Diesel or Gasoline

[the gorgon]

What are the chances of getting the fuel quality that you pay for?

about as great as it is getting the quantity you pay for.

in other words, next to none.

 

[malko]

I stopped filling up with " premium" diesel a couple of years ago..... in a toyota hilux.
It clogged up the filter just as much as the " regular " does now...... go figure.

 

[chic]

My daughter-in-law now has to replace her 3 yr old Volkswagen Diesel Wagon (paid-for, naturally) due to failure of the timing chain which fouled-up the timing and jammed the intake and exhaust valves and probably blew some holes in the pistons/cylinders. The dealer in Minneapolis has offered her $1000 US for her car...should be worth a LOT MORE than that, but it is totally BROKEN and the only fix is probably a NEW ENGINE. I would avoid the Volkswagen Diesel engines, if I could....

ha designed to go 500k and more with maint....every100k u need a new chain/pump,belts...every 250 rebuild the fuel injector...actually low cost in terms of how many miles per year verses gas oline...

 

[chic]

My daughter-in-law now has to replace her 3 yr old Volkswagen Diesel Wagon (paid-for, naturally) due to failure of the timing chain which fouled-up the timing and jammed the intake and exhaust valves and probably blew some holes in the pistons/cylinders. The dealer in Minneapolis has offered her $1000 US for her car...should be worth a LOT MORE than that, but it is totally BROKEN and the only fix is probably a NEW ENGINE. I would avoid the Volkswagen Diesel engines, if I could....

best to pay for a inspection of motor pistons ???maybe but i wonder....and who is paying warrantee???irate:thats a 18k car running or 15k///lot left

 

[chic]

I stopped filling up with " premium" diesel a couple of years ago..... in a toyota hilux.
It clogged up the filter just as much as the " regular " does now...... go figure.

sorry maybe times are diff but in the past i never had problems w/diesel...fuel...and ima big fan of peugeots..go to the dealer and shop for one...diesel /gas...i prefer dieselll if you have plenty$ trade every 2/3 years and you enjoy a car. in santiago the dealer has a sale once or twice a year...when he does all the diesel cars are sold bingo...of course it is a top of the line world class car...ive had five /7 of themm still have one...and want to rent one when im on vacation in france...a 307cc cdi check out that car...

 

[Commander Ooh La La USN]

actually, the solution to what befell your daughter is to periodically check the condition of your timing belt. the maintenance schedule tells you when to change it. just about every overhead cam engine these days uses a timing belt. the last timing chain i saw was on an old Cosworth FVA motor we used to run in a rally car. the belt has to be changed when it begins to deteriorate, or it will break, and there will be no relationship between camshaft, crankshaft, and valves. things will break, explosively.

Depends on the engine. Some of the VW/Audi blocks use a timing chain, like the 1.9/2.4 and some use a belt like the 1.8/2.0.
I would think a diesel would have a chain instead of a belt.
Ford uses chains on their OHC engines, and Chrysler does also on the 2.0 SOHC, 3.3 V6. Chains make them more reliable for 200k miles-assuming the sprockets are steel made with nylon teeth.

 

[santa110xyz]

wow thanks a lot for the very informative answers!
The issue is i don't want to spend too much on a used car.
This VW Tiguran , 50,000 km was offered for 13,000 US$.
The engine doesn't make strange noise, but i don't know lots of car.
The next choice was a Huyndai Tucson 2013, but it costs 8,000 US$ more....

 

[william webster]

gorgon, time for you to step into the ring.

Maybe this car is car is right for her... maybe not
Maybe you have an alternative in the $15k range

 

[the gorgon]

gorgon, time for you to step into the ring.

Maybe this car is car is right for her... maybe not
Maybe you have an alternative in the $15k range

thanks, ww. i have received a pm, and i will set the OP on the right path.

 

[the gorgon]

Depends on the engine. Some of the VW/Audi blocks use a timing chain, like the 1.9/2.4 and some use a belt like the 1.8/2.0.
I would think a diesel would have a chain instead of a belt.
Ford uses chains on their OHC engines, and Chrysler does also on the 2.0 SOHC, 3.3 V6. Chains make them more reliable for 200k miles-assuming the sprockets are steel made with nylon teeth.

i was not aware that Ford had gone back to chain drive. i know that in the seventies and eighties they had abandoned chain drive, except for the FVA race motors. thanks for the info. i will look up the info on that.

