OP, the Powerstoke first came out in 1994. No gasoline redesign here. It was a great design for the time, and state of the art with juice injection and a pure clean sheet diesel design from the get go. Even to this day they are a great engine. Down on power for todayโs standards, but still a great engine.
As far as any other diesel engine being a gas redesign. That will depend on semantics.
I own 5 of the Olds 350 diesels right now, and I say yes, they are a redesign gasoline engine. Why do I say that? Because most of the gasoline parts bolt right on the diesel. Same bolt spacing, same amount of head bolts, same water pump, same oil pan, same oil pump, same exhaust manifolds, same valve covers, basically the same heads minus the spark plug holes.
The blocks are even the same with some metal added here and there to put a stronger larger forged steel crank in place. They also put in a bit more metal up front so they can bolt the IP to the block to run off of the cam.
As far as how they came about? I read a story about an engineer that was in on that deal. It went like this:
It was 1976 and the Beetles were out and Donna Summer and the Bee Geeโs were in. Gas was at a very high price and the Japanese were cleaning our clocks with 260Zโs and Celicaโs. Oh sure, we had Vegaโs and Pintoโs. :R
GM had a bunch of tuna boats that used gas like a sailor drinks beer. They knew Americans loved their BIG cars but could not deal with $1.25 per gallon fuel prices. Then it hit one enterprising engineering person. What about a diesel engine? Great mileage and next to no smog to deal with!!!! Brilliant idea!!!
One problem though. They needed and engine like right NOW, but they did not have one or the time to design it from scratch. The engineer thought that they could use an existing design and be in production in less than 6 months. The Olds was a great start because it was a great strong engine to start with. So they took the same block design and changed a few things with it like casting a bit more metal here or there and put an injection pump on it and there you have it, a 350 diesel!!! Pretty smart really!
The little diesel came through with the mileage (my 6000 lb Caddie gets 30 MPG on the highway!!) Remember, back then diesel was ยฝ the price of gasoline. So you could ride in luxury at 60 MPG gas prices!!!!!! What a great deal!!!
Then the problems started. With only 10 head bolts to hold the head on they were good to go with an 8.5 to 1 gasoline engine. But with a 21 to 1 diesel, there was nothing but problems holding the head gaskets in place. Then there was the cold start problems. With 40 weight oil in the crank case and at 30 below zero these engines did not start too well. The people back then did not know any better so when their car did not start they did what they always didโฆโฆโฆโฆโฆโฆuse a can of โmothers helper.โ Well the ether collapsed the ring package and that lost even more compression and then you had to use ether at 70 degrees! That is where the idea of โmy diesel is addicted to etherโ came from.
All in all, these engines are junk. The only reason I like them is for the mileage they get and the fuel they can burn. That, and I know how to band-aid them up so they will last and run forever.
That is how the 5.7 liter diesel came into existence! Now you know the rest of the story! :B
~ Too many freaks & not enough circuses ~
"Life is not tried ~ it is merely survived ~ if you're standing
outside the fire"
"The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly."- Abraham Lincoln
