1981 GM Oldsmobile 5.7 diesel started after 13 years
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- I picked up this '81 Oldsmobile Cutlass with the V8 5.7L diesel engine ( 350 DX engine block), I was told it was upgraded with the Goodwrench engine in 1985 and also a new injector pump . It was parked and forgotten in a NJ barn in 2000 , not sure why , and it wasn't started since , but upon installing 2 new batteries it started right up , no noises , knocks or smoke , it runs beautiful !
I have a 81 Oldsmobile Cutlass with the 5.7 Diesel. It sat from 1994-2008 but was started twice a year. It now frequents cruises and car shows. Really turns heads...
Brings me back to my TAN 81 cutlass diesel. Though everyone was having lots of problems with the original engines, I managed to get 191,000 on it before it blew a head gasket. I was on the road a lot, which is what a diesel is made to do, so it lasted. Those people that bought them to drive 2 miles to the grocery store had lots of problems. I think I had the car at least 9 years and it went in the shop only TWICE in that time! Was sure sorry when Olds went out of business!
us V8 diesel never die! For ever alive! Cutlass's brochure in 1981:" Built to make the most of every minute you drive in today's world"... I'm french and passionned by US vehicles, their engines, mythic V8, and their noises!
Amaricans have had some good engines but this was definitely NOT one of them they never lasted long for what a diesel should last
They really are fantastic. American V8s are something else
I use to love the old American diesel engines and what they sounded like, they were the best all the rattling was the best!!!
+Christian Norton Lol, Too bad GM, did not see fit to put in a water separator light, so that owners did not have to guess when to purge the fuel filter of water.
@@toyosciowater gets in diesel fuel filters how?
This was updated with roller lifters. Sounds great!!!
I had an '82 Olds Delta 88 with the 5.7L Diesel. Should have pulled the engine and glow plug controller when the car wrecked. It was great. 29 mpg.
I had a 1985 Buick Electra wagon and an 1982 Olds Delta 88 with the GM 350 diesel. I drove them till they died. The Buick snapped its crankshaft, the Olds simply wore out lost compression and finally refused to start. Both cars I junked. They did get good mileage for their size, Buick was low 20's, Olds was upper 20's on highway. They break the headbolts, they leak coolant and they self destruct. Both engine leaked a lot of oil everywhere.
Its seems to be more rev happy and more responsive to throttle than the electronic crap we have on the roads nowadays..
The mechanical fuel injection and high compression does that
Back in the day it didn't matter so much what came out the pipe. They were free to rev as they liked and to leave a black cloud behind. Nowadays though, they watch even the transient emissions. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that someone needed to compromise throttle response in favor of emissions. The delays in throttle response are of epic proportions, whatever the reason they are there may be. Set foot on the pedal and about three seconds later the revs start to rise.
Sounded to me like there was a high ignition delay in one or two cylinders. Maybe needs compression checked or injectors serviced.
Testament to Oldsmobile quality my friend
also the first and only automaker to have a libe of autos designed so that disabled American veterans could safely and comfortably operate them
+70scarguy OLDS/BUICK So what happened to them?
GM ruined the division with mundane designs and took away the brands idenity. That is my opinion and the opinion of many that worked for them ask my dad he will say piss poor management destroyed Olds.
My old friend had a diesel Delta sitting in his front yard for sale for years. It was brown but still had the same rusty scheme as yours. I'm not sure what happened to it but I'd say it spent more of it's time being a lawn ornament than a daily judging by the 4 craters and dirt spot after it was gone lol
I am the proud owner of a WHITE 1981 Olds Cutlass 5.7 Diesel now as well! I tried to retrieve your video for all the time now.
Regards from Germany!
I saw an ad years ago for a big-body Cutlass like that, one of the later ones, but it had the V-6 diesel. Only one I've ever seen. I had two 5.7 diesels myself. 1981 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham, and a 1984 Olds 98 Regency. I think the later ones were fairly decent, but you had to baby them. Couldn't drive them like any other car. They just couldn't take it. I love to hear them idle. I miss hearing that sound. 6.2 was the same way. Definitely not a workhorse. Daily driver at best.
There's one still alive!!! Always wondered what they sounded like
And don't let people try to fool you. This engine was NOT a converted gas engine. Same size as a gas 350...but this engine was designed and built as a diesel. Not a great diesel albeit...but a diesel nonetheless.
That’s super cool! I’d drive one.
I specialized in those from 1978 till 1985
So did I. If they had designed the V8 with 6 headbolts around each cylinder like they did the V6, they would have been much better engines.
