We need more 2-cylinder engines in the world

It's somewhat odd the lack of 2-cylinder engine developments for compact vehicles, as those could become a table of salvation for the Diesel combustion process in the European market. Fewer friction and pumping losses, and eventually some parts interchangeability with 4-cylinder engines in the 1.6 to 2.0-litre range still likely to remain widely available for light-duty commercial vehicles in the foreseeable future, might justify such approach as much as the well-documented modularity of ancient engines not only for stationary, agricultural and marine applications but also for car engines. The ever-growing power and torque per litre in newer generations of engines, and the popularity of turbocharged 1.0L petrol engines with 3 cylinders, may justify a 2-cyl turbodiesel as a more utilitarian approach closer to the roots of the early popularity growth of Diesel engines.

Did the lack of Diesel options led GM uncompetitive in overseas markets?

Well it's sure looking quite odd now, but General Motors has wasted many chances it had to offer competitive Diesel engines on world markets. Its former ownership of Detroit Diesel and previous ties with Isuzu and Fiat were not so greatly beneficial to the in-house development of Diesel engines for light-duty vehicles as it would be supposed to do, despite the limited availability of the Duramax 6.6L V8 turbodiesel for full-size trucks. The recent 4-cylinder 2.5L and 2.8L Duramax engines made in Thailand for the Colorado and Trailblazer by the way, are an Italian VM Motori development, and this company is now part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Even though some improvements are done once in a while to the Isuzu-designed Duramax V8 which is now only available for the Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra trucks, and the Italian-designed 4-cyls, the only other significant engine which caters to light-duty vehicles in the present-day GM engines range is the MDE (Medium Diesel Engine) 1.6L formerly available in the US-spec Chevrolet Cruze but now only fitted to the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain, besides some usage on Opel models which is likely to be phased out soon due to its sale to PSA Peugeot-Citroën. Restricting most of its other Diesel options to Fiat-sourced 1.3L to be fitted only with manual transmissions and catering mostly to India was another mistake, while in other markets throughout the world this very same option had been available only briefly on models such as the Chevrolet Spin and the Brazilian/Russian Chevrolet Cobalt (unrelated to the American one).

GM divestment from South Africa might sound like an excuse for Diesel repowerings

GM phasing out its Chevrolet range in South Africa and regional export markets like Namibia sounds as the perfect excuse to fit some random Diesel engines into some cars such as a Cruze. For some model-years a 2.0L turbodiesel was available, but the last ones did not have such option and had to rely either on a port-injection 1.6L petrol engine or a 1.4L turbocharged with direct injection also petrol-powered. It was kinda surprising to say the least, when a guy inquired me about the possibility of adapting a Hatz 2M41 engine to a Cruze hatchback. That would probably not be my first choice, but that engine could at least in theory work. I'd feel so much more comfortable doing an Isuzu 4FC1 engine swap for example.

Stationary engines of ancient design may not be the most suitable for automotive application, but they should not be singled out

Been recently in Uruguay, seen an old Volkswagen Brasilia repowered with a Hatz Diesel inline-twin. Maybe not the best one but at least it retained the air cooling instead of adding the complexity of a radiator, water pump, thermostat valve and all those hoses. Right now in Argentina, soon to go to Namibia. Argentina used to be more receptive toward light-duty Diesel engines, but now it's all about CNG while we only see something Diesel once in a while and mostly a Peugeot or a Renault. Those who would rather want some other light-duty ride with a Diesel, such as a Chevrolet Cruze or a Ford Focus, are left pretty much without any option. It might seem tempting to just slap some stationary engine to a newer car, much like it used to be kinda popular with Perkins engines in other times, but now with all those emission regulations and the widespread of electronic stability controls it becomes roughly impossible to integrate them  to work with a mechanically-governed engine.

Scrapping older cars based only on their age would be totally pointless

Once in a while I see claims that getting rid of older vehicles, with a more stringent focus on Diesel-powered ones, would be somewhat of a solution to the pollution issue. That's totally pointless. Lack of electronic controls make it easy to avoid some maintenance hassles associated to the common-rail engines, most noticeably in harsher environmental conditions or when replacement parts cost would hit the owner harder, and sometimes the lack of a turbocharger may not be something to bother at all due to the diminished risk of an engine runaway caused by oil blow-by through the compressor housing.

The best option to overcome the emissions issue would be prioritizing biofuels, such as biodiesel and maybe even pure vegetable oils according to the technological stage of each engine. And since fish is a popular source of protein not just in the Philippines but also in a lot of other Asian countries, why not resorting to fish liver oils as a feedstock for biodiesel? The alcohol required to brew biodiesel can be sourced from palm as it's usual in Thailand, or coconut as it's also common in Indonesia. Well, coconut may seem a perfect feedstock for biodiesel too, as it may provide not just the fatty acids but some sugar that can be turned into either ethanol or methanol.