 

[the gorgon]

gorgon, time for you to step into the ring.

Maybe this car is car is right for her... maybe not
Maybe you have an alternative in the $15k range

ww, with 15,000 dollars i can find the OP a wide selection of excellent cars for this country. the MOST important thing to remember is the availability of parts. things will break occasionally, and it is imperative that you can get replacements locally, and not have to get them shipped in from abroad.

 

[Commander Ooh La La USN]

i was not aware that Ford had gone back to chain drive. i know that in the seventies and eighties they had abandoned chain drive, except for the FVA race motors. thanks for the info. i will look up the info on that.

Its all weird. IF the car is a flagship model, a real breadwinner it gets a chain. It is just a normal production car then it gets a belt. Chrysler uses chains for the 3.3(SOHC) & the 3.8(OHV)[the block is the same for both motors just bored differently for the 3.3 with different heads of course]. Then Chrysler used a belt on the 4.0L SOHC WHICH was a Mercedes motor. The 2.4 uses a belt but that is a Mitsubishi motor

Now Ford used a chain on the original GT with the aluminum SOHC 427 that beat Ferrari at the Grand Prix. The original Ford Pintos were OHC engines(I think those Cosworth had that powerplant). The Ford Explorer 4.0 V6 is SOHC but has 3 chains, while the 4.6 has 2 chains.

I think when the durability of the motor is required or the reputation of the model is at stake the engineers go with a chain.
If the previous poster has a VW Rabbit turbodiesel and the belt broke then VW figured that is a loss leader.

Oh and I meant if the sprockets are NOT made with nylon teeth. VW DOES use nylon teeth on their gear assemblies, so it could be a chain that JUMPED and not necessarily broke.
Nylon teeth reduce engine noise on small displacement motors who must achieve their powerband at higher RPMs.

 

[the gorgon]

Its all weird. IF the car is a flagship model, a real breadwinner it gets a chain. It is just a normal production car then it gets a belt. Chrysler uses chains for the 3.3(SOHC) & the 3.8(OHV)[the block is the same for both motors just bored differently for the 3.3 with different heads of course]. Then Chrysler used a belt on the 4.0L SOHC WHICH was a Mercedes motor. The 2.4 uses a belt but that is a Mitsubishi motor

Now Ford used a chain on the original GT with the aluminum SOHC 427 that beat Ferrari at the Grand Prix. The original Ford Pintos were OHC engines(I think those Cosworth had that powerplant). The Ford Explorer 4.0 V6 is SOHC but has 3 chains, while the 4.6 has 2 chains.

I think when the durability of the motor is required or the reputation of the model is at stake the engineers go with a chain.
If the previous poster has a VW Rabbit turbodiesel and the belt broke then VW figured that is a loss leader.

Oh and I meant if the sprockets are NOT made with nylon teeth. VW DOES use nylon teeth on their gear assemblies, so it could be a chain that JUMPED and not necessarily broke.
Nylon teeth reduce engine noise on small displacement motors who must achieve their powerband at higher RPMs.

the original Pinto did in fact have an overhead cam motor, but it was a 2.3 single overhead cam. i don?t think that Cosworth used it, because they were more into the BDA series by the time the Pinto came along, and the BDA was a twin cam, 16 valve motor. and you are so right about the noise of chain drive motors! maybe that is why many manufacturers went to belts, along with the cost savings.

 

[Commander Ooh La La USN]

the original Pinto did in fact have an overhead cam motor, but it was a 2.3 single overhead cam. i don?t think that Cosworth used it, because they were more into the BDA series by the time the Pinto came along, and the BDA was a twin cam, 16 valve motor. and you are so right about the noise of chain drive motors! maybe that is why many manufacturers went to belts, along with the cost savings.

