Runing diesel through an FE!

[adriaticmachine]

I gotchyer attention, now let me see what's out there.

Anybody ever see or hear about an FE running diesel. If not, anyone have input on the FE making a good or bad candidate for an upgrade like this?

The need for fuel distributor, pumps, injectors & intake mods, heads machined for glowplugs is all understood and can be re-visited later. The cost and availablity of fuels is another topic alltogether.

Is this a worthy foundation, I think so but want to be sure.
Any viable info will be appreciated.

[Redcap]

What the hell for?

The FE is designed for gas, not diesel. It will not survive.

The one of the crappiest diesels ever built was the Olds diesel 350. It was a converted gas engine. Absolute turd.

In my not-so-humble opinion, this is a stupid idea.

[70_F100]

What the hell for?

The FE is designed for gas, not diesel. It will not survive.

The one of the crappiest diesels ever built was the Olds diesel 350. It was a converted gas engine. Absolute turd.

In my not-so-humble opinion, this is a stupid idea.

x10

[Ranchero50]

Well, it's been proven that you can make a lawn mower fly but...

I'd suggest taking a look at a light diesel engines internals and comparing them to a FE. Bearing size, rod thickness, bearing sizes and crank pin diameters are larger on the diesels for a good reason. You probably could get the FE to run diesel if you figure out how to do a common rail injector setup like EFI, but still it's gonna be expensive and the results doubtfull.

Jamie

[two-bit]

I have to agree with everyone else on this one. Taking a gas block and making it into a diesel is probably not the best idea.
GM proved that with the infamous 5.7L...
I'm really not sure if an FE could take the push up in compression to make the diesel ignite, let alone the set up for the injector pump, rails, and what not. The point about bottom bearings is also a good one, i might not be to worried about the mains, but the rods????
Its a fun idea. Hey, thats how stuff gets invented.
But i don't think its very practical.

Two-bit

[adriaticmachine]

Good Advice Ranchero 50, these would be the limiting factors. Thanks

[jhndrrus]

its interesting so ill lean both ways on this one.

anyone ever played with a 2cyl. john deere?? spark ignition engines that run off diesel, stove oil, motor oil as long as the dampers are closed on the radiator & the temp is over 200 degrees to break down the fuel. for shits & giggles its a cool idea but like two-bit said...not practical or cost effective....but then again maybe if you got a FT crank & some cross bolted mains along with a set of rods & pistons that wont grenade it might be possible. the hole top end should probably be aluminum just because its easier to play with & in case something bad happens it can be tigged. diesels ignite of compression, so why wouldnt a FE block work? they only made 14.5:1 right out of the factory!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Darren]

Okay, I think you guys are being just a little bit negative here. After all, history is replete with examples of people who did things that "couldn't be done". If the gent wants to run diesel, or kerosene or even jet-A, why not help him out. I'll start:

First thing you need to do is bulid your FE so that it can handle the enormous pressures generated by pressure ignition; that means you need to weld your rods together. You could probably just get by with welding the nut on, but just to be sure, go ahead and run a bead all the way around.

Then, drill out all your head bolt holes to about 1/2 inch diameter and helicoil them. Make sure you weld these helicolis in, then file until smooth.

You will need a high pressure pump. One out of a tractor will do, but you'll have to make a pully and bracket. The coolest way would be to mount the other pulley to the driveshaft.

Plumb a pair of fuel lines from the pump and don't forget to install a water separator in there somewhere. A small sponge stuck in the bottom of the supply line will probably work.

You can remove all your underhood wiring, as we all know that diesels don't need an ignition, but if you want to use glo-plugs, just run your spark plugs to a key-on power source. You should also probably weld those spark plugs in place.

In order for the ignition event to take place, you will need high compression. This can be accomplished by milling the head down to where the valves are just flush with the mounting surface. Don't forget to make the mounting holes bigger and the bolts shorter. Also, weld them in.

Drill a 1/4 inch hole next to each spark plug and run your fuel directly to this from the pump. This will ensure an adequate fuel supply.

That's all I have for now, the rest of you need to try to be more supportive by adding in your own "helpful hints".

[ToughOldFord]

He would need some injectors in there somewhere.

And if you wire your glow plugs to a key on they'd be dead in 20 seconds or less. You'd have to either use a timed relay system, as what was originally in my '85's IDI or time it yourself with a push and hold button like what is currently in my '85.

[jhndrrus]

history in making! i like it!

[knightfire83]

This thread got me thinking, so I did a little search on the net...

There are some video's of gas lawn mowers "supposedly" running on diesel on You Tube. But this is debunked by needing to run a spark plug to keep it running. You should be able to disconnect the spark plug wire and have it continue to run shouldn't you?

Not to sound too dumb, but yeah, I know a lawnmower isn't able to produce enough compression to ignite a traditional diesel power stroke. I haven't had any hands on experience with diesel engines, but I know how they work.

Diesel isn't ignitable by a spark plug is it? This would instantly debunk those videos.

Also I read that GM converted a gas motor to diesel simply by replacing the spark plugs with glow plugs, and used a carburetor to feed the thing. This would have been their first attempt, first version of that motor. I find it doubtful that this configuration would work even with internal strengthening . Any thoughts?



Linkies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U_GaVKo4oI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPBhs5JeKeo

[eggman918]

It seems to me that combustion chamber wall thickness in head would be a concern but I'm just thinking out loud

[OldRedFord]

I would get the strongest rods available. Forged H beam rods with ARP studs, forged pistons, forged crank. The pistons I bet will have to be custom to get the c/r up there.

What if the engine was set up like the old tractor engines? Fire on gas, switch over to diesel when it is warmed up enough?

http://www.sentex.net/~mwandel/sawmill/sawmill.html
http://www.selectric.org/td9/index.html

[Redcap]

I would get the strongest rods available. Forged H beam rods with ARP studs, forged pistons, forged crank. The pistons I bet will have to be custom to get the c/r up there.

What if the engine was set up like the old tractor engines? Fire on gas, switch over to diesel when it is warmed up enough?

http://www.sentex.net/~mwandel/sawmill/sawmill.html
http://www.selectric.org/td9/index.html

Yup. Fire on gas, switch to diesel.

The FE is a thinwall casting. I somehow doubt that a standard FE block will be strong enough to withstand a conversion to a compression-ignition engine.

[eggman918]

I would get the strongest rods available. Forged H beam rods with ARP studs, forged pistons, forged crank. The pistons I bet will have to be custom to get the c/r up there.

What if the engine was set up like the old tractor engines? Fire on gas, switch over to diesel when it is warmed up enough?

http://www.sentex.net/~mwandel/sawmill/sawmill.html
http://www.selectric.org/td9/index.html

Yup. Fire on gas, switch to diesel.

The FE is a thinwall casting. I somehow doubt that a standard FE block will be strong enough to withstand a conversion to a compression-ignition engine.

True you might sleeve block say to .375" under standard and find different pistons.