petrol/diesel conversion

[chrism1]

i looking for advice. ive got a set of volvo 250 four cylinder 4 stroke. freshwater cooled carburettor engines with sp drives. the enquiry is that these petrol engines are of a marine/ car type which is commonly available in volvo vehicles. i am considering exchanging these for diesels and removing the petrols and replacing then with volvo 2.3 lt diesel engines which are also commonly available which are besically the same and would be a simple conversion to a level. will these diesel be compatable to my drives with the swap or is there something eslse i should be considering.

thanks for the advice.

chris

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[brianrunyard]

Take look at http://www.lancingmarine.com
They have a page covering swopping from petrol to diesel and compatibility with different drive legs.

<hr width=100% size=1>Brian
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/brunyard

 

[BarryH]

Thats somrthing I'm doing now, well getting the engine ready anyway. I looked at the volvo diesel engine wihich is actually a VW diesel. I started to look at converting it for the boat but came up to a stop. Basically I wanted to keep the engine fresh water cooled. I couldn't source a heat exchanger/manifold for it.

Since then I've got hold of a ford tranny puma engine. It differs from the one lancing does in that its got electronic injection and a slightly bigger turbo. Its a deal lighter than the volvo/vw diesel and puts out a tad more power. In the long run I think you'd be better off using a more modern design such as the puma. Its far more refined having twin cams and reves a fair bit higher than the volvo/vw engine which will make re proping easier. If you look at your existing drives you'll find that they're a different ratio than those used on the diesel engines.

Lancing, as mentioned else where, is a good place to start. They have loads of experience in do what you propose. They also have all the bit that you'll require in a "kit" form.
With your existing petrol set up you wont have any fuel returns. So you'll have to look at your existing fuel filtration and pipework. You may have to carry out some work in that area. Again Lancing will be able to advise you on bits and specs that will be required. It looks a daunting task, but don't be put off. I'm having "fun" doing it!

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[DeepAndy]

Told ya this place is good for advise , didn't i Chris.

may see ya over the weekend ,,

got diver for 2 dipd Saturday ,,, am down the boat Sunday ..

BTW,,, ya 2 forward springs need sorting , mate

Andy

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.taurusdiving.co.uk>http://www.taurusdiving.co.uk</A>

 

[barryjl]

I'm going through the same loop at the moment and Lancing are providing great advice. Am waiting for some more info at the moment so will keep you posted on developments.

<hr width=100% size=1>There's no problems..just opportunities

 

[scottie]

watch out for the drive reduction ratio


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[chrism1]

thanks for the info. greatly received. any further info greatly appreciated. where are you based. sound like you could be a valuable asset, if you dont mind. what sort of engine do you thisk i should seek. got connections in the trade and need to put the feelers out. many thanks

chris

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[BrendanS]

wot u need is one of these.
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.dynacam.com/Product/Design_Overview/design_overview.html>http://www.dynacam.com/Product/Design_Overview/design_overview.html</A>

<hr width=100% size=1>There is no such thing as "fun for the whole family."

 

[BarryH]

Depends on what your looking for. As a minimum I would say your looking for something compareable to what you have. I would go for something thats easy to get spares for at reasonable costs.

A couple of the Ford lumps will probablu suit. The two that spring to mind are the 4 pot tranny lumps. The sohc earlier engine will put out 70-100 hp depending on tune. The later engine from the new tranny, dohc turbo engine, will push out around 150'ish horses. Both lumps will be easy to marinise with readily available parts from the likes of Bowman etc.

As I mentioned before, use the higher reving engines as the reduction ratio on your existing drives is geared towards your existing petrols. The drives for diesels are higher geared to take into account the lower revs of a diesel.

I'm building up the twincam ford engine at the moment. I looked at the normally asperated earlier engine ,but for what I'm looking for the un turbo'd engine would struggle to build the revs quick enough to pop the boat up on the plane.
One thing I would advise is to fit and oil cooler if your planing on running high revs for any period of time. If you go for a kit from the likes of Lancing then this should be included.
Take into account of the room and existing mountings in the boat/ Get the dimensions of your proposed engine and have a good measure up. I didn't and found that when I actually come to install the thing I'll have to do a bit of jiggert pokery with interior mouldings of the boat, nothing major just a bit annoying.

Have a look at your fuel tanks. A few boats have galvanised steel tanks for petrol. You can't use them for diesel. It attacts the galvanising, so you may have to have new tanks.
For the price of a phone call you'll get good advice from Lancing. They've been in the game for years so can sell you the engine or a "kit" of bits for your proposed engine. Have a look at their website.

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[neale]

The standard Ford Tranny/Mondeo lump out of Daganham comes with electronic fuel management and comes in various HP's up to 130. Lancing use the same engine but produced in Turkey (if memory serves) and this is fitted with mechanical fuel management. It is by tweaking this that they can produce 145hp. Mike Bellamy at Lancing Marine is the man to speak to about petrol to diesel conversions as he is very knowledgeble and very helpfull.

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[tico]

Yes
standard answer no:37...... Talk to Mike at Lancing Marine
Alternatively PM me or Martyn and we'll bore you with all the details!!!!!!!

<hr width=100% size=1>Been there, done that, got the oily T shirt