Run a Land Rover on cooking oil???

veggieman

Hello,

I have just read pages after pages of info on what i should and should not do in relation the running a diesel car on cooking oil. Theres many different circumstances which confuse me in relation to my Land Rover.

I owe 1987 Land Rover Defender 90 and am thinking of running it on cooking oil My plan was to pay any tax needed (if it has to be paid), then get a barrel of use cooking oil and filter it at home and then simply putting it into the jeep. i would greatly appreciate any help in relation to this, is there any mistakes in my plan?
also, should i mix it with diesel or just use cooking oil only? should i thin it with white spirits too?

Thank you.

If you're intending on using used cooking oil you have to let it sperate out prior to filtering, it's a bit of a disaster really.

frex

I'd be careful...there are "recipes" for bio-diesel which involve a lot more than straight cooking oil. It will work, but the more successful usages use an oil and diesel mix (apparently) and definitely filter/strain as mentioned. I certainly would not go putting white spirits in there...the fumes out the back will be nasty.

Vegetable oils are great cleaners in engines, which isnt exactly what you necessarily want as engine oil is designed to cling on to the internals to aid lubrication, and cooking oils can tend to prevent this. Oddly, carbon deposits and fine normal debris in the engine actually helps to seal it, especially on older engines. Cooking oils can, once they find their way into engine lubricant, act a bit like weak degreasers and you'll notice that your engine oil filter and fuel filter will clog up quite quickly. And I've seen some seals develop small leaks after cooking oil has gone in.

An '87 diesel should be ok, especially as military applications of Defender could cope with running on anything, and with low oil if needed. Dont recommend you try that though!

Modern diesels arent suitable for bio fuels, as they calculate the expected torque and operate accordingly - fuels other than diesel produce different levels of torque and can mess with how the engine runs itself. Also, modern diesel injectors are pretty complex things that dont like anything other than diesel going through them long term.


PS dont let any Landy fans hear you calling a Defender a jeep or they'll lynch you ;-) bit of a fanatical bunch

LordSutch

veggieman wrote: »

Land Rover. I own 1987 Land Rover Defender 90 and am thinking of running it on cooking oil My plan was to pay any tax needed (if it has to be paid), then get a barrel of use cooking oil and filter it at home and then simply putting it into the jeep. Thank you.

Jeep or Land Rover, which is it? or are Land Rover's called 'Jeeps' nowadays?

I took out a second hand 'Freelander Diesel' for a test drive yesterday, and it would be great to run it on old chip fat, so I wonder can you go to the local chippies & ask them for their old chip fat? if so, you are on to a winner P.S. I found the clutch to be very heavy in the Freelander.

Camelot

Camelot wrote: »

so I wonder can you go to the local chippies & ask them for their old chip fat? if so, you are on to a winner P.S. I found the clutch to be very heavy in the Freelander.

and put it straight in ? No, you can't do that.

si_guru

Camelot wrote: »

Jeep or Land Rover, which is it? or are Land Rover's called 'Jeeps' nowadays?

I took out a second hand 'Freelander Diesel' for a test drive yesterday, and it would be great to run it on old chip fat, so I wonder can you go to the local chippies & ask them for their old chip fat? if so, you are on to a winner P.S. I found the clutch to be very heavy in the Freelander.

..a Land Rover is NEVER a Jeep!

You 1987 Land Rover is not a Defender, it is a Ninety. anyway if it is the NA diesel (non-turbo) it will easily run on chip fat.

The Freelander proably will not. Which engine was it L-series or BMW?

LordSutch

Its a 2004 Freelander, but I've gone off it now due to the heavy clutch, no joking, that thing would give you leg cramp after five minutes :cool:

si_guru

si_guru wrote: »

..a Land Rover is NEVER a Jeep!

You 1987 Land Rover is not a Defender, it is a Ninety. anyway if it is the NA diesel (non-turbo) it will easily run on chip fat.

The Freelander proably will not. Which engine was it L-series or BMW?

L series can run on Veg oil, not chip fat though.

Camelot wrote: »

Its a 2004 Freelander, but I've gone off it now due to the heavy clutch, no joking, that thing would give you leg cramp after five minutes

BMW engine so