You must have made a fortune fixing these nightmares 😂
Im thinking about buying a 81 diesel that hasnt run in 20 years where should i start
It’s hard to stop a Oldsmobile
Nice motor keep up the good work
I always say diesel engines are superior engines and diesel is a superior fuel, you would never be able to do that with gasoline. Diesel fuel doesn't really spoil unless it has moisture in it.
they started better than today's junk
Shame to pull that engine from the car.. what a rare find.
thank you from saudi arabia
Body is a little rough but the motor and interior look nice.
If it clatters and smokes somethings wrong with it, lol. Had the Buick Regal diesel that blew up and dropped a 455 Olds Rocket in it, bolted right up with no mods
Hi i have the 5.7 litre v8 Diesel is there any way i can stop alternator belt squealing i have tried everything its squealing at the fan pulley
I'd buy it
It's a diesel, please don't free rev it.
+Hubjeep
For a short period of time... it was 1980 and maybe '81 too... Cadillac made the diesel the standard engine for the Seville sedan... I guess, because of the success of Mercedes-Benz's diesel cars.
Jeep Wrangler?Great project!Did you ever do it?
Only battery after all years of sitting. That is something ...
BS
3/4 of those engines were swapped out because they were junk.
Cool, I thought only Caddy's came in diesels. That should bolt right up to whatever you like with a Chev 350 adaptor. BTW, I have a Cummins 4BT in my CJ-7.
Holy crap that things a rattle trap!!
That's how they sounded new.It IS a diesel!
+Chief 1 Don't let anyone kid you, they're junk. I think they're interesting because of the history behind them but that's it, these things are GM penny-pinching at it's finest.
I was curious if you still have the olds cutlass 5.7 diesel for sale I am interested in purchasing it and have someone who can pick it up thanks
Those motors had problems with cracked blocks at the main bearings it was a gas engine that had some diesel heads put on it and the bottom end could not take the pressure. They last as long as they don't blow a rod out the side of the block. I have seen 15 or so like that.
They revised the block design later on, with a more substantially reinforced "DX" series engine block. The original "D" block had issues with insufficient strength at main bearing caps and head bolts. Head gasket failures resulting in hydrostatic lockup while running killed lots of these engines. In some cases, injection pump issues contributed to head gasket failures. These engines really needed to be maintained by a diesel mechanic, which was not someone you would find at your typical Oldsmobile or Cadillac dealer.
That would be a myth. The Oldsmobile V8 350 diesel only shared the displacement of the gasoline Oldsmobile 350 V8. The Oldsmobile diesel was a clean slate design, and it was surely not converted from the Oldsmobile gasoline designed 350 V8 block.
@@LandofNonecom nope, even general motors admits the block is the same as the gas casting. Thr dx block has additional webbing cast into it but that's all. Has the same rope seal and everything on the main seal. Look up some part numbers for the gas version, then the diesel. You will find 80% are the same.
The original pre-production engine did begin with a gasoline block with precompression chambers taken from a Mercedes-Benz diesel, but when the first production engines went out the door in August 1977, the block was already strengthened (type "D" block), along with the crankshaft, rods, pistons and lifters, to withstand the 22.5:1 compression ratio a diesel engine would produce; the gas 350 Rocket block would not be able to withstand that much compression.
For 1981, the block was changed to a much more rigid design (type "DX") and roller lifters were also added. But by the time a fuel/water separator was added on the 1985 model year engines, Oldsmobile decided to discontinue its diesel engines.
Mr goodwrench engine. Lol
The 5.7 L diesel engine was a converted 350 gas engine, and the blocks were to light to stand up to the compression in the heads. This was a quick intervention by GM and they thought they really had something until they had to work on them constantly. They make good boat anchors. The 6.2 L was a little better but was still junk. I can say that because I had 8 of those trucks with the 6.2L. I had to work on almost every one of those engines. Loved the sound of the 6.2 and the looks of the GM trucks. You better stick with the gas engine in those year models if you don't want to carry a tool box with you.
350 Diesel was not a converted gas engine.. It was built from the ground up as a diesel. The problem was the head bolts weren't strong enough, and there weren't enough to begin with. That, plus the lack of a water separator, and people not knowing how to maintain a Diesel, and just treating them like a regular gas engine, is what did them in. If you update the head bolts, use better head gaskets, and just keep up on maintenance, they're not bad engines. Not very powerful, but they were never meant to be either. The 6.2 was a light duty diesel, built as an option for good fuel mileage, as was the 5.7. They were never meant to be worked hard. And every 6.2 I've been around has been very very reliable.
