I've got a friend in Europe who has made a very good business of shipping european transmissions for VWs stateside. He has the shipping/customs thing figured out really well, so I'm thinking of using him to get a 5-speed transmission for my KJ.

Has anyone done this conversion yet? Do we know anything about what it would entail? Do we know which transmissions would bolt up and if we would need to swap axles/driveshafts etc?

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2005 KJ CRD - EURO TC, GDE ECO-FT, GDE TRANS, Lift Pump(<- hard to install, worth it) = 32+ MPG highway and a great ride
Product & Catalog Director @ IDParts.com (888) 444-7951 sales@idparts.com http://www.idparts.com

not to steal your post, but perhaps your friend could make more money selling new engines and/or front clips to the USA. Have you seen the price of a used 100k+ 2.8L engines??

There was a guy in E. Bridgewater, I believe who was in process, aborted and sold to another board member. He seems to have disappeared. Keith at GDE is very familiar with most of the complex issues involved in converting a US spec auto KJ CRD. Nobody, to my knowledge, has successfully completed this convesion.

Apparently, the trans is the simple, easy and cheap part.

DOC

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2005 KJ CRD Ltd Detroit TrueTrac Bilsteins G2 GDE "HOT" ECU GDE TCM "Tow Tune" "euro" TC SEGR Weeks Elbow New HG at 130K ARPs Clean CAT aFe Filter Magnaflow Exhaust EHM Cumminos In-Tank Lift Pump Hayden Fan Clutch Nylon Fan VH Enabled with GDE lower shutoff point Recalibrated Temp Gauge Tekonsha Prodigy Sears P-1 ZDDP

And just FYI, the 2.8 CRD e-spec has a 6 speed. I have driven one. They are not very durable.

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No longer a CRD or Jeep owner. Selling everything I have, needs to go as I need the room for a project.

The Dual Mass Flywheel likes to Grande, it is even weaker than the 6 speed manual trans.
That is why the 2.8L is detuned for the Manual trans.

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2006 Pearl Green CRD
Magnaflow 2 1/2" Cat Back
KJ Extra Leg Room Brackets, Carter Lift Pump, V6 Airbox, ORM
Fuel cooler, Oil Separator, Progard 7
Gauges EGT Boost Trans Temp Oil Pres, Michelin LXT AT2 245 70 R16
7,000# Draw Tight hitch, PML EX Deep Trans Pan
Centrifuge, SunCoast, Transgo, RAM TCM, InMotion Stage 2
Wife's 99 TDI VW Beetle

So, basically - don't bother since the auto we get is "stronger" than the manual transmissions available?

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2005 KJ CRD - EURO TC, GDE ECO-FT, GDE TRANS, Lift Pump(<- hard to install, worth it) = 32+ MPG highway and a great ride
Product & Catalog Director @ IDParts.com (888) 444-7951 sales@idparts.com http://www.idparts.com

The 6 speed used in the CRD for Export is the Merc A370. The dual mass flywheel has some serious warranty issues as the springs tend to fail. A good package would use a solid flywheel instead, but this would have to be designed. The electronic issues are easy enough to get around with a tune. You might also want to consider a stronger trans since the 6-speed is limited to 370 n*m.

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Providers of wholly developed aftermarket solutions for the KJ CRD.
(248) 977 - 9531

What about using a NV4500?

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05 CRD
97 Toyota FZJ80 12v Cummins/NV4500-build thread
96 Lexus LX 450
96 Ford F350 4x4