DirtyComanche Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 So, in a daily driver MJ, how little horsepower do you think you could survive with? IIRC, curb weight is about 2800lbs for a 4wd SB 4.oh, and 3000lbs~ for the same in a LB. Which isn't really that heavy... I daily drove a Dodge with a curb weight in the 6800lbs area, and it only had 160HP :rotf: I never thought it was an issue, it just meant passing was creative and top speed was only 140km/h; which really wasn't bad. I've slowed down a lot in my advancing years, and honestly don't feel a need to chirp the tires into second (or third) anymore... On that reasoning, an 80HP diesel in a MJ shouldn't be any worse than my 160HP Dodge was... Especially if the diesel engine weighs less than the 4.0 (or whatever) it is replacing. I've got a line on some really nice 25HP air cooled diesels, but I just don't think that would cut it, but it would really save some weight with the deletion of the cooling system and half of everything else in the engine bay, of course you would need a janitrol heater for in the winter, so that might not be so awesome. For a DD, what do people think is a minimum reasonable amount of HP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnkyboy Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 The first VWs only had 25hp Gearing is more important then HP,you could pedal your truck if you could get enough gearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenobian_84 Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 If we're talking strictly horsepower, ignoring torque and gearing, then I would have to say it'd be about 90-100. Basically, If you needed an engine example, look at GM's OHV 2.0 found in the first gen Blazers. The measly 83 horsepower that it pushed out makes me glad I have a respectable 120 horsepower 2.5. :yes: Would I like being stuck with 83 horsepower? No, but I'd still drive the hell out of whatever that engine was in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incommando Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Everyone is in love with horsepower and I am guilty of quoting it, too, but the real interest IMHO is in the torque number and the rpm range of the near-peak torque. I had a 12V CTD Dodge that was rated at 160 hp but 400 #'s of torque. Which number do you think was important? If you go back to the really crappy years, especially for American cars, of the early '80s and late 70's you will see that nothing had any horsepower. Heck a 454 Chevy from that era was lucky to produce 200 horsepower, less than the 3.7 V6 in my KJ, but probably had over 325#'s of TQ. A '79 or newer CJ7 304 V8 was a measly 125 horsepower! Matching the power band of your engine with your transmission ratios, axle ratios, and tire size to put the engine in its sweet spot for how you realistically use your vehicle is the answer to making most any engine work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakal Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 in my 88mj sb with 4.11 gearing i spin the tires in 1st and second. i must be careful in 1st. so i won't do anything to increase hp at this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Automan2164 Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 85 Horsepower seems to putter along these things just fine... Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimoshel Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Really don't care what my HP is, as long as it'll get me to 75MPH in 4 seconds, or less Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Used to have FWD Saab 96s back in the 60s. They had 841cc two-stroke three-cylinder engines and put out 38HP in stock trim. They had triple carbs, and they freakin' screamed. There was virtually no rev limit until it blew up, and they would wind out to such a high RPM that you couldn't hear it anymore. :yes: They were a blast to ice-race on a frozen lake course using studded snow tires on the front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Really don't care what my HP is, as long as it'll get me to 75MPH in 4 seconds, or less then I'm guessing the Veyron SS would work for you? :brows: don't know 0-75, but 0-60 is 2.4sec. even has AWD for those snowy days. :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakal Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 i raced these for a few years http://vimeo.com/10641261 100cc, 20hp, 14500 rpm. 3inches from your ear. :banana: :banana: :banana: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comanche County Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 My 50' CJ3A is supposed to be 60 hp and 100 lbs of torque, its probably down some due to low compression. I love the way the old engine sounds. If it had brakes I'd DD it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knever3 Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Well my take... My comanche has years on it and thus way tired. I feel it doesn't have enough HP and it probably has 115 if I would venture a guess. If you are thinking of a 25hp diesel you won't have enough power and you have no way of cooling it at idle or in traffic compared to a liquid cooled. Also it was probably meant for one RPM say if it were to run a generator. I would be concerned with the crank if you were to use a clutch because it's a lot of strain on a crank if a clutch gets dropped. 25hp for a tractor good, on the road with other cars not my cup of tea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted April 16, 2012 Author Share Posted April 16, 2012 Used to have FWD Saab 96s back in the 60s. They had 841cc two-stroke three-cylinder engines and put out 38HP in stock trim. They had triple carbs, and they freakin' screamed. There was virtually no rev limit until it blew up, and they would wind out to such a high RPM that you couldn't hear it anymore. :yes: They were a blast to ice-race on a frozen lake course using studded snow tires on the front. I imagine those cars were super light weight? 38HP at 12000rpm :rotf: Did they have oil injection or did you have to mix the gas? Well my take... My comanche has years on it and thus way tired. I feel it doesn't have enough HP and it probably has 115 if I would venture a guess. If you are thinking of a 25hp diesel you won't have enough power and you have no way of cooling it at idle or in traffic compared to a liquid cooled. Also it was probably meant for one RPM say if it were to run a generator. I would be concerned with the crank if you were to use a clutch because it's a lot of strain on a crank if a clutch gets dropped. 