Diesel powered outboard

[Moe]

Yes, diesel is expensive up front, but you get a lot of that back at sale/trade time. Plus the anti-diesel crowd usually quotes the MSRP price of the option, not the dealer invoice.

Modern diesel oil change intervals are about the same as what's reasonable on gas engines, but ours is 15 quarts and a filter big enough to hold two of them... about 3 times as expensive.

Used to be diesel was really cheap in the summertime but still less expensive than gas in the winter when demand for it competes with demand for heating oil. Then it got to where it was about the same, cheaper in the summer and more expensive in the winter. Now with ultra-low sulfur, it appears it may be more expensive year round, offsetting some of the mileage advantage.

Critters can grow into "jellyfish" in diesel fuel tanks, so we add a little biocide once in awhile.

Diesels can be hard to start in cold weather. I put ours on a timer that turns the block heater on at 4:00AM if it's below 20º. Not that it won't start below that, but it's hard on the engine. I sometimes cycle the glow plugs 2-3 times in the parking lot at work when it's really cold. And wait not only for the engine, but also the transmission to get a little heat before pulling away.

The opposite is the case in hot weather. A turbo diesel needs to idle for a few minutes after stopping to let the turbo cool down or it can cook the bearings. I'll admit to not always doing that, but I do really baby it the last mile or two before stopping.

As divecoz alludes, using heavy throttle on an unloaded diesel engine takes its toll on it. When commuting, I accelerate ours as slowly as I did my 4 cylinder 4WD Toyota truck, and I wasn't hard on it either. A heavy foot on a diesel feeding a cold automatic transmission can kill it too. Old ladies in Geo Metros blast past and give me the finger when I'm accelerating it cold.

A turbo-diesel can require a little "technique" to drive on ice even with a limited-slip rear axle, especially if the bed is empty. The boost comes on pretty quickly at a low rpm and if you aren't careful, you can easily wind up with more torque than the tires can handle. It's not hard to spin all 4 in 4WD, but it's also not hard to avoid it.

What makes it all worth it is cruising with a loaded bed and up to 10,000 pounds of Airstream behind, in Overdrive at the 1,600 rpm torque peak at 58 mph. Even better is pulling that load up steep grades just below the 2,600 rpm HP peak at 65 mph, in direct 1:1 Drive with the torque converter locked and not generating heat. THAT's where diesel engines are built for heavy throttle and it puts a big grin on my face. I can't describe how much more relaxing it is to tow with with a diesel just chugging along doing its thing than with a screaming gas engine sounding like it's working itself to death.

For a given fuel tank size, diesel gives a much greater range with its greater mileage. That's really nice on a long trip.

Diesel is also safer. Besides the added maneuvering room for our 57' rig, I'm much more comfortable at the 18-wheeler islands than I am at the mixed gas/diesel RV islands, where someone may be fueling with gasoline while his LP refrigerator, water heater, or furnace is running.

Four and a half years and luvin' every minute of it. Yeah, I'm glad I got one of the older ones that sounds like a diesel. I love the smell of diesel in the morning. It's the smell of TORQUE!

[Divecoz]

Moe it must make a big difference as to what the diesel is in . Just a plain Jane pickup you'll lose money on your diesel every time. Apples for apples you'll always get the diesel used for less. My best friend had a small freight company and talked me into buying my Silverado. It was loaded with lots of bells and whistles for the time and for a lot less than a comparable gas truck. I bought my oil from him and he bought in bulk. he burned my used oil in a furnace set up to burn diesel so no problems getting rid of the used oil. He found and you may be able to do this as well, a filter that fit my 6.2 that was half again, as big as the stock filter. I believe it held over 2 quarts. We shaved the heads bringing it up to as I recall 21 to 1 and brought up the pressure on the pump
it was still slow . I got tired of it and sold it . It took a lot more oil and I only burned Rotella. You need to plug them in when its cold. You need to add de-jell and on and on and on. Right now Diesel is running 30 to 60 cents a gallon more than gas that is about a 20+% higher fuel cost at the pump. But I did learn at least, a little about those little known engines and have used the knowledge in Mexico on some of the big dive boats.
As a third vehicle it might make sense if the cost was relative to what I had to spend on Toys.
So unless you absolutely need it or as Moe you really love the sound and live out in the country where, when you start the beast up every morning your not bothering anyone else. They are hard to justify, for the cost. For just a Toy to haul big loads once in while Get a Trident or a V10 IMHO. Oh yes and as Moe stated they smell too.

