Diesel

[00111001]

(14 June 2012, 08:49)NorthernRaider Wrote:

(14 June 2012, 08:47)00111001 Wrote: What if I run my diesel on veg oil?

Provided its got efficient combustion and clean filters a modern diesel puts out much less much than many petrol engines, diesel engines that are well designed and modern are far more efficient than petrol engines, and a million times safer.

I'm not sure mine's that efficient to be honest - it;s a '93 reg Hilux Surf. It will run on almost anything I put in it though! I know people who use WVO & petrol, WVO & kero, WVO, SVO, cherry, straight kero, WVO & engine oil.

No CAT to go wrong on it either - straight through SS exhaust

[Timelord]

23MPG official rated figures for a Surf. Cool & well built truck - damn poo mpg! Got rid of mine as soon as I found out the 4x4 system wasn't a true 4x4 system and it let me down on a snowy/icy track. Needed diff locks which v.v.v.few ever were fitted with. The Gen3 surf has it all but not the gen2. Otherwise would have kept it. Got a Mitsy Pajero Mk1 now - much better offroad and more comfortable too. Does 30mpg cruising and had first outing on SVO today. Happier now

[00111001]

(14 June 2012, 15:16)Timelord Wrote: 23MPG official rated figures for a Surf. Cool & well built truck - damn poo mpg! Got rid of mine as soon as I found out the 4x4 system wasn't a true 4x4 system and it let me down on a snowy/icy track. Needed diff locks which v.v.v.few ever were fitted with. The Gen3 surf has it all but not the gen2. Otherwise would have kept it. Got a Mitsy Pajero Mk1 now - much better offroad and more comfortable too. Does 30mpg cruising and had first outing on SVO today. Happier now

Aye, 23 is about right. If I'm doing 70 it's about 18. 55mph it goes up to 28ish.

Yeah, real wheel drive, unless 4x4 is engaged. Got a locking diff on mine (I think?). Also has the winter pack, so 2 batteries, in-tank diesel heater (perfect for SVO on those cold days) and other gubbins you don't need in England.

I think the wheelbase is too long really for it to be brilliant off-road. With proper tyres and a good driver they'll keep up with a 110 off road. Nowhere near the 90 though. Mine's sat on 31's - I want to get it lifted to take 35's, but that's a lot of work, and a lot of money. 33's seem easy to put on, but then I'd still need a 2" lift kit.

I love the Pajero, the missus won't let me buy one though - not quite big enough for all of us. Have you got the Bosch injectors on the Mitsi? If not you may have issues running SVO (and WVO for that matter).

[Timelord]

Don't know what injectors. Will have to check that out. On the forums, the only issue seems to be the development of a leak from the diesel pump seals if run on a lot of SVO. I will be mixing mine and then only infrequent use.

The MK1 I have is the long wheel base and it is definitely quite a bit roomier than the surf, which was surprisingly small once you sat inside it. Not high either. I think they are deceptive on the eye. The great thing about the surf was the long load bed and the tailgate extension. The back window was a known problem though. I replace all the workings of mine in the end.

I also found the wheelbase a bit long for my liking. The issue was that seeing as you could only drive it on the black stuff in 2WD most of the time, then if you hit a damp patch or horror of horrors, ice - on a bend - unexpectedly, then the length could make the handling ungainly and the back was liable to break traction more easily and end up trying to overtake the front!. This was kept under control by me but I had to drive accordingly and be ever vigilant for this possibility. The Paj is also part time 4WD, but the wheelbase is squarer and so far it feels more stable. I will say, that after taking it up a mountainous rocky track to a club venue I am involved with, it certainly was more comfortable than the Surf and ten times over better than the Jimny I had. It drove like it could handle any roughness thrown in front of it. I was mightily pleased. The only other vehicle I have owned that was on a par was a Landy Disco with a 3" lift & all the toys. That was slightly higher but had had a fortune spent on it to get it to drive like that. The pajero seems to come like that from the factory. So far I am impressed. Just hope I don't have to buy many parts as they cost a ridiculous amount - even 2nd hand they are pricy. That is where the Landy excelled - mind you, you had to buy more parts more often I believe. LOL.

