gas mileage. My daily driver is a 2006 Jeep Liberty CRD 2.8l turbo diesel, which gets fantastic mileage and has a ton of torque. The Wrangler gets around 13 ~ 17 mpg, my Liberty gets just above 30mph highway, consistently 28 ~ 30mpg. Here's a picture of my Liberty:

aIosLLVl.jpg


The transmission I will be using is an AW4 out of a Cherokee.

3kSb5drl.jpg


I'm going with the AW4 for multiple reasons. First I injured my left knee a few years ago, and while I love manual transmissions, an automatic makes off-roading so much more fun for me personally. Also has the added benefit that my kids prefer it as well, so they go on more wheeling adventures when we are in my automatic Wrangler.

Second I can just manual shift the AW4 by controlling two solenoids. Third I don't have to get an adapter from my NP231-J transfer case which is a huge cost savings as well. Really the main issue is there is no aftermarket transmission controller for the 42RLE transmission that is currently in my TJ, plus it has over 200K on it.

I'm going to be controlling the AW4 automatic transmission with an Arduino setup so hopefully later on I can program the Arduino to shift the AW4 automatically, but at the beginning it will just be a manual shift.

For transfer case I'll be using a rebuilt NP231-J that already has a SYE installed.

The Kubota V2403 Diesel engine should be perfect for this swap. I will have the horsepower of the 2.5L and way more torque than the 4.0!

BzxoQBAl.jpg


I'm getting my adapter from KubotaSwappers.com. They are making me an adapter plate and accessory brackets and motor mounts so I can still have my air conditioning and Power Steering on my TJ.

Right now I have 3.73 gears, which I'm going to leave alone until after I get the TJ running and see how it does. I might be doing a gear swap to 3.55s later on, not sure yet. My goal for my mileage will be 30 ~ 34mpg, effectively doubling my current MPG. However I'm really hoping to tune the turbo and fuel pump to get my closer to the 40mpg mark but really anything over 30mpg is going to be a win.

Let me know what you think! I'm currently in the phase of getting all the parts I need, which has already been more than I was initially thinking. I will be posing updates each day I get new parts in or when I start getting the Wrangler torn done for the swap!

If you have any questions feel free to ask! I'm also going to be documenting the entire thing on youtube if you are interested in watching.



Thanks
Grant
 
I think that's the same motor that's in my Bobcat 337 excavator. A slightly higher powered version of the one in my Kubota L4400 tractor. The tractor is 45 hp whereas the mini ex is 48 hp, probably because of that little spinny thing. I never thought about swapping one in to a truck, but that'd be pretty badass in an S10 too....now I'm thinking about my next project!

Edit: Mini Ex is a V2003-M-DI-TE2B (2.0 liter, turbo) , tractor is a V2203-M-E 2A (2.2 liter, N/A)

The 2403 should be a 2.4 liter. Definitely going to be cool! Looks like it's around 56hp and 160 ish torque in stock form. Should be quite a bit more once you turn up the wick!
 
Last edited:
Croatan_Kid said:
I think that's the same motor that's in my Bobcat 337 excavator. A slightly higher powered version of the one in my Kubota L4400 tractor. The tractor is 45 hp whereas the mini ex is 48 hp, probably because of that little spinny thing. I never thought about swapping one in to a truck, but that'd be pretty badass in an S10 too....now I'm thinking about my next project!

Edit: Mini Ex is a V2003-M-DI-TE2B (2.0 liter, turbo) , tractor is a V2203-M-E 2A (2.2 liter, N/A)

The 2403 should be a 2.4 liter. Definitely going to be cool! Looks like it's around 56hp and 160 ish torque in stock form. Should be quite a bit more once you turn up the wick!
Click to expand...
Should be more like 66hp. My Bobcat T190 has a V2003 Turbo IDI and is 56hp. The newer ones I think have a V2403T and are 66hp. And I just completely rebuilt the motor in mine, so if you have any questions...
IMG_20181105_165332.jpg
IMG_20181107_013612.jpg
 
we use kubotas in the pavers. man, these give a lot of trouble. good luck.
 
Any huge performance gains or weight savings over a 4BT?
 
Creekin said:
Sounds like a fun project.
What are the specs of the Kubota motor (e.g., Hp, torque, etc.)
Click to expand...

So as it sits right now about 62hp and 120ft-lbs of torque because I have the IDI.

Croatan_Kid said:
I think that's the same motor that's in my Bobcat 337 excavator. A slightly higher powered version of the one in my Kubota L4400 tractor. The tractor is 45 hp whereas the mini ex is 48 hp, probably because of that little spinny thing. I never thought about swapping one in to a truck, but that'd be pretty badass in an S10 too....now I'm thinking about my next project!

Edit: Mini Ex is a V2003-M-DI-TE2B (2.0 liter, turbo) , tractor is a V2203-M-E 2A (2.2 liter, N/A)

The 2403 should be a 2.4 liter. Definitely going to be cool! Looks like it's around 56hp and 160 ish torque in stock form. Should be quite a bit more once you turn up the wick!
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm going to be upgrading the turbo and tuning with the fuel delivery as well!