The Pinto also had rack & pinion steering. This assembly is in demand with racers. Very nimble, light & durable.
In DR, I d defer to you guys about Diesel or Gasoline. But I say every maker makes a Serengeti/Sahara/Baja car which I say is a car that is most adaptable, functional and rudimentary.
To me, they are all truckish, SUV or SUV-like to deal with inconsistent DR terrain.
A. Jeep Cherokee Sport/older CJ Wrangler
B. Ford Explorer SportTrac/Ranger
C. Toyota Hilux/4Runner
D. Chevy S10 & Blazer
E. Land Rover Defender
F. VW Arawok/Vanagon Ute

Those are primarily gasoline cars. I have 2 Chevy S10s now and Dodge Grand Caravan. These cars are very easy to fix with your normal Sears tool set.
Guys say get a Toyota because it is what THEY know how to fix but having a car you dont like but own because only everyone else can fix sounds Communist-y to me. Why not get a Trabant or a Lada?

 

[the gorgon]

The Pinto also had rack & pinion steering. This assembly is in demand with racers. Very nimble, light & durable.
In DR, I d defer to you guys about Diesel or Gasoline. But I say every maker makes a Serengeti/Sahara/Baja car which I say is a car that is most adaptable, functional and rudimentary.
To me, they are all truckish, SUV or SUV-like to deal with inconsistent DR terrain.
A. Jeep Cherokee Sport/older CJ Wrangler
B. Ford Explorer SportTrac/Ranger
C. Toyota Hilux/4Runner
D. Chevy S10 & Blazer
E. Land Rover Defender
F. VW Arawok/Vanagon Ute

Those are primarily gasoline cars. I have 2 Chevy S10s now and Dodge Grand Caravan. These cars are very easy to fix with your normal Sears tool set.
Guys say get a Toyota because it is what THEY know how to fix but having a car you dont like but own because only everyone else can fix sounds Communist-y to me. Why not get a Trabant or a Lada?

the fun part about rack and pinion is tou can change the rack to one with a higher ratio, and get low turn ratios. very nice when you are rallying on dirt.

i would stay away from any Land Rover in this country.

 

[beeza]

I'm a high miler here. I travel regularly from POP to PUJ so I have a diesel. I'm currently driving a Mercedes ML280CDI which I simply love. If I drive frugally I can get 9 liters per 100km which translates to 26mpg (US) which is excellent for a vehicle of that size. It doesn't sound like a diesel and pulls like a train when I want it to. It costs 4,500 pesos to fill the tank with premium diesel and that will give me a range of 1000km.

Previous SUV was a V8 Porsche Cayenne which drank fuel like a Dominican drinking cheap rum during Samana Santa!

Previous to that was a Toyota Prado diesel. I regretted selling that to buy the Cayenne! The Prado has got to be the best car for this country in my opinion.

 

[the gorgon]

I'm a high miler here. I travel regularly from POP to PUJ so I have a diesel. I'm currently driving a Mercedes ML280CDI which I simply love. If I drive frugally I can get 9 liters per 100km which translates to 26mpg (US) which is excellent for a vehicle of that size. It doesn't sound like a diesel and pulls like a train when I want it to. It costs 4,500 pesos to fill the tank with premium diesel and that will give me a range of 1000km.

Previous SUV was a V8 Porsche Cayenne which drank fuel like a Dominican drinking cheap rum during Samana Santa!

Previous to that was a Toyota Prado diesel. I regretted selling that to buy the Cayenne! The Prado has got to be the best car for this country in my opinion.

thanks for supporting my assessment of the Prado. without a doubt, the best vehicle for the DR, and any caribbean island for that matter.

 

[beeza]

So you've been pretty happy with the 280? What year is it? I almost bought one a couple of years ago. It popped up right after I bought the Cherokee beater.

It's a 2008. It's a European import from Spain imported by the original Spanish owner. The 280 is the same engine as the 320, just detuned which I think makes it more resilient to the bad fuel here.

I've been told by several sources that the best diesel in the DR is supplied by Sunix or Shell, which both have premium diesel.

 

[beeza]

They are a great truck, that's for sure. I looked at one of those too. Not only are they workhorses, but they have really nice interiors too; lots of creature comfort.

Yeah, I really liked the fridge in the centre console!

 

[beeza]

It really doesn't matter which of the gas stations (not fuel "suppliers") you buy from, it all comes from the same hose at the refinery.

I buy mine from Isla. Same difference.

Since I buy direct from the distributor, I pay 10 pesos a gallon less than the pump price.

I was told that Shell actually refine their products at their own refinery in the DR and maintain the quality control program from Shell worldwide. I they fail the regular quality audits, then they loose the franchise. They are also the only fuel supplier to include additives such as Optimax or V Power.