1981 2.2 Diesel Oaklander

[guitarlover519]

Hey everyone! Taking the mini home out for the first long trip and am a bit unsure of how to drive her. Should I be keeping the rpms up while cruising?

It's quite the dog with the 5 speed, it seems as if the 5th speed is nearly worthless. Will bogging the engine damage anything?

Should I install a tach?

[zero]

Hey everyone! Taking the mini home out for the first long trip and am a bit unsure of how to drive her. Should I be keeping the rpms up while cruising?

It's quite the dog with the 5 speed, it seems as if the 5th speed is nearly worthless. Will bogging the engine damage anything?

Should I install a tach?

Are you talking about the gasser in your ID that shows a four speed, or a 2.2 diesel as in the post title? If a diesel - it is worse to lug it as compared to a gas engine. If the diesel is lugged and you push on the "gas" pedal - and it starts blowing black smoke . . the exhaust ports overheat and can crack if you keep doing it. No way to know when it's overheating at the ports unless you've got a exhaust port temp gauge (pyrometer). If you are not experienced with driving a naturally aspirated diesel - the pyrometer will be more useful than a tach. If you ARE experienced - you might know the "smell" of ports that are too hot. Simple answer is - do not lug it. If you see a lot of black smoke - back off the pedal and/or downshift. Who ever came up with the idea to put that anemic NA diesel in an RV was nuts! Winnebago did the same goof with the early diesel LeSharos. After many got blown up from lugging - they added a turbocharger - and then . . gave up. The 2 liter Winnebago Lesharos and Phasars weigh around the same as the 21 foot Toyotas and at least Winnebago had the smarts to only put in 4 speed transmissions.

[zero]

If you are not experienced with diesels - you might find this article of interest. Banks Engineering wrote it and obviously they want to sell something. Still - what they say is accurate. I've had to repair many diesels with cracked heads and melted pistons from lugging and overheated exhaust. I'm not saying you need a pyro gauge. But you asked about the effects of lugging as compared to a gas engine and thus I'm posting this excerpt. I think Banks is way overpriced but they DO make some good stuff.

Strangely enough, no diesel pickups or motorhomes come equipped with a pyrometer as standard equipment to monitor EGT (exhaust gas temp). During normal operation of such vehicles, EGTs usually stay within safe limits, but situations can occur where the EGT gets too high, doing serious engine damage without any warning to the driver. A pyrometer that displays a diesel's EGT can warn the driver of dangerous conditions before such damage occurs

A pyrometer is a temperature gauge designed to measure high temperatures above those measurable with an ordinary thermometer. It consists of a temperature-sensing probe (thermocouple) that is placed in the area, or flow, to be measured. The probe is connected to a gauge, which is located a safe distance away from the high temperature source. On a diesel, this means the pyrometer sensing probe is mounted in the exhaust manifold or immediately after the turbine outlet of the turbocharger (if equipped), and the gauge is mounted in the driver's compartment. The purpose is to measure and display EGT in degrees Fahrenheit (F.).

Excessive EGT, if sustained, will damage the pistons. Such damage can include piston deformation, melting, burning, holes, cracking, etc. This damage is cumulative, so if you slightly burn a piston top, the engine may continue to run without problems, but the next time you run excessive EGT more damage may be done, and so on, until failure occurs. Piston failure can be catastrophic. At a minimum, an engine overhaul will be required, and that too is expensive. Excessive EGT can also cause exhaust manifold and cylinder head cracking. Exhaust valves can fail from high EGT as well. Among the first engine parts to suffer damage will be those made of aluminum since aluminum has a lower softening and melting temperature than steel or cast iron. Diesel pistons are aluminum, and a growing number of diesels also use aluminum cylinder heads.

As we pointed out earlier, high EGTs are the result of too much fuel for the available air. If you see EGTs climbing over 1300º F., the fastest way to reduce the amount of fuel going to the engine is to back off the accelerator pedal. Another possible solution is to downshift if your speed permits it. For example, while the engine might be capable of producing enough power to pull the load in fifth gear at high EGTs, running in fourth gear at lower EGTs is definitely easier on the engine as long as the engine's RPM red line is not exceeded.

