This should get a few "OMG" responces.

I used to own an 85 Jetta & Rabbit diesel.

They were great on fuel mileage, 45 - 50 MPG !

I know, people will say, "oh it would be so slow" - So what, I'm not looking for a weekend racer. Just thinking about a highway cruiser.

It'd be nice to go 500 mile to one tank !

There really not to noisy. The one's I had would just purr at idle. They didn't smoke like to old diesel's used to.

What do you all think ?

There's an 84 Fiero in the paper for 750. Maybe a project car ?

I just read an article the other day on the improvements made in the diesel engines, and I pondered the same thing. The newer diesels are not the soot puffing noisy knocking engines of the early 80's and are quite popular in Europe where fuel cost is about three times what we pay here in the U.S. (Been there, and done that!) The performance is also about equal to the gasoline engines. There is an article in Popular Science, that touts the performance of an eight cylinder diesel that was installed in a Ford Excursion that is turboed, and puts out 400 HP, and 850 ft/lbs torque. Before the turbo the engine had 235 HP... I am not sure about the cost though, with technology comes big prices. I would have to have a quiet, clean engine that puts out some power for a price that would not mean taking a second mortage on my home. If you go that direction, I would be interested in the turn out, if for nothing else, for the gee wiz factor.

[This message has been edited by topcat (edited 02-23-2002).]

if you are not concerned about power why not go with a hybrid electric setup. there is a few sights that have conversions. the fiero would be a good candidate for this. just my two cents.................scott

Diesels are usually heavier than gasoline engines of the same HP. Who wants all that racket(noise)? Around here, diesel is usually a few cents higher than gasoline & you sure don't want to ever get any water in your tank. Exhaust would probably have to be modified to pass emissions. I had heck keeping head gaskets on my daughter's Rabbit.
Just put a 4-71 or any other Detroit Diesel in, you better buy lots of kitty litter for the oil leaks Mate it to a Allison 750 transmission-you will find out what real problems are. OR- Call Stewart & Stevenson & order a little GT eng.

I worked at a VW dealership in the 80's in the parts dept. We had a RACK of head gaskets for those smelly, noisey, shakey and thin tinned P.O.S.'s. Sorry dude. You couldn't pay me to own one of those.(a 70-80's VW) Those things could shake off their own counter weights from vibrating so much. You knew when you lost that weight. Everything else would start shaking and falling apart. There's been a lot of improvement in the Diesel engine, but not enough for me. I guess you can catagorize this note under the "OMG" section.

Everyone seems to be forgetting the modern diesels, like the TDI engines in new Jettas, Bugs, etc.

I agree 100%. The newer diesels are not the shaky, smelly, smokey engines from the 80's. Many would be surprised at how quiet and clean the newer diesels are.

quote Originally posted by Will: Everyone seems to be forgetting the modern diesels, like the TDI engines in new Jettas, Bugs, etc.

You need to check local laws. This kind of conversion can involve weird rules in some places. I've thought about this myself but haven't had time to thuroly check it out.

There are a few ways you could go with this....

Some university project put a diesel from a semi truck trailer refer unit into a MG once... I think they hooked it to a 5 speed gear box. That was a number of years ago now. I don't remember all the details. The point here is the motor doesn't always have to come from a car.

If you did this now... you'd probably want to do a turbo diesel. more power and lower emissions. Turbo on a Diesel is fairly straight forward. Depending on the diesel in question, it can actually be pretty easy at low boosts. Interestingly, most diesel turbos are Not intercooled. They actually seem to like the air warmed.

The new Diesels may have to meet OBDII rules in the cars they are in. Haven't followed this for awhile... OBDII could make transplanting one a giant pain in the ass. Nearly all the new Diesels are computerized. Even the big truck ones.

I don't know what the old VW rabbit diesel was like for durability. I know there was a turbo version that everyone I knew who had one loved preformance wise. Great mileage and suposedly performed as well or better than the gas rabbits.

On top of getting better mileage from a diesel, you can also use Biodiesel fuels derived from all sorts of new and recycled vegetable and seed oils.

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11-Sept-01, The day the world as we knew it ended.

quote Originally posted by theogre: If you did this now... you'd probably want to do a turbo diesel. more power and lower emissions. Turbo on a Diesel is fairly straight forward. Depending on the diesel in question, it can actually be pretty easy at low boosts. Interestingly, most diesel turbos are Not intercooled. They actually seem to like the air warmed. The new Diesels may have to meet OBDII rules in the cars they are in. Haven't followed this for awhile... OBDII could make transplanting one a giant pain in the ass. Nearly all the new Diesels are computerized. Even the big truck ones.

The TDI VW engines are turbocharged. And they're OBDII.

Not intercooled??? Every big truck I've ever seen with its hood up has an intercooler larger and thicker than its radiator.

