What is the smallest Diesel...

[kevins]

What is the smallest diesel engine that would be a suitable swap for use in a small vehicle? I'm looking for something that would actually fit in a 6 seat limo golf cart, and get maybe a top speed of 40-45mph. I'm not concerned with having to do modifications to make the engine fit, provided they are not too extreme (do not want to widen the body, but have no problem building a custom tube chassis to make it fit).

The cart in question will allow a Geo Metro 3cylinder engine and driveline to fit in the factory engine compartment without significant modification, if that gives an idea of the area I have to work with. I can take measurements of the entire engine bay if needed. I am just not that familiar with small diesel engines, so figured I'd come to you guys!

Initially I was going to find a used Metro and use the engine and driveline in the cart, and then possibly convert the Metro to electric, but I would prefer a small diesel for the cart project, if at all possible. This is a custom build, and will be registered for use on the street, as well as used off-road on my property in the mountains.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

P.S., this project MAY end up converted to 4 wheel drive as well in the future.

[piers.singer]

I believe that the VW 1.2 and 1.4 TDis are 3-cylinders, if you can find any. No idea what the external dimensions are, don't forget to take into account the extra size of the turbo gubbins. To be honest though, I'd rather use the Metro engine. I'm assuming that you'll be travelling relatively short distances in stop-start conditions, in which a diesel has very little advantage over a petrol engine. The extra weight of a diesel engine (not to mention that of the turbo) will be a severely limiting factor in such a small vehicle.

On a total cost basis, if my assumptions are correct (feel free to pull me up if they're not), the Metro engine will be the more economical choice.

[Rick323]

How about a tractor engine? Kubota, ford, yanmar etc-they make small 15 hp diesels and up. The 15-16 hp engines are tiny, my 35 hp mahindra (Daedong 3A165, 100 cubic inch) is small and pulls the 7000# tractor pretty well.

[kevins]

I think you are definitely right as far as weight and cost when compared to the metro drivetrain. A metro would be dirt cheap, since you can find a complete running car for $350-1200, but there are several reasons for wanting to go with a diesel.

One is due to the fact that we drive a chevy diesel 2500HD crew cab truck, so we tend to keep a small amount of diesel on hand at home and more importantly we usually bring a supply with us to our acreage in the White Mountains of AZ, where the cart will get a LOT of use. We have 65 acres, surrounded by a couple thousand acres of BLM and State land, plus many more thousands of acres of roads and washes to explore. We also use a community well right now, until we can get our own well drilled, so that is about 6 miles one-way to haul water, so rather than only one person pulling a trailer behind a quad, or loading up in the truck we can use the golf cart. The nearest store is also some miles away, and I hate driving the big truck to the store. I tend to ride a quad, which means I have to go alone. That also limits what I can carry back to the property with me. The cart will allow me to carry people (if desired), plus carry a fair amount of goodies with me from the store. It will probably have limited use here in the city though, but who knows it may turn out to be my primary mode of transport in the end.

When a small group of us just want to take a cruise around the mountain property we sit or stand on a trailer, towed behind a quad, and to be honest that isn't the most convenient, comfortable, or safe method of travel, especially for the smaller children (5-11), plus the passengers on the trailer get exhaust blown in their faces.

Another reason is for the additional torque provided by the diesel, since I would like to convert to 4 wheel drive, and have enough power to get through sand, mud, water crossings, hills, etc.. I think the Metro engine will have a bit harder time with that, and be more work to convert.

The biggest reason is probably WVO, which I should have mentioned in my OP. I would really like to be able to run WVO at some point, to save a bundle of money. I have friends that run pumping services, and service restaurants to remove their waste veggie oil, and they would be happy to give it to me rather than having more work (and $) to dispose of it. I will then process it here, and run it in my other projects. I'm converting our generators over to diesel for that very purpose. I'm hoping to have practically free fuel when all is said and done.

The engine does not necessarily have to be TDi, non turbo is fine.

Thank You for the input. I appreciate it.

[kevins]

Originally Posted by Rick323

How about a tractor engine? Kubota, ford, yanmar etc-they make small 15 hp diesels and up. The 15-16 hp engines are tiny, my 35 hp mahindra (Daedong 3A165, 100 cubic inch) is small and pulls the 7000# tractor pretty well.

That's kind of the route I was thinking of going. I just wasn't sure of the size of those engines. I know I have seen a small Kubota 2 seater truck/UTV type unit that is diesel powered, but I think that one had a top speed of about 20 mph, which is a little too slow for me (not that I couldn't find a way to make it go faster with different gearing).

[Rick323]

A quick look at Kubota's web site, show a 24hp engine is 19.6" long and weighs 205 lbs. Kubota Engine America - Compact Diesel Engines

As far as speed goes, I think you just need to put the right transmission in it. I remember reading a while ago about someone putting a kubota tractor engine in a Ford Ranger and it worked fine. I think it was on the Cummins 4bt website. This isn't the one I was think of but it's one--http://www.4btswaps.com/forum/showth...2203-gt-Ranger

[Piwoslaw]

The smallest passenger car diesel engine that I know of is the Smart's 3-cylinder 0.8 liter turbodiesel.

[Christ]

I'm buying a 420cc thumper utility engine (10hp) for a motorcycle project. Its probably overpriced at $600, but its worth it to me, in most respects.

8.6hp@3000, 10hp@3600, 21lb/ft @1500

[kevins]

Originally Posted by Piwoslaw

The smallest passenger car diesel engine that I know of is the Smart's 3-cylinder 0.8 liter turbodiesel.

Interesting. Now to find out if we have any diesel smart cars here in the U.S., in salvage condition... I have found dozens of gas smarts, but not one diesel yet. Does anyone know if they import the diesels here? If so, anyone have a source for a wrecked one, or know where to source just the engine and any bits needed to make it run.

I am half reconsidering the idea after some more thought, and thinking I might actually try to find a used Honda 4 cylinder, and turn it 90 degrees to mount it in the cart, and then weld the gears so it is a solid differential, then feed one shaft to a rear differential and one shaft to a front differential so I will then have 4 wheel drive. I have seen this done in rock crawlers and sand rails before, so I figure it should work great for a custom cart build, and should be fairly fuel efficient as well.

I'd still like all the diesel input I can get though, so keep the info and ideas coming, please.

Thanks everyone!

[euromodder]

Royal Enfield Bullet diesel