Small engine diesels

[KBennett]

I was wondering if anyone ever used or converted a small engine(1 Cylinder) to diesel. I realize compression is a big factor in a diesel and the bottom end probably needs to be pretty strong.

 

[Will24]

been around a few 1 cylinder hatz diesels, MONSTER torque, fairly easy to work on , but crank start...



-Will

 

[bmoeller]

Don't remember who it is here, but someone has been running a Briggs (?) powered mower on diesel. :-laf

 

[RonWeiss]

I had a 10hp Volvo Penta diesel in my sailboat for awhile. I was pretty smooth running. It had a MONSTER external flyweel, that must a have weighed 50lbs.



Eventually went to a Yanmar 12hp dual cylinder...



Ron W.

 

[illflem]

Running a gas engine on diesel and converting one to a true diesel engine are two different stories.

Once a gasser is warmed up you can change to diesel fuel and most will keep running but will smoke and only produce half the power.

Probably cheaper to buy a small diesel than convert a gasser, isn't that where Chevy failed in their initial diesel releases?

 

[willyslover]

bmoeller. . that is Vaughn MacKenzie who is hitting his lawn mower with diesel juice and doing lawn mowing and neighbor hood mosquito control all at once

 

[CPG]

Diesel conversions

Bill Fleming is sure right here. The Diesel engines are built much more heavy than any gas engine. Their compression ratios are almost twice what a gas engine is. The crankshaft on our Cummins looks like a small NTC-350 Cummins that I used to work on years ago. The Chevy's were built like car block engines with Diesel injection equipment.



Chuck

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Bill said: "Probably cheaper to buy a small diesel than convert a gasser, isn't that where Chevy failed in their initial diesel releases?"



Come on Bill - I'd expect more out of you!!



The early 5. 7L GM diesels were NOT converted from a 350cid gasser block. They shared zero components..... The only thing that was the same was the displacement.



They had one major flaw. The head bolts were too long. So when GM torqued the heads on... . the bolts bottomed out in the holes and the heads were never torqued right. GM came out with a fix for this (shorter head bolts and a gasket set... . ) - and folks that didn't swap out their diesels for SBC's had a simple fix for what ailed their perfectly good diesel.



Even though the first diesels from both GM and F*rd were absolutely horrible compared to what's available today..... they exposed the public to the idea of a personal vehicle with a diesel.



I guess it's a case where even 'bad press' is better than no press.....



Matt

 

[illflem]

Could have sworn that when I removed an injector from one there were spark plug threads in the hole.

Tell you truth I never worked on one because they all died under warranty, many were buy backs. Good friend went though three engines in 24k. The early Chevy diesels did more to turn off the public off to diesels than they did to introduce them.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Naw - the only reason to take an injector out of a 5. 7/6. 2/6. 5 is to try and remove the broken bits of glow plug after one lets loose.



I've heard of way too many lunched engines from glow plugs that went south, warped heads, bad cooling system, bad head bolts, etc.



Yeah - all of the early diesels around that time didn't do much to help any of the manufacturers to really 'sell' anyone on the idea of owning a diesel.



I sure learned a lot back when the diesels needed to be tinkered with. Now you just keep clean filters/fluids in 'em and run 'em ragged.....



The minute people hear that I have a diesel in my VW - all they say is: "My ex-girlfriend's brother-in-law had one of those back in '83... . it wouldn't even make it up the hill by our house with his foot to the floor in 1st gear! *haha... . giggle, giggle*"



Ahhhhh - how times have changed.



Matt

 

[Ncostello]

Kubota makes some small 10HP diesel singles that look basically like a single cylinder gas Kohler K series engines.



I know this. A nearby fire department has one (but maybe 16HP) on a generator. Its the absolute loudest small engine I've ever heard. So much that you cant hear anything if your near that side of the truck. But they wanted a gen that could be fed off the truck tank.

 

[The patriot]

Surplus center has some pretty nice looking engines.

Have my eye on a 3 cyl Perkins 23 HP. Would make a nice small boat engine, or a gen set. $1695 brand new!!

http://www.surpluscenter.com/sort.asp?UID=2003111422400714&catname=engines&keyword=NED1

Eric

 

[JLEONARD]

I had a generator in my boat that was powered by a Lister-Petter single cylinder diesel... . 5. 5 hp at 3600 rpm. The engine was pretty heavy... lots of iron. Couldn't imagine one of those on top of a lawnmower.....

Ran great once it got started... ... . sounded like the "African Queen".

Jay

 

[Animal]

Matt, you are technically correct the 350 Diesel Is not a converted Gas engine. . it is a completely different block. . It isn't a gas engine with different heads or a gas engine sleeved, etc etc. . There was no gas Oldsmobile engine sharing the same block, but it was based on the 350 Olds Rocket motor. The Diesel block is specific to the diesel; it is a heftier, more solid block with stronger mains and a port in the valley for the injection pump adapter. The block is cast with high nickel content. The 350 Diesel is not a converted gas block but can however be converted into a gas engine. The crank of the 350 diesel which uses 455-type mains with standard small-block rod journals is not interchangeable with the gasser but it will take the 350 gas pistons and rods (can’t use the diesel rods they are slightly shorter). The diesel blocks are preferred for all-out racing because of their 3/8-inch thick main webs and . 400-inch-thick cylinder walls. A 425 crank with cut-down counterweights will fit in the diesel block. Since, with sonic testing, the diesel block will accept a 4. 25-inch bore, up to 451 inches is available with custom pistons and rods (what a sleeper!) 455 cranks won't clear no matter what you do).

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Animal said: "The 350 Diesel is not a converted gas block but can however be converted into a gas engine. "



At least I'm not the only one who knows this.



Lots of the pulling crowd folks also convert their perfectly good diesels into gas burners.



Imagine whacking a 400+cid I-6 that's running on alcohol with 100+ psi of boost?!



Matt

 

[bmoeller]

Originally posted by HoleshotHolset



The early 5. 7L GM diesels were NOT converted from a 350cid gasser block. They shared zero components..... The only thing that was the same was the displacement.

They did the same thing with the 4. 3L V6. I worked for a guy that 3. 2 in Celebrities and one in a Pontiac 6000. They only made them for a couple of years.



Biggest problem with them that I'm aware of, is that the heads (both the cast and the aluminum ones) cracked in between the valves.



Other that that, they seemed to be decent motors.



You don't want to have to work on them though. I don't thin anyone could pay me enough to want to put head gaskets in one again. REALLY bad job.

 

[tgbol]

I converted 3 Olds 350 diesels to gas. Used gasser heads and 4 barrel manifold. They ran pretty good.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

tgbol said: "I converted 3 Olds 350 diesels to gas. Used gasser heads and 4 barrel manifold. They ran pretty good. "



How did you lower the compression so that they'd run on gasoline? The heads alone (bigger combustion chambers... ) were enough?



I've only read about the 4. 3L V6 diesels... never seen one... that had to be a cool little engine... . I'd almost like to get one just to play with.....



Matt

 

[southpaw]

small diesel engines

for a good supply of reasonably priced small diesel engines log on to hardydiesel.com. located in Jamul Ca. near san diego I just hope the fire didn,t take them out.

 

[tgbol]

Yes the heads were enough to lower the compression the ones I did were in Cadillac Sevilles