disassembling a rusty Toyota ambulance for an overhaul

The medical compartment was easily removed to be refurbished, which is going to take a bit longer, since it's going to get an aircon unit and being upgraded to advanced life support unit. The driving cab required to be entirely dismantled, sandblasted, some dents were cut off, then it was all primed before we could finally patch all the de-rusted body panels with Araldite glue and sheetmetal recycled from beer cans. The interior trim was not so bad, but it's going to be upgraded to improve the driver's comfort. 22R engine was pulled off and will be replaced by a Ford 3.0 V6 petrol. I would still rather get a diesel drivetrain, but it was not the preference of the patrons. What I was worrying about is the frame, altough it's not so badly damaged by all the years of service as I was afraid. I won't be able to follow the rest of the job getting done, since I'm going on the road again soon.

Cold-starting a Kia Pregio to be driven on waste frying oil is a hard task with worn-out glowplugs that need to be replaced soon. It's not even recommended to do that WD-40 trick (spraying WD-40 over the engine head and ignite it with a cigarette lighter) because the fumes would remain on the inside of the cab and the risk of it to caught fire. Our crazy driver shows me his alternative solution, a charcoal-fed beer-can stove.at the intake, just like a homemade equivalent to the Lucas ThermoStart pre-heater from the old Perkins 4.203 engines. Took a few minutes until it was hot enought, had to keep the key turned for other long 20 seconds or so, but it was then alive. With the cab heater bypassed due to a leaking heater core, some stout beer to help dealing with the cold weather left some more cans to be "recycled" in other "alternative" auto repairs.

South Africa

South Africa used to have a higher market share for large petrol engines, which now are pretty much outdated not just due to fuel consumption but also due to the lower reliability. V8 Land Rovers were more usual and still have some cult-following, but for sure they're now quite a shadow. I have even seen one which got the Rover 3.5 V8 replaced by a naturally-aspirated Isuzu 4JA1 from a wrecked Isuzu KB-250 (D-Max). Volkswagen Transporter vans were also popular, no wonder the rear-engined T3 lasted until 2002 with a 5-cylinder 2.6i engine unique to that market. No diesel for them, but the current front-engined Transporter is more usually found with the TDI. Old RHD Ford F-250 American CBU versions with the 4.9 straight-6 and 351W V8 are easier to find than a diesel version from the same vintage, but the '98-'05 ones made in Brazil got only a turbodiesel which looks like a TD42 from Nissan at a first sight, but has direct injection and overhead cam instead of the indirect injection with cam in block. I have heard about that engine in Australia, but haven't seen before. Next time I go to Brazil I might take a closer look at those engines.

been away for a while

Working on board of a commercial ship refurbishing JDM car engines. Chinese parts became a popular option to use in the overhauls because they're cheaper and easier available at the time. Toyota is still prevalent, but this time a handful of Isuzu Fargo passenger vans with the 4FC1 engine are going to Suriname. For the first time I saw a Honda Domani with a diesel engine, Isuzu too. Just finished to change its head gasket.

Just arrived Mozambique. Plenty of old JDM diesel cars here. There is no old-school engine for the Hilux, but the 70-series Land Cruiser still relies on the 1HZ engine. Australian-standards 70-series Land Cruisers with the V8 diesel are not so common but can often be found around Maputo.

Brand new diesel small cars are usually sourced from South Africa.

I'm in Angola right now, and back here it's still possible to buy a Hilux with the nearly indestructible 5L-E engine, reported to be more suitable to dirtier diesel fuels and even better to use vegetable oil as a fuel alternative due to the low-tech indirect injection. A cheaper engine, easier to perform PMS. Only downside it lacks a turbo. Diesel Corollas are not officially available thru Toyota dealers, but can be sourced from Morocco either with the same 1.4 D4-D it spots in Europe or the good ole 2C used in Philippine Corollas before the Altis.

