There is nothing inherent in the diesel that gives it the long life,
witness the Olds diesel we've been talking about. The main reason
they last longer is that they are designed to last longer with bigger
bearing surfaces, lower RPM's, thicker castings, and so on. If a
real diesel from say Cummins didn't last, there are substitutes from
Cat, Mercedes, Detroit, and a host of others. It's called competition.
We are just used to accepting shorter lives in car engines in return
for lighter weight per horsepower.
The reason for better economy is that diesel fuel has more BTU's
per gallon than gasoline and the high compression tends to be more
efficient, just like higher compression gas engines. Also fuel injection
made a difference compared to carburated engines by injecting the
fuel exactly when it is needed, though this is less the case now.
Also, RPM is controlled by fuel quantity injected rather than by
controlling air flow, This means that they generally breathe a lot
better at mid RPM's with minimal or no manifold vacuum. This translates
to more complete combustion of fuel if all is working well.
With their long stroke and high compression, they have tons of torque.
Torque is what gets that big trailer started. Horsepower is what
gets you up the hill faster.
Can a diesel give gas engine performance? Sure with higher RPM's,
propane injection, blowers or turbochargers, and nowdays some programming
changes in the electronics.
All told, unless you like the sound, you could buy a lot of gasoline
with the money it would take to convert to diesel and do it right.
Bruce K
57 3200
Mt. Iron, MN
At Monday, 27 January 2003, you wrote:
>> The Cummins 5.9 is a true diesel. It should be good for AT LEAST
300,000
>> miles before any major rework, such as rebuilding the head, etc.
That's one
>
>Thats one thing I've always wondered about diesel's. They are famous
for
>their long engine life.....why do their heads (valves/seats/etc)
outlast
>gas engines
>by so much?
>
>Ryan
>rlangford@attbi.com
>oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
>
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