Water injection, which blended with some alcohol (usually methanol) to prevent freezing is still quite usual in high-performance applications and have been frequently used in WWII-era fighter aircraft with piston engines, could eventually resort to the water recovered from the aircon system as a supplement to the distilled water + methanol blend more frequently used in specialty applications. At least on open roads with fewer traffic density the fuel-efficiency increase is already noticeable when there is some higher amount of moisture in the air.

How likely would be an old rear-engined Volkswagen to be better than a modern CUV?

The present-day crossover utility vehicle, or CUV for short, may be appealing to urban customers willing to show off and pretend they live an adventurous lifestyle on the weekends, but to which point are them really better than an old-school Volkswagen when it comes to actual off-roading?

Volkswagen may not be so expressive as a high-volume manufacturer to the point of challenging the Japanese automakers in much of Asia anymore, at least not outside of China, but its old products had their days of glory when air cooling was the standard of this brand. There were times when the Brazilian branch of Volkswagen provided all sort of CKD kits not only for the Philippine distributor but also for Indonesia, with the Brazilian Transporter/Kombi being considerably cheaper than the German counterpart despite being a bit outdated. Boot access was not so great due to the intrusion of the engine compartment, plus the narrow rear hatch, but its non-sliding curbside rear doors were less maintenance-intensive on rough terrain than the first generations of Japanese vans with sliding doors. Even though the rear engine took too much space from the loading bay compared to the Japanese vans with their engine right below the front seats, it improved traction in rough terrain regardless of load condition. There was a water-cooled Diesel version in Brazil too, but most of the remaining ones are double-cab pick-up. Could've it been a good contender for the earlier Hilux back in the day?

Another former hit in the Philippines was the Brasília, a bantam shaped like a Golf would have been if it had the same Beetle driveline. Once in a while I still see one in Makati, but not sure how many remain operating throughout the country.

What would I do if I could get my hands on some Beetle or even a Brasília? Swap some horizontal single-cylinder Diesel on it and make it a cross-country vehicle which would outperform any modern mall-rated CUV on real off-roading.

Diesel engines are not so easy to find for light-duty vehicles in Oman

As a former British protectorate, finding some old Lister stationary engine once in a while is no surprise at all. Some fishing boats also rely on Diesel, but it's not so easy to see Diesel-engined light vehicles as it is for petrol-engined ones. It is quite surprising to find out Toyota is using its most modern Diesel engines for the HiLux instead of the old-school 5L-E nearly everywhere by now. As a general rule, most Middle East countries used to not enforce emission standards so strictly.

Ancient hot-bulb engines simply refuse to die

It's not impossible to find 100-years old hot-bulb "semi Diesel" engines still in perfect operating conditions fitted to fishing boats. Even though the widespread availability of horizontal-single true Diesel engines from Japan and those copies made in China could sound promising for a phaseout of the "semi Diesel" with its need for some external source of heat for start (usually a kerosene-burning lamp, but sometimes just a few pieces of red hot charcoal can also do the trick), it's not really uncommon to find older British hot-bulb engines not only pumping water in the rice fields but also powering small fishing boats in Pakistan. Maybe that's still the clearest part of the British colonial heritage, along the RHD rule.

Should the Europeans take a look at motorcycles and sidecars as an alternative to the diminishing offer of small economy cars with Diesel engines?

Now that some automakers in Europe are eliminating their Diesel offers in some entry-level segments due to the cost and what is claimed to be an "environmental" concern, and the resale value of an older one goes down due to the increasingly tight traffic restrictions being enforced by local councils from cities such as Madrid, Paris, London and more recently a Federal approval for their enforcement in Stuttgart and Dusseldorf, there are fewer options remaining for those who seek a new car option that would retain some ease of maintenance combined to low fuel consumption. Maybe looking bach at the past, before the introduction of the Volkswagen Beetle and Citroen 2CV, could give Europeans an insight of an easy way to overcome this situation in case they start taking a more serious approach toward sidecars once again. It may not be the most comfortable approach in regard to the inclement weather in the winter, and would mean getting rid of the Diesel engine just like if they just got a regular petrol-powered supermini or a hybrid, but it might be somewhat of a demonstration of resistence toward the dictatorial approach of the European Union and the UN which have a clearly anti-Diesel bias in their environmental regulations. Well, much like the days of the Third Reich when German people couldn't afford to own cars due to their complexity and the simpler air cooling of a motorcycle engine compared to the water cooling which was already prevalent in the car industry and could become troublesome in the winter due to the absence of a modern cooling fluid that could prevent freezing, the average European is once again subject to a bunch of tyrants trying to control every aspect of their lives in the name of a fake "greater good".

