Anybody drive a diesel?

[JChretien]

Does anybody here drive a diesel? Have you had any problems with it? Anything special that you have to pay attention to all the time? Maintenence tips? tell me! :)

[RWB]

I drive them for a living :thumbsup: Problem really being that they are usually big so it's not like you can save gas by going deisel. :o

[Nomad]

You can also propane inject a diesel vehicle for better fuel economy.

[JChretien]

we've just bought 1987 2.5L inline4 turbodiesel Mitsubishi Pajero w/ 113k kms on it... its actually quite small compared to our '99 Toyota Landcruiser. Im thinking of going either the partial/100% biodiesel route. I've already secured waste vegetable oil from 3 stores, but i still need to hunt down some of the equipment and a space to do my chemistry. I'll also have to change the fuel lines as well, since in '87 i think they were still using rubber, which melts when contacted with biodiesel :rolleyes:

[Nightwolf]

Sounds like a great idea.

[TheSmJ]

Make biodesil for it and you'll rarly have to make stops at the local gas station ever again!

[JChretien]

i gotta build a garage first. no place to stick the vats and stuff needed to make biodiesel =/ but yeah in a few months i'll get crackin on the WVO biodiesel. Anybody have experience with making the stuff?

[QCH]

I have a 2004 VW Jetta TDI... I love it!!! 41 MPG average. Oil changes every 10,000 miles, very peppy too!!!

[Buddy J]

check out www.greasecar.com. I wanna try it.

[JChretien]

I have a 2004 VW Jetta TDI... I love it!!! 41 MPG average. Oil changes every 10,000 miles, very peppy too!!!


just the oil changes? nothing else particular to diesels?

[QCH]

Watch for the glow plug/ air filter heater symbol to go off during the cold months. I forget during the summer since the car starts so easily. It DOES take a bit longer to warm up in the winter, but not much.

[Leonardo]

From '84-'87 my wife and I had a VW Jetta Diesel. At the time, we were living in Germany (US Army). Our apartment was about 50 miles from my work. Fortunately, it was only about two miles to the autobahn entrance, and at the time of day I drove to work, there wasn't much traffic. I would bury the accellerator into the floorboard and cruise all out to work - at a less than whopping 90mph - no wind, level roadway! ;D (My motorcycle was MUCH faster.) Anyway, at full throttle cruising, the car still returned about 30mph. I had estimated it would have been 45-50mph at slower American highway speeds. But of course, one of the reasons the mileage was so good was that it was a tiny, wimpy engine. 90mph? Sure, but you don't want to know how long it took to ramp up to that speed. :eek: Drove that car for about 30K miles, sold it for about what we paid for it. The only problems we had it with was a battery bracket and battery that had to be replaced due to discharged acid.

For a two week period I drove a Golf Turbodiesel. It had close to the same fuel economony of the Jetta, but accellerated much better due to the turbo. Fun little car, but still not quite in the sport coupe category.

I would be very interested in another diesel. Problems: 1) in the US, it will be a huge, behemoth pickup - so much for fuel savings!, 2) an expensive European import (don't want a car anyway - too limited). Wish I could find a mid-size SUV with a quality diesel engine. Another problem -- Americans make excellent quality large diesel engines, but not small or mid-sized.

[JChretien]

leonardo, your only choice left is to look to Japan. There are lots of Toyota/Nissan/Mitsubishi diesels around that arent that big.

[Leonardo]

there are lots of Toyota/Nissan/Mitsubishi diesels around that arent that big. Yes, I know...but try finding one actually available on the market! Perhaps in a big city, but not up here. And I'm not about to order one from a dealer for a price at which I could purchase TWO slightly used gasoline vehicles. Efficiency is great, but not if it's so expensive that you'd need to own the vehicle over 15 years to justify the initial cost. But I know, at least in Europe and Asia, diesel vehicles of all categories (except motorcycles ;D ) are more common than in North Americans. Americans and Canadians cruise at slow speeds but like to accellerate quickly.

[JChretien]

you can come down here to vancouver ^^ there was a 1990 Mitsu Pajero with 83k kms on the clock for 7800 earlier =D thing is.. i dunno how the duties or whatever would work... oh and the right hand drive-ness will take some getting used to

[TheSmJ]

check out www.greasecar.com. I wanna try it.

Thats biodesil.

[Gargoyle]

Leo, the Jeep Liberty is available with a diesel engine. Might be worth checking out.

