On Wed, 12 Mar 2003, Nock wrote:

> I was very suprised that the internal ratios, as well as the transaxel,
> are the same. Who is to say, you can't run a disiel to 4000 rpm.  The
> converter, is just pass through.

If I had to guess, I'd suspect the torque converter stall speed might be
different for the diesel than for the gasoline engine.  I might be wrong,
though.

A diesel in a 4-speed stock Vanagon can and will run 4000+ rpm on the
highway.  It's noisy, tho. :)  I think the claim that the gearing of the
automatic is too low for a diesel is wrong, since the diesel 4-speed has a
very low final drive ratio.  I'm suspicious that the shift points would be
incorrect, though.  The diesels run out of torque pretty fast at higher
RPMs, and they're rev limited to 4,800 RPM.  Also, isn't the automatic a
three-speed?  Four gears really isn't enough to begin with.  I'd really
hate to drive a diesel with three!

David Brodbeck, N8SRE
'82 Diesel Westfalia
'94 Honda Civic Si