[Catigale]

Ive done with VW diesels over the years, the best one being a 7 passenger minivan I had in 1987 with a whopping 48 HP diesel in it that got 35 mpg highway. It always started even in -20F Ithaca winters...30 seconds for glowplugs and vvrmmmmm....clack-clack-clack-clack...

I used NuFinish on it three times yearly and sold it in 1999 for the same as I paid for it in 1987...the guy who bought it asked me my asking (about 2x Kelly book at time) and said "the next guy who sees this car will buy it, so I better not dicker you around...



Ive always thought adapting a VW diesel into a marine app would be a good way to go to power a larger keelboat ....they used the same diesel in the Rabbit/Golf/ Jetta family so parts are all out there, real cheap.

[Tom Root]

Ive always thought adapting a VW diesel into a marine app would be a good way to go to power a larger keelboat ....they used the same diesel in the Rabbit/Golf/ Jetta family so parts are all out there, real cheap.

Well, that is definately easily doable in a 65' Mac. We were shopping last year and saw one, it was 110 HP VW Diesel, as I recall.

As far as other adaptations, I will try and keep my trusty 'ol 1986 Suzuki Samurai which really rules the offroads. And will eventually stuff a 1.9 TD (Not TDI) VW Diesel in it. I can then put spikes on the tires and climb trees with all that torgue!

Love 'em or hate hate 'em, but a diesel with a turbo will always outperform your gas power anyday!!! When I haul 22K+ lbs up a 7% grade at 55+ MPH, and use my bulletproof Allison 1000 series transmission
to safely slow me down the same grade, and have my brakes last almost 100K miles, and the vehicle fall apart before that engine gives up the ghost, it gives me piece of mind.

Put two turbos on 'em, and reprogram the electronics, and they can whup any gas power on the strip as well!

Agree or disagree, as a techie type, I'll savor Diesel as the factual winner as a performer anyday!

[Divecoz]

Tom your not talking a seldom used Pick-em-up Truck. I already said if you need it, or really use it. Yes your hauling freight. Your trans weights in at what many cars do rolling down the road. That is a whole different animal.
When I built a Prison in Kennedy Texas I thought would see a lot of Diesel Pickup's Not nearly a single one. It really made sense down there as everything was so far from everything else. Like I said not one.
Diesels have there niche and they fill it well and its a big niche at that . Your Truck hauls with a diesel and so does a Diesel over Electric Train Locomotive.

[Chip Hindes]

Put two turbos on 'em, and reprogram the electronics, and they can whup any gas power on the strip as well!

Pardon me, but what a load. Comparing highly modified diesels with stock gasolone engiines is the typical refrain of a diesel apologist.

If diesels ruled the strip they'd be on the strip. They aren't. Put two turbos on a gas engine, and it will make it to the end of the strip, turn around and be back to the start before the diesel passes the finish line the first time.

Diesels are great for long haul trucking, but using that to validate their use on a vehicle which most of us are using for actual towing less than 10% of it's life is poor reasoning.

For light vehicles, including pickup trucks and SUVs used only occasionally for towing, and especially for passenger vehicles used in the U.S., diesels are the answer to the question nobody asked.

[Tom Root]

No apology given Chip, no worry, like the majority of Americans you are ignorant to Diesel and it's many virtues, that's quite alright!

Smoke 'em if ya got 'em! http://bankspower.com/im_HotRod_Sept05.cfm

As already stated, I do believe the safety factor is probably it's greatest virtue as far as a Marine Application.

As far as Gas Vehicles, I am selling all mine soon. I will be Diesel powered, and with over a thousand gallons of free fuel in the form of Veggie oil, doubt I'll ever own another gas engine again, but to each his own! I have local supplies of about 200 gallons a week if I want it as well!

My '05 Chev. 4X4, extended 8' bed, get's 18~22 MPG, mow's hills down, loaded to the gills (40' 5th wheel RV) I am installing a onboard 150 gallon grease processor (10 micron filter/heat exchanger) and am considering burning used oil as well. Nope, can't do either in a gas engine.....the list goes on.