Start-stop system, overcoming hybrids only with diesel power

Taking into account the long idling times at the rush time in EDSA, Roxas Blvd. and many other roadways, the hybrid system appeal to unadviced buyers seeking for lower fuel consumptions. By the other side, there's nothing preventing a vehicle powered only by an internal combustion engine to get an even better efficiency.

Relying on a diesel engine, which has a higher thermal efficiency than any spark-ignition petrol engine, getting an automatic idle-stop system even without any auxiliary electric traction motor, is perfectly possible to achieve higher kmpl figures. Who would need a Prius delivering 21kmpl when a Corolla or a Yaris with a diesel engine could reach from 25 to 30kmpl for a significantly lower price?

Engine swap: the way to overcome difficult to find OEM replacements sa grey market

Many of us enjoy the style and smoothness of Amerikano car, pero fuel efficiency sucks talaga. Diesel swap solves this problem, and also gets advantage sa parts replacement. We see many AUV and vans kay small engines fullfitting performance needs, frequently more loaded than marami trak Amerikano would ever get.

Para sa Chevy Astro van, electronics in the automatic transmission are many times a pain to deal with, so no sorpresa there are complete swaps including engine at transmission sa Toyota, Nissan, Isuzu at ng Mitsubishi sa palibot 2.5-3.0litre.

Full-size SUV type katulad Chevy Tahoe/Suburban are possible receivers sa Diesel, pero bigger ones provide more suitable torque even while small ones under 3-litre are providing each times higher power. I performed myself a handful sucessful engine swaps using mainly Isuzu 4HF1 sa NPR, surplus Toyota 14B sa Daihatsu Delta/Toyota Dyna, and very few ones kay entire drivelines buhat sa Nissan Patrol Safari. Old TD42 inline-six was one of the best engines to use, pero ngayon malaganap ZD30 shared with Urvan Escapade being shorter can easily fit in engine bays each time tighter dahil sa comfort features like aircon, power steering, anti-lock brakes, sa gitna ng others. Automatic transmission available sa Patrol Safari is better than re-use OEM units sa Amerikano, pagka't yung torque converter ay na designed para sa torque input in a lower revving engine. Even in a 4-speed layout, fuel efficiency advantages are not so far from what a heavier 6-speed currently fitted in many full-size American rigs would do.

4WD: it's always better to enjoy with (bio)diesel

Extreme environments usually demand engines to show toughness at its best, so diesel is the best answer.

No matter if it's for leisure or work, greatest aptitude to meet many different terrains and weather conditions is a major advantage sa diesel.

A good example is the Jeep Wrangler: its OEM petrol engines have large power and even torque, pero diesel engines usually supplied by Isuzu like the C240 and the 4JB1 match it better sa tough terrain ng bayan.

Other great example is Nissan Patrol: extremely powerful petrol engines above 4-litre are available sa Middle East, walang dito sa Pinas currently only a 3-litre diesel 4-cylinder ZD30 ay available. Doesn't feel underpowered at all...

Sometimes, absence of diesel engines is pointed as a reason to the end of the line to the Hummer...

Pictures sourced sa http://engineeringworkarounds.blogspot.com/
http://dzulnutz.blogspot.com/

Ethanol/Gasohol in diesel engine, what to consider about

Ethanol mix in regular gasoline, hence called Gasohol, varies usually from the more conservative E5 (5% ethanol) up to E25 (25% ethanol, available regularly in Brazil, not even during the entire year, with limited availability in Paraguay too). Since there is not too much lubricity neither in gasoline or ethanol, they are not recommended to be constantly used in a diesel engine, pero sa emergency is acceptable. To avoid damages to the injection pump, considering a mechanical injection (assuming CRDi engines doesn't tollerate gasoline since electronic modules don't provide an injection tuning pattern for it), supplementary lube blend into fuel is extremely recommended, like it's done in a 2-stroke spark-ignited engine.

Ethanol has presented greater results in compression-ignition engines than gasoline, and is widely used in Sweden to power urban transit buses.

Direct injection is a must while operating ethanol in a diesel engine, since its higher volatility would lead to pre-ignition inside prechambers in an IDI.