Bleh, just found this. It appears the work done on this engine was in the late 1990's, and it was abandoned. What a great use of tax dollars, and brilliant strategy by Chrysler. See the article below.
Questions abound, but industry is busily gathering the gusto for diesel assault on light truck, SUV markets in U.S
Diesel Progress North American Edition, Sept, 1998 by Rob Wilson
Late last month, I drove a Dodge Durango fitted with Detroit Diesel's new prototype 4.0 L DELTA (Diesel Engine for Light Truck Application) diesel. Earlier in the month, I had seen the engine running on a dynamometer. The engine performed beautifully in both situations. Extremely quiet and vibration-free on the dyno. At 210 hp at 4000 rpm with 340 ft.lb. of torque at 2000 rpm, it demonstrated plenty of power and acceleration in the Durango test vehicle.
Compared to my Grand Cherokee with a 5.2 L Chrysler gasoline engine, there is no degradation of performance whatever. All quite impressive and so is the DELTA project development engineer, Charles Freese, who has now been transformed into DDC's director of automotive sales, charged with finding a home for this new engine.
Standing in just about the same spot 20 years ago, I remember looking at Detroit's then-new 8.2 L, V8 Fuel Pincher diesel and discussing the possibility of the U.S. mid-range track market swinging over from gasoline to diesel.
I note that the first 8.2 ratings were 165 hp naturally aspirated and 205 hp turbocharged. And that engine weighed in at 1150 lb. It was said to be six years in development, beginning with the 1973 oil embargo. Contrast that with the prototype 4.0 L DELTA diesel, which has more output yet only half the displacement, with production versions to weigh in at just over 600 lb. It took 228 days from a clean sheet of paper to the first running engine. So this is definitely not "your father's diesel."
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Detroit's rolling the dice again, this time for the light truck and SUV markets. The new engine is a 60 [degrees], V6 configuration with four-valve-per-cylinder design and pushrod actuation. It is turbocharged and intercooled, electronically controlled, features a direct injection common rail fuel system, cooled electronic EGR and is catalyst equipped. (Additional technical data on the 4.0 L will follow in an upcoming issue.) Though the focus is smaller pickups and SUVs, a V8 version would have a displacement of 5.4 L, an output of over 260 hp and could indeed power relatively larger vehicles above 8500 gvw.
Dieselization of the U.S. light truck and SUV vehicle segments is not a sure thing, but the success of the Ford Power Stroke diesel, which is produced by Navistar International, continues to grow at about 14 percent per year in vehicles above 8500 lb. gvw and that is what has people hopeful about the under 8500 lb. vehicles. Those waters are about to be tested and the big dogs are coming off the porch.
In larger pickups, Ford will install approximately 210,000 International V8s this year in F-250, F-350, Super Duty models and some Econoline vans. Ratings are 235 hp in most Ford models. In smaller trucks, the numbers could be much higher.
The primary target for the DELTA engine is Chrysler, although Ford and likely others are still being seriously wooed, and the target model year is 2002. For its larger Ram 2500 and 3500 pickups in the U.S., Chrysler's diesel option is the Cummins B at 245 hp, but DDC supplies diesels to Chrysler overseas for various smaller van and Jeep models in the 120 to 150 hp range.
It's generally felt that more power is needed for the U.S. market. On larger pickups and SUVs, Chevy and GMC are not very successful with the GM Powertrain 6.5 turbo diesel option, which carries a rating of 195 hp these days. Isuzu is expected to fill this gap and other diesel needs of GM in the future.
Detroit's current automotive engine business outside the U.S. has grown from 52,500 units in 1995 to 64,700 in 1997. The Curitiba, Brazil, plant is new this year and will see 1998 production of around 8000 units for the Dodge Dakota and Jeeps. Detroit now has automotive units from 1.4 to 4.2 L in various configurations and sophistication levels.
But the DELTA program is a major effort by Detroit to move to a new level of automotive market participation. Issues of gasoline engine cost, performance, noise and vibration, emissions and fuel economy, have been dealt with, but market perception and reputation do not always match up with reality. Consumers pay about $3800 to $4000 for the diesel option in a big Dodge or Ford pickup. What will they be willing to pay in the under 8500 gvw market? And what will that be worth at trade? The stakes are huge in this profitable segment of the automotive market and the main question is no longer "if," but "when?"
Rob Wilson is president of Diesel & Gas Turbine Publications.
_________________ 2006 Liberty CRD Limited
Mopar engine, transmission, transfer case skids
245/70/16 Michelin Latitude X-Ice (winter)
235/75/16 Firestone Destination ATs (summer)
Thule roof rack, cargo box
V6 airbox mod
Flowmaster 50 2.5 inch muffler
Edge EZ module (set for fuel economy)
SEGR
TDIWagonGuy CCV filter
B99 (summer), B20 (winter)
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