> And finally...regardless of deck height.....am I essentially just > dreaming of ever having a diesel in my automatic transmission westy? > 4000 rpm cruising can't match well with the diesel.
I wondered the same thing so I asked overland. Below is the question I posed and the answer I got:
-----Original Message----- From: Andrew Fox [mailto:afox@cnr.colostate.edu] Sent: Wednesday, July 03, 2002 11:53 AM To: vanagon@overlandparts.com Subject: ? about TD conversions
I am considering buying an engine conversion kit to replace my 2.1L waterboxer in an 86 Vanagon Westfalia camper. I am curious as to how well the Diesel engines do at the high RPM's that the stock vanagon transmissions run at highway speeds. For example my 86 vanagon does about 65 mph at 4000 rpm (14 inch rims). Can the diesel engines in these conversion kits run much faster than 4,000 rpm which is needed to keep up with traffic on todays highways? I have heard that diesels are known for high tourqe and low RPM's. Will these engines last when run at such high rpm's for long periods of highway driving? Thanks, Andrew Fox
From: Overland Vanagon Info <vanagon@overlandparts.com> To: Andrew Fox <afox@cnr.colostate.edu> Subject: RE: ? about TD conversions Sir, We are currently driving two Vangons with turbo diesel engine conversions. While it is true that the majority of the torque in a diesel engine is found within the lower RPM range, this is not a bad thing for the Vanagon. You will find that climbing hills in 4th gear, and steep inclines are no problem for these engines. As for cruising speed, you will not find yourself flying down the interstate at a much faster speed. Instead you will do so more reliably and more economically. It is true that the RPMs will remain as high as before, but we have had no stress problems with the diesels due to higher RPM driving. Thanks for your interest. Ben Zlotkin Overland Parts Corp. Eurospec Sport ltd. http://eurospecsport.com/ |
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