[alabjarus]

May be it will sound like a dumb question, pardon my ignorance. But with sky rocketing petrol prices, is it technically possible to convert a petrol car to diesel car, provided legally if it is allowed.

Its not a dumb question for sure. Considering the way petrol is being victimized in the name of coalition politics, its only fair that this thought crosses ones mind. And coming to think of it, if a sex change is common place, why not an engine change..! After all it cant be anymore complex.

I guess the answer lies in the fact that its not worth the effort and pain, and there are better options out there, like CNG/LPG conversion or even getting oneself a lower priced diesel car, like Chevy Beat.

There was a time when Petrol to Diesel conversion was the norm, many Amby's in Kerala used to get that done in Coimbatore or elsewhere, but that was when economical petrols were still in the drawing board, and M800 was dressing up in the back stage.

Time has since moved, with technology enhancement enabling more economical cars...but of course, technology did not see it competing against coalition politics and the associated dynamics, and hence lost out...!

[mayankjha1806]

Technically possible but too much of a pain and not worth the time.

One should remember its not just the engine, the other body parts are also different as Diesels are heavy and shake more. If just engine is replaced it will be maintenance nightmare later on.

So with the time+money spent on this conversion, it aint worth it. Better sell the petrol car and buy a Diesel one.

[LonelyPlanet]

Yes it is possible - just trade your car at the nearest dealer

[dhanushs]

As long as its done as a hobby, its fine and possible.

Practicality wise, a big NO.

Cost, Time, Effort, Reliability, Legal Hassles are all highly unfavorable.

Eg: For a Swift Diesel 1.3 DDiS mill, GB and clutch alone will cost you in upwards of ~2 lacs. ECU, Harness and rest of the small parts will take the total to well above ~3lacs.

I believe an immaculately used Swift DDiS can be bought for ~5 lacs?

[Zen2001]

Originally Posted by alabjarus

Its not a dumb question for sure. Considering the way petrol is being victimized in the name of coalition politics, its only fair that this thought crosses ones mind. And coming to think of it, if a sex change is common place, why not an engine change..! After all it cant be anymore complex.

The question is not dumb, but your answer definitely is!!
I don't know from where you got the idea that a sex change is a "common" thing, leave alone it being LESS complex than an engine change! You take the cake, man! Whether you like it or not, you WILL have to believe it, as I'm saying this as a surgeon.[unless you are one yourself and claim to have done this process successfully even with your wrong hand!]

Originally Posted by alabjarus

I guess the answer lies in the fact that its not worth the effort and pain, and there are better options out there, like CNG/LPG conversion or even getting oneself a lower priced diesel car, like Chevy Beat.

Finally sense prevails!

[alabjarus]

Originally Posted by Zen2001

The question is not dumb, but your answer definitely is!!
I don't know from where you got the idea that a sex change is a "common" thing, leave alone it being LESS complex than an engine change! You take the cake, man! Whether you like it or not, you WILL have to believe it, as I'm saying this as a surgeon.[unless you are one yourself and claim to have done this process successfully even with your wrong hand!

Doc - my statement was about drawing a parallel, an analogy, to engine change and you seem to be reading too much into it.

My point was not about complexity of sex change our otherwise, I am perhaps the last person to make a statement on that. About it being common place, its no more raises eye brows...period.

[sureshshanmugam]

Hi,

Your question reminds me on the petrol to diesel conversion we did about 15 years back on the Ambassadors. We changed the petrol engine to the diesel isuzu engine that we bought from the used engine importers in Cochin. This was interesting in those days as we changed the engine to diesel Isuzu maried with a Contessa Classic 5 speed gearbox and used a air filter from Tata 407. All these were possible as we did not have much diesel factory produced options in those days except for the Contessa Diesel and Ambassador Diesel that came with the HM Trekker Engine(not sure of its name, but we called it so). Labour and spares were not so expensive those days and we had time to spend at the garage from setting-up engine bed to mounting the engine, making custom brackets etc..,. But now having so many options for diesel cars, It is not worth the pain and time spent on such an update.

This trend of changing from petrol to diesel has become history now. Few Maruthi 1000 cars were fitted with Toyota and Diatsu Engines, even those were not that successsful as the chasis couldnt hold the engine weight and we had suspension issues. I personally worked on fitting a Toyota engine on a Premier 118 NE, though it was interesting, now it is not worth the pain.

Considering the cool features and reliability on cars of this generation, I would say a big NO for this conversion. Rather as others suggest, it is better to trade-in your car and buy diesel car which will give you peace of mind on the road.

Happy Motoring.