Diesel - Gas Conversion Feedback?

Reg. I don't know what figures of fuel savings or power increases you've been given but be very very sceptical. Don't just take my word, do a bit of research and you'll find that their (the agents) claims are very over-rated and the only given is a reduction of engine life...... guaranteed.
Don't go there.

Rob.

Would tend to agree with above. I know of 2 people who had trouble after having the conversion. One ended up costing a new engine. Both noticed an increase in power but ended up paying for it. The mechanic who did a lot of work on our cruiser before our trip looked at getting into it but pulled out cause noone would guarantee the engine after the conversion even on a new engine. I figure if they won't guarantee it why would you do it??

Josh

Reg & Fran

Here is a copy of a post I put up, yesterday
It may explain a few things about diesel/gas.

I recently had the Patrol dyno tuned, new injectors, pump adjusted ect.

This is what th emechanics there told me


FollowupID: 713250 Submitted: Sunday, Jan 09, 2011 at 16:25
Member - Bucky posted:
Ralph
I asked the boys at Warragul Diesel Injector service about that same subject, ie ...gas injection, and they said not go there. Problem is that if it is set up correctly there is a very slight improvement, and never get money back.
Do not forget that these boys are purists, but as they explained that it inevitabely raises the EGT to a dangerously hi level,'and in turn shortens the life of the engine.
Yes they admitted that there can be a big power boost, but that is because the gas fitters can "fiddle the settings" and again it's all about performance, and not longivity, This is done to impress the owners.
Right or wrong, as I said, they are purists.
Cheer Bucky

Go the mighty 4.2 ...........a little thirsty, a big old slug, but we love it.

Hi Cruisin-Oz,
Let me relate my experience in this debate . I have a 1986 Landcruiser with an aftermarket Turbo on a 2H diesel motor ...when purchased the vehicle had about 70,000Kms on it ( grey import ) and not too long after I had the gas injection fitted . There was a very slight increase in power , and a very small gain in fuel economy , but it does "burn" a lot better , does not belch out lots of black smoke on acceleration as it tended to do previously . The vehicle now has done over 200,000 Kms which include pulling a full height caravan around Australia , plus many other lesser trips , as well as taking us over some very rough roads on the Old Telegraph Track and it is still running nicely .....but ...I would NOT do it again , unless the rebates covered the entire cost ( which it did when I had the conversion done ) as the gains are not worth the outlay . That is my "tuppence worth" !
Douglas C

Hi Reg and Fran,

I have an 80 series factory turbo, 1HD FT motor, which was fitted with gas over diesel before I bought it.

Initially the vehicle ran like a dog, I kid you not, compared to the 80 series 4.5 petrol I had previously, and so I set about getting things right. Had the injectors and pump done up first, major improvement but still not there. I then had the gas done up by the people that designed the system, Diesel Gas Technologies from Dungog, and noticed a greater improvement again. I had the injector guy set the vehicle up so that it blew no black smoke when under load so, thinking I had it a bit too lean, I got him to increase the fuel a bit so that it was blowing a some smoke (read soot) under power as opposed to clouds of it.

The old girl goes like a V8 now with the fuel economy and pulling power of diesel.

The difference in performance when the gas is not turned on is quite noticeable.

In an attempt to quieten the motor, due to the notorious 1HD FT tick, I had the motor rebuilt thinking the noise was either gudgeon or valves or something within the motor. All to no avail! The noise is still there. I am fairly confident that it is an injector despite the fact I had them rebuilt.

However a couple of things came to light re the motor.

The first thing was that there was no black sludge in the motor or crank case.

The lobes on the crank shaft were bright cast iron type silver, the cleanest I have ever seen in a motor of any sort. The oil changes carried out in the last 2 services were very clean in fact I thought that the services could be stretched out to 10,000 intervals by the look of the oil. This cleanliness is as a result of the gas and very regular oil and filter changes

The other thing to come out of the rebuild was that there was some gudgeon wear on some pistons and there was a split in one piston, according to the guy who rebuilt the motor, Probably due to overheating.
I would imagine that the previous owner would have had to push the old girl to get some kind of performance out of it when towing his van, and this probably caused it to overheat, probably often.

After the rebuild the vehicle is going better again.
Turbo lag is down to a minimum and very bearable.

Each task carried out since I got the vehicle has resulted in an increase in performance and an increase in fuel economy.

The gas guy set up the program so that the gas only comes in when towing or under a load such as pulling up hills and the difference is, as I said, quite noticeable.

Suffice to say I am very pleased with the performance of the gas over diesel setup and would not tow without it.

My installation has a torpedo type tank fitted under the drivers seat and therefore I still retain the spare under the rear of the vehicle which suits me.

If you are looking for more performance and the price after the rebate does not faze you then it could be what you are looking for.

The increase in performance and the more complete combustion are 2 very important features in my opinion and I would find it hard to decide which is the more important, at least to me.

Cheers, Bruce.