New guy from Bay Area, CA
 

Hi everyone. I hate war, I hate dictatorships, and I really hate giving oil companies absurd sums of money every week that pollutes the environment so I want to convert my trusty Mighty Max pickup truck to biodiesel. And I want to learn how to do it.

So hi.

welcome!
Plenty of little ways to achieve better mpg. go thru the '65' list.
And pump up the air n your tires to 40+psi~

:confused: What's the 65 list?

I bought my truck with looked-cool-in-the-1980s 15x8 4x4 alloy wheels and noisy 205/60/15 tires so I want to downsize (upgrade?) those to 14" steelies and get some Kumho ecowing KH30 195/75/14.

Also looking for information on the legality of my diesel conversion plan. I want to get an OM602 turbodiesel out of a 1991-1993 Mercedes Benz 300D but I'm getting conflicting information on the weight of the donor vehicle being a few hundred lbs. more GVW than my truck. Also unclear if I have to keep the automatic tranny out of the Benz or if I can use my 5 speed manual and driveline.

How tough or easy it is to do a diesel conversion in this state seems to vary depending on which state referee office you take the vehicle to.

Anyway, no reason why I can't hot rod around a bit in a *****in sounding diesel with a turbo spooling up :snail: while not feel guilty about killing our troops and messing up our air and water doing it and getting much better MPG than I'm getting now. Right?

EDIT: Nevermind, just saw the 65 list. Thanks!

This is the 65 list :D 65+ Vehicle modifications for better fuel economy - EcoModder.com

You would not have to keep the auto trans you would just need an adapter plate from motor to tranny. The weight wouldn't be an issue if the donor car weighs more the only problem is if the engine ways more than your trucks current motor and then all you would have to do is upgrade the suspension and possibly tires load ratings.

And making it legal would be on your area like if you have no state inspection:p or a strict inspection

So cool that the items on the 65 list have a huge crossover with the tuning tricks for power everyone knows, like alternator/ac/power steering delete, electric fans, etc.

I guess it's all the same game, turn as much of that heat energy into moving the vehicle forward.

How cool I found this forum. I can tell I'm among "my people." (You mean geeks? -Ed.)

Ah ha! But this is the People's Republic of California we speak of, my friend. It's a tougher to do here than in loose or no smog law states like Michigan, where I've seen guys dump mammoth industrial Cummins TDs into their Toyotas or Jeeps.

One state referee told me that the transmission from the donor has to swap over, another told me is just has to stay the same configuration (i.e. RWD to RWD, making it illegal to swap a diesel from a FWD like a VW into my RWD truck).

Also the weight thing is unclear, I'm not sure if the donor can't be pound for pound heavier than the don-ee or if they have to be in the same ballpark or what.

The laws are very vague so it gets arbitrary and can depend on whether the state referee had Sanka or the real stuff that morning.

Wow, you guys are as obsessive and insane as me! I love it!

Cheers!

It is great being in a nonsmog state ive never had a vehicle inspected most thats ever happened is checking vin from car to title.

I dont see how they could tell whether the original setup had an auto trans or not. unless codes are being thrown for not detecting a tranny.

VIN will say if it's auto or manual. Maybe they're looking for the VIN stamped on the block somewhere or the EPA sticker or they want the VIN off the title of the donor car. Or maybe they don't care about the VIN at all and will take your word for it about what the donor car was. :confused:

you need to look at the CA regs on the donor issue. I lived there 15 yrs!
anything over 25 yrs old is exempt....which was a big help when I dropped a new motor in my 66 mustang several yrs ago