[oztraveller]

G'day, has anybody thought about fitting an auxiliary fuel tank into/inside the cabin of a Jimny?
Cheers.
Bob

[oztraveller]

G'day has anybody done a diesel conversion for a Sierra or Jimny, pre 2004.
I saw a You-tube of a guy in England who did one in his back yard it was a bit rough but worked.
There is also apparently a diesel version of the SJ410? with a diesel fitted has anyone seen or heard of one?
Cheers.
Bob

[fordem]

There are or were diesel variants of the Samurai (SJ419) & the Jimny (SN415), I don't think they were sold outside of Europe.

Regarding auxiliary fuel tanks in the cabin of a Jimny, it might be a good idea to check local law before proceeding - I personally wouldn't consider it. That said, there are extended range fuel tanks available for the SJ series and the newer JB & JC series that fit under the vehicle.

Generally speaking, I'm not in favor of diesel conversions, diesels generally produce their power at lower rpm than a petrol engine and need to be properly geared to be effective, so if you don't have a wide range of gearing options you end up with an underperforming vehicle, my experience with factory fitted diesels, that are presumably optimally geared, has also not been particularly inspiring, from miserable with naturally aspirated diesels to acceptable with turbo diesels.

[sideways]

oztraveller wrote:

G'day, has anybody thought about fitting an auxiliary fuel tank into/inside the cabin of a Jimny?
Cheers.
Bob

If you were going to do an auxiliary fuel tank I reckon the place for it is behind the back diff where the muffler is. Interior space is already at a premium. I had a 25l jerry can in my jimny on a platform between the seats and drawers. On the Gibb River road we had that and another 20l jerry too. I don't really recommend it but I had them strapped down/double bagged and it got us were we wanted to go. Now that various long range tanks are available I'd totally be fitting one of those.

oztraveller wrote:

G'day has anybody done a diesel conversion for a Sierra or Jimny, pre 2004.
I saw a You-tube of a guy in England who did one in his back yard it was a bit rough but worked.
There is also apparently a diesel version of the SJ410? with a diesel fitted has anyone seen or heard of one?
Cheers.
Bob

Diesel Sierras (called Samurai there) and Jimnys where built in Spain by Santana. The SJs had a Peugeot XUD9 1.9l N/A or turbo engine. They had a unique gearbox casing to adapt the engine. They had unique 3.42 diff gears but otherwise used the same drivetrain and ratios as an ordinary 1.3l sierra. In terms of diesels the peugeot engine is well suited to a Suzuki as it has an aluminium block and is high revving for a diesel (governor is around 5000rpm). We got those XUDs here in peugeots, the problem for us is they're a poor fit in a right hand drive vehicle. The Santana built ones were LHD and only sold in Europe. The XUD is around 70kg heavier than a G13ba. However to go with it you'll also need a bigger battery, radiator ect and the weight adds up.

The diesel Jimnys had a Renault engine. They had a pretty ordinary reputation for reliability issues.

VW TDi swaps have also been done, those motors are very rare here. You might be able to fit one of the more modern common rail VW engines we got here but I'd imagine that would be a conversion with a lot of complexities.

A fair few people fitted the Holden Gemini diesel engine back in the day. They're actually a power downgrade from the G13ba and sheesh, you'd have to be pretty lucky to find one of those engines now. Also I imagine they're a dead end for parts.

There was a mob in England selling XUD adapters for Vitara gearboxes, dunno if they still do. If I was wanting to build a diesel Sierra I'd be looking at using that adapter with the whole vitara gearbox and transfer, probably a modded vitara back diff too. That way you get a stronger drivetrain and that sorts the big problem of the gearing being to low. Still, all that drivetrain upgrade is going to eat right into your gvm.

I'm sure there's some out there, but I'm not aware of anyone running a diesel swapped Sierra on the road in Australia. I know of some on farms and one built for mining exploration. There's quite a few in Europe and USA.

IMO a diesel swap is just to compromised to be viable in a road going Sierra in Australia. The way I see it:

Pros
Increased fuel economy
Increased fuel range
Potentially more power

Cons
Even done the lightest ways you're going to add 100kg+ and it could be a lot more.
Suitable donor motors are uncommon, old and difficult to fit. The parts for those motors will be harder to find too.
How do you drop the gearing so your highway revs are okay for the diesel? 1:1 Jimny transfer swap? Niva transfer swap? Vitara drivetrain conversion? Super huge tyres?
Will that gearing swap mean you have a crappy super tall low range?
You will end up with a lot of custom parts.
Can you get it legal?

I just don't really see the benefit, Suzukis are already pretty good on fuel. With a carbureted G16a on 30" mud tyres I get between 9-13l/100, that high figure is for constant offroad/sand ect. It would take a very long time for the better diesel economy to pay for the conversion cost. We've done a fair bit of remote touring and unleaded is available most places. With a 75l long range tank and a 20l jerry on the back door we have enough range for just about anything outside of The Canning stock route/Beadell tracks, though for insurance sometimes I carry an extra 20l jerry in the cab.

[Gwagensteve]

Like with manual transmissions, there is a fairly heavy legacy that diesel is superior in a 4WD, which I suspect is as old as the launch of the 40 Series with the B & H diesels. Diesels are great but not for the same jobs Suzuki's are great for. You can't make a suzuki great for the jobs a diesel is great for, even if you put a diesel in one. For the sort of 4WDing suzuki's are great at diesel engined 4WD's are pretty poor. Witness all the patrols getting around with thousands of dollars in their TD42's what can't drive up a track a Sierra drives easily.

The #1 reason I hear is "simplicity" which is false for a couple of reasons. Diesels are far more finicky on air and fuel requirements and no regular user pulls a diesel fuel pump apart the make a carburettor look like child's play. Small modern diesels, of the kind that would be more appropriate in a Suzuki are fearsomely mechanically and electronically complex - far more so than a G or M petrol engine.

Also, even if the engine was simpler, driving long distances in remote locations in a car with the completely custom driveline a diesel requires wouldn't give me piece of mind.