A Deere 404 in a full size truck is going to get around 17-23 MPG if geared right. Anything above that is just about an impossibility. I've known of several. During the 70s, there were many guys around - including me - putting tractor diesels into pickups.
Your comparison to big rigs doesn't work. A diesel locomotive can carry the weight of a full size pickup truck and get 800 miles to gallon (in equivalent to weight carried) - but that doesn't mean much on a smaller scale. A comparison to an over-the-road truck is just as silly.
A few Dodge engineers during the mid 70s played around putting tractor diesels into 3/4 ton trucks. The built a few with Deere 4219s and 4239s and got a best of 25 MPG out of them. But, they later opted for the Misubishi six-cylinder 6DR5 at 3.9 liters and made production vehicles with them for sale for one year. They were tested at 22 MPG.
You tell us to think what we want - and in return - you can too. But, what you stated defies logic and any experience I've had with diesel transplants - and I've been screwing with it for close to 40 years. A big diesel uses fuel even when hardly being worked. And, a big diesel used lightly becomes very inefficient. A key to the best mileage is a small diesel - that can act big when needed via a turboharger.
A Cummins 5.9 turbo-intercooled diesel tests as being more efficent than a NA Deere 404. A Dodge truck with a 5.9 that is geared properly can get around 22 MPG (US gallons). A Same sized Dodge (or Chevy or Ford) with a smaller Cummins 3.9 liter can get up to 28 MPG. I suspect a Deere 179 could do as well - but I don't know of any.
There were several factory-installed diesels in small cars and trucks back in the 60s and 70s. The British diesel used in Allis Chalmers and Massey Ferguson tractors was also used in British taxi-cabs (Standard Diesel Co.). Jeeps and Checker taxis were sold with Perkins diesels. International Scouts came with Nissan diesels (I drove one for years). Then later, we got the small and big Dodges with Mistubishi diesels, Isuzu and Chevy LUV diesel trucks, Ford Rangers and Escorts with Mazda diesels, etc. &c. None of those trucks ever got over 32 MPG, but a few were close. Now, if you want to call a Volkswagen Rabbit 2WDS mini-truck a real truck - with the 1.6 diesel - well yeah, some got 45 MPG (US gallons). Just for the record - my 1985 Isuzu PUP 4WD truck with a 2.2 diesel can just barely get 32 MPG with a wind at my back (that's US gallons).
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]
Today's Featured Article - Third Brush Generators - by Chris Pratt. While I love straightening sheet metal, cleaning, and painting old tractors, I use every excuse to avoid working on the on the electrics. I find the whole process sheer mystery. I have picked up and attempted to read every auto and farm electrics book with no improvement in the situation. They all seem to start with a chapter entitled "Theory of Electricity". After a few paragraphs I usually close the book and go back to banging out dents. A good friend and I were recently discussing our tractor electrical systems when he stated "I figure it all comes back to applying Ohms Law". At this point
... [Read Article]
Latest Ad:
1945 Farmall wide body gas with pto and front plow. Runs good but needs new points.
[More Ads]
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy
TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.
