LPG conversion

[dodgie]

Hi,new member here,the rising cost of fuel over here for my 99 pickup 4x4 is making me start to thinK about fully converting the truck to LPG FULL TIME.can someone tell me if doing this will mess up the o2 censors or have any other detrimental effects. cheers

[neon_rt]

To my knowledge, there is no EPA legal kit that you can use to convert to LPG.
So any conversion that you may do would be in violation of FED emission laws.
If you have inspections, you would not pass
That said, there is a company that sells kits,
http://www.gotpropane.com/
You would have to bypass the main engine control computer and provide your own ignition system probably. If you do the work yourself, it shouldn't run you any more than $1200 - $1500 to convert.
You still have that emission law problem though. The resale value of your truck would fall to $0 b/c no one would want to get stuck putting things back to factory original if they had to have inspection.
Another issue comes up that engine that are built to burn gas are tuned to burn 87 octane fuel. Propane is 110 octane and requires much more compression and differnt ignition timing to be efficient. Changing to propane without changing the tuning of the engine, results in poor power and mileage.
To do the project right, the engine needs 11:1 compression to start with.

[imtheoneandonlyD]

Gas has gone down 50 cents in the past few weeks around me.

[dodgie]

Hi guys thanks for the quick reply,when i mentioned 'over here' in my 1st question i was referring to New Zealand , we don`t have the same emission controls as you do in the states,large numbers of vehicles run with LPG here,taxis,couriers etc, all late model .I will definitely have to do alot more investigation into it,will post updates,gas here is $ 1.70 nz dollar per litre for high octane at the moment. cheers

[neon_rt]

I am in the process of researching conversion of my '83 Rampage to propane. I intend on getting a Turbo 1 system off of a '84 Turbo Daytona and putting on the 2.2l in my Rampage (direct bolt up) along with a propane carb. So far in the research I've done, everything should go together nicely. I can remove the original computer and install an Ignition only computer in it's place. Now all I need is some $$$. Bought a spare Rampage for parts in case I break something and have a possibility aquiring a '86 Shelby Charger Turbo car.

[funcruise]

Dodgie, back in 1988 I purchased a new Ford 150 pick up and converted it over to LP or propane after 3 months. In fact the government here in Ontario, Canada refunded $750.00 in taxes for the conversion. I had it done at a garage that sold and installed the kits at the time. The computer was not changed or removed, just tapped into when the switch to LP was asked for, so in fact the truck would run on gas or LP. The timing was advanced for the higher octane of LP and when switched back to gas the anti knock sensors would retard the timing to where it would run right. So that gave me the option of either fuel. It was a 302 ci v8 and it lasted 425,000 km pulling horse trailers 80 percent of the time. The engine was clean as can be when we tore it apart. If there are a lot of vehicles around your way converted I would not hesitate to look into it. By the way, the imissions got very tight here and it was getting harder every year to pass the test so now I run a Dodge Cummins diesel...Much better than the old ford...........