[Leonardo]

1990 Mitsu Pajero with 83k kms on the clock for 7800 earlier =D thing is.. i dunno how the duties or whatever would work... oh and the right hand drive-ness You are making my point for me.the Jeep Liberty is available with a diesel engine You got my attention. Hope that's a Japanese engine. Hmm, considering Chrysler is owned by Daimler-Benz, that may be a German diesel. This is getting interesting. That could work, if the vehicle can pull a two-ton (gross) trailer.The Jeep Liberty is the first mid-size sport-utility vehicle available with a diesel engine in the U.S. The 2.8-liter CRD boasts three best-in-class stats: 295 lb-ft of torque (400 Nom) @ 1,800 rpm; driving range of approximately 500 miles; and towing capacity of 5,000 pounds. The engine produces 160 horsepower and gets an estimated fuel economy of 22 miles city and 27 miles highway. Very interesting. The engine is built by Detroit Diesel, which is owned by DaimlerChrysler. Detroit Diesel has an excellent reputation. I didn't know they built smaller engines for non-commercial use.

[Gargoyle]

I haven't been able to find towing capacities on the page yet, but maybe you'll have more luck than I: http://www.jeep.com/crd/

Edit: Found it. With the towing package, you can tow 5000 pounds with the Liberty Diesel :thumbsup:

[JChretien]

i stand corrected about the only choices. Now that i look at the CRD, i still think the mitsu is better for me..there arent any used liberty CRDs out there yet and 28k usd + tax is sorta steep for me. thats 37k cdn =/

[Nightwolf]

You guys are gonna get fat using that biodiesel...Gonna be smelling fries all the time!

[Buddy J]

That's how I'm gonna pick up chicks!

Well, only the ones who love the smell of fried chicken ;D

[Leonardo]

28k usd + tax is sorta steep Exactly. There's no way I will pay that much for a vehicle. I could if I wanted to; but there's just no reason. I buy one or two years used and pay off my vehicles very fast.

[danball1976]

I've talked to some people about the fuel mileage they get with a diesel. One person said that with Chevy's older 6.5L Turbodiesel used on their trucks, they got about 25-30MPG Highway, compare that with a gas engine the same size, and you'll get around 10-15MPG. Someone else told me that their parents had a Dodge Ram w/ the 5.9L Cummins Turbodiesel inline 6, he said they got upwards of 45MPG. I've also read a few years ago that the VW Getta TDi 1.8L Diesel can get around 50MPG highway.

Some of those big semi-trucks get around 8-12MPG.

A diesel typically gets 30-50% better fuel mileage than any gas engine of the same size, a few reasons: RPM range is much lower, more power produced and the turbo. All the tachs I've seen on diesel powered vehicles have a redline at 3000RPM and max at about 4000RPM.

[JChretien]

All the tachs I've seen on diesel powered vehicles have a redline at 3000RPM and max at about 4000RPM.

Mine redlines at 4500 and maxes at 5600.. but thats probably because the engine is small heh.

Well i've just put in a full tank of diesel (70L) and reset the odometer. We'll soon see what type of mpg i can get outta this 2.5L TurboDiesel.. i'd be happy with 400 miles or so...

[JChretien]

after 1/4 tank i appear to be getting 24mpg in the city... thats not too bad, considering my V8 LandCruiser does.. 13 mpg -_-

[kdcdotty]

We have a GMC we use for pulling a horse trailer. It's got great power and 15 - 18 mpg pulling or empty, which is great. I have some friends who have converted their engines to run on vegetable oil (aka deep fat grease), they complain that it takes a lot of time to deal with it, and it is extremely messy. you pay the price for a free fill up, plus you can't start on cold grease, you have to run grease and use your diesel tank to start up, winter is out. Biodiesel is a great concept, mostly unavailable and not approved for road running vehicles (farm use only). Other than that, and that diesel today is 3.35 and gas is down to 2.59, running a diesel is not unlike any other vehicle. Expensive to repair, but then, these days what isn't, and it makes you feel boss driving down the road spitting out big black clouds as you roar away from the traffic lights! dc

[danball1976]

Not many new diesels within the last 10 years still smoke like that when you accelerate. It was all due to imprecise fuel metering and probably a clogged filter. Today's diesels have a common fuel rail injecting diesel directly into each cylider and at a pressure around 20,000PSI or higher (see Duramax Diesel's website)

As for diesel to grease startup, I was told, you have to start up on diesel, wait until the engine has warmed up to about 100 degrees and then switch to grease.

[derek]

i own a dodge 3500 dually diesel.
the best i get is 18 mpg, the way i drive, if i stayed at 60 mph or less i would get around 20-21. but i cant drive that slow on the freeway. ;D
but i just use it to tow my 4x4 to the trails.
drive a 91 honda civic to work and home.

derek

[JChretien]

Hmm cold morning starts are a minor bitch >.< and finding a replacement oil filter is a major bitch lol I think im gonna have to get my relatives in England and Hong Kong to start searching.. Reckon customs will stop my fuel/oil filters cause they sorta look like bombs? :confused: