New Ford Diesel Engine

[NewToy]

There is rumor that Nissan is buying those new cummins for their frontier and titan trucks!

wont that be interesting.

That would really put a strain on the supply of Cummins engines. I can't see that happening, but maybe thats why they expanded the plant in Indiana. I would think Daimler would not like that.
John

 

[HGM]

There is rumor that Nissan is buying those new cummins for their frontier and titan trucks!

wont that be interesting.

I actually heard a while back that the 4.5L PowerStroke was looking for a home in the Nissan..Its hard to say what the future will bring, but it should definitly be interesting..

 

[InlineDieselFan]

IDF, Is the 6.7 going to replace the 5.9 for the 2007 model year? I probably should just break down and get an '06 Dodge before they are all gone.
John

That is the way that I understand it, I do not plan on relacing my 03' for quite some time so I have not been following it closley.

Go over to www.turbodieselregister and go to the forums sections, you will find more Dodge Cummins stuff than you know what to do with.

Or you can do as QTRHRS said and wait a few years, to make sure there are not too many problems.

steve

 

[hilld]

The only problem with Diesels right now is the cost of fuel. Just a recent as 2 years ago (in Oregon), Diesel used to be cheaper than gas (all grades), but hasn't lately. The thing you read in the news is supply and demand causing the prices going up, when will the supply of Diesel be increased to meet the higher demand, or is this just a way to keep the prices artificially higher than they need to be. Right now heating oil is being blamed for the recent run-up (50 cents in the last 2 weeks).



Derek

 

[Doc_Bob]

The thing you read in the news is supply and demand causing the prices going up, when will the supply of Diesel be increased to meet the higher demand, or is this just a way to keep the prices artificially higher than they need to be. Right now heating oil is being blamed for the recent run-up (50 cents in the last 2 weeks).

I will defer to the experts on oil. My understanding is that in a barrel of crude, the amount of diesel and other products is relatively fixed. By this I mean, you can't crack the whole barrel into just diesel or gasoline or JP8.
Bob

 

[_RaT_]

The only problem with Diesels right now is the cost of fuel. Just a recent as 2 years ago (in Oregon), Diesel used to be cheaper than gas (all grades), but hasn't lately. The thing you read in the news is supply and demand causing the prices going up, when will the supply of Diesel be increased to meet the higher demand, or is this just a way to keep the prices artificially higher than they need to be. Right now heating oil is being blamed for the recent run-up (50 cents in the last 2 weeks).



Derek

So this heating oil thing is kind of a East Coast type I take as I don't even know what heating oil is. Diesel is high enough that you really have to have a need for a large diesel pickup. I don't need one anymore and want to get rid of my diesel and find a nice compact truck. A small diesel with great fuel economy would be great, I don't even need much power. A Toyota Tacoma with a straight 4 or V6 diesel would be superb.

 

[Shimon]

Right now heating oil is being blamed for the recent run-up (50 cents in the last 2 weeks).
Derek

I never understood the "heating oil" excuse you hear every winter. As far as I know, winter usually comes around about the same time every year. So I would think the oil companies would ramp up production a little to meet the heating oil needs. They always make it sound like the oil companies were caught off guard by winter and now there isn't enough diesel around to satisfy the heating oil users and the road diesel users.

Maybe someone needs to buy the Exxon CEO a calender with the first day of winter clearly marked.

 

[NewToy]

Do they still make oil fired furnaces? I can't understand why anyone would even consider buying one when you can opt for several more economical options.

 

[_RaT_]

I never understood the "heating oil" excuse you hear every winter. As far as I know, winter usually comes around about the same time every year. So I would think the oil companies would ramp up production a little to meet the heating oil needs. They always make it sound like the oil companies were caught off guard by winter and now there isn't enough diesel around to satisfy the heating oil users and the road diesel users.

Maybe someone needs to buy the Exxon CEO a calender with the first day of winter clearly marked.

I don't know, but consider our population went from 200 million to 300 million since what was it, about 1960 something, is expected to go to 400 million in an even shorter period of time and yet not a single new refinery has been built or is being planned to be built. Throw into that the corresponding increase in autos, toys and personal human demand for even more comfort and ease and I think the refineries are probably passing more crude through then ever before. As was explained to me, the money is in the crude, not the cracking. That plus the fact that the public may want more refineries provide it "ain't in my backyard" as refineries do indeed stink. A new refinery would cost many, many billions of dollars if you could get one through the impact studies. This anyway is what I have been hearing. Now would be a great time to come up with a superior alternative to oil for so many of our needs. How about nuclear generated electricity? Its one area where I think the French have us beat hands down.. (as much as I hate to admit it )

 

[IslandTractor]

Do they still make oil fired furnaces? I can't understand why anyone would even consider buying one when you can opt for several more economical options.

Well, for starters, not all homes/streets have natural gas available. The other alternatives: electric, wood, coal, solar are either more expensive or more hassle than a lot of people want to deal with. Electric might still make sense in the South, but not past the Mason Dixon line. Propane is simply uncommon in the urban/suburban areas that dominate the east coast. Propane is popular in more rural areas up here though.

While in NE gas has been generally cheaper over the past couple of decades, there were some price bumps in the past year or two that made regular home fuel oil cheaper. If the price is even close, the costs of conversion can sometimes sway folks from switching too (though there are incentives). Another reason is the over hyped fear of gas explosions. We get treated to houses blowing up on TV at least once a year and no one ever sees an oil tank explode.

Basically, I'd say the reason people still heat with oil is inertia but there are other reasons too.

