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putting smal diesel in pickup?

M

mmidlam

Member
I got a 4 cylinder Continental diesel from a forklift thats in good shape,rated about 38 horsepower. Thank it would be enough to power a s10 or ranger? I would use it more like a John Deere gator and for running errands like chasing parts. I am thinking it would be too gutless for highway use.
 
probably take a mile to pass even a bicyclist. and the cost of installation would be enourmous. i had a chevy chevette with a diesel and it got 50 mpg, but took a strong backwind and 2% downhill grade and about 2 miles to pass anything, and it was 60 hp!
 
so, even the continental 60 hp turbo version would be too small. Thinking 100 hp at least is needed.
 
As one wag commented about his old Mercedes 190 diesel, "It's not life in the slow lane, it's life in the bike path."
 
going down the highway at 60-65 mph in an s10 or ranger the gas engine would be turning somewhere between 3000 and 3500 rpm's the continental probably only turns 2350 at the most.however,if you used an s10 with a 2.8 liter v6 the diesel would probably out pull the 2.8
 
Depending on the rules in your state you may not even be allowed to register it because of emission compliance.
60HP won't tell you much about how it will perform. Torque is where the action is and diesels tend to have gobs of it.
 
Can't let you get away with insulting the Mercedes. It would cruse all day at 60 or 65 and could get 40 MPG. Last one I knew of died at a little over 400.000 miles. My self, I drove a 230S till I decided I needed AC.
 
I don"t think the 38hp diesel is going to have enough power to pull the truck much of anywhere. I repowered a Ford Exploder with a Cummins 4BTAA rated at about 100hp, and it kinda struggles on the long, steep grades. The biggest problem is going to be bolting the tranny up to the back of the engine and also sufficient RPMs to get up to speed and cruising speed. On acceleration, the Cummins in my "97 Dodge Ram will hit right around 3000 before the computer shifts the transmission(automatic).
 
Maybe...........with a turbo Yanmar from an old zero turn mower or something. 1/3 the weight and 1/2 the size with as much or more power. Power band will be 800 to 3600rpm instead of 600 to 1800rpm.
It's a good idea for somebody's tinker project where time and expense isn't an issue.
I would only do the swap with a S10 having 4WD. May as well have a comfy road legal ATV.
 
The Isuzu diesel P'ups (diesel Luvs) would probably be pretty similar to what you'd end up with. I'm trying to go the other way- repower a Satoh tractor with the little truck's deisel engine.
 
After driving my '68 200D on the freeway, trying to keep up with traffic at 65, had to be very careful not to let it die at the offramp stop sign- if it died, had to wait 15 minutes until the pistons loosened up enough so it would start again.
 
no, i had one of those chevy luv trucks with the diesel it was rated at 58 hp and it didnt have enough power to start on any kind of a grade id practly have to fry the clutch or roll downhill to a lever place if possible to get it moving, 38 hp just isnt enough
 
have a 75 chevy 3/4 ton 4x4 with a 4 cly isuzu tubo rated at 90 h.p. runs about the same as 350 gas engine. took 1 month to install, and 700.oo for adapter plate.that was 5 years ago, woun't want any thing smaller
 
I put a Yanmar 38 hp in an s-10. Turned the fuel up and put a turbo on it. Gets 45 mpg, runs 73 mph. will hold 70 on most hills. Can turn more fuel to it and it will run real well, but fuel mileage suffers. I have put 20,000 miles on it in the last year. Starts great even in the winter. It has no power steering, no pw brakes and no AC. I did melt it down one time when I lost all the water and didn't have guages in it. I bored it and put new pistons and rings, ground the valves, put rods and mains in it, went back to drivin' it. Can't tell that it has any more power. Also put a set of guages in it. I got all the parts thru mother Deere. Machine work and parts cost $800 bucks. Haven't really figured what I've saved in fuel bucks, but I think I'm still way ahead of the game.

Dave
 
I know someone who needs that engine for his Trackless (that's the brand name) municipal vehicle. If you rather have cash than a whole mess of problems, send me an email.

Seeing as how some have been talking about Mercedes diesels and others about putting a small diesel in a PU, I have a '32 Ford PU with a 220 diesel. Sounds like a Model B engine and has nice power for the 2200 lb truck. I have had the truck for 40 years

It was even OK after I built a refer body for selling ice cream. Weight fully loaded was probably around 4500. I had to go with a later flathead rear end, more springs, juice brakes, and a '39 tranny.
 
The horsepower doesn't mean much, especially in an off-road engine where the horsepower is derated for heavy use. Main thing is cubic inches and torque.

Chevy sold many S10s with Isuzu 2.2 diesels. 3.4" bore by 3.6" stroke. I still have one. Also have an Isuzu 4WD PUP truck with the same 2.2 and two Chevy Chevettes with 1.8 diesels.

The S10 with the 2.2 diesel is very underpowered. Engine is 139 cubic inches, 62 horse at 4200 RPM and makes 96 pound feet of torque at 2200 RPM. Keep in mind that the Isuzu diesels are converter gas engines and are lightweight. That Continental might make less power and weigh a lot more.

I don't know what engine you have - but take a Continental ZD144. It's rated at 39 horsepower at 2000 RPM. 3 7/16" bore by 3 7/8" stroke. If put into an S10, it would probably run about the same as the factory job with the 2.2 Isuzu.
 
It would be pretty slow since the diesel will only run at half the speed of the original engine. Up to that speed it would be comparable if not better.
 
I've been licensing various vehicles for 40 years- to date, no one has ever asked about the engine's heritage, and I have never volunteered any information.
 
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