David,
Most of the folks that are doing the diesel conversions are also modifying the transmissions to bring down the rpms.  It's not a
good idea (for longevity) to consistently rev a diesel engine. From the research that I have done and the opinions of people who do
this for a living, it's best to cruise a diesel engine at 3400 max. The only way to modify the automatic transmission is to get a
3.73 ring and pinion instead of the 4.06.  Unfortunately these are difficult to find and pricey!  I know, I have almost all the
stuff needed to convert my '89 automatic to a 1.9 Turbo Diesel. Unfortunately for me, I rode in Ben's Tornado Red Subaru at
Busfusion and I might have changed my mind.

Jamie
The Kooky Math Teacher

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of David Kao
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2007 5:14 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: My 1991 Vanagon Carat is getting a new life

--- Robert Campbell <vanagon-rcampbell@USA.NET> wrote:

> Volks,
>
> Well, I'm happy to say that my 1991 Vanagon Carat has been spared any
> disassembly.  The Green Car company (www.greencarco.com) in Kirkland
> Washington is taking my Vanagon and giving it a Diesel engine that
> runs on Bio-Diesel.  The caveat will be that it will run at 65MPH max
> because of the automatic tranny.  But, can you imagine the mileage it
> will get in the future???  The gas-engine current gets a good 18MPG
> for the type of driving I do (a lot of congested highway).
>
> So, I will be signing off of this list as I will be, sadly,
> Vanagon-less for the foreseeable future.
>
> Thanks for all the help, assistance, advice, good jokes, ideas and fun times!!
>  I hope to see ya'll again!  I would definitely not feel right driving
> to a Vanagon meet in my Toyota Corolla :-)
>
> Safe Travels!
>
>    -Robert Campbell

We (who?) should kick you out of the list. But we will allow you to post messages like this:

If I post one you can post one. If I post two you can post two....
But if you put in a Toyota engine you can only post 3 when I post 4.

So, what do you mean it will be limited to 65MPH MAX? Can't you push it harder to get 70? How about if you get a tail wind? I have
always liked the idea of a diesel in my Vanagon too. My brother somehow got a Japanese diesel jeep with steering on the right side.
He has a lot of fun just driving up and down his drive way. I am thinking to steal it someday and put it in my vanagon. I would like
to hear your opinion if this is a good idea.

David

____________________________________________________________________________________
8:00? 8:25? 8:40? Find a flick in no time with the Yahoo! Search movie showtime shortcut.
http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#news