Sounds good to me bro. At the end of it Inshallah you will have a solid ride. Just make sure you know what petrol engine to get. Yesterday I almost bought a 2F engine, good thing I did some research first. Turns out that my 3B is better on fuel consumption than a 2F. I spoke with some fellow PW friends...one owns a 3F running on CNG/Petrol on the same Cruiser. The other was running a 2F on a FJ40. Both said that unless you plan on putting 2 cylinders of CNG(which would cost you another Rs.80k) there is no point if you are trying to improve fuel efficiency via engine swap. Here are some more pros/cons of diesel engines vs petrol engines:
- A diesel engine is more easily turbocharged than a petrol engine. A petrol engine cannot be easily turbocharged due to the fact that if the compression ratio and the pressure in the cylinder is to high during the inlet stroke, the mixture starts to burn to soon, while the piston is on its way up. The diesel engine has no fuel in the cylinder, thus letting the turbocharger suck as much air as it can without creating any problems. (A turbo charger is a simple air compressor which compresses air in the combustion chamber for burning). Some diesel engines also have an intercooler which helps in blowing cold and oxygen rich air in the combustion chamber.
- Electronic engine management not necessary in diesel engines. Some modern diesel engines are gaining electronically controlled injection pumps, but the vast majority of them out there have purely mechanical pumps. In fact no electricity is required to make a diesel engine run, except for a simple fuel cut off solenoid so that you can switch the thing off! If your alternator stops working, then you’re gonna get home in a diesel. This also means that a diesel engine does not have any ignition breakers, ignition coils, distributors and ignition wires to go bad. So a diesel engine should start no matter if it is dry or rainy or wet.
- Petrol destroys lubrication and burns the engine whereas diesel doesnt. So a diesel engine would last longer than a petrol engine.
- Petrol engines are lighter than diesel engines.
- Diesel engines have higher torque than petrol engines. What does this mean? Well, this means that a diesel engine would pull heavy loads easily than a petrol engine. Though the pickup of a petrol engine would be much more than that of a diesel engine, the diesel engine would be steady and carry heavier loads to longer distances.
- Diesel engines have better fuel efficiency as compared to petrol due to the fact that they have higher compression ratio.
- Diesel engines dont need an ignition system, which reduces their complexity. But they are more noisy and may require frequent maintenance as compared to petrol engines. Also they are more durable.
- Diesel engines may also need glow plugs in extreme cold conditions which heat up the cylinder so that a cold engine can start easily.
- And now the most important part, fuel economy. Diesel wins in both ways. So running on diesel would make you go farther at a lower cost than running on petrol.
Btw, you should know that the 3B engine, is often nicked named 'bullet proof engine' because it will never die on you. Even if there is a problem, it will make sure you get to your destination before it requires attention.
In the end, I myself have decided to stick with my 3B. Yes petrol engines are more exciting in terms of speed and require less maintenance when it comes to oil changes too, but diesel is more sturdy and practical. The only problem is that fuel prices are now insane! You should read the threads of people like Kamran(machine) and Noman bhai(noman8ffff). If you get a 2F or 3F, these two guys can really help you out.
I hope all this helps. Good luck with your purchase and project, do make a thread of it on PW so all can see and share.
