Lloyd Sumpter wrote:

Hi,
This is kinda boating-related. Anybody hear of anyone who's converted
the Venerable GM 4.3L V6 to diesel? I'd like to do that in my van. I don't
see any room for anything other than a V6, and would like diesel.

Lloyd Sumpter
"Far Cove" Catalina 36 - already has diesel


Are you attempting to convert a gas V6 to diesel, or are you replacing
the gas V6 with a diesel one?

Forget trying to convert a gas engine to diesel. Even a full staff of
engineers at GM tried it with the 5.7L in the 80's, and there were all
sorts of trouble. A gas engine block is just not made strong enough to
support the increased stresses that diesel operation will cause.

Now replacing the engine with a diesel is doable, although there will be
some gearing issues to deal with, as the torque curve and max RPM of a
diesel is much different than a gas engine, and the transmission and
differential gears need to be matched to these factors to achieve the
best performance.

Dave