Hello from Tallin!

[Andres]

Hi.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to You!
I am a new guy in this forum and hoping to get some solutions to my problems.
I live in Tallinn, Estonia and have been driving my JEEP Cherokee (Liberty) KJ 2.8CRD 2006-model for about six months. As far as our winters are quite long with snow, ice and not the best roads the 4WD vehicle is often the best to drive. I use my car for driving short distances daily up to 15 miles and the only problem is the fuel consumption in winter 13-14 mpg. I have found some information about the DIESEL/LPG Conversion Kits which should increase the capacity and decrease the fuel consumption of the vehicle. I have been told that the Kits expences could be justified only while mounted to bigger engines with higher daily mileage or pulling heavy loads. Also the use of diesel should be decreased using gas at the same time to get the benefit which is complicated because of common-rail. And now the questions :
Is it so?
Can anyone advise the websites or forums to discuss the pros and cons pragmatically?
Does the increase of capacity for 20-30 % affect on the engine, transmission and gearbox?
Has anyone ever used the Kit on Jeep Cherokee 2.8CRD and what is the opinion?
Who could be the most reliable producer?

Best regards,
Andres

 

[profdlp]

I'm afraid I do not know the answer to any of your questions. Hopefully someone who does will be along soon.

I can say "Welcome", though! :happy160:

 

[Pippobug]

Andres,
I know what you are talking about. Diesel / LPG conversions are used on small Buses in Big Cities to reduce polution, common in Italy, France, Germany, Spain etc... problem/benefits is as following:
Problems:
1) Expense, normally very high, you would be looking at about 3600€ ( or 4800$ US) to do the conversion. You will need to modifiy the Pump and CPU to switch between diesel and LPG and you will need the make sure your engine Heads are up to tyhe job still.
2) Cost V mileage in your case not worth it, 15 miles a day it will take you a life time to recover the cost, but if you where doing 300+miles a day yes
3) LPG tank, you would loose your boot compleatly and also availability in Estonia of LPG (don't know but you can see yourself if out of town it is common). Other option take you tank out and fit it there but then you will need a small tank (20Lt) for emergencies.
4) Don't expect consumptions with LPG to be the same as Diesel, you would on average get 20% less mileage out compared to normal diesel, plus your engine would run colder than normal ( on a Diesel expect 80% on a petrol one about 90%). So not that cost effective for short journies.
5) Your service cost would go up as you would need to change oil & filters more often than usual.
Benefits:
1) LPG in a Diesel engine, your KJ will go faster
2) More kind to the enviroment
3) cost of LPG is lower than Diesel, same money but only is the long run !!!
4) I have forgotten, but not sufficient to be a good reason to do it.

My advise, if you want to go LPG, get a Petrol will cost a third to convert and will run better in the long run. But if you like your CRD, I would look to get it serviced proparly and get it to run better, sounds like it need a good service and also maybe fit a Chip to increaser power&torque and reduce consumption, should cost around 300€ (450$ US) from a good company.
Hope this helps.
Fil.

 

[dude1116]

But if you like your CRD, I would look to get it serviced proparly and get it to run better, sounds like it need a good service and also maybe fit a Chip to increaser power&torque and reduce consumption, should cost around 300€ (450$ US) from a good company.

This. I hear eco-tuning does wonders. With a stock CRD though, that's very poor mileage. You're getting the same mileage as a petrol engine KJ in the winter. You should be getting at least > 20-25 MPG. Get it tuned up and I think that'll solve your problem better than any LPG conversion.

 

[Andres]

Hello!
Thanks for the prompt answers.I must set straight that I do not plan to rebuild the system entirely to LPG but use the so-called dual-fuel system i.e inject gas to the engines´air-take before turbo,ratio diesel/gas 70/30 to 80/20 %.Gas will be injected only while the turbo is on.The kits´(for example POWERSHOT 2000) price is ca 800$ excluding the tank.What is your opinion?
I think that the reasons for the increased fuel consuption can be 1)fuel i.e special diesel for winter,2)engines´ too low working temperature.In winters we used to cover the grills of our simple and foolproof soviet cars in the past.Could it be wise to use the same method nowadays?
The best regards,
Andres

 

[Pippobug]

Andres,
Your option of going dual fuel, so using the additional gas only when required although a good option, I don't thing it's practical. As you know the best results for consumption would be to use LPG and have diesel just to start up and get engine to temperature. To have a mixture for fuels running all the time would cause more problems than benefits in my opinion. Also you are going to be running it in extream conditions of cold, so not the best place to maximise results. Also if I am not wrong winter diesel has Ethanol inside so it doesn't freeze, that on it's own should give a boost to your engine to certain extent. I am still of the opinion to get a good Tuning done to the engine and you should see the results and milage come back quickly. Yes a Thermal blanket would be good to keep the engine running at the correct temperature.
Fil.