Well, I said I'd do it - here's my Top 10 Reasons for NOT Buying a Diesel Powered Car.


1 - Confusion about which pump to use. The first time I filled my diesel up, I used a truck pump by mistake (well, what did I know?). The problem is that truck pumps tend to deliver at a rate of 2 gallons a second. Filling your tank in 6 seconds could be useful, but if the pressure sensor failed, you'd be stinking for weeks.

2 - Particulates: the cloud of soot that comes out of the exhaust when you put your foot down, & bungs up catalytic converters & fails emissions tests.

3 - Weight. Because a diesel engines ignition is by compression, not spark, it's a lot less controlled, which means they have to be built a lot tougher, & therefore heavier.

4 - Unstoppable overruns. Only really an issue in very large capacity engines, but it's a nasty one: diesels can get to the point where you just can't turn them off. Turning off the ignition doesn't do anything, cutting off the fuel doesn't do anything because they suck the oil out of the sump & run on that instead. The only thing to do is wait for it to blow up, or cut off the air supply. In the tank PPRUs (power pack replenishment units) my brother in law works on, the method of stopping an overrunning engine is to get out, slam the doors shut & flood the unit with carbon dioxide before the engine lets go in a manner rather too much like a car bomb for comfort.

5 - Oily nature of the fuel. Not so much of a problem when you're driving the thing, but a fuel spill is a really problem if you're on a bike, which you won't be if you come across even a small spill of diesel on a wet bend.
Why is it that so many commercial vehicle drivers fill their tank to the brim, then throw it around through the bends? Do they think that the cost of any fuel they slosh over the road is going to be magically deducted from their bill? Arseholes!

6 - The noise. Unless you like the sound of agricultural machinery.

7 - Fuel spills. I know I already mentioned it, but it's such a stupid, ignorant & dangerous thing I thought it was worth mentioning twice.

8 - Low revs. My car gets to 120 (mph) faster than 95+% of other cars on the road... but that's 4000 rpm, & it won't spin any faster than that in top gear.

9 - The reputation they have for being slow & stinky means that diesels are just _not_ cool.

10 - Repair/Maintenance costs. The cost of the fuel is less (due to much better mpgs), but unless you do quite a few miles in a year, you'll be worse off because of the other costs. Because of the higher weight, suspension, steering braking components have a harder time & therefore need replacing more often; glow plugs (that provide the initial ignition) last a long time, but they cost 5 times as much as spark plugs, + a set of 4 also pulls something like 60Amps, so your battery has a harder time; & as I've also found recently, because they need to run cool, the cooling system is overly complex, & the radiator is 3-4 times the size you'd expect, & therefore much more expensive.

Did you guys know that diesels were originally designed to run on vegetable oil?

Quote: Originally Posted by j-dogg Did you guys know that diesels were originally designed to run on vegetable oil?

I think we went through the veg oil thing last time ... the problem (here at least) is if the police smell the exhaust they tend to nick you for avoiding fuel duty

Surely there are alot of good points about diesels, most mentioned in your other thread.

My father has a Chevy Duramax diesel 4 door and it really gets up and goes, it isn't "slow". The gas prices here are considerably higher than the diesel gas prices, which saves money since we are always traveling around. I was looking at the radiator system yesterday through the front grill, and what I saw was 3 different radiators, one in front of the other. It really wasn't that complex...unless there's alot more to it once you open up the hood.

While browsing around on the Volkswagen site, all considered I was thinking a diesel engined version of a Beetle would be cool...but they don't exist. Most of the other models have the option of a diesel, wonder why not the Beetle? Are they just too big? [edit] The lowest model is actually a diesel! Right here if you want... Now that's probably going to be my first car...unless a corvette magically lands in my driveway.

And btw, diesels sound GOOD when they're made right. My fathers Chevy is alot quieter than the Ford versions. I wonder how loud the car diesel engines are though...

Mercedes diesels are so quiet, they don't even sound like diesels.

Woah, are you saying that diesels are able to run off of vegetable oil? Or just that is what the original concept was based around?

You forgot the worst of all - cold weather. Below 10 degrees even with engine blankets and a plug, treated fuel PLUS tossing in ATF in the fuel filters it's often a lost cause with older rigs, and even some newer ones.

LOL@#1

1 - Confusion about which pump to use. The first time I filled my diesel up, I used a truck pump by mistake (well, what did I know?). The problem is that truck pumps tend to deliver at a rate of 2 gallons a second. Filling your tank in 6 seconds could be useful, but if the pressure sensor failed, you'd be stinking for weeks.

Kage: that second radiator in front (if it is setup the same as a military HMVEE) is probably an oil cooler rather than a radiator (is it smaller scale?)
Around where I live, the diesel prices are higher (which in one way doesn't make sense as the refining costs are lower) but most of the gas stations are in close proximity to a major interstate (I 80) so the truck drivers and/or companies are getting raped with the fuel costs.
As for the sound of a diesel car, take a look at some of the Volvo and Mercedes cars that are diesel. I can't speak for the newer ones, but my dad used to have an older Mercedes diesel and it was fairly loud.

Quote: Originally Posted by godfoot Kage: that second radiator in front (if it is setup the same as a military HMVEE) is probably an oil cooler rather than a radiator (is it smaller scale?)...

Could also be an intercooler (if it's got a turbo), but that would be an unusual place for it.

you forgot to mention at least in my area only about a tenth of the gas stations carry diesel

Quote: Originally Posted by The_Lost_Monkey you forgot to mention at least in my area only about a tenth of the gas stations carry diesel

very true. my friend has a f250 diesel and he drives about 12 miles to the nearest economical (aka cheap) gas station.

Plenty of diesel gas stations around here...lives up to the American way for choices.

The 3 radiators were like this: Big radiator(probably the engine cooling one) then one half the size of it, and then a slightly smaller one in front of that. Godfoot's probably right then. It's a Chevy 2500 Duramax Diesel btw, if you want to look it up, great.

Quote: Originally Posted by Kage Plenty of diesel gas stations around here...lives up to the American way for choices. The 3 radiators were like this: Big radiator(probably the engine cooling one) then one half the size of it, and then a slightly smaller one in front of that. Godfoot's probably right then. It's a Chevy 2500 Duramax Diesel btw, if you want to look it up, great.

Now that you say it is from a Chevy, Jonny and I could both be right. When I worked on the Hummers (63B otherwise known as light-wheel mechanic when I was in the Army reserves beore the Navy) they were made by AMC but General Motors I guess bought them out or something. I can't remember if the military model had the Cummins diesel or if that was the Deuce-and-a half that I am thinking of. Now that I think back on those times I just got an idea for a small-use water system but I should post that idea in the proper thread.