Found on YouTube: Peugeot 406 turbodiesel with manual transmission and hand-controls for paraplegic driver

Browsing another Diesel-related blog, this video set in Argentina caught my attention. A paraplegic guy shows how he drives a pre-facelift Peugeot 406 with the 2.1TD engine and standard transmission. So many times it's been told it was impossible to upfit a Diesel ride with those automatic clutches commonly found in cars for disabled drivers where they're not restricted to automatic transmissions but, despite some technical limitations of that setup, it is indeed possible.

Luciano Lacoa, the owner of the car, sounds very honest about the disadvantages perceived by him in the system, most noticeably the lack of engine-braking effect and some roughness in the clutch actuator which lacks some progressiveness. And since the single push-pull lever that allows him to control brake and accelerator pedals is located slightly above the shifter, he also seems quite bothered about not being able to rev-match while shifting. The clutch actuator seems to have input only from the accelerator pedal position, which makes it quickly kick in whenever the lever is released, regardless of engine speed or any clear intention for shifting which in some automatic clutch systems is recognized by a touch sensor usually located at the shift knob. This way, not just the clutch pack is submitted to higher efforts which may lead to an estimate 3 times higher wear, the service brakes also get a higher load since it doesn't leave any provision for engine-braking.

Fiat in Suriname?

Got a bit surprised to see a Fiat car in Suriname. That was a Fiat Palio Weekend made in Brazil, with plates from French Guyana. The engine was the very same TD70 that I got to know about 16 years ago in a trip to Uruguay. It does surprise me that Fiat doesn't have in Suriname the same strenght it has in other regional South American markets, since they have a fairly good relation of ruggedness and low cost. In many other countries, not just in South America, I already got the chance to drive Fiat Palio rental cars and they felt fairly good.

Isuzu 4JG2 in Ford E-Series wagon, anyone?

Though we all agree the stock drivelines fitted to Ford E-Series vans are somewhat boat-anchors with na awful fuel consumption, it may feel uncomfortable to get rid of the automatic transmission. It's a matter of compromises, and this time the swap of an Isuzu 4JG2 engine and a 5-speed manual transmission out of an Isuzu NKR truck was found out to be the best option. For a 2009 E-150 with the 35-spline Dana 60, the 5.38 differential gear ratio might be sufficient.

Cardboard gaskets?

Came to see a Chinese copy of the Yanmar horizontal-single engine, fitted to an air compressor, for oil leaks. All of its gaskets had been replaced with pieces of cardboard, but it kept running for a while until I could get there and replace them with a more conventional material. I know, some people might be unfavorable to that, but I am still comfortable using asbestos.

200cc engine in a Beetle?

Considering that the old Beetle had been one of the most universal vehicles at its time, it's still a bit shocking to see one with a different engine. When it's a motorcycle engine, the surprise is even greater. But now that official spare parts are going harder to find, sometimes we might see some backyard-engineering efforts put in place to adapt some random cheap Chinese motorcycle engine. This time, a Keeway RKS 200 engine. I must admit I was somehow worried about the cooling, but it received a pair of electric fans built into the rear lid and activated by a thermostat that can be bypassed on-demand, with one fan pulling the outside air and the other exhausting the hot air away from the engine compartment. OK, not Diesel-related, but at least for me it was something unexpected.

Overhauling a horizontal single cylinder Yanmar engine that drives a genset. One of the simplest engines that one can deal with, not even its low power to weight ratio prevents it from being still efficient for stationary duties like this.

RHD or LHD? That's the question...

It feels somewhat weird to be in RHD vehicles, but at least in Suriname there is no rule preventing the registry of LHD equivalents. What does really surprise me is that most of the brand-new rides are coming from Thailand, way further than other car production centers like Brazil and Argentina. Passing by other vehicles on the road might be somewhat scary at first, but it's possible to resort to devices like a small câmera or a set of mirrors similar to the ones fitted to those U.S. Mail vans.

Macau

Macau is such an unique place, and as a special administrative region of China it seems even more "special" than Hong Kong. Even though Portuguese now is rarely spoken, the colonial past is still a strong presence. What does surprise me is the scarcity of diesel-powered cars, mostly because when Portugal was still the sovereign power it used to favor diesel cars more than their petrol-powered counterparts. Well, since it's basically an island, would actually make a lot of sense to have most of its fleet running on downsized diesel engines using biodiesel to be made out of some oily seaweed or out of halophyte plants such as the Salicornia genus.