While a TDI swap from a Euro modern Passat or even A4/A6 (same car essentially) would be intresting...

It'd also cost a fortune for a new non-sucky dissel, AND...

Pardon my french, but ARE YOU INSANE>?!?!?!?

A FRIGGIN DISSEL!?!?

There, now that that's out of my system...

Best!
Ben.

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Ben Cannon
88 Formula, T-top, Metalic Red. "Every Man Dies, not every man really Lives"
88 Formula, Northstar, Silver, In-Progreess. -Mel Gibson, "Braveheart"

Theres a GM made 80s FWD Diesel at the Junkyard here next time i go there i will look to see what the make of the car was (I bet it will bolt to the Fiero Tranny

Hey, sorry it took so long to add more to this post, I was at work all day.

The 85 jetta motor was just fine, I bought it with 62k miles, put another 235k miles on it, and sold the car for more than I bought it !

Got the rabbit used, it also made it to 250k miles. Both were 5 speeds. - In fact the rabbit came w/out A/C, I had a guy install one from another rabbit, 200 bucks later, it would freeze your butt on high !

I guess I had good luck with both. The size is about the same as the stock 4 cyl.

The only engine repairs I ever made were replacing the timing belts (normal 100k repair) and replaced the injectors once.

Heads were never off.

From the ones I had, the engines should do well. The weight of the cars are about the same.

Nothing high tech, no computers needed for those.

This was an idea, if I could find a wrecked jetta/Rabbit w/good engine, might make a interesting project.

From some of the posts, sounds like some people had engines that gave them trouble.

Out of my two and the four my friends had, all were trouble free.

Any one know what the GM made Diesel car (its a Mid 80s Car) i need to get back to the junk yard here to see what it was

Was it the Chevette? For some reason that one is sticking in my head

quote Originally posted by ig88vsbobafett: Any one know what the GM made Diesel car (its a Mid 80s Car) i need to get back to the junk yard here to see what it was

A bodies (Chevy Celebrity, Buick Century, Pontiac 6000, Olds Cutlass Ciera) also got a diesel, 4.3 V6 (I think). I almost bought a chevette diesel once...

pil

How much horsepower did they have ?

I know GM made some gasoline to diesel conversion v-8's in the early 80's or late 70's, not sure about the smaller engs. Steer clear of them. You couldn't keep a head gasket on them. Buick sticks in my mind for some reason.

quote Originally posted by Will: Not intercooled??? Every big truck I've ever seen with its hood up has an intercooler larger and thicker than its radiator.

Actually i believe that's an Air to Air heat exchanger. An intercooler would actually exchange Intake Heat for engine coolant hence the term intercooler. Most production turbos use an Air to Air echanger, but some subaru's and the celica all tracs actualy had a intercooler that flowed engine coolant through a radiator that was hooked up to the intake charge.

AT least i think, If i'm wrong flame away

An air to air excanger and an air to air intercooler are the same thing. Your reffering to an air to water intercooler.

I cant see why it wouldn't be feasible Cool.
My new Surf has a 3 ltr turbo diesel and it is pretty good in the power and torque stakes as well as in physical size for a 4 cylinder.
Power=97KW (130 HP)
Torque=290Nm @ 2,000rpm

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My Old Fiero | Accessories

Why not just install a 2.5.......most of them sound like diesels anyway.........LOL

Phil

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GTDude
25 years GM experience

quote Originally posted by GTDude: Why not just install a 2.5.......most of them sound like diesels anyway.........LOL Phil

Ha HAA !! YOU A VERY FUNNY GUY !!! LOL

That was good ! Thanks I needed a good laugh !

I have actually seen a deisel Fiero, I think that the guy sai the motor came out of a early 90's VW. Not sure what kind of VW, he didn't say.

The thing that caught my attn. was the DEISEL badge on the deck lid. I asked him about it and he was happy to show me. It was turbo charged, and he said that it was quick enough for a daily driver and got awesome mileage. Kinda cool I thought.

Oh, and 2.5's really do sound like deisels, or at least mine does.

Since it wouldn't need the computer for the engine, I could reprogram it so when the fuel door is opened it would remind the driver, "hey stupid, use the diesel pump"

Note:
I'm off to work now, unable to see/respond to any posts until 6 PM

[This message has been edited by CoolBlue87GT (edited 02-24-2002).]

I remember a post a while back.. Can't find it, but it was about tailgaters:

quote Paraphrased: "Well, I found the best thing for a tailgater was a late 80s VW diesel. See, if you had one on your ass, you would punch what VW CHOSE to call an accelerator pedal and after the clouds cleared, your tailgater would be gone!"

back to the topic...