 

[DieselPower]

I will defer to the experts on oil. My understanding is that in a barrel of crude, the amount of diesel and other products is relatively fixed. By this I mean, you can't crack the whole barrel into just diesel or gasoline or JP8.
Bob

This is very true. There is only so much diesel, gas, naptha, base oil stock, etc... than can be refined out of a barrel of crude oil. Light fuels are one of the first thing's to come off of crude oil in the refining process. If I remember correctly there is approximately 7 gallons of diesel fuel produced from each 42-gallon barrel of crude oil.

As for heating a home with oil I do. Had a house extenssion put on 2 years ago and had a new oil furnace installed. It was and still is the most economical thing to use. I only use about 600 gallons of fuel in one heating season. Electric heat would cost me 5 times or more to heat with. Natural Gas, don't have any around me. Heat pump, yeah, right. Solar power, maybe in 20 years or so when the price of solar panels come down. So for now it's oil heat.

 

[SkyPup]

Actually, you can get way way more diesel fuel out of a barrel of oil than seven gallons, but then you have to distill the barrel oil primarily for diesel production, with gasoline as a side product, as they do in Europe.

Unfortunately, here in the USA diesel production is primarily a side prouduct of gasoline production which leads to a much much lower diesel cut. Also, since the Europeans refine primarily for diesel, they are able to ship their main waste product, gasoline, over here.

 

[_RaT_]

Actually, you can get way way more diesel fuel out of a barrel of oil than seven gallons, but then you have to distill the barrel oil primarily for diesel production, with gasoline as a side product, as they do in Europe.

Unfortunately, here in the USA diesel production is primarily a side prouduct of gasoline production which leads to a much much lower diesel cut. Also, since the Europeans refine primarily for diesel, they are able to ship their main waste product, gasoline, over here.

I thought I read that we produce more diesel here then gasoline. Seems incredible, I don't recall the source. We tax diesel more heavily then gasoline here in the US and in Europe I understand it is just the opposite. Not sure why a government directs you one way or the other but then, there are tax credits that modify behavior for most everything.

 

[SkyPup]

Over 55% of all new passenger cars in Europe are turbodiesels.

They refine straight-cut diesel from crude with much higher yields per barrel than here, then ship the waste gasoline they don't need for sale over here. That is one of the reasons gas prices here have been falling, due to excess refined gasoline on the European marketwhich they can't use being shipped over here. Of course, in their socialist way, they tax the daylights out of most everything possible.....

 

[NewToy]

Actually, you can get way way more diesel fuel out of a barrel of oil than seven gallons, but then you have to distill the barrel oil primarily for diesel production, with gasoline as a side product, as they do in Europe.

Unfortunately, here in the USA diesel production is primarily a side prouduct of gasoline production which leads to a much much lower diesel cut. Also, since the Europeans refine primarily for diesel, they are able to ship their main waste product, gasoline, over here.

How much diesel do they get per bbl with the European process? I have a hard time wrapping my brain around that. It seems there would be only so much of each constituent in a barrel.

 

[SkyPup]

Nope, it depends on which constituents you wish to isolate and enhance. They get 4-5 times as many gallons of diesel out of a barrel of oil when it is refined primarily for diesel production, and less than 1/2 the amount of gasoline running it straight cut and cracking the aromatics. Gasoline then becomes a waste product of diesel production....the opposite of the way it is setup here in the USA.

 

[QRTRHRS]

I hang on to my 97' Dodge dually because I need it for hauling farm supplies home on occasion. Honestly though, I mostly just use it to get back and forth to my paying job. At 190k, it does not owe me much I figure.

I would think twice about buying a new diesel and then use it for commuting or shopping trips. But then if you have deep pockets then that is your choice.

I do think there is a good future for light truck diesels if the price over a gas engine is not the 6k or so that I am familiar with.

I had a 79' Toyota pickup with a non turbo diesel. Being non turbo, it was a real slug but I got 40mpg with it. I sold it at around 110k to someone else who was still running it at 200+k miles.

 

[_RaT_]

I hang on to my 97' Dodge dually because I need it for hauling farm supplies home on occasion. Honestly though, I mostly just use it to get back and forth to my paying job. At 190k, it does not owe me much I figure.

I would think twice about buying a new diesel and then use it for commuting or shopping trips. But then if you have deep pockets then that is your choice.

I do think there is a good future for light truck diesels if the price over a gas engine is not the 6k or so that I am familiar with.

I had a 79' Toyota pickup with a non turbo diesel. Being non turbo, it was a real slug but I got 40mpg with it. I sold it at around 110k to someone else who was still running it at 200+k miles.

Thats what I would love to see, a truck like the Toyota you mention but with a modern high efficiency, quiet, clean burning diesel. I surely would think the market to be huge. I don't personally care for tons of power just an easy to use mini truck with great economy.

 

[Shimon]

Thats what I would love to see, a truck like the Toyota you mention but with a modern high efficiency, quiet, clean burning diesel. I surely would think the market to be huge. I don't personally care for tons of power just an easy to use mini truck with great economy.

I agree...but unfortunately, Ford/Chevy/Dodge are mired in a HP race to see who can make their engine blow-up first.

There would be a good market for a Ranger size PU with a fuel efficient diesel. I liked the Jeep Liberty diesel when it came out and considered getting one until they discontinued its run.

With the new, quieter, cleaner burning CRD engines coming out...the only thing left for diesel to make its mark in this country with the average joe is for diesel price to get more competitive.

 

[QueBota]

I was in AutoZone the other day picking up an air filter for my 7.3 PowerStroke and was talking to the manager about the new twin turbo engine that is replacing the lame 6.0 debacle. I was under the impression that the new engine was going to be manufactured by International but he was quite sure it is a Cummings. Anyone have any skinny on this?

John

Powerstroke 6.4 maintainence link:

superduty

Dave