Been in a trawler fishing boat with a Rootes-Lister TS3 engine

I was aknowledged about the existence of the Rootes TS3 engine with its distinctive opposed-piston, horizontal cylinders layout, just never had a chance to see one still operational. Though some old Commer trucks could still be found in Uruguay about 15 years ago, most of the ones originally fitted with a TS3 had received an engine swap and were using Mercedes-Benz OM352 engines. But at the moment it's the least important, what really matters is how efficient and comparatively compact this engine is. Quite amazing that 2-stroke Diesel became unpopular in trucks and buses while they're still successful for marine applications. Biodiesel and vegetable-based lubricant oils could overcome the high hydrocarbon emissions issue.

Searching for the best engine to repower a full-size Chevy pick-up or SUV

Many of us love the comfort and style of an American ride. Their fuel consumption, on the other hand, is unpleasant to say the least. Replacing the petrol-guzzling V8 with a Diesel engine sounds like the right way to go. But which would be the engine of choice? Is it worth to surrender the automatic for a manual transmission that accompanies most of the Diesel engines on the market?

Old-school inline-sixes like Nissan's TD42 and Toyota's 1HZ/1HD might seem the best for those who look for more smoothness than a 4-cylinder would be able to provide, plus they were also available with automatic transmissions. Somebody could claim that even the Isuzu 4JA1 has been available with automatic transmission for the Crosswind, but really, that engine would barely move an Astro van that is not a full-size at all.

If one would be willing to shift gears on their own in a Silverado, Tahoe or Suburban, looking at engines from trucks with a 7-ton GVWR or greater is the way to go as it would be likely to retain a repectable tow rating. Anything from Isuzu NPR to Mitsubishi Canter, Nissan AtlasCabstar and certain versions of the Toyota Dyna/Hino Dutro/Hino 300 and Nissan/UD Condor. As used truck imports are still allowed, if one not willing to get rid of the comfort provided by the automatic transmission can be lucky enough to get it out of a JDM truck.

Shifting gears manually doesn't bother me at all, so my engine recommendation would be Isuzu 4HF1 or 4HG1.

LPG: supplement or replacement?

One of the most controversial fuels, yet highly popular among taxi drivers, is LPG. Once in a while there are plans to convert jeepneys and other public service vehicles from Diesel to LPG, but those plans still don't catch up. The increased weight and the space requirements for the fitment of a gaseous fuel system are still the main concerns, but there are other aspects to keep in mind. While an ordinary Diesel engine with mechanical injection is likely to last nearly forever, also requiring fewer replacement parts on the long run, those petrol engines converted to LPG are going to require spark plugs and ignition coils to be replaced once in a while, not to get into the matter of the higher sensibility of a spark-ignition engine to adverse environmental conditions such as the floods and tropical storms. Okay, more up-to-date electronically-controlled Diesel engines have their flaws too, but they can still retain some of the adaptability to alternative fuels ranging from ethanol to biodiesel and going through waste frying oil that can be blended with animal fats too.

LPG is not exactly a safe fuel, not just because it can displace oxygen while switching from the liquid phase to vapour but due to the lower safety standards of LPG reservoirs compared to the ones used in vehicles fueled by CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) which can be released in a safer way in case of crash or during a fire with a lower risk of explosion. On another hand, finding a suitable replacement for LPG to be used with those precarious systems is actually harder than switching from fossil Natural Gas to biomethane (landfill gas, sewage gas, swamp gas, among other popular names). Why should we ever look at LPG as the last word in gaseous fuels disconsidering the complexity and impracticality of Hydrogen?

At its favour, gaseous fuels actually can be used as a supplement to enhance the combustion process in a Diesel engine. Be it either Natural Gas or LPG, these fuels absorb heat when a small amount is fumigated into the inlet stream of the engine as a supplemental injection, therefore expanding and displacing oxygen as much as an EGR valve does when it dumps exhaust gases back into the inlet stream. On the other hand, the gaseous fuels are not going to dump soot and other impurities back inside the engine as the recirculating exhaust gases do, and since both LPG and methane have shorter carbon chains they increase the flame spread inside the combustion chambers, providing an overall cleaner burn and it goes further by requiring a lower volume of Diesel fuel. This way, it improves the fuel saving of Diesel while the environmental impact is decreased. A petrol engine converted to LPG will require it to start on petrol until it heats up to the operating temperature and then the cooling stream is used to vaporize LPG in order to avoid a freezing of the inlet manifold, unless it uses a forklift carburettor specially designed to operate only with LPG or a liquid-phase direct injection layout similar to the latest Australian Ford Falcon Eco-LPI.

At least for a while, LPG may fare reasonably as a supplement, never as a replacement, to Diesel fuel.