Diesel Resource | Your go-to diesel experts

Comprehensive Guide to the 3.0L EcoDiesel Engine

In 2014, FCA introduced a new diesel engine to the Ram 1500 and the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the 3.0L EcoDiesel. Unlike their larger 6.7L engine found in their Heavy Duty trucks, this engine isn’t made by Cummins. Instead, the EcoDiesel is manufactured by VM Motori, an affiliate of FCA, at their Cento Facility in Ferrara, Italy. The 3.0L EcoDiesel, especially in the Ram 1500, has been successful because of its impressive performance specs and fuel economy. This success in the Ram 1500 led to FCA introducing the EcoDiesel to their Jeep Wrangler in 2020. The result being the most fuel efficient Jeep Wrangler to date, by far. They are also expected to bring the EcoDiesel to the Jeep Gladiator, a Wrangler-inspired truck.

Since its beginning in the Ram 1500, the EcoDiesel has been improved upon to provide better performance specs, improved durability, and lower emissions. In this post, we’ll help you understand everything you need to know about the 3.0L EcoDiesel including mechanical specs, towing specs, and fuel economy ratings. We’ll also go over different applications of the 3.0L EcoDiesel and those vehicles unique specs as well.

3.0L EcoDiesel Performance Specs

Upon release, the EcoDiesel offered 240 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque. Being the only half-ton diesel around at the time, it easily overshadowed the segment’s gas vehicles in terms of fuel economy and tow capacity. In 2018, it finally received some competition from Ford’s F-150 with their 3.0L Powerstroke diesel engine. Then in 2020, GM introduced their own half-ton diesel with their 3.0 LM2 Duramax. Coincidentally, Ram released an updated and more powerful EcoDiesel in that same year. 2020 Ram 1500 pickups with the 3.0L Ecodiesel engine have 20 more horsepower and 60 more lb-ft of torque than the previous generation.

Engine Composition

The 3.0L EcoDiesel engine is made up of a Compacted Graphite Iron block for reduced weight, improved NVH qualities, and superior strength. Heat-treated aluminum cylinder heads featuring individual bearing caps help reduce friction and lower NVH. For greater durability, a forged steel crankshaft and connecting rods are used. Aluminum alloy pistons have oil cooling jets that reduce reciprocating mass inside the engine for boosts in efficiency and feel. The EcoDiesel uses a DOHC, or Dual overhead camshafts, design. These two camshafts are chain-driven with roller-finger followers and gear-to-gear meshing, which results in more efficient valve operation. This engine utilizes a 16.5 to one compression ratio for early models, with it being reduced in 2020 to 16.0 to one.

Aspiration & Fuel Injection

A water-cooled, electronically controlled variable geometry turbocharger provides impressive performance and very little turbo lag. The Multijet 2 High-pressure common direct fuel injection system features 29,000 psi or 2,000 bar of line pressure. Up to 8 injection events occur per cylinder cycle thanks to efficient high-dispersion nozzles. The period between injection events is also optimally modulated for reduced NVH, and reduce fuel consumption and emissions. Just about every feature on the 3.0L EcoDiesel is optimized to make the engine more fuel efficient, cleaner, or less noisy.

2020+ Ram 1500 EcoDiesel Changes

What changes were made to the 2020 Ram 3.0L EcoDiesel to make it more capable than the previous generation? Take a look at the bullet pointed list below.

• New generation water-cooled, electronically controlled variable geometry turbocharger
• Re-designed Cylinder heads for improved swirl and flow
• Upgraded EGR System to a dual-loop system
• Lowered compression ratio from 16.5:1 to 16.0:1
• New fuel injector nozzles
• Aluminum alloy pistons are redesigned with thinner rings and low-friction coating on the side skirts and pin.
• Offset piston pin by .3 mm to reduce NVH
• Lower portion of the two piece oil sump uses a lightweight sandwiched polymer/metal to reduce NVH
• New dual vacuum pump system uses electric and a new mechanical low-friction pump with redesigned blades to improve overall efficiency.

The EcoDiesel in the Jeep Lineup

In 2014, around the time the EcoDiesel was introduced to the Ram 1500 pickup, it was also introduced to the Grand Cherokee. The Jeep Grand Cherokee benefitted from the 3.0L EcoDiesel’s superior fuel economy. Other available powertrains for the Grand Cherokee include a 3.6L Pentastar V-6 , 5.7L Hemi V-8, and a supercharged 6.2L Hemi Engines. The EcoDiesel offered much better fuel economy while simultaneously being able to pull 7,400 pounds. Unfortunately, the EcoDiesel was discontinued, making 2019 the last year they were available.

3.0L EcoDiesel Jeep Wrangler & Gladiator

In 2020, FCA brought the new EcoDiesel engine to the Jeep Wrangler. The Wrangler has always been powered by smaller gasoline engines that provide less than stellar fuel economy. When you throw bigger tires on them, bigger wheels, and a suspension lift the fuel economy goes from bad to worse. Drivability also suffers, resulting in poor pick-up and throttle response. The EcoDiesel is the answer to the traditional Jeep Wrangler problems. Fuel economy is greatly improved and the tremendous increase in torque results in dramatically better driveability.

3.0L EcoDiesel Specs

TorqueFlite 8HP75 8-Speed Automatic Transmission Specs

The ZF TorqueFlite 8-Speed Automatic transmission is standard on all EcoDiesel vehicles including the Ram 1500, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and Jeep Wrangler. It has five clutch packs, only two of which are open at any given time to maximize efficiency. The torque converter used features turbine torsional damping. This allows the torque converter to lock-up in lower speeds in all eight gears.

3.0L EcoDiesel Towing Specs

Ram 1500 Diesel Tow Ratings

3.0L EcoDiesel Emissions

To meet strict governmental emissions standards, the 3.0L EcoDiesel comes with all the emissions devices commonly found on today’s diesel trucks. A diesel particulate filter is used to catch and burn excess soot. Urea injection and selective catalytic reduction uses DEF fluid injected into the exhaust stream to further low emissions. Exhaust gas recirculation is also used, re-routing hot exhaust back through the motor to lower emissions output.

3.0L EcoDiesel Fuel Economy

Diesel vehicles really shine when it comes to fuel economy. Unloaded, the EcoDiesel has much better fuel economy than its gasoline engine counterparts. Just take a look at the fuel economy numbers below for the Jeep Wrangler with the 3.0L EcoDiesel. They’re drastically better than those offered by the Pentastar engines and they offer way more torque too! Fuel economy advantages are especially present when towing though. Diesel trucks and vehicles offer much better fuel economy under load. If you are someone who tows a trailer frequently, you should definitely consider a diesel variant to your truck or SUV.

Ram 1500 EcoDiesel MPG

Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel MPG

Jeep Wrangler EcoDiesel MPG

Want To Learn More About the EcoDiesel?

Visit some of our other EcoDiesel resources or articles by clicking on one of the links below.

• Comprehensive 3.0L EcoDiesel Maintenance Guide
• 5 Common 3.0L EcoDiesel Problems
• 7 Best 3.0L EcoDiesel Performance Upgrades