WARRIORWELDING said:
I'm digging this a lot! Something different for sure.
Click to expand...

Thank you! I wanted something different but at the same time something that would work with my setup!

jeepinmatt said:
Should be more like 66hp. My Bobcat T190 has a V2003 Turbo IDI and is 56hp. The newer ones I think have a V2403T and are 66hp. And I just completely rebuilt the motor in mine, so if you have any questions...
Click to expand...

Will do and I appreciate it! Yeah I've heard both 62hp and 66hp so I'm not completely sure which. I am going to be pushing a ton more boost through the V2403 though so I'll have more than 60hp!

Creekin said:
I really like those 3 and 4 cyl diesel motors.
A few years back, I restored a 3 cyl MF 35 tractor with a Perkins Diesel.
Learned a lot from rebuilding the motor.
Here is a picture of tractor before/after

Always thought those diesel engines would be great to use in a conversion.
Click to expand...

I really like those old Perkins Diesels! I keep hoping to find a factory Perkins Diesel CJ-5 someday!

Jeff B said:
we use kubotas in the pavers. man, these give a lot of trouble. good luck.
Click to expand...

Yeah I've heard the 02 series has some serious issues, but from what I've read of the 03 series I should be okay I hope!

WARRIORWELDING said:
Any huge performance gains or weight savings over a 4BT?
Click to expand...

So the 4BT is roughly 800 pounds and this Kubota V2403 is around 425 pounds. Also the Kubota has a much smaller footprint than the 4BT does, not nearly as tall. I want to say the V2403 is actually shorter than the 4.0L but I need to double check that! I'm looking to get around 130hp and 325ft-lb of torque. Really just depends on how much boost I can get out of the turbo and how well I can fine tune the fuel pump.

Thanks
Grant
 
I was reading a build and the guy was using a GT1752 turbo from a Saab and running 20-ish lbs on the top end. I feel like that'd be plenty! I don't remember if he was DI or IDI though.
 
Croatan_Kid said:
I was reading a build and the guy was using a GT1752 turbo from a Saab and running 20-ish lbs on the top end. I feel like that'd be plenty! I don't remember if he was DI or IDI though.
Click to expand...

I actually went with the K03 turbo off of KubotaSwapper's recommendation. I know they have a down a couple of Cherokee conversions and have other customers running the K03 Turbo on the Kubota engines as well with no issues.

-Grant
 
Cool! Looking forward to this swap. I've thought about a Diesel swap into an MJ. I have a 14 TDI Jetta and love it. Not sure how feasible it is to put that in an 4wd MJ though.
 
ghost said:
Cool! Looking forward to this swap. I've thought about a Diesel swap into an MJ. I have a 14 TDI Jetta and love it. Not sure how feasible it is to put that in an 4wd MJ though.
Click to expand...

Yeah I had considered the TDI originally for a diesel swap but the adapters were more expensive and the front serpentine system was very expensive, the one I had found that let me keep my power steering and air conditioning was going to cost like 4K.

You should have plenty of room in a MJ for an diesel engine swap, especially one as little as these Kubota diesel engines!

I should have the next video up this evening hopefully, I had hoped to get the engine, transmission and transfer case out this past weekend, but I just got the transfer case out, fought several stubborn bolts, and was able to get more items off the engine/engine bay.

Thanks
Grant
 
Hey Guys,

Got another video uploaded. I was really hoping to have the engine, transmission and transfer case out this past weekend but I didn't quite get there. I was really hoping that this being a 2006 I would run into so many stubborn nuts and bolts. It's these nuts and bolts that makes these projects take way longer than expected!



Thanks
Grant
 
I am doing one of these swaps now also. Mine is going into a fj45 pick up. Right hand drive also. I have a ton of diesels and wanted to build a mechanical one for fun. This will have half the wait the same power and no ear plugs! The 2403 is the 2303 with the longer stroke crank. “Striker” haha
 
So got a couple more videos posted! I realized belatedly that I didn't do a project overview for what I'm trying to accomplish so here is that video:



I then got the transmission and engine out of the Wrangler in the next video:



In my last video which I got online yesterday, I test fitted the engine mounts I have from KubotaSwappers but after a quick phone call they are designing a new universal mounts so I can shift the V2403 forward about 5 ~ 6 inches compared to the factory 4.0l engine. I'll talk about that in depth in my next video!



Let me know what you think!

Thanks
Grant
 
Hey Guys,

Got another video up. I'm changing the direction of my build slightly which I cover in this video. Getting new motor mounts in and going with a NP231 doubler setup! Check it out!



Thanks
Grant
 
Pretty sweet build!
 
Hey Guys,

I've been busy posting videos but not so good about posting updates on here. So here are the next couple of videos, I figure this will be a long post or I'll split it up into multiple posts!











Continuing with the videos in the next post!
 










I realize that is a bunch of videos but I'm getting closer and closer to getting my Kubota V2403 Wrangler on the running and driving. My goal is to have it back on the road sometime in May, so I've got less than 8 weeks to really get everything done and I have a ton of work left to do on this project!

Let me know what you think and if you have any questions!

Thank you so much!
Grant
 
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