Jim Dunmyer wrote in a message to Roy J. Tellason:
 > dealing with a lot higher compression there,  but I don't understand 
 > why a diesel engine should be that much heavier,  nor why they're so 
 > darn noisy!
 JD> They're heavy because of the high compression ratio and
 JD> because of the combustion process. Quite a lot of fuel is
 JD> injected into the combustion chamber before it lights off,
 JD> so there is a bit of 'detonation' as ignition takes place.
 JD> That's where the 'Diesel clatter' comes from. It's much
 JD> worse in very cold weather or when the engine is cold, and
 JD> is better in indirect injection engines. 
What's indirect injection?
 >JD> Many people look fondly upon the 'big iron' of the '60's, yet 
 >JD> few would say that those engines were 'better' than today's 
 >JD> stuff.
 > 
 > Well,  let me tell ya...   
 > 
 > I was at a service station once and they had a car there which was 
 > an early or mid-sixties GTO,  that belonged to some local radio 
 > station (that played a lot of "oldies" stuff).  I happened to glance 
 > at that car as the mechanic there raised the hood,  and it was a 
 > wonderful feeling -- to know *exactly* what I was looking at!  To be 
 > able to identify all of the parts,  and know what they were,  what 
 > they were in there for,  and to be able to get at stuff,  with lots 
 > of room.
 JD> Sure. Extrapolate a bit further. Ever seen a hit 'n miss 
 JD> engine? 
Not that I know of.
 JD> A 5HP engine that weighs 600 lbs? 
Sounds a bit inefficient.
 JD> They have an open crankshaft and other exposed mechanisms, so 
 JD> they're easy to understand, but that's about their only 
 JD> redeeming value.
 JD> I stand by my statement. :-)
Uh,  ok...
I'm not saying that the newer stuff _isn't_ better in many respects,  but I 
sure don't like a lot of how they're doing things,  in some ways.  We have 
one vehicle here with a busted sensor.  I have no idea what this sensor is,  
or even what it's mounted into -- from appearances it looks like it's in a 
power steering line!
Maybe I wouldn't feel this way about it if the literature (of the sort 
available to consumers) would have kept up with this a little better.  Sure, 
there's info out there,  but it's the sort of thing where you need to be a 
garage to afford it and have to buy many shelves full of this stuff at a cost 
of some thousands of dollars,  quite the thing if you're running a shop but 
not at all beneficial to the average (or even above-average!) consumer...
email: roy.j.tellason%tanstaaf@frackit.com 
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