I saw a 1989 7.3 litre idi ford f350 diesel. Is it possible to use this truck for wvo conversion? (similar to greasecar kit)


Thanks, jack

 

yes it is.

 

Got a few hundred miles now on my 6.9 running WVO. Have not had a problem yet and cannot notice a difference in how the engine runs at all. I have been filtering it down to 5 microns.

 

What kind of WVO conversion are you guys running? I have a 2006 6.0 and want to convert to WVO but would like to avoid the $3100 cost of the vegiestroke.

 

I made a heat exchanger to run all my fuel through. I used about 35ft of copper tubing and made a coil out of it and put it in pipe...put some lining around the coil so it wont rub on the pipe. I got two fuel selector valves to use one for the incoming and one for the return fuel. I did this so I could switch them independently of each other. At idle it takes almost 5 minutes for the WVO to be fully into the system and same way when turning it off. Without two valves that makes a lot of fuel go to the wrong take where you dont want it. Even my diesel runs through the heat exchanger which I did so it will warm up the system before I switch over to WVO. I am not heating the fuel in the tank...only once it hits the heat exchanger. I can start running WVO as soon as the engine starts getting to temp...not waiting for the fuel to warm up. I have done some testing about throwing WVO in the freezer and it doesnt seem to thicken up awfully bad. I have not got to run it in the winter though.

I have about $200 tied up in my system. And I dont see how it could work any better or worse than the expensive systems that will turn valves on and off and turn your engine off and everything. Awfully expensive features.

 

That sounds awesome, do you have any pics? How long have you been running that sytem?

 

I'll see about getting some pictures on Monday of it all bolted up on the truck. Give me an email and I will send them and try and explain. I have probably about 1000 miles right now. I dont drive the truck all that often.

 

I've got 30,000 mi on svo in my 87 f250 6,9 turbo. I used www.plantdrive.com for parts:

1. Hot Fox coolant-heated fuel pick-up tube in the front tank
2. Vormax heated fuel filter.
3. Kalori 26 plate heat exchanger.
4. Vegtherm 12v in-line fuel heater.
5. two 3-way solenoid switching valves.

Cost about $1800, but good components are needed to get oil to 172F for long IP and engine life.
My wife and I just completed a 20,000 mile trip in our cabover camper around Canada and the US, including one month in Colorado with temps down to -5F

www.biodiesel.infopop.cc is a good place to start acquiring. The hardest part is getting the oil and cleaning and dewatering it. I use a simple to make homade centrifuge made from an Acme juicer. See posts by bio-me.
Good luck,
Mike

 

I will check out that website BIO-D and TABASCOM16 I sent you my e-mail.

 

You can run it, but its gotta be clean and hot.

How clean and how hot? Very friggin clean, very friggin hot.

You have to remember that the truck will run good even if you do a crappy conversion, its all the details to make the thing run a long time. Obviously, never run WVO in the stock tank.

I am in the middle of a conversion, on my 2002 7.3.

I have a secondary fuel pump, and am constructing a complete secondary fuel system, which will feed into the heads at the opposite ends of the stock fuel lines. All 4 lines will get check valves, so All i do to engage my WVO system, is make sure the regualtor is set 10 lbs above the stock system.

The oil should be 180* going into the heads. And clean.

Its such easy rules to follow, yet so many stray from the basics and end up paying the price...

 

"The 6.0 Powerstroke released in late 2003 has been a dark spot in an otherwise good run for Ford. We have successfully converted a few and understand them, but because of the inherent design flaws and problems that Ford has had with the engine, we do not recommend this engine for conversion. You can find more information on the Ford 6.0 Liter in the Ford Vehicle specific area of our Fuel Systems FAQ section. CLICK HERE to go to our Fuel Systems FAQ Section."-- golden fuel systems.

I run a two tank system with parts from several differnt kits on 94 turbo IDI. I am using a love craft heated - cleanable filter. I Moved the tank switch from on the frame to under the hood- right before the injection pump. I use two filters - one for diesel and one for WVO and two fuel pumps, both electric. I just replaced my injection pump, from using wvo and not plumbing it correctly. I was using one filter and one pump- sometimes cranking on cold oil. This will not work in the IDI.

I also am now replacing the injection pump in my 99 e300 mercedes- I was running a lovecraft one tank system. This system will work for older mercedes 1977-1985, but on newer cars, cranking on cold wvo will ruin injection pump. I run it in a 1980 mercedes also- cold cranking on wvo for over a year now.

7.3 powerstrokes will also crank on cold wvo. My dad has two truck on this one tank system- running everyday now for 6 months.