So was the worst, the 6.5 !!!!!!
The electronically controlled 6.5s are a nightmare, mostly with pmd problems. The mechanical 6.5s on the other hand, are pretty damn reliable. I've seen lots of them with over 200,000 miles on them..
the mercedes in this time made a 3.0D without turbo which produce 113 HP-
compare to this 5,7 L the same power.
They should putt there little detroit 2 stroke or some cummins litlte turbo diesel
Justin Stearns I have a 5.7 olds Diesel in my Jeep J20 truck. It works great but this is my first Diesel ever so I really dont know how I should maintanance this engine. Any tip?
Why does it take two batteries?
OzcarMtl diesel engines are high compression and starter requires more power to turn over
21:1 compression that's why lol
22.5:1 compression.
OzcarMtl it's a diesel...is why
It uses the Exact same starter as the gas version. Need them amps to get it spinning.
Old fuel??
avoid revving or loading til its warm, olds said that in their manual apparently, otherwise u blow gaskets etc.
far better engines to chose for a conversion, its only 120bhp and 220 lbft I think?
my 1.9vw diesel has 130bhp and 238lbft!
In fairness, your diesel has a turbo, and this doesn't. However, the Oldsmobile diesel was legendarily lame.
***** I had a 1.8 non turbo diesel with 60bhp! although there is something interesting about the 5.7 diesel. sounds good too.
tpvalley That 1.8 non-turbo (Ford?) was probably designed as a diesel from the beginning, not as a very quick-and-cheap rehashing of an existing petrol engine like the Olds diesel was. That said, I do agree that this sounds nice; I'm not a fan of small diesels' acoustics, but the bigger ones tend to sound a lot nicer.
***** apparently the olds diesel was not a gas engine re-hash, issues were head bolts and head gaskets as u know. Yes mine was an old ford and yes, it sounded shit!
I like the 6.2 diesels, friend had one in a landrover.
Dam. I wish i. Had that. Car....I’m serious
I got one for sale
Do you want to sell it😊
unless this motor has been upgraded to ARP head bolts and a fuel/wayer seperator...itll bust off head bolts and blow head gaskets if it gets any moisture in the fuel....thats what killed most of these engines....weak head bolts and no water seperators.
Can you add water seperators
hola como puedo comunicarme con el dueño de ese carro cuanto cuesta el motor o el carro completo
I have an old Pontiac parisenne with a worn out 307 and would like to swap the diesel into it, I am not impressed with gasoline fire engines
I've owned 2 of these engines in 2 different vehicles. useless as a truck engine, not bad in a buick. requires lots of maintenance though.
This engine was a failure. People like to look back on them with rose tinted glasses. It was severely under powered relative to contemporary v8s in both hp and torque. They really weren't durable at all and were cursed from the factory with weak headbolts and were prone to head gasket failure. It honestly sounds very bad, but maybe with a different exhaust it could be tolerable. The engines really are good for nothing except learning about engines by tearing them down and reassembling them and maybe use it to power some machine.
It depends greatly on year. The first couple years in the late 70s gave the engine a terrible reputation. Bean counters decided against some necessary upgrades when they decided to build a diesel as similar as possible to existing engines to save on tooling. I think by 1981 the wrist pins and piston rings were larger, the crankshaft was tougher and the head gaskets were upgraded for the extra compression. There may have been a starter upgrade, too. As far as power, they were comparable to a 305 at the time but would get around 30mpg. I remember my dad had one in his Cutlass. He drove to work and back every day without an issue even in the cold Michigan winters. We took it on a lot of vacations all over the country, too, and in 12 years it only needed the starter replaced.
he said this is a goodwrench replacement engine they dont have the headbolt failures the factory engines had
You'll never put that engine in anything but a junkyard.
TheSoloAsylum Wrong, as long as you use the right aftermarket fixes you’re good. Same as 6.2 and 6.5 liter diesels and northstar engines. GM is infamous for taking a great design and messing it up by cheapening the design of a few critical parts. These engines can be made to run extremely well with the “RIGHT” non GM fixes.
this is a goodwrench block ,all the problems the production engines had were fixed on these
5.7 Diesel WTF .
4.2 Diesel engines in Midibus at europe :D
5.7 diesel is a small diesel in the us
Not even worth saving that car omg.
5.7 diesel was a bad engine