Opinions on diesel engines...

[Commodore Crap]

ok ok ok... with the current gas "crisis" my wallet is starting to hurt. i drive just over 50mi a day to work. and them there's the second job of delivering sound systems all over the 7-8 county region. i hatched an idea to switch my 93 grand marquis over to a diesel. and in the long run, make my own bio-diesel from waste vegtable oil (WVO). Ive been inbetween 2 motors. the 6.0L and the 7.3L. any opninions? any preferences? anyone think im crazy for trying this? thanks.

[Jimimac43]

I had a 7.3 and it was a great motor. My friend is the master mechanic at Tampa electric co. and they have changed their fleet over from 7.3s to 6.0s and he say the 6.0 is nothing but trouble. He told me to keep the oil changed on schedule and you should be in great shape with a 7.3. My .02 worth.

[RF Overlord]

Just off the top of my head:

Those engines are VERY heavy and would upset the handling of a passenger car in a huge, probably unsafe, way.

All that torque will probably twist or break something expensive unless you upgrade the transmission, rear end, and the rest of the underpinnings.

Converting the fuel system would be a challenge.

Diesel fuel prices are even more ludicrous than gasoline.

In short, you would end up with a car that could be dangerous to drive and I doubt you'd ever recoup the conversion cost, so it's not an economically practical exercise.

...although it would be way cool. :D

[Commodore Crap]

i was planning on taking the whole drivetrain with the engine. well, atleast the engine, tranny and driveshaft for now...
i will be running biodeisel. it costs about $1.20 a gallon to make.
if this does prove to be awesome, my girlfriend and i are gonna install the VW 2.0L Turbodiesel into her 73 super beetle.

i hope it works.

i posted this on biodiesel forum over a week ago and havent heard anything yet. that just shows that this community is way cooler than that site.

thanks for the input. it is greatly appreciated

[Raudermaster]

6.0 FTL. 7.3 or nothing.

[arejayesss]

Bio-Diesel Should be much cheaper than what you stated, if you are producing it yourself (Like .10 / gallon). What you need to consider is the labor of setting up your filtering sytem, in addition to actually filtering the oil at least twice. It is quite laborious and time consuming, and can be messy. I would suggest making friends with someone currently running Bio-diesel and talk to them about the process and maybe even try it yourself. The conversion can run a few grand, depending on who does it for you. You can look up Naples BioFuel on google. My sisters ex-boyfriend John is the founder / owner of that company (or was several years back)

[Joe Walsh]

i was planning on taking the whole drivetrain with the engine. well, atleast the engine, tranny and driveshaft for now...
i will be running biodiesel. it costs about $1.20 a gallon to make.

i hope it works.



ONLY if you can make/buy Biodiesel that cheap...otherwise it is a total waste of money with pump diesel at @ $5.00 per gallon...:eek:

Either one of the stump pullin' torque monsters would annihilate the OEM tranny VERY QUICKLY!

BTW: the 8.8 rear will take a beating with that much torque...can you say 200 yard black stripes???:burn:

[Commodore Crap]

thank you all for the input. It is helping me greatly in descision making. This feedback gives me the opportunity to see some aspects of this project that i have overlooked. like the rearend. Thanks Joe, i forgot.
Already in the process of hunting down a few 7.3L's. it looks like that is the way to go. thanks again.
-ryan

[imorb1994]

The 6.0 (ford) and vt365(international) cost the 2 companies over $200 million in warranty costs in the 03-04 model years, and have been nothing but headaches for both companies since then.

[Peace2Peep]

I have a 6.0 and I must say...7.3! You could even go with an old cummins 4 cyl for a lighter engine(smaller)

[ctrlraven]

If you wait you might be able to get your hands on one of the new 3.5L V6 turbo diesel engines that Ford is going to put in some F-150 work trucks and base model Expeditions.

[ImpalaSlayer]

i sware ive read this thred b4. damn dejavu.

7.3ftw! 6.0 is poop

[quota]

What is not 'deja vu' is what happens these days with Audi.

They seem ready to release the R8 with a diesel engine. The same engine - less powerfull, though - as the one used by the car that won twice the 'Le Mans' race... A pre-production car was already tested by the specialized press. Audi has already received orders, but the decision about an official release was not taken yet. Wait and see.

JP

[Aren Jay]

Waste vegetable oil is only going to be cheap until more than one person wants it locally. Then what are you going to do?

[Breadfan]

Waste vegetable oil is only going to be cheap until more than one person wants it locally. Then what are you going to do?

Use petrol-based diesel.

In the end the right diesel setup will net more MPG's than gasoline. In some cases, even better than hybrid.

So long as the % mpg is higher than the % $, you're ahead of the game.

Well, if you want diesel that is.

[Stranger in the Black Sedan]

I built a bio diesel conversion rig to do 55 gallon batches. To actually chemically convert waste oil to remove glycerin and other crap you do NOT want to run through your car long term, (and not just filter it like some people do), you have to use some pretty nasty strong acids, and also run heating elements during the processing. It is not as cheap or easy as people make it out to be, to produce a high quality bio fuel. And restaurants are no longer giving it away for free since bio has become mainstream.

It can be made cheaper then petro for sure, but you'll have to invest up front and also be willing to spend some time to keep producing it.