25hp for a tractor good, on the road with other cars not my cup of tea. The air cooled diesels have a small fan for cooling, so it should probably not overheat at idle. That said, still I don't think it would be suitable. If it was more like 50HP, perhaps, but being air cooled probably isn't the best thing in general, the lack of safe heater options kinda kills it for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted April 16, 2012 Author Share Posted April 16, 2012 85 Horsepower seems to putter along these things just fine... Rob Can you maintain speed on decent grades? There's a 6%er in town, traffic speed is normally 70-80km/h or 40-50mph on it (not saying anything about the actual limit, that's much lower :rotf: ). Is your truck capable of holding that speed on that type of grade, reasonably unloaded? I don't care if you have to drop gears or if it's foot to the floor (I don't understand people that cry about having to gear down, that's what gears are for :nuts: ). What sort of fuel economy do you get out of the 2.1L Renault? My daily drive is mostly rural roads, a short stretch of not very busy highway, some in town, and only a couple steep hills. If a 80HP diesel is plenty livable in those conditions, it will make my life a lot easier for finding a suitable candidate to swap. Everyone is in love with horsepower and I am guilty of quoting it, too, but the real interest IMHO is in the torque number and the rpm range of the near-peak torque. I had a 12V CTD Dodge that was rated at 160 hp but 400 #'s of torque. Which number do you think was important? Actually, the 160HP Dodge I was talking about... CTD. That said, while the torque matters, the thing flat out had no jam once you got moving. I'm thinking small diesel swap, so it will have a similar torque:HP ratio and hopefully a decently flat toque curve. If you go back to the really crappy years, especially for American cars, of the early '80s and late 70's you will see that nothing had any horsepower. Heck a 454 Chevy from that era was lucky to produce 200 horsepower, less than the 3.7 V6 in my KJ, but probably had over 325#'s of TQ. A '79 or newer CJ7 304 V8 was a measly 125 horsepower! Matching the power band of your engine with your transmission ratios, axle ratios, and tire size to put the engine in its sweet spot for how you realistically use your vehicle is the answer to making most any engine work. I'll agree that matching the final drive and gear ratios is probably far more important than just having gobs of power on tap, but it really only goes so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkninjazx9 Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 i raced these for a few years http://vimeo.com/10641261 100cc, 20hp, 14500 rpm. 3inches from your ear. :banana: :banana: :banana: dude thats a scream way close to that ear drum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakal Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 ya i didn't hear to good, now. but it was fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 The renault will maintain speed at 60 to 65 if you downshift with a reasonable payload. And get 25mpg on a bad day. My dad (opsled) got an avg of 28 or 29 with his, and it had had a cracked head for the past 100k miles or so. His highest when there were no issues was 34mpg, and it would safely get an avg of 30 or a bit more with no running issues (not broken). Great little truck. If you can learn to work on them, and do the maintenance as required, the renault will outlast the body it's installed in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted April 17, 2012 Author Share Posted April 17, 2012 Great little truck. If you can learn to work on them, and do the maintenance as required, the renault will outlast the body it's installed in. I'd just get one of them, but they are simply not around. The last diesel I saw listed at all local to me, was an XJ, $5000 and not budging. It was NOT mint. However, I think I should be better able to find something in the 80HP range. I was looking for something more along the lines of 120-150HP, and there just isn't anything that I can source, or it is mad $$$. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted April 27, 2012 Author Share Posted April 27, 2012 So; I'm thinking an older diesel Volkswagen engine... Almost 70HP :rotf: Apparently if I find a Passat or other larger car, it will be a regular RWD configuration. Which I think would allow one to easily go from the stock matching tranny to a divorced suzuki tcase; since it would still be short enough to not be an issue either way. The light duty components would probably compliment each other well. Or, Acme makes an adapter (http://acmeadapters.com/store_engine.php) that allows one to go to a Toyota R151? transmission, which I think is an AX-15 with a different bellhousing. So, Volkswagen, acme adapter, R151 bell, AX-15 trans, jeep tcase. More research will be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted April 27, 2012 Author Share Posted April 27, 2012 And found this sweet 1990... Sadly I can't pay that. http://bc.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-car ... Z374711264 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comanche County Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 All this talk about non-existent diesel Jeeps is just a bunch of crazy talk. You guys are off your meds. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted April 27, 2012 Author Share Posted April 27, 2012 All this talk about non-existent diesel Jeeps is just a bunch of crazy talk. You guys are off your meds. :D Been off them for a few years now. :nuts: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Automan2164 Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 All this talk about non-existent diesel Jeeps is just a bunch of crazy talk. You guys are off your meds. :D Speak for yourself, I have my non-existent Jeep. Rob 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comanche County Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 Me too! :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comanche County Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 All this talk about non-existent diesel Jeeps is just a bunch of crazy talk. You guys are off your meds. :D Speak for yourself, I have my non-existent Jeep. Rob 8) PhotoChop, not a real MJ! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now