diesel in a bronco???

[BigD]

so, im buying a 94 bronco with 100k miles and its being built into a full blown mexi cruiser. already has widened beams and coilovers and is pullin around 20" of travel up front and will hopefully be gettin somewhere around 16-18 in the rear pretty soon. what im wondering is, when the engine does blow up and i have to replace it, would it be possible to throw a diesel in its place? how much work would it be and would it be practical? i like the idea of better gas milage and the reliability of a diesel. its just an oddball thought, but id like to see what you guys think. thanks, D

[shrek]

Possible, yes. Only with an older diesel, though.

You are not going to throw a power stroke in it though.............

Sounds like a nightmare to me, but it would be really cool!!!

I love the concept, reliability, and performance of a diesel, but for Mexico it is not a good idea. ( I dont think.)

1. Availability of diesel...........getting better, but still not good
2. Sluggish throttle response.........hard to correct the truck with throttle.


What does everyone else think??

Shrek

[mexracer10]

you read my mind, i have always had the idea to put a cummins diesel engine in a newer 4x4 suburban. I have been thinking about what engines whould be good to use. Now a days all engines are like 90% computer contorlled. But if you look for a older cummins out of a dodge you might be able to make it work woth minimal hassale. Those engines just work off of the injection pump with very minimal electronics involved. And those cummins engines have incredable power and torque, not to mention you can get like 500 miles for like 25 gallons. Id say go for it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And as far as throttle response yes it is a bit slower than a gas engine but not too far off. Our 2000 dodge cummins prolly accelerates as hard as my silverado.

[tedmales]

i would check out this website, they cover most all aspects of diesel engines, i think you could do anything you wanted, but weight would be an issue if you have a suspension done.

http://forums.thedieselstop.com/ubbthreads/

[shrek]

The issue is not acceleration, the problem is throttle response.

Acceleration with modern day diesels is excellent, but they still have a lag until the turbo kicks in.

The lag that happens when you step on it before the turbo winds up and it really starts making power. That is the problem. By the time you get some acceleration, you have already hit whatever you were trying to get on top of.

If you were going to do it, an older cummins would be a good idea. But if you are going to do it, why screw around?? Just put a 3116 Cat in it?? That would be a runner............Let me know if you want to buy one, I have a connection at the CAT dealer!!! haha

Shrek

[mexracer10]

Yea a cat would be nice but the only bad thing is that they are so expensive parts wise. We have 10 wheel dump trucks and the only one with a cat is the most expensive to maintain, the other two have cummins and they are cheaper. Your right about the throttle response vs acceleration, but if its just a pre runner most of the time its just crusin like a big marshmelo. Which brings up the weight as mention above most desiel engines are real heavy and you would deffently need to beef up frame and suspension. But i still think all this work would be worth it.

[TumbleBug]

Hey Faceman, I don't know if it would help, but on Trucks a couple of days ago they were showing a propane injection system for diesels... kinda like NOS for gas engines... That might help with the throttle response!?!? I know after they did the mod on the truck, they were roasting the hides off the tires in the parking lot afterwards... Big time.

Just a thought, this thread reminded me of the show... Thought I'd share the info in case anyone else saw the show and might have more to add about it. I didn't pay a who lot of attention to what he was talking about during that part of the show since a diesel would KILL my buggy. Lol

[SpareChangeRacng]

I know turbo lag can pretty much be taken care of in street cars with the use of a ball bearing turbo. They are kinda spendy, but take turbo lag down a bunch (meaning you don't feel the actual time gap before the turbo spools). I would asume they could do the same for a diesel motor...
The easier it is for the turbo to spool (ball bearings instead of bushings), the faster your throttle response is.

[BigD]

awesome respone...much appreciated. so, what do you think an estimated cost would be??? can you buy and older style diesel new, like a factory crate motor??? turbo lag is definitely an issue i didnt think of, but i think with some time behind the wheel you could prob get used to it a bit.

[dunerking]

That 's not that oddball of an idea.Was planning on doing the same but to a 79 Ford F-250.The simplest conversion I've seen is to put a Cummins in.Check out fordcummins.com,I think they are in the central Cal. area.Goodluck.

