I own an’87 dakota 4x4 with a dead 3.9l.I would like to take this truck with me when I relocate to Belize in two years.Is it possible to install a small diesel in this truck? I am researching biodiesel(want to live off the “grid”). Any help will be greatlt appreciated.
Nah, this truck isn’t worth doing an engine swap on. You could buy a new-to-you one for a fraction of the cost of doing this swap, not to mention that your frankentruck will be illegal to drive in most States. If you’re really serious about the whole bio-diesel thing, I’d save up some extra cash and buy yourself a diesel truck while you’re down there. There are a lot more small diesel pickups available in the parts of the world that aren’t the US and Canada-- Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Isuzu all make excellent small diesel pickups that are ubiquitous sights on the roads of the third world.
I know you didn’t come here for an argument, but running a car “off-the-grid” is not a practical proposition. The amount of biomass you need to make biofuel to meet the fuel requirements of even a car that’s only driven a few thousand miles a year is immense and is not something even a serious hobby-farmer can do. Even if you could, the fuel you produce would wind up costing you personally more than “grid” fuel and winds up using much more energy and resources. The “grid” is a very efficient way of doing things.
“The amount of biomass you need to make biofuel”
Well if crazyart is talking about grease bio, and if he can find enough waste grease, he may be able to do it. I suspect that he may have a difficult time finding enough grease unless he is going to be a regional fast food manager.
That’s true, but making the grease in the first place required large scale industrialized agriculture and a large transportation network to get it there, which hardly makes it “off the grid” in the survivalist sense. WVO is more what I would call creative mooching, not the solution to global problems its users often claim.
I am seeing “Mosquito Coast”.
Last time I was in Belize, there were no McDonalds or any other biodiesel refueling stations. I don’t think the cooking residues from Tamalitos and Panades will keep up with your fuel consumption.