lostinthe202

Thanks for the tips on the gears, again I'm not looking for fast. Yeah, it's going to be an experiment. the build will be the fun part and if I can get something better then 23mpg great! If it doesn't pan out, I'll pull the engine and put it in something else!

None taken whatsoever, I agree completely, it's one fugly truck! I think it was a delivery truck for an auto parts place or something. It's got 350k on the clock and leaks fluids like the town drunk. But, discounting the few rust spots on the sides of the bed, most of it is pretty rust free which is a shocker. It should be fine. it's a long story, but the short of it is that I got this motor for free, it's a 1.9 liter diesel so it's 'prolly got more torque then the "4 angry squirrels" Kenosha mentioned (hehehe). It won't be fast, but I'm not looking for a race car. This truck's got a curb weight of about 3k lbs which puts it right around the same weight as a VW passat which is one of the cars this engine comes in. 4 angry squirrels indeed, but mine's currently got a 4spd which makes it an AX-4 eh? I got to get something better then a 1:1 for the freeway. Thanks for the tip on the external vs. internal slave, I take it that AX-15's came with both in different years? Anyone know which years are the external? As for the bell housing, I figure the cleanest way would be to make an adapter that will allow me to use the jeep flywheel and starter. I came across a good sized chunk of aluminum I can use to mill out the adapter, but I need to get my hands on the bell housing first to make sure it's big enough Actually I'd say it's a great time. A Passat with this 1.9 liter engine is capable of about 40mpg on the low side for highway driving ( I do almost all highway so that's all I'm going to cover). So a 16 gallon tank of diesel would cost me $65.28 at the current national average of $4.08/gallon, and I would get 640 miles out of that tank. The MJ currently gets 23 mpg on the highway with it's 2.5L 4spd. A 16 gallon tank of gas would cost $55.68 at the national average of $3.48/gallon, and would only get 368 miles out of that tank. So to make up the difference in mileage, I would need to purchase an additional 11.8 gallons of gas (640-368=272, 272/23=11.82) at a cost of $44.25 making a grand total of $99.93 of gas to get the same 640 miles I could go on the diesel. Then, if I can get the WVO thing going, fuel cost will drop considerably. I drive 500 miles a week for work so this is of interest to me. I know, I know you all are thinking "well if that's your commute then why don't you buy a hybrid or a civic or some other super efficient vehicle?" And the answer to that question is that it is more cost effective to do this conversion since that MJ cost me $400 and the engine was free. To buy a hybrid or even a newer civic or the like, it would cost several thousand dollars. A bird in the hand as they say. I did almost buy an older subaru to do this conversion with, but I like the idea of having a 4x4 truck that gets 40mpg and I can still use to haul my motorcycles and firewood!! Whatcha think? :cheers:

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Hi everybody! I picked up the host for my diesel conversion project the other day. It's not much of a looker... well it'll make you look but not in a good way (he he) The plan you ask? Why to put a VW diesel engine in and run it on algae of course! But first things first. I'm still researching tranny's. I am leaning towards the AX15 as it seems like it would be strong enough to handle the torque of the diesel. My concern is whether the gearing is going to be right for a diesel. I want the highest geared box I can get. Anyone know what the Comanche with the Renault diesel came with tranny-wise? Thanks!! Will- P.S. here's some pics-