4.3 in a-bodies 82-83 had 85 hp@3600rpm and 165 lbft torque@1600 rpm

pil

quote Originally posted by NOCONES: Actually i believe that's an Air to Air heat exchanger. An intercooler would actually exchange Intake Heat for engine coolant hence the term intercooler. Most production turbos use an Air to Air echanger, but some subaru's and the celica all tracs actualy had a intercooler that flowed engine coolant through a radiator that was hooked up to the intake charge. AT least i think, If i'm wrong flame away

An intercooler is any device which cools a compressed inlet air charge. Most are air-to-air. Some are air-to-water. The air-to-water units may use engine coolant, but they are on a completely different circuit than the engine itself. Coolant inside the engine is over 200 degrees, and doesn't do a very good job intercooling.

Originallypostd by TOPCAT:
"...and are quite popular in Europe where fuel cost is about three times what we pay here in the U.S"

I live in France and I can tell you that here, fuel is very expensive: I pay one liter of unleaded fuel: 0.95€ = which is about 0.9$ per liter
For diesel, the price is about 0.80$
Regards from FRANCE

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DJWINNI from FRANCE "86 SE V6/2.8L"

quote Originally posted by Mach10: I remember a post a while back.. Can't find it, but it was about tailgaters: [QUOTE] Paraphrased:[b] "Well, I found the best thing for a tailgater was a late 80s VW diesel... after the clouds cleared, your tailgater would be gone!"

[/B][/QUOTE]

Yes, I posted something that awhile back. Before replacing the injectors & fuel pump, mine would dump out thick black smoke when nailed.

Afterwards, it ran clean, you couldn't tell it was a diesel.

i've been thinking about this too. also, diesels run cooler than an equivalent gasser, doesn't it?

i've got a 2001 VW Golf TDI and get 52 mpg commuting, and it's quick. quicker than my old 4 cylinder 5 speed fiero have you gone anywhere with this project?

Diesel in a Fiero??? Ughhhh :>(
Why do we drive such nice sports cars in the first place? The answer is to experience the excitement of acceleration and performance. You're not going to win any "shootouts" with a diesel. What kind of driving excitement can you get from a diesel engined car- absolutely none.
Now if I go into the long haul trucking business that's a different story.

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87GT 3.4 Turbo Best 0-60 5.2 seconds
http://turbofiero.fierojoe.com/turbo.htm

I say go for it if you want. It will be difficult of course. I had a chevette diesel smoke screen maker. It was hilarious. The exhaust was so loud (gotta love flexpipe!), I wore earplugs to drive it!

If your amusement value of the swap is high enough, then go for it. You won't be able to financially justify it for the increased milage. That swap money will buy a lot of gas!

Do a 4.3 V-6 diesel swap.
That way it can be complicated, expensive and slow.

J/K. Good luck if you decide to do it.

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Raydar

From the Department of Redundancy Department.

I am with GT Dude my 2.5 already sounds like a diesel! Pretty funny, GT but at least I can change my spark plugs without haveing to burn a weeks vacation!

quote Originally posted by fieromerk: i've been thinking about this too....have you gone anywhere with this project?

Wow, A post from the past !!!

No, I never got past the thinking stage.

Maybe I'll drain the oil in my V6 & just tell everyone it's a oil burner !! lol

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Diesels can give a lot of driving excitement. They just need about 45 psi of boost to do it. I've seen video clips of guys doing donuts in dually diesel pickups. White smoke was pouring from the tires and black smoke from the tail pipe!

Anyway, a VW TDI engine & transmission with a great big turbo cranking up 30-40 psi of boost would be a riot in a Fiero!

[This message has been edited by Will (edited 07-11-2002).]

Haha,the 2.5 motors do sound a bit like a diesel,that's funny.
The Euro version of the TDI (VW)has like 260hp/ft pounds of torque by using a bigger turbo,and injectors.
How about propane?
I started to set up my 2.5 that way before I went to school and just sold the car.The fuel tank is a decent shape to replace with a couple cylinders of gas.Great way to get around smog too.
OH yeah,BTW,propane is like nitrous to a diesel motor,but with 260hp,who needs that I guess.

[This message has been edited by lowCG (edited 07-11-2002).]

Don't do it man!...I think I'm going to be sick!
Seriously, I have a friend with a Mercedes 190 with a 5 cyl diesel. While I find Mercedes' engineering very interesting, I can't get beyond the sound. And by the way, my duke may sound like the undernourished left hand side of a small block, but it definitely doesn't sound anything like a rod knocking clattering diesel!

[This message has been edited by Gordo (edited 07-11-2002).]

I'd fully love to see that

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Steven Rossi
Forget about world peace... visualize using your turning signal.
Cover me. I'm changing lanes.
I couldn't fix your brakes, so I made your horn louder!
If the universe is expanding, why the hell can't I find a parking space?
Horn broke. Watch for finger!