[Commodore Crap]

i have atleast one good source right now. I talked with a restaurante owner where my best friend bartends. Atleast i have one source for now, but more are needed.
thanks for all the input!

[jfclancy]

been looking into this myself and a smaller diesel makes a bunch of sense a 4 or a 6 cyl. I know Ford puts diesels in crown vics overseas, do not know if they are legal here but the 7.3 would require massive changes to the front end suspension simply due to the fact it is one HEAVY engine.

Best of luck saw a TV show where they put a duramax/ allison in an old Impala and it screamed but that was a big old car.

Joe Clancy:beer::beer:

[Commodore Crap]

i dont know if i could wait til the new 4.4L diesel comes out. but that would be a perfect combo!
i was thinking about possibly ditching the marquis and getting a diesel Excursion. they already make a bio kit for it. and it definately qualifies as a man truck. i even went as far as to get a new quote from geico and i will save $140 every 6 months with the Excursion as opposed to the Tank. but i cannot even try to get one. my girlfriend does not have a seond car yet. I cant get a third until she has 2. its only fair. but the Excursion would help out towing and with my second job........decisions, decisions......

[jfclancy]

Well it is not a ford BUT
The Dodge sprinter van gets pretty good fuel ecomony and has a lot of cube
problem bieng they hold the price pretty good. Basically a MBenz truck so finding a used one cheap requires a lot of looking.

Joe Clancy:beer::beer:

[Aren Jay]

diesel VW new bug.

Forget about building one in your GM, just buy a used Diesel new Bug.

about 50 some miles from where you are, for $5k or less you can get a yellow new bug (they call them the new beetle)

Diesel etc... 1998. http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=245664456&dealer_id=1391600&car_year=1998&model=BEETLE&num_records=25&systime=&make2=&start_year=1981&keywordsfyc=&keywordsfyc=&keywordsrep=&keywordsrep=&engine=&certified=&body_code=0&fuel=&awsp=false&search_type=both&distance=100&marketZipError=false&search_lang=en&make=VOLKS&keywords_display=&color=&page_location=findacar%3A%3Ais psearchform&min_price=&drive=&default_sort=priceDESC&max_mileage=&style_flag=1&sort_type=priceDESC&address=14202&advanced=&end_year=2009&doors=&transmission=&max_price=5000&cardist=55

Do your homework on it etc...

For the cost of 7.3L engine and install and balancing etc... Just buy this new bug and drive around and keep the miles off your GM or sell it and buy a Marauder.

[Commodore Crap]

i wish i could view that bug, but the AF computers have that site blocked.
I would definately love to get that beetle. one problem. my girlfriend. shes a huge VW fan, and i would never get to drive it. thanks though!
i dont think the sprinter van would make a good daily driver. I couldnt go drive-thru. and id have to get inspected every day on the way into work.
but i like your thinking.
i cant do too much homework here, but ill try.
thanks!!!
-ryan

[Aren Jay]

1998 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE, diesel, A/C, power windows, power locks, ps, pb, 50 plus miles per gallon, $4,995, Dependable Auto, Falconer, NY, 716-397-7102 (kb)

[Blk Mamba]

been looking into this myself and a smaller diesel makes a bunch of sense a 4 or a 6 cyl. I know Ford puts diesels in crown vics overseas, do not know if they are legal here but the 7.3 would require massive changes to the front end suspension simply due to the fact it is one HEAVY engine.

Best of luck saw a TV show where they put a duramax/ allison in an old Impala and it screamed but that was a big old car.



Joe Clancy:beer::beer:



Why you watching "Pimp my ride"?

[Blk Mamba]

i have atleast one good source right now. I talked with a restaurante owner where my best friend bartends. Atleast i have one source for now, but more are needed.
thanks for all the input!

Even the largest restaurants can only give you about 5-10 gallons a week, before processing, never enough to rely on.

[Commodore Crap]

thanks for showing the add!
I could do a mix between wvo and diesel. like 50/50. Still, at 50mpg, it gets better mileage than my MGM. or even 60/40. as long as it helps offset the fuel costs.

[2kGM]

This is one of those 'great minds (?) think alike' things. Last month I was thinking about gas prices, and about the fact that I really like having a 4000# sedan with a class 3 hitch in the family. I like the modular engine design fine, but feeding it is not my favorite thing.

I thought (again) about how the old Mercedes sedans with the diesel were just unkillable and made great cars. But they're all ancient now, and aren't worth fussing with. Then I thought about my friend who put a Cummins 4BT in his ex-army Dodge Powerwagon (replacing a worn-out flathead gas engine). These four cylinder Cummins engines come with between 100 and 200 horsepower and run forever. They're also perfectly happy at maximum output (which is an insane amount of torque) for days at a time. The generic source is a retired parcel van. You sell the aluminum body for scrap and keep the front six feet of the frame and the 4BT and Allison six-speed automatic.

It'd make a hell of a nice drivetrain for a panther. If I were the least bit concerned about the longevity of the Grey Panther's running gear, I'd be looking harder at the conversion. I mentioned it to my friend and he didn't think I was insane either. I don't know if the truck trans would fit in the transmission hump, but I am pretty sure that the Cummins would rip the splines off a 4r70w...

I don't see the point in putting a Powerstroke or other large diesel in the panther chassis. I don't think it would handle the torque well, and they are very heavy...