What are the benefits and problems with diesel fuel?

Answer 1

diesel has more power per gallon than gas and your gas mileage is improved by 40% over a comparable gas engine. also a diesel engine has less parts because the fuel is ignited by compression and not spark plugs. and since the engines are made better they tend to have better longevity than a gas engine. its not unheard of for diesels to go 500k. now the down sides are that the old diesel fuel had high sulfur deposits causing that black smoke that people have come to associate with diesels. the introduction of low sulfur fuel in the states will reduce that from 500ppm to 15ppm.also people still think that the new diesels are noisy like their old predecessors. when the fact is that with modern electronics controlling the fuel delivery system on new diesels they are almost as quiet as a gas engine. i am a big advocate of diesels myself and am waiting for someone to come out with a diesel engine in a small or midsize truck here in the states. when that happens i will buy it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 2

Diesel engines just by design have to be much more ruggedly built than a gasoline engine. They have very high compression and that means the parts must be very strong. Diesels tend to run much longer before needing an overhaul because the fuel burns cooler and is more oily than gasoline. The same size diesel will have more pulling power and use less fuel than a gasoline engine.

Depending on the engine and where it sits in the vehicle, they are noisier than gasoline engines. If they are not tuned well, they can emit a strong odor and even worse a cloud of soot. Diesel fuel can stink up your hands if you spill some on you while refueling.

Many of the newer diesels have lots of emissions reducing equipment and do not smoke like the old semi trucks or buses did. A friend has a Jeep Liberty with a little four cylinder diesel that does not stink or blow black soot. Don't know how they did it but it is quieter than many gas engines and burns clean. And, that little four cylinder can pull like a freight train. It is rated to tow a 5,000 pound trailer! On the highway at 60mph that Jeep gets from 28.0 - 29.7 mpg depending on the wind and hills.

I understand Jeep will have a 3.0 "Bluetech" diesel engine available for the grand cherokee in the 2007 model year. That one is being built by Mercedez. The one in the Liberty is built by Detroit Diesel and Daimler as a joint project.

There are some other companies beginning to introduce diesels into the US market and with the increased availability of biodiesel (made in US of vegetable matter) I think there will be more people willing to consider diesels. ONce the noise is brought down to acceptable levels and the black sootie smoke is arrested, I think Americans will begin to embrace the practicality of diesel vehicles.

The Liberty I mentioned gets its best mileage on biodiesel and it burns very clean.

Answer 3

the benefits are good there is no problems with it what so ever,,and the diesel engine out last the gas engine,,by 4-1,,the only thing i have seen is people that are used to using diesel,,have to remember not to put gas in it,,this is the only problem i have seen with them,,good luck with it,,i hope this help,s.

Answer 4

Diesel is not readily available in many neighborhoods.
Diesel gels in cold weather so you need to have an electric engine block heater that you plug in at night for a few months per year.
Diesel fumes are a little smellier than gasoline.
But...
Diesel gives you more power per compression, hence its use on heavy equipment.

Answer 5

It is cheaper than gasoline and a diesel engine has fewer working parts that can go wrong. Problems, it may be noisy, smell and not all fueling depots carry diesel fuel.