Here’s an old thread I want to link to because it seems very topical. In it, conversion of Diesel engines to vegetable oil is discussed. I drive a 1998 6 cylinder Pathfinder. I need the cargo capacity and the 4x4. In light of the current gasoline situation, would it make sense for me to try to sell it and purchase a Diesel equivalent so that I could convert it to vegetable oil?
Just thought I’d throw in another possibly relevant thread detailing the experiences of a poster who has actually successfully done this:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=326614&highlight=hlanelee+vegetable
Thanks. I think I’ll try to get in touch with hlanelee.
a lot more info is available @ http://www.wiesel.ca
A co-worker of mine has two vehicles with kits from greasel.com. One is a 4x4 pickup with a 100-gallon grease tank. It looks like a fairly simple conversion - the engine isn’t modified at all. IIRC it involves (1) adding a second tank for the vegetable oil, (2) adding a valve to switch between the two tanks, (3) additional coolant line for heating up the vegetable oil tank, and (4) heavy-duty fuel filters. Vegetable oil has higher viscosity at low temperature, so regular diesel fuel is used for starting the engine. You switch to grease after the engine has warmed up, and switch back to regular diesel before shutting down the engine to flush the vegetable oil out of the engine.