Gas Conversion for 4wdrives

Submitted: Wednesday, May 29, 2002 at 00:00
ThreadID: 1223 Views:1855 Replies:4 FollowUps:0
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Hi
We have a ford sedan vehicle which has been converted to gas and it has saved us heaps of money.
Can I have your ideas on what you think about using gas with 4Wdrives. It is just for touring and we do not intend using our 4wd in rough terrain. We are only going to use it to pull a 17' van up and down the east coast.
Thanks
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Reply By: Andrew Donald - Wednesday, May 29, 2002 at 00:00

Wednesday, May 29, 2002 at 00:00
If you're not going to go anywhere rough, why buy a 4WD. your Ford should pull a van and i guess its already paid for. We have a 4WD on gas and travelled to Fraser Island last year via the Newell and got gas everywhere (except the island of course). some 4WD's cost $3000 to convert so choose wisely (that's a lot of petrol/diesel). A friend on the same trip as us used about 500 worth of diesel vs. our 550 of gas and some petrol. There's another choice.
AnswerID: 3899

Reply By: Drew - Wednesday, May 29, 2002 at 00:00

Wednesday, May 29, 2002 at 00:00
I have a 100 series Landcruiser that I use to tow a Trak Shak trailer from time to time or sometimes a 25 foot fishing boat. If the 100 series Turbo Diesel was not so expensive I probably would have bought that but at the time it was not even available. I like the vehicle because its big, fits heaps of stuff when I need to, tows anything without thinking twice and is a fantastic camping vehicle. I converted to gas for 2 reasons. First, resale value is generally better and second it runs fairly cheap around town (80% of my driving is between Sydney and the Gong). I have a 100 litre gas tank along with 95 litres of petrol this gives me a range of about 850 klm or thereabouts. My thoughts after having this setup for about a year are:
1. that the power is less potent on gas but still acceptable,
2. the cost difference is very little unless you are going to keep the vehicle for a long time/lots of klms.
3. I would prefer a turbo diesel and the resale would still be good.
4. A chip upgrade might give you the power/economy benefits as well.

Overall it works but the value may be questionable...mine cost $1800. Divide that by 3 years and compare it to the added fuel costs and I am probably about even.

I found another feature last week when a young hoon in a hot honda civic ran up my arse. The damage to the cruiser was several paint flecks on the towball....Civic....stuffed - over $2k easy.....
AnswerID: 3907

Reply By: Ross - Thursday, May 30, 2002 at 00:00

Thursday, May 30, 2002 at 00:00
Louise, one piece of advice tthat I wish I had followed. Ring the manufacturer of the vehicle and quiz them carefully about any problems that are reported when the particular vehicle is converted to dual fuel. For example, the 3 litre Pajero pre 1996 is not suitable (gives problems with EFI system components and potential valve burn-out) but the 3.5 litre motor after about 1996 (dont quote me) is apparently OK.

This being said, you will get a variety of answers from both installers and users of converted vehicles about the suitability. Its a field that is quite complex.

Another small issue with gas converted vehicles that you are probably aware of already. They need to be checked out by a licenced gas inspector at registration time. Where we live, this limits us to 2 garages in a radius of about 50km. Regards.
AnswerID: 3915

Reply By: andy - Saturday, Jun 15, 2002 at 00:00

Saturday, Jun 15, 2002 at 00:00
louise I have fitted lpg to my land rover v8 county. Twin tanks 1 on each side bolted to chassis rail. Have had gas on it since 1995. Used special exhaust valves in heads (stellited) but most important piece of equipment is a dual curve spark processor. (ask your installer) this alters the timing when changing between gas and petrol. I am very happy with gas. and at 12 mpg in my 3 ton monster. the cheaper price is a help. However you still need large petrol capacity as gas is scarce in some places. andy.
AnswerID: 4202

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