Guess you could say that after 20 years of Diesels, I am sold, huh?

[Robert]

Check out this link for a diesels engine that is very small and has a great power to weight ratio. I would like to see an outboard made from one of these driving a high efficiency generator and an electric motor to turn the prop. It could be set up to run your Mac26's air conditioning while at idle.
http://www.regtech.com/

[Jeff S]

Diesel engines were originally designed to use vegetable oils. There are a lot of potentials with diesel engines.

I do my best to follow all of my owner's manual recommendations so that I get the 350,000 miles listed in the manual as the mean life of the engine. I have seen souped up Diesel's beat souped up gasoline engines (7000# trucks vs. sports cars even), but stock vs. stock the gas will win in a race. Towing- the diesel will win. Diesels can generally support more modifications due to the stoutness of their construction.

Outboards probably haven't fully arrived in terms of technology for the power to weight. On a boat like the Mac I would choose a gasoline powered outboard hands down. On a sailboat with an inboard motor I would choose a diesel. If I had the time I would do the biodiesel thing for a sailboat and 2 vehicles. Various reasons-- I really don't enjoy supporting the Middle East through oil. Terrorism is getting its money from somewhere, and it isn't from tourism.

I found a motor that gets better with use, doesn't cost money to run, is free to own.... my legs. Right now I ride my bike to and from work several times a week to get some excercise, pollute less, save money, and stop supporting big oil (to some extent).

[Hamin' X]

Diesel engines were originally designed to use vegetable oils.

I believe that the diesel engine was first developed to run on coal dust. No time to research it now, off to work.

Rich

[Jeff S]

I believe that the diesel engine was first developed to run on coal dust. No time to research it now, off to work.

"Diesel intended the engine to use a variety of fuels including coal dust and peanut oil. He demonstrated it at the 1900 Exposition Universelle (World's Fair) using peanut oil"

[Frank C]

Pardon me, but what a load. Comparing highly modified diesels with stock gasolone engiines is the typical refrain of a diesel apologist.

Comparing ANY diesel to ANY gas motor is like comparing apples to oranges. But in the interest of deriving potential all-around performance, one CAN make minor, identical changes to each (as factory-issued by Chevy) and easily prove the diesel is superior in virtually every aspect, towing, acceleration, quarter-mile ...
the modern diesel is vastly superior, hands down.

Add a $400 Hypertech programmer to both the Chevy 6.0 L gas and the 6.6 L Duramax with no other changes ... the reprogrammed, stock diesel INCREASES by 96 horsepower versus only 28 hp for the stock gas motor (both are 50-state approved). There is vastly more raw power potential in the factory issued diesel, vastly more torque (650 vs. ~300), vastly more inate performance in every regard ... and all with better fuel mileage.

The diesel will cost $3,000 more at purchase, and will return $3,000 more at resale. Oil changes and fuel costs will be somewhat higher, performance vastly greater ... pick yer poison.

[Divecoz]

OK I cannot believe what I am finding " Kelly Blue Book"but here you go.
I was amazed because both times I bought USED Diesels I got great deals on them because they were not selling. a Chevy Silverado 6.2 and a VW Jetta Diesel.
Any way , Test Truck as a 2004 Ford F250 all identical except engines.
6.8 GAS $17,700.xx
5.4 GAS $17,055.xx
6.0 Diesel$23570.xx
Was the diesel option $5000 ? I don't know But this is from
The Kelly Blue Book Site for Private sale quotes.
Off to check the NasCar Sites as you would think most the winners over there would be diesels as they would require less refueling

[Lease]

Well..................Audi won Le Mans with a diesel.

[Chip Hindes]

But in the interest of deriving potential all-around performance, one CAN make minor, identical changes to each (as factory-issued by Chevy) and easily prove the diesel is superior in virtually every aspect, towing, acceleration, quarter-mile ...
the modern diesel is vastly superior, hands down.

Yeah you're right, as long as you're talking about racing diesels.

Oh, wait. There are no racing diesels. That must be because the racers are all confused, because you guys who think diesels are better can't be all wrong.