Excessively high EGTs mean over-fueling, so "driving by the pyrometer" to keep EGTs in the safe zone can actually improve fuel economy. Some drivers swear by this procedure. This is true even when the EGT are below the danger point.

http://www.bankspower.com/techarticles/show/25-why-egt-is-important

[guitarlover519]

Thanks brother,

thats just the information i was looking for.... i was getting mixed responses on the lower RPMS. I am going to look into installing a pyrometer and will probably not be using the 5th gear anymore

[zero]

Thanks brother,

thats just the information i was looking for.... i was getting mixed responses on the lower RPMS. I am going to look into installing a pyrometer and will probably not be using the 5th gear anymore

It's too bad you've got a 5th gear and can't use it. With that diesel and a 5 speed - it should of had a 5.29 rear instead of a 4.10 (I assume you've got a 4.10). The way your truck is now - with 185R-14C tires - it's going to rev 3000 RPM in 4th while doing 55 MPH. If you had a 5.29 rear - you could be in 5th spinning 3000 RPM and be doing 55 MPH. 4th @ 3000 RPM would be 43 MPH. Much nicer range. I'm not suggesting you do it. I can't see it being worth the work and expense. I've got a 1985 Isuzu 4WD mini-truck with a 2.2 diesel. No camper. Just a truck with a fairly heavy custom rear bed. It can barely do 55 MPH in 4th on a flat road with the 3.42 ratio axles.

About the lugging question and overheating exhaust ports. If nobody has ever turned up the fuel delivery in it - and you're careful - you can live without a pyrometer unless you drive a lot at high altitudes. Problem is - NA diesels are often so underpowered- people turn the pumps up trying to get more power. That makes them heat up very fast when lugging. The clue to that is huge amounts of black smoke pouring out the exhaust. Even if the pump is at the safer stock setting - you get the same effect if you drive at high elevations. Less air - means too much fuel. That's why "altitude compensators" , AKA "turbochargers" were first used.

My son got my 1987 diesel Chevy Suburban from me in New York. 1500 foot elevation. Had 400K miles on it and ran fine. He had it in Colorado for two weeks at 6000 feet and cracked both cylinder heads after pushing on the pedal trying to climb hills. After buying new heads and head-gaskets - he later found out he could not pass the Denver-area "smoke" inspection without adding a turbocharger. He lucked out and found an entire Banks turbo setup for $150 at a junkyard.

[guitarlover519]

Well ill be keeping her out of the rockies then this summer. Do you think the Appalachians would be doable if i stayed in a lower gear???

It doesnt smoke very much at all, it does smoke a bit in 5th gear though. I took a test drive after reading your post and really watched and it seems to be burning most the fuel unless i really get on it.

4th and 55 just sounds like its revving pretty high, do you know what the redline is on the 2.2?

[zero]

Well ill be keeping her out of the rockies then this summer. Do you think the Appalachians would be doable if i stayed in a lower gear???

It doesnt smoke very much at all, it does smoke a bit in 5th gear though. I took a test drive after reading your post and really watched and it seems to be burning most the fuel unless i really get on it.

4th and 55 just sounds like its revving pretty high, do you know what the redline is on the 2.2?

It doesn't have a "red line" like a gas engine because top speed is limited with a centrifugal governor inside the injection pump. Pump is set at 2100 RPM which puts the top engine speed at 4200 RPM. From what you're saying (not much smoke) - sounds like no one has messed with the pump and it's at factory specs. The real test is when you're climbing a hill and pushing on that pedal. About the Appalachians? I guess it depends on which part. Technically I live in the Appalachians in New York. I would suspect you can go anywhere as long as you take your time and don't push it. That being said - I was driving my diesel camper last year up the very steep road to Whiteface Mountain in New York (4900 feet high). Half way up I had to pull over and let the engine idle for awhile to cool down the cylinder heads. That's a GM 6.2 diesel V8 though - not a 2.2 Toyota. 6.2s are known for heat problems.