Quote:
Originally Posted by spinning wheels
A 2 stroke diesel? I'm a bit confused. Is there such a beast?  |
Yes. Detroit Diesel, then a division of GM, made two cycle diesel engines for truck, marine, generator, and all other sorts of uses for fifty-plus years. There were three common "Series", the 53, 71, and 92, which was the displacement of each cylinder. The 71 was the most long lived and prolific they came from 1 to 16 cylinders, 1936 to....present, occasionally (they still do runs of some 71s for rail or fire pumps). 53s were 2,3,4,6V or 8V and went into smaller trucks and refrigeration, gensets and marine. 92s are a bored out 71 and are only 6V,8V, 12V or 16V.
The 6-71 and 8V71 were mainstays of the trucking industry until the mid to late 80s, sales dropped radically and Penske bought Detroit Diesel from GM. They came up with the Series 60 which is four cycle. There are very few two cycle DDs in onroad use any more, mostly buses and fire equipment-a few buses still had 6V92s as late as 2007 or so. Military and rail still buys some new two cycles as do NYC tall buildings (fire pumps) and airport ground service. Not very many. DD is owned by Daimler Benz now and they are transitioning to MBZ based new engines, but they plan to support the two cycle base until roughly 2050. The earliest supported engines will then be 114 years old.
We had a 4-53 IH Travelall (a commercially done conversion bought surplus) for a long time. It slobbered oil and howled but it never broke down. We sold the truck due to extreme rust in the late eighties and the guy who bought it wanted the engine for a road grader. I still have the steering wheel, the rest went to the shredder in St. Louis.
A 4-53 fits in a pickup but not by much. It also weighs a thousand pounds so be advised a front end beef-up is in order. And your neighbors will love you when you fire it up early or late.....