anyone care to give .02 on a really great drivetrain swap ?

[williamsven]

I KNOW Its not a nissan, but i also own a 84 SD22, im a mechanic that owns a mobile roadside emergency repair company. i know EVERYTHING about gas motors ! i have full access to AllData Pro. . i know , *MOST* basics about diesels but have never ever had to tackle anything major, serious, in depth.. ive been lucky with no problems. now, i take it upon my self to do this complete swap from a blown gas motor to a grease fired diesel ! anyone want to pipe in with .02 input feel free ! i do appreciate any and all advice.
i KNOW i will have to do work on the wiring, the coolant system, the fuel system .. major stuff. . but if anyone can offer any suggestions i AM OPEN ! i have not even yanked the gas motor yet ! .
I do plan on doing the whole thing on time lapse photography.

i am aiming for between 50 and 100 mpg on grease, propane and a lil bit of steam.
i want to beat THIS

http://www.carpages.co.uk/toyota/toyota ... _10_02.asp

with THIS.

[rlaggren]

Well, from a few opinions here and a number of horror stories I studies a few years ago about grease cars ("professional" jobs)... You can NOT be too paranoid or anal about fuel processing and quality into the IP. I'm not into the grease culture so maybe something has changed since my study-up, but: I have not yet heard of any way to avoid starting and stopping the vehicle on petro-diesel if you want the IP to last. Some IP's are stronger than others but they all suffer under high viscosity and bad chemicals in grease and you don't want them soaking in it cold.

Just on general principles: If there is a way to screw up the procedure (fueling, starting, stopping, maintenance...) you will do it. So try to make the system look after itself, lock out idiots, etc. This will require some added complexity, relays, logic (either mechanical or electrical), maybe some run-on timers and fail safes for when you stop.

Like I said, because of the complexity of the fueling, filtering, pre and post-run systems, not to mention the really bad BAD batches of "fuel" you'll run into, grease is a chemical disaster ready, waiting and eager to take down you IP not to mention other parts. If you're trying to have fun getting something to putt putt down the road, no problem. If you want a vehicle that will come close to practical realibility for 5+ years you have a real serious challenge - not just the mechanics but the human part of the fueling equation.

Speaking of which. In the US I've heard more and more people say that the supply of publicly available grease is getting less each year. More and more restaurants already have a contractor taking their whole supply; it's no longer safe to just expect to grab 10 gallons off the local pizza joint or chinese place anywhere you go.

I guessing you're in the UK, but do edit your profile to add your location; it makes a big difference in weather, supply channels and available equipment.

Best luck. Rufus

[Glegor]

and if you want your engine to last more than 50k miles, be sure to fire it up, and shut it down on regular diesel.. that way it doesnt coke the rings and make your compression go out the window..

these diesels really get hard to start after the compression gets weak.

the firing up and shutting down on diesel has nothing to do with the injection pump really, its about not filling up the ring lands with coke. it never comes back out. it just packs under the rings and pushes the rings out farther and farther till they have successfully bored the cylinders too big for the piston and rings..

pretty sure cooking oil has more lubrication in it than the new diesel does..

[Cmdr. Ron]

GREETINGS!

I highly advocate & have run SVO in my '82 DATSUN 720 SD22.
It takes more work & forethot than most can do.
Enthusiasm & desire to compete show you have capacity to more than handle the chores & different requirements.

Don't let the nay-sayers steal your joy.
Learn from mistakes I & others made.
Configure, build, & USE a start-up/shut-down system fired on straight no.2 Diesel!
HEAT IS YOUR HELPER...use it to heat your SVO in the Tank, Pick-up, Lines, & Filter - 150F to 180F before opening the valve to prevent calamity!
Fuel filters are typically in the 10 micron range...2 through 100 are readily available.
Filter fuel more than "necessary" BEFORE adding to tank to avoid devastation.
Under the same circumstances, that engine will produce SLIGHTLY less MPG on SVO than Petro - fewer BTU available. Work it to advantage.

Haven't tried Propane or Steam WITH SVO, yet...How is it?
Share the results, data, problem solutions, pictures, etc.
THANKS!