On Wed, 26 Nov 2003 13:17:21 +0000, Dave Hall wrote:

Lloyd Sumpter wrote:

Hi,
This is kinda boating-related. Anybody hear of anyone who's converted
the Venerable GM 4.3L V6 to diesel? I'd like to do that in my van. I don't
see any room for anything other than a V6, and would like diesel.

Lloyd Sumpter
"Far Cove" Catalina 36 - already has diesel


Are you attempting to convert a gas V6 to diesel, or are you replacing
the gas V6 with a diesel one?

Forget trying to convert a gas engine to diesel. Even a full staff of
engineers at GM tried it with the 5.7L in the 80's, and there were all
sorts of trouble. A gas engine block is just not made strong enough to
support the increased stresses that diesel operation will cause.

Now replacing the engine with a diesel is doable, although there will be
some gearing issues to deal with, as the torque curve and max RPM of a
diesel is much different than a gas engine, and the transmission and
differential gears need to be matched to these factors to achieve the
best performance.

Dave

Thanks for the response.

No, I wouldn't be doing a conversion myself. The 5.7L conversion was what
made me think of it, because the 4.3 is basically the 5.7 with 2 cyl
lopped off. I read about the 5.7 conversions, and apparently it had "mixed
reviews" - but I think it may have been at least partly because they were
used in marine environments. So I was wondering if there would be any
"converted" V6's out there...

Trouble is, the van's engine compartment is REALLY cramped, and I don't
think I could get anything other than a V6 into it - certainly not an
inline-6!

As for gearing, it's already pretty tall, and I'm expecting a reduction in
HP, so the torque would probably be about the same. (the 1.0L
normally-asperated diesel I'm buying for Far Cove is 26hp@3000, so
extrapolating to 4.3 gives 110hp - the existing engine is 190hp. I don't
want turbo: too complicated!) Also, the existing tranny is on its last
legs, so I'll be replacing it soon in any case.

So if there's a V6 diesel of about 4 litres or so, it might be doable.

Lloyd

"Lloyd Sumpter" wrote in message
news

No, I wouldn't be doing a conversion myself. The 5.7L conversion was what
made me think of it, because the 4.3 is basically the 5.7 with 2 cyl
lopped off. I read about the 5.7 conversions, and apparently it had "mixed
reviews" - but I think it may have been at least partly because they were
used in marine environments. So I was wondering if there would be any
"converted" V6's out there...

Trouble is, the van's engine compartment is REALLY cramped, and I don't
think I could get anything other than a V6 into it - certainly not an
inline-6!

Lloyd, the Astro/Safari V-8 Conversion is rather popular. Also, the 5.7L
conversion in the Chevrolet pickups was an Oldsmobile engine. Not much in
common with the 4.3 except maybe the bellhousing pattern (I forget the
interchange among the GM engine/transmission families).

Rob
*
*
*

On Fri, 28 Nov 2003 15:21:46 +0000, Trainfan1 wrote:


"Lloyd Sumpter" wrote in message
news

No, I wouldn't be doing a conversion myself. The 5.7L conversion was what made
me think of it, because the 4.3 is basically the 5.7 with 2 cyl lopped off. I
read about the 5.7 conversions, and apparently it had "mixed reviews" - but I
think it may have been at least partly because they were used in marine
environments. So I was wondering if there would be any "converted" V6's out
there...

Trouble is, the van's engine compartment is REALLY cramped, and I don't think
I could get anything other than a V6 into it - certainly not an inline-6!

Lloyd, the Astro/Safari V-8 Conversion is rather popular. Also, the 5.7L
conversion in the Chevrolet pickups was an Oldsmobile engine. Not much in
common with the 4.3 except maybe the bellhousing pattern (I forget the
interchange among the GM engine/transmission families).


Wow - they can stuff a V8 in there?? I thought the V6 was cramped. And, since
one reason for going diesel is fuel economy (concern for burning too many
dinosaurs, not necessarily cost), going bigger doesn't seem to be the way to go.

Lloyd