Installing Diesel Motor???

[slowzuki]

Lots of power? BS. Lots of torque at low speed maybe. I'd bet it could barely get up to 65 mph, and took all day to get there, unless you had that Izuzu highly modified.

years ago I had a 1956 chevy half ton pickup and I put a 4 cylinder iszue diesel in used a 57 chevy 3 speed overdrive manual trans what a good set up put over 300 thousand miles it had lots of power and got 35 miles to a gallon god I wish I still had it.

 

[MacLawn]

That "shade tree conversion" website is full of rubbish: a Ford 3000 engine cant be more efficient in a pickup truck, just because it has to be stretched to the max rpm to get alittle speed from it.

My neighbour runs a landscape business and has a Merc Unimog with a monstrous Hiab crane on it, which he uses for tree cutting and all other sorts of lifting. The crane weighs as much as the Mog. Their first was an 85hp model, which was slow pulling a trailer with a 5 ton excavator. they bought a 160hp mog last year, and he says the fuel consumption dropped drastically: 160hp has the torque to maintain speed and reduce the need for gear changes. With the 85hp non-turbo they had to keep shifting and keep it at max rpm to maintain the average speed.

You dont need 350hp in a pickup truck, but anything under 100hp wont save you any fuel.

Just search Youtube for Detroit 4-53 or Cummins 4BT conversions in Broncos and Jeeps. In full size pickups, the six pots seem to be more popular.

HOWEVER:

when i tow a 2 ton tractor behind my Volvo 2.5 TDI, i make a round trip, picking one up in the other end of the country. Then i get 10 km to the liter, which is about 23.5 miles to the gallon. My TDI is 140hp which is enough to take a drag at the traffic lights (which i sometimes do) and i still get 35 miles to the gallon on average.

50 miles to the gallon just isnt possible in a pickup truck weighing over 2.5 ton. With an industrial Cummins (high torque, low rpm camshaft, not the low torque, 3200rpm camshaft of a Dodge version) and tall gears you might equal the mileage i get in my Volvo, but 50mpg in a pickup truck is just ********. Just the wind drag alone makes it impossible.

You certain about that, Renze? I surely don't know, but I do know about Japanese diesels; I have driven them in Japan for over 25 years, from Izuzu, Mazda, Toyota, and Nissan. All of mine were 4 cylinder, and two Toyotas and the Mazda I had were turbo diesel. Plenty of power in those. Now, I do think the old boy in Warner Robins is using older tractor diesels, probably made by Yanmar, another Japanese made diesel. I am pretty sure one of those would push the Ford on his site okay - granted, it might take a little time to get up to speed, but I think it seems to work okay. I go to Warner Robins often, so I think I will try to stop by and see it for myself; if I do, I will post back here with my impressions.

I have even seen diesel outboards in Japan! I like them...

 

[dixstir]

Lots of power? BS. Lots of torque at low speed maybe. I'd bet it could barely get up to 65 mph, and took all day to get there, unless you had that Izuzu highly modified.

I know it worked good for me I had a lot of seat time in it to bad you didnt if you had some I think you would think different/

 

[Renze]

All of mine were 4 cylinder, and two Toyotas and the Mazda I had were turbo diesel. Plenty of power in those. Now, I do think the old boy in Warner Robins is using older tractor diesels, probably made by Yanmar, another Japanese made diesel. I am pretty sure one of those would push the Ford on his site okay - granted, it might take a little time to get up to speed, but I think it seems to work okay.

Just keep in mind that a Toyota HiLux with the 80hp 2.4 liter 4 cylinder, weighs 1200kg. Put that motor in a 2400 to 2800kg chevy and every gust of wind will take you a yard back...
It may feel powerful because of the flat torque curve and low vehicle weight, but 80hp really isnt enough for a full size pickup truck...