(That locking diff on yours - if it has one - is worth quite a lot of dosh, so don't go letting it go cheap or being broken oneday for standard money. If mine had had a locking diff, then I would have kept it, even with the poor fuel consumption)

[NorthernRaider]

My missus has a shogun pinin, permenant 4x4 drive, gets about 32MPH, excellent on snow and ice but because its so bloody short the ride on the road is prettty choppy.

[00111001]

Aye, it's terrible in the wet. Back end swings round if there's even a hint of dampness. I love it, but it does scare the crap out of people next to me on the roundabouts!

My back window's not worked for ages now. Have to slide it open by hand. Which is fine when it's dry - near on impossible in the wet though. I don't know whether I should shift it on, now it's got a full MOT, or keep it. I do miss my defender, but the cost of 'em now is ridiculous. So I don't know what I'd get. Jade doesn't like the Mitsi's (unless I get another L200 Warrior), so what I'd replace it with is limited. Can't afford a defender, barred from the Mitsi shoguns. Wouldn't mind another ML. the ML320 I had was a beast. Surprisingly good off-road, but the 3.2 litre V6 did like it's petrol. Went like a rocket - especially when you've put 3 bottles of octane booster in there! Might look for a diesel one.

I'll have a look to see if I have locking diff - dumb question here, but how would I tell? I presume I'd have something in the cab to lock the diffs?

[Timelord]

Hello NR, that was the trouble I had with the Jimny. It was the most uncomfortable road vehicle I have driven. Ok, so it was built as an offroader and it excels at that, but it was a nightmare for the 98% of the other driving I did on tarmac. You had to constantly concentrate on the road ahead. If you looked sideways for even a few seconds, when you looked forwards again, the Jimny would be wandering off course. This was not a fault with the car, it was due to the suspension & steering geometry. The seats were uncomfortable & every single bump in the road made the car bounce around as it drove along. Also I could not carry v.much inside it. In some ways it is a great vehicle and I admire its capabilities for that, especially the 41.5mpg on petrol, but for normal driving it was most unpleasant. I have driven Sherpa vans many times over the years and I thought they were bad. I drove one briefly again while I still owned the Jimny and it felt like pure luxury and comfort. That's saying something!!

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(14 June 2012, 16:02)00111001 Wrote: I'll have a look to see if I have locking diff - dumb question here, but how would I tell? I presume I'd have something in the cab to lock the diffs?

Can't remember. The info is on the HiluxSurf forum. Mine got stuck up the mountain track in snow. It was a slightly steeper gradiant at one part that was compressed snow like ice & the truck would not go up it , even after a few attempts. Eventually it slid back sideways and blocked the track. The diffs are normal open diffs, just two of them instead of one as on a car.

I seem to remember something about jacking an axle off the floor and turning one wheel forward by hand. the opposing wheel should move in the same direction for a locking diff. If it moves backwards, then it is an open diff. yes there should be a button on the 4wd gear selector or possibly an extra position in its movement. I would check it out on the forums first though.
You could sell the truck for more if it has a locking diff. I did like my surf a lot, but after that episode - it had to go. I need to be able to rely on my vehicle. In that snowy scenario, I would rather have turned up in a car, knowing I had a 2 mile trek up a mountain and so would have packed accordingly. As it was, I and two others had to lug a large amount of heavy gear up the track on foot. I was not going to repeat that event again!! lol (now)

[00111001]

No locking diff unfortunately

But I can get one fitted

[Skvez]

It appears the causal agent is Sulphur compounds carried by small soot particles.
The latest diesel engines produce very little in the form of particulates and require very low sulphur fuel but these engines are the ones preppers avoid due to the complex electronics (and after treatment systems).
This isn't as much a concern in the UK as it would be in the developing world where older (dirtier) engines and high sulphur content fuel are the norm.

[bigpaul]

i was thinking about diesel this morning when our local builder(Tony lovely man) started up his "dad" truck, talk about if you werent awake before you are now! and it didnt so much smell of diesel it smelt more like paraffin...any ideas why this would be??