Petrol to Diesel conversion

[mattc]

I'm on the verge of giving up my hunt for a pop-top diesel as they are going for such silly money So here's an idea. Can you convert from petrol to diesel without a lot of fuss or is it a major headache? Obviously a new engine, battery (and tank?) but what about wiring, exhaust, transmission, cooling and anything else I've not thought of?

The petrols appear to be lower mileage and go for 2-2.5K+ less than their diesel counterparts. Would that make the conversion economic?

cheers
Matt

[toomanytoys]

Please look in the Alternative engines forum.

Lots of info there..

[R0B]

you could do with a chat to jeff a.k.a. grumpy midget..hes just finishing of his petrol to diesel conversion.....

[MacAoidh]

As above, but just to say that the main sticking point seems to be the sourcing of the special sump that is required for a regular VW diesel engine to be fitted to a t25, as a result of it being tilted over to fit in the engine bay.

The sump seems to fit most VW diesel engine blocks, but is hard to find, if I remember rightly.

Apart from that, it's a fairly common job. Lots of options, re engine type. 1.6 no turbo is really not enough, don't even think about it unless it's already fitted in which case it'll do you for a while, until you find a proper one. However, the 1.6 turbo is apparently not too bad. But really, 1.9 pre-electronics seems to be the diesel engine of choice. Don't know which ones exactly, though. Now, over to Alternative Engine forum...

PS: Have you thought of LPG? Diesel isn't fully house-trained.

[VWlewis]

following comment about LPG conversion by MacAoidh...

Here is a list of why I would choose LPG

• Less than 1 day to install (by an expert!) - job done (how long will a diesel transplant take?)
  No messing around with engine installation - proven technology too
  Cost of LPG is 37-45p /litre so an engine returning 22 mpg on petrol will give you equivalent 40 mpg on LPG
  Engine runs more smoothly on LPG
  11% less CO2 emissions than petrol (and lower NOx) so helping the planet every mile you drive
  90% less particulate emissions than a Euro II diesel
  Doubles the distance you can travel without a fill up (OK the second 1/2 on petrol is more expensive)
  I know one person who uses the same LPG tank for driving and cooking!

The down side ... hmmm ... oh yes, you need an LPG tank on board ... that's about all ... plenty of LPG outlets now across the UK.

Yes .. I run an LPG T25!

[shepster]

All the above and you still have a van thats's standard instead of some kind of bodged conversion (and faster).

[chrissydai]

I asked the same question over the weekeend and had the same response. Now im on the lookout for a decent recon to start then im going to lpg mine as well. It will take too much time and money to swap to a diesel and the benefits of lpg are much better!!