To Diesel, or not to Diesel...

[Already a Rover]

Hi - if I was home, I would have that gas engine rebuilt by now and be happy with it, but I'm learning a lot.  Thanks (you know who you are, I hope).

I've even considered the Mercedes 617 5 speed diesel conversion....  One think I HAVE decided on is it would be much better to get SOME engine and rebuild it, then swap into mine, so I can still go fishing.  Somebody 'give' me an engine!! 

Is there a place in town called The Rover Store?

Gawd, I don't want more noise than I already have though - diesels really that noisy? 

(Anybody know anything about drilling oil wells??  We have drilled < 200m in a month.)

I think I'm turning Japanese (humming...)

Jim

[Trevor]

(Anybody know anything about drilling oil wells??  We have drilled < 200m in a month.)



Jim

Did they forget to put the drill bit on?  ;D

[Red90]

My guess is the drilling crew is enjoying the free trip to Japan.

[Rambler]

(Anybody know anything about drilling oil wells??  We have drilled < 200m in a month.)


Jim

Hi Jim,
If you need a geologist, give me a shout!  Not sure I can help with the engine though..
Ian

[Matt H]

Yes, old diesels are really noisy.
Merc 617 is not a particularly fantastic either. They are long lasting but that's about all I can say that's good about them.

[Already a Rover]

No, they used a bit.  Good question though.  We are drilling solid quartz (chert?), things are breaking-down, and - yes - nobody is in a hurry over here; they take an HOUR for lunch, and two coffee breaks.  Oh, and an hour for crew-change 2x/day.  All you get for a lunch-break in Canada is you get to take one glove off.  Bits last 25 hours.  And did I mention things are breaking-down? 

Part of that month was a 10-day Casing Break.  Caught some Japanese Trout!  Yes, they really are called "Iwana" trout - tiny, kinda like a Golden Trout (see pics) and there are others I didn't get a chance to catch, they closed the season on me!

But I digress, badly.

How-about a 2.5 bottom-lump with a 2.25 petrol head?  Heck, maybe that would give me a 21-1 compression gas-bomb.  Or is there a 2.5 petrol head?  A nice, simple diesel with a turbo (and intercooler - that would fix it right, Red?) would be awesome, but gas is just fine too. 

I'm making the cash while I'm away, so I should ask - haven't read much about rebuilding transmissions (or swapping) anyone got a good link to that?  I've been hesitating to ask, but there it is - a big can of worms. 

Jim

[Rambler]

Yep, Chert is microcrystalline quartz.  Pretty compact and hard.  But drills are (or should be) made of harder stuff - garnet or corundum would just about do or better still diamond, but depends on the quality I suppose and how they are mounted on the cutting face of the bits.  Wouldn't think the chert horizons would be very thick.  Best of luck in getting through to a more manageable lithology to speed up the ROP.

Thanks for the insight into local drilling culture and the fishing!

Cheers, Ian

[Trevor]

No, they used a bit.  Good question though.  We are drilling solid quartz (chert?), things are breaking-down, and - yes - nobody is in a hurry over here; they take an HOUR for lunch, and two coffee breaks.  Oh, and an hour for crew-change 2x/day.  All you get for a lunch-break in Canada is you get to take one glove off.  Bits last 25 hours.  And did I mention things are breaking-down? 

25 hours out of a bit....ouch, that makes for a lot of pipe tripping. I did get a giggle out of the lunch and coffee breaks though. Its been many decades since I've been on a rig, but it was very much as you say....wolf down a sandwich hopefully somewhere warm (or in the summer, somewhere where the flies wouldn't eat half of it first). Then its right back at it.

[binch]

Yeah, back in the day when work site safety  was a foreign concept and the rig boss would get bonuses for 'not having any accidents'.    Like the one incident where the rig boss threatened the worker when he wanted to be taken to the hospital with a crushed foot after a drill pipe came down on it.   Yeah...those were the days  ::)

[Already a Rover]

I thought there might be a few ex-rig-workers out there.

Not sure it IS chert, there is so much of it.  Looks a little bigger than micro-crystalline quartz and doesn't have the fractures and sharp edges, so I would say just quartz - some white, some gray/black.  Some larger crystals.  Yeah, I carry a lupe.  Looks like some banding here and there, which has me puzzled.  I think there is a Geo coming, hope he speaks English.... 

This is a geo-thermal well, btw - drilling for STEAM!  I guess they can produce for 10, 20, 30 years.

Yeah, the 'no-accident' bonuses were like $75 a day or something like that.

Anybody tell me where I can find a 2.25 to rebuild then? 

Jim

[redgoat]

for my 2.25l i put on a 8:1 head, 2" headers and exhaust, and with the overdrive the old goat pulls quite nicely on the highway at 60-70mph.

The gas engine is loud but the diesel would be far worse.

[Already a Rover]

Hi - sorry not to get to this earlier.

Nice to hear, RedGoat!  What head did you use, or did you just shave your own? 

Same (old) cam? 

There are some nice upgrades available, but PRICEY!  Just a gas-flowed head will be $1,000!!  And the ACR 4-1 header is about the same, but I already have the 2" exhaust....  Where to stop?  Why not 9-1??

I really don't want the truck to be FAST, but then there are guys like Red90 who say after upgrading to a gas-flowed head and performance cam the results were disappointing.

Jim

[Already a Rover]

Hi.  I guess everybody has already had their say.  S*** or get off the pot? 

Well after endless reading and almost unanimous testimonials as to the effect, I'm rebuilding my 2.25 with a 9-1 head from ACR and their cam.  I think with shipping it will be almost $2,000, in case anyone else is pondering such folly. 

I think I mentioned somewhere compression in #3 is zero-ish, so hopefully that is simple-enough to fix, but we will see. 

Thanks so much everyone for your input and patience in explaining the ins-and-outs as you see them.  I considered everything offered and really wanted a diesel, but then I should just get a Defender....

I'm still thinking I will do the TBI (as long as my friend who is going to do the machining is not too busy) just-because, but probably not until the spring as I have another project on the boil.

Jim

Jim

[ugly_90]

Jim,

This has been about the longest engine decision in history. I would be extremely surprised if only one problem bore was trouble, and your other bores and rings were as new.

Seems you need the attention of a full rebuild, and there is no shortcut from that. A higher compression performance head on a 2.25 petrol is like having racing tires on a shopping cart. Yes, it is folly.

Even from this far away, without seeing the engine, and only going from what you describe, the minimum you need for this job is removal of your engine, disassembly to block, measurement of existing bores and/or resleeve or oversize pistons, including new rings, replacement of every wear component with new, and rebuild of the engine.

There are no shortcuts to the job, and the NA diesel option is no better, as most of the used ones have simmilar problems to yours.

So, I don't see any decisionmaking on this one, unlike, say, which set of tires to buy.

[Red90]

This has been about the longest engine decision in history.

Actually pretty fast in this community.  The average truck rebuild time is ten years in Alberta....