I know it worked good for me I had a lot of seat time in it to bad you didnt if you had some I think you would think different/

I have seat time in plenty of vehicles with similar sized diesel and gas engines... my old Volvo 440 with a 1.9 turbodiesel, 90hp, weighed 1100kg and was a nice and nimble car. However with a 2 horse V nose trailer behind it, you could use a formula to calculate windspeed from the speedometer. Also we had an early Mercedes Sprinter at work, with a 2 liter 70hp diesel. That van had a hard time moving itself, with a trailer with just some scaffolding on it, it wouldnt go past 70km/h.

It seems many folks dont realise that our economic European (and Jap) 4 cylinder diesels also need to power a car which is half the weight of what you guys are used to. You're just dragging dead weight around, theres the biggest gain.

 

[jbooth]

Haven't had much experience with late model diesels. Did have just a little experience with some of the late 50's diesels in cattle and oil field trucks. They were all underpowered by todays standards, but that's all that was available. Guess that's why they had all those gears was to shift down. The only experience I have with the late model diesels is being on the same roads with them. Some of the drivers of late model 3/4 ton pick-ups with all that diesel power scare me a bit. It appears to me all that power is just going to get them to the scene of their crash a little sooner. I'm not an over the road trucker so I don't mind taking a little more time (slower speed) for a little economy. Don't think a diesel would ever pay me back no more than I drive or tow so I probably should have just kept my dogs out of this fray.

 

[saltbranch]

Check this out
Overview

 

[brokenot]

The Shadetree page is a lot of bunk. The person narrating the videos talks and talks....and says nothing. They show the trucks being started, but include no *real* performance or mileage data. 75-100 hp in a full-size truck will net you the kind of performance and fuel economy you would expect. Their math doesn't add up. Perhaps even they realize it...because they don't bother to demonstrate how they arrived at the figures they quote.

The most hilarious thing about the site is the FAQ page. Typically, (on sites that have legitimate information to offer up), FAQ pages contain information about the topic the site discusses. When I clicked on the FAQ link, I completely expected, (well...not really), a page to pop up that contained test data including performance and mileage. I also expected information about expected costs for a conversion. Another question you would think they'd have gotten at some point, would be "What if I reside somewhere that requires vehicle inspections? How can my mid-90's truck with a conversion done as per your instructions pass an inspection when none of the original equipment is in place and operational?" No such information is present.

Anyone remotely considering purchasing their book or plans should visit their FAQ page, see what's there....and then stop and think about whether or not the "information" sounds like it came from someone whose opinions and expertise on engine conversions is extensive enough to be trusted, OR....if the author is just another example of someone trying to capitalize on the frustrations of people that are upset about fuel prices.

I like this quote from one of the press links on the site:

Working with several of his mechanic friends, he’s successfully converted several pickups, trucks that now get 40 to 50 miles per gallon with no noticeable loss of performance.

"No noticeable loss of performance"

Think about that for a minute.

 

[JoeL4330]

Wow, now that was a good conversion. I had an Isuzu sedan diesel years ago....40MPG. hmmm....had kids and sold it. bummer. It would be GREAT in a smaller pickup

I have an Isuzu I-Mark diesel sedan sitting in Northern VA ...ran fine when we last shut it off a few years ago. Interest?

 

[dixstir]

the one I had in the 56 was 235 cubic inches and a turbo may be 130 hp.I had a spare and never used it for backup.

 

[Rancher Ed]

I have never done any swaps but have thought about swapping JD 3029T into a 90s jeep and turn it up just a little (~10hp). It is the engine that is used in the 5075E now and the 5073 before that. It makes 71hp at 2500rpm and 181 lb-ft torque at 1600rpm and is turboed. The torque is between what the 4 cylinder and the 6 cylinder in the jeeps made and if I could bump the power up 10hp and move the rev limit up to 2700rpm I think it would work great. The only problem I see is the weight could be to much(723lbs dry).


I think for your blazer a tractor engine that would make enough power would weigh too much and you will need to use a engine from somewhere else.

Ed