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How much power can OC-12 handle?

Sisu

Sisu

New member
I bought a cheap '88 Ford F-250 with 7.3l V8 IDI Diesel+C6 Automatic, which has something like 180-190hp and 360 lb-ft torque. I might scrap the rest of the truck but the engine should be in good condition having only 100k miles on it.

What do you think, I'm going to do axle-change in the same time, will the OC-12 handle that power? I'll be running wide-tracks but nothing else, the cat will be used for fishing trips on ice up in North of Europe.

One thing I don't like is the automatic gearbox, perhaps I could locate a used ZF 5-speed manual which was also an option for F-250. On the other hand, automatic would be easier for the rear-axle.

Of course the engine is much wider than the Ford straight six, but that's another topic ;)
 
You have an interesting proposal on the drawing board. As the postal service says, "if it fits it should ship". The C6 transmission and OC-12 rear end were successful in the 2100 series groomers at alpine ski areas. 391 Ford truck engines were common as powerplants, these were not much more than a passenger car 390 with insuficent strengthening in the bottom end. With an automatic they lasted OK, but in a dumptruck they had a short lifespan. There may even have been a few 3208 Catapillars used toward the end. If the transmission can handle the engine the rear end should. You don't state what the machine is, how wide a track? Drop boxes?
 
The machine is Ratrac Sprite, ie. Thiokol Spryte. I have drop boxes and tracks are 57" wide each (with aluminium cleats if it makes any difference). The Ford straight-6 is a cool engine, but I love working with diesels and this one is basically free... :)
 
Are you the principle operator.

If yes I would think it would be a very good fit and enjoyable ride.

If (as in my life) a random friend will borrow your equipment......
That is a different conversation.

$.02

Mike
 
Yes sure, I wouldn't give anything like a snowcat to a friend ;)

There is another reason for Diesel-powered snowcat. The taxation in Europe is very high for fuels, but heating oil has a very low tax and therefore costs about half of Diesel or Gasoline. It is not legal to use heating oil in road legal vehicle, but it is legal on tractors and other work vehicles as long as they won't be driven on public roads. Snowcats are considered as work vehicles and you can't drive them on public roads - metal cleats are illegal, but if you would have something like Hagglund BV206 with all rubber tracks you could get it road registered in some countries. Anyway, nothing to do with Ratrac or Thiokols, so using heating oil would make sense!

I thought about insulating the fuel piping well and adding low power heating in place where the temperature could drop down (tank, filter etc.) In Spryte this area is basically inside, although under the floor. I don't see why I couldn't insulate it well enough for cold climate driving. Also, this means converting to 24V electric system.

One thing we shouldn't forget is the current trend to mix Gasoline with Ethanol. With Diesel there aren't such problems - also it would be possible to convert it for other Diesel like derivatives. So in my case this all would make sense, but I wouldn't want to sacrifice reliability... Broken rear-axle could be a huge problem somewhere middle of big lake in Lapland, in snow storm and being followed by hungry wolfs. Ok, the last one was little bit too much :D Say you would be followed by 13 angry polar bears ;)
 
I think as long as you are light on the throttle starting out it would work fine. The torque of the diesel at the low end is greater but thoughtful acceleration should not be a problem. As for the fuel and fuel prices that is a bonus. Purchasing winterized fuel for an outside tank should have enough kerosene blended that gelling should not be a problem. A 50/50 blend will take some extreme cold temps.
 
i don't know what kind of heating oil you are using all heating oil here is jet-a which is streight kerosine with an extra filtering process with kerosine you should be good to -50
 
Winter blend:
I generally blend Heating oil and #2 oil with up to 20% 87 octane unleaded. I derived that info from a mercedes diesel manual.
Choice of Power plant:
I am with you 100% I am preparing a 1.6L turbo diesel for a imp. the engine is from a MKII VW. I just like diesels they are simple. Generally can sit around well. vacuum leaks don't seem to bother them. Starting is a issue in some climates, Healthy diesel start well around the 45th. I do keep diesel fired block heaters around but they seem to never get installed.
Start a build thread when you get going.

Mike
 
Having seen the inside of over 40 OC-12 diffs, and rebuilt about 30 of them I would humbly suggest that you rebuild the diff first. Also, consider having the final drive axles tested for cracks.

Some 2100's did have Ford six cyl diesels on them but I have not seen one. Those diffs had the 5.44 R&P, also some with the 391 and 428 Ford (FT) gas industrial had that gear.

As far as I can find out, there were no 2100's came with Cat 3208 engines from the factory, that was the 3700C and 3700CF.

-Pat
 
I would go with the automatic transmission myself as there is no comparison in the driving ease of the auto over the manual. The Ford 300 six with auto set up I had in my Spryte pulled like a mule and purred like a kitten.
 
Many thanks for all the replies! I was about to start the conversion on this week but unfortunately my 78yrs old mother fell and broke her hip on Monday. She was promptly operated but unfortunately she has now generated some heart problems, was again operated on Thursday and today (Friday) they will install a pