Small car with diesel engine, what works the best with wmo???

[Brad S.]

The other day at my local gas station, guy pulled up with a late 70's VW car with a diesel engine.
BTW I think it took less than a minute to fill the tank.
Just curious if anyone here has a older small car, diesel powered, and running wmo.

 

[kerrynzl]

where do I start.

I have run a Mitsubishi Pajero [Shogun] 4D56-T Diesel on WMO for a few years .

I have a Nissan Bluebird with a CD20 Diesel.

A Mitsbishi L200 pickup 4D56-T

A Toyota Corona 2C Diesel [ written off ]


My Brother has

Toyota Dyna Truck 1-KZ Diesel

Toyota Granvia Van 1-KZ Diesel

Plus various *** Diesel powered Machines all running on Oil

 

[Brad S.]

Are these all mechanical injection diesels???
If not how are the electronic or computerized injection with wmo.
Which of these have the most used parts available or least expensive to run/service??

 

[kerrynzl]

Are these all mechanical injection diesels???
If not how are the electronic or computerized injection with wmo.
Which of these have the most used parts available or least expensive to run/service??

The two 1-KZ Toyotas are Computerised. They are very sensitive to filters plugging [even a slight amount ] so we added a helper pump at the tank which seems to cure this problem.
The Toyota Corona 2C is naturally aspirated and required a bit of work to get running OK. It was a $150 Test mule [ We broke the windshield so it was scrapped at a profit ]
The Nissan CD20 is also naturally aspirated, I needed to replace the IP as the governer was sticking [ $75 as a used item ]

Both the Mitsy's are turbo'd .
The Pajero has the "Wick" turned up [boost] and I advanced the IP about 4 degrees at idle [so it rattles at idle ]
The L200 is a junkyard engine [$80] used to experiment with. I left the boost alone but I am playing with fuel heating with W85/15 Gasoline.
Heating the fuel really cures the "Slow burning" issue with WMO , but it evaporated the gasoline content [ the part that I actually pay for ]

So what I did was loop the return hose back into the main fuel hose [ AFTER THE FILTER ] so the hot oil never returns to the tank.
Then I added a 8psi electric pump at the tank. 8psi was enough to stop the gasoline "Boiling" in the fuel hoses.

The results were impressive , instant "Black Smoke" on a POS engine, and when I turn the water heater valve off it goes "Grey smoke" again.
But slightly more difficult to start in winter when cold.
For oil to Auto-ignite it needs to Vapourise first, so pre-heating the oil closer to auto-ignition temps probably helps the timing a bit by Vapourising and Auto-igniting faster

I've been running the 2 Mitsy's "back to back" for a year as a comparison. Next I'll try and get more air into the L200 or heat the blend in the Pajero.

Heating does NOT fix the carbon / coking issue [ that I believe is a clean / dirty fuel issue ]

 

[Shadetreemechanic]

If you want cheap to run with good parts availability, the old vw's and mercedes are the way to go. I have an Izuzu pup diesel now that will burn anything I put in the tank, but parts are getting harder to come by. Ford put an izuzu diesel in the ****** and ranger for a while, and both are good vehicles, but my understanding is that parts for them are hard to come by as well.
The VW and mercedes diesels were sold all over the world so parts are abundant.

 

[Deib]

We have a couple Mark VII lincolns with the diesel in it. Keep looking at WMO but really we are getting mid 30s and we get the luxury of the lincoln. They used a BMW engine same as in the 524td. It is all mechanical. Standard VE pump. Injectors are similar to the gm diesels. Parts are still around. BMW is excellent at still making parts for them.
We have cranked up the pump. Running about 18 pounds of boost and getting around 180hp out of it. That is with probably 300k on it.
We keep looking at running WMO but really I am not the only one driving it and it would be tough to monitor.

There is an article floating around the web of a guy running the same lincoln on B100 and averaging over 50mpg. Wanted to try that, just not enough time to play with all of the toys.
We have an extra engine and tranny. I really want to put it into a Ranger or bronco and see how far you could take it.

I agree the mercedes also has good product support yet. With any older diesel you have to think outside of the box on parts at some point. If you are looking at the older diesels look for something turbo charged. Night and day between driving experiences.

 

[m67tang]

Mercedes has my vote. Easy to get parts, though some are online only. Still you can buy every nut & bolt on the car. Not to pricey going in either. Just spend the money upfront for the best example you can find. Saves catch up work down the road.

The two worst enemies of older MB diesels are: RUST, & DEFERRED MAINTENANCE.
Keep an eye out for a car not fallen prey to those two things and you will have a great ride for a looooong time!