[FullsizeFun]

I dont think it would be a good idea for a Bronco. I am all for deisel engines in trucks, but a bronco is only a 1/2 ton and is very short. A 5.9 cummins and a 7.3 IH both weigh about 900lbs. That is a lot of weight for a short Bronco, about twice as much as a 351W. And a Cat motor is much more.
It is a good swap for a 3/4 or 1 ton truck, but not for a 1/2 ton. the frame is not intended for that heavy of a motor or that much torque.
Throttle response is the least of your worries, especially if you use a computer controlled engine. there is a huge aftermarket for deisels.
The motor in your Bronco should have plenty of life left if it has been taken care of. My 92 GMC 5.7L has 193k on it and it runs excelent even towing.

[UndercoverFab]

theirs plenty of ways to get rid of turbo lag so don`t let that be your deciding factor.

an 89 to 98.5 cummins from a dodge only needs two wires run to fire it up.

only issues I could see for you would be weight and getting it smogged, I was told older diesels don`t get smogged out there but I dont know if that applies to conversions. the weight wouldn`t be an issue IMO if your not planning on any high speed desert assaults.

as far as price anywhere from 3 grand if you find your parts cheap and do it all yourself to 18 grand if you buy everything new and have it all done by someone else

I have a 94 chevy dually with a 12valve cummins in it and i`ve never thought twice about building it, after finding a low mileage engine and an nv5600 tranny plus all the odd and ends I had to make it only cost around 4600 for me to do the swap. thats not counting all the extras I have in it now, just a complete stock cummins engine running in the truck.

[shrek]

[ QUOTE ]
theirs plenty of ways to get rid of turbo lag so don`t let that be your deciding factor.

[/ QUOTE ]

Do tell, because apparently the engineers at Ford, Dodge, and Chevy have not been able to figure it out yet.............................except with the new turbo on the 6.0L Power Stroke, but it just has reduced it some.

Shrek

[pphat]

The fordcummins folks are in Montana, but are opening another shop in Oroville, CA August 1st.

http://www.fordcummins.com/

They've got lots of info up on their site, but it looks like they concentrate on F250 and F350 trucks.

[PBR]

torque is going to be a big factor for the bronco... you will not just need the motor but a tranny, and most of the hot rod cummins guys run the maunals, a t-case if you are planning on keeping the 4wd, and a big rearend, a 9" will probably not hold up with all that torque.

i love the idea, but maybe not the right application...

[ntsqd]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
theirs plenty of ways to get rid of turbo lag so don`t let that be your deciding factor.

[/ QUOTE ]

Do tell, because apparently the engineers at Ford, Dodge, and Chevy have not been able to figure it out yet.............................except with the new turbo on the 6.0L Power Stroke, but it just has reduced it some.

Shrek

[/ QUOTE ]

Try: Here (http://propulsiontech.com/sub3.html) This is one of the projects we have going at work.

[shrek]

Now, that is a good idea!!! How long before we see one on the road?? if not already........


Shrek

[UndercoverFab]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
theirs plenty of ways to get rid of turbo lag so don`t let that be your deciding factor.

[/ QUOTE ]

Do tell, because apparently the engineers at Ford, Dodge, and Chevy have not been able to figure it out yet.............................except with the new turbo on the 6.0L Power Stroke, but it just has reduced it some.

Shrek

[/ QUOTE ]


the 12valve oil burner in my chevy with a B1 turbo will spoolup ALMOST instantly, theres a few more turbo`s on the market that spoolup as fast or faster then mine, if I can slide it through a smog station as a conversion it`ll be getting twins shortly http://www.race-dezert.com/vb3/attachments/old/images/graemlins/wink.gif

if the bronco can handle all the weight hanging over the front end I think it`d make a great swap. my truck will never be a pre runner but its ultra reliable, gets good mileage and will tow anything.

[dunerking]

I heard somewhere that the next generation of Power Strokes are supposed to have a twin turbo set-up,but you know when beers go down tales are told.

[MNotary]

390 motor mounts off the chassis and fab to the Cummins.

One ton.

[ntsqd]

[ QUOTE ]
Now, that is a good idea!!! How long before we see one on the road?? if not already........

[/ QUOTE ]

There have been a couple tested on the road by another company. One was appearently on a Harley. I'd say we're two to three years away from a road worthy version, but you won't see it until a while after that. There are several significant hurdles yet to be solved.
As some here appearently know, if you size a turbo for instant spool-up you loose a lot on the top end. If you size for top end then you suffer from lag. The RX7 sequential system & systems like it are one way to have both instant spool and no top end loss. There must be some issues with the concept though since it doesn't appear to have endured.

Did you also look at the OPOC engine page? That is currently consuming most of my time at work.