I am personally going to thin all oil going in my cars with gas. Between 10 -20 %.
I am in the process of doing viscocity test on diesel and oil and oil mixed with gas to determin exaclty how much to add to the oil. 20% puts it close to diesel , but quite as thin.

ORB

 

Wow, where do I start? Ok, lets focus on the WORST parts. The copper will turn your VO into chicken-skin in short order. Heating the diesel is BAD (loses its lubricity - say bye-bye IP). Soon, you will see why some of those 'expensive' features are important.

PLEASE, PLEASE promise to come back and show us pictures of the carnage - I PROMISE I will NEVER say I told you so, but you may be able to save others from making the same mistakes!

 

OK, there is no 'good' way to convert your truck EXCEPT DFA/Vegistroke. I'm sorry, but the quality of their kit is waaaaay worth the money. I beg you to find some dissatisfied users of their 'system'. The plantdrive, greasecrap, and all the others are not very good. I have personally helped several poor souls try to 'fix' the design flaws and cheap/cheezy/often over rated crap the other co's sell in their 'kits'.

If you really wanna save money, buy the BEST kit you can get, in this case the V3 from DFA. YOU WILL SAVE MONEY, and if ya drive much, it won't take long! Trust me, the other kits have inherent issues with their designs and although some really talented folks have had some success MOST of these vehicles are slowly finding their way to junkyards. The V3 works, every time, in almost any weather - for years and years. The 'others' have taken designs that work on old school IP-equipped diesels and force fit them to PSD's. The Vegistroke 'system' capitalizes on the unique HEUI injection system in our PSD's, making it the ONLY system/kit that does so.

BTW, I'm not a salesman for them - but I am a BIG fan of high quality. Trust me, everyone who's seen my trucks or any V3 system will tell you the quality of the VO systems are on par w/OEM.

Besides that, you have a beautiful truck! Not 'cheap' is it? Think of how you'll be kicking yourself in the *** (so will your spouse!) when the middle school-looking science project you got 'cheap' leaves you on the side of the road - while you're on vacation - while its raining - AND you have a tow bill and get raped by the dealership to 'fix' it. (read:uninstall crap components)

Choose carefully!

 

And what make the "quality" of their system so worth the horrific price tag? It is a huge amount to pay for some fancy fuel tank and some little logic controller doing things that you can do with some toggle switches. You are still feeding the same WVO either way through some solenoid valves and a heater of some sort. I could buy all over the counter parts to do it. I am not worried about the system I created..just the long term effects of using WVO in the engine and no system is any better than the other solving the fuel itself. The important things with WVO would be to filter it out good and probably heat it up good to bring the viscosity down. How it gets done and delivered makes no difference.

 

"and probably heat it up good" - That about sums up where you are in the learning curve.

Listen dude, I'm not trying too pee in yer corn flakes here and I hate calling you out! But, what you've described has created nightmares of problems for EVERYONE who has ever tried it. I am confident it will for you too. You've obviously either not taken the time to research your project or simply dismissed all that has been learned before you.

Yeah, good filtering and even more important, adequate de-watering are key, but we've learned alot about oxidative polymerization and have seen a bunch of wrecked engines from insufficiently heated VO.

The fact is, there is not an easy or cheap way to do this. Yes, you can DIY for less than the 'good' systems cost, but if you use the same quality of components and value your time much (design, trips to hardware store, etc), the kits begin to look like quite a bargain. Like I said earlier, a well-designed/built system WILL always save ya $$ in the long run...

Listen, I realize I'm not changing your mind - you've made that clear. I just implore you to wait until your design has 'proven itself' before you encourage others to make the same mistakes. FWIW, it is human nature to defend the decisions you've made - I understand that. The more someone says negative about those decisions the harder you'll work to justify them (largely to yourself).

Best of luck brotha! Just promise me you'll come back and tell us how great its working or PALEEEASE post pics of the carnage! Make sure ya PM me so I don't miss the post!

Thanks in advance!

For anyone interested, the reasons his ideas aren't gonna work are all contained in the documented research posted at www.frybrid.com There are back-ups posted for all the claims made. The VO Theory, Resources and FAQ sections found there contain the most up-to-date info about VO as a fuel on the net. The forums there are also frequented by poor folks who have systems like the one "tab...16" described, who are desperately trying to make them work or just trying to understand why it ruined their engine. Yes, the forum is moderated by a company that builds and sells systems, but most of the regular posters there never bought anything from them and the owner will tell you straight up he doesn't care a bit if ya buy something from him or not...