To Diesel, or not to Diesel...

[Trevor]

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....

lol, so true. I think its because we are so focused on detail and perfection...er, hmm, maybe not that either  ;D

[Red90]

lol, so true. I think its because we are so focused on detail and perfectioncheap and lazy and cheaper...er, hmm, maybe not that either  ;D

Fixed that for you.

[Trevor]

hahaha

[Already a Rover]

Yes, the engine will come all the way out and be stripped, I didn't mean to imply otherwise.  Old and worn parts on the shopping cart engine will be replaced by new or better  :).  I'm hoping not to have to re-bore and buy new pistons, that's all!  A leak-down test would tell me if valves are the reason for lower compression on the rest of the cylinders, or if it is the bore (I think).  But anyway, I will be going away to Japan for 2 more months, so there is no rush, and no worry with money.  Heck, I'll save at least $400 not putting gas and oil in the thing....

Part of the reason this decision took so long was because I was away, but there is a LOT of contradictory information out there - part fact, part opinion.  I was told early-on, for example, a 2"exhaust would perk the 2.25 up a fair bit and when it didn't, it was because I did not use a magical Rochester carb, which has 10% better flow....  I wanted to wait on the exhaust, but when the manifold went, I thought I would kill two birds with one stone.  I now find-out the guy is heavily-medicated and drinks too much on top of it, so now I am more cautious.

It is hard to sift through it all.  Unfortunately, the first thing I read I tend to believe.  But in this case, that was a lot of negative feedback, such as: "you can't get more power out of a 2.25, leave it as it is" or "the torque will kill your transmission" or "you need a turbo-diesel, buy a Defender."  To be fair, most of the flack was on the Guns and Rovers website, including being told to "grow some balls" when it came to noise-suppression.  To all you guys out there who don't want to upgrade your S2 - fine.  Well-meaning advice, even better.   Otherwise, stop raining on my parade.  Hahahaha. 

I guess there is no reason to expect everyone on the internet to be more discriminating than the Average Joe.... :-\

After ditching the (turbo) diesel idea, various other motors and establishing there is a measure of power to be had in a 2.25, it was just a matter of what I want, and sorting through what works well.  I decided to err on the side of more than less, as I only want to do this once. 

Perhaps in the end the choice was obvious, I don't know.  I don't like paying that much though!  I might have been happy with shaving the stock head and using a 2.5 cam; it was a close-call. 

Jim

[Trevor]

Just an fyiJim, I wasn't thinking of your project specifically....rather I hand in mind the history of projects around these parts.

[Already a Rover]

No-worries, Trevor!  I oscillate between a perfectionist and a hacker.  I have an aversion to measuring for some reason, but otherwise will spend twice as long as I should on a lot of things for that extra 10%.

J