Done: LPG conversion on '89 240

I've recently had my '89 240 converted to LPG, and thought i'd help
out anyone else considering it with some pros and cons

I got my conversion at AG autogas, in lilydale, Australia. Both the
converter and my mechanic (who is really more of an adviser, as i do
my own work most of the time) recommended i skip duel fuel and go
straight LPG, apparently it is not practical to run a B23E engine on
duel. So i had to trust them on that one. Its probably the most
simple conversion on the market, just feeding gas slightly downstream
of the AMM

Range; Big con
The tank fits between the rear wheels in the boot, and fills it up
quite well, although the majority of the space is still available.
The tank is 50 usable liters, whereas the old petrol one was 60, which
is a bit of an inconvenience.
I was getting about 6.5km/l economy on petrol, giving me a 390km
range, with an extra 10L in the jerry can i would bring with me for
emergencies. Now, fuel use has risen quite a bit, which is to be
expected when running on gas. At the moment, in the same conditions
as before i'm getting 5km/L, which brings the range of the vehicle
down to about 250km. Because of the nature of LPG i have no way of
adding more fuel on the go, and running out would mean i have to tow
the car, so in practice this shortens the range to about 225km to
ensure i never run out of fuel. This short range makes the car very
impractical for driving interstate, and means i fill up twice a week
instead of once :-(

Performance; con
Once he is warm, the 240 goes just the same as when it was fueled by
petrol, i can't tell the difference. The only time it actually makes
a difference is when the engine is quite cold i.e winter morning. It
always starts first time, which is actually an improvement over the
old system, but it lacks power for about two or three blocks while it
gets warm (ie where i used to push the pedal about 1/4 to take off,
now i push to about 1/2). Not a huge drawback, but still something to
consider. I'd imagine if i had a heavy trailer the car would barely
move

Cost: Big pro
Now this is probably the biggest factor for most people, being the
underlying reason conversions are done in the first place . Before:
6.5km/l @ $1.20 average per liter = about 18c per km.
After: 5km/l @ $0.45 average cost of LPG = about 9c per km
The conversion is halving the cost of fuel each week for me, saving me
about $30 per week
I was charged $2500 for the actual conversion, of which the government
offers a $2000 rebate down under. Total cost out of my pocked is
$500, which at this rate should be paid off in about 5 months

Thats about all that i can say at this stage, i havn't had the system
long enough to comment on any difference in maintenance. To put it
simply, it seems the savings in fuel make it well worth the while, but
that is only true if you can live with some of the disadvantages.
Say, for example, you had to hire a car twice a year because of the
short range, you would probably end up losing any money you saved from
the conversion

However, nothing puts a bigger smile on my face than completely
filling the tank for $20

Hopefully someone will find this post useful

 

Please explain this part to me.

 

I'm guessing hauling around spare tanks of LPG might be an option. BBQ
size, then they could do double duty in the back yard.
Have to add a 'T' with a shutoff to the main tank. Couple bungees to
keep the spare from rolling around.
If you ever run out, you can always hop a fence and pinch a tank off of
someones Brinkmann.

 

I'm not planning to convert, but it's good to know a lot of that. I'm not
surprised dual-fuel was going to be a lot tougher but it's good to get that
confirmed.

It sounds like a real winner for a car that is kept in town most of the
time.

Mike

 

While propane would not save much, if anything at all on fuel in the states,
many of the propane conversions I've read about were dual-fuel, including
several Volvos. I'm curious why this wasn't feasible with yours? From what I
gather, when the propane is enabled, it simply cuts power to the gasoline
fuel injectors.

 

It was more the tuning that was the problem, propane burns a lot
slower than petrol, and according to the mechanic it would have been
better to tune the car well for LPG than try to tune it "half way"
between the fuels

When on petrol i carried a 10L can of petrol, on LPG there is no
simple way of doing this, therefore if i have 50L of Gas, thats it.
Whereas on petrol i had 60L + 10L can of petrol = longer trip!

Good to know some of the info helps!

Josh

 

I ran several cars on LPG and found it cheap to maintain provided I did the
work .I went duel fuel which is the only way to go .You need stronger
springs in the rear and expect a bit more brake wear as your hauling a
couple of extra people in effect with the extra weight .Here in Victoria it
was ok but in Tasmania back in the eighties fuel was hard to get late at
night .Mechanics charged a fortune to tune or repair gas problems .Thet used
normal plugs instead of colder plugs and ran the gas lean which is a no no
in summer .Oil changes need to be kept up and the occasional pull down of
the system to clean the water hoses and keep the anti freeze up to the mark
..Its just not worth the problems in a private car but in a taxi or larger
car it sure was good value .NEVER go to a back yarder as I have seen some
dangerous work done by fools .Done properly by a person who knows his stuff
,gas is safe .Done by a diy its dangerous big time .I say this after
millions of klm of using gas in two states .

 

ok. I thought you were saying that the main tank could not be refilled
except by some difficult process. You just have to be at a station with
a pressurized source, correct?

 

LPG fills easily at any petrol station, the pump just screws onto a
valve in the volvo, pull the trigger and it flows about the same rate
as petrol. Here in melbourne 9/10 service stations have LPG available
at a good price, it never varies more than a couple cents.
The first few times i filled the tank it would only put about 30
liters in until shutting off, but now i can put the whole 50l into the
tank. I think it was maybe a sticking valve which has worked its way
free due to normal use.

Josh

 

There's certainly some appeal, apparently LPG is much easier on the engine
and oil than gasoline. Only perhaps 5% of filling stations in the US carry
LPG though.

 

Wow...what a bummer! Here in Australia it is as easy to get as
petrol, maybe even easier, as there are never any lines for LPG pumps.
The only stations that don't carry LPG are the small independent ones,
i'd say no more than 1 in 10. I think LPG is actually produced in
Australia as well, making it (for us) a steady priced commodity
(servo's always blame international prices for drastically varying
petrol prices, they have no excuse for LPG). There are 4 outlets
within about 2km of my house, and about 5 or 6 just on the way to
university (a 12km trip). ....thats kinda disturbing!

Josh

 

There's several LPG vendors here in the San Francisco Bay Area, but not
a gad of them. Some of the vendors listed on Mapquest are UHaul rental
places.

By the way, Mapquest has a search function right now for cheapest
gasoline/diesel near you, and alternative fuel outlets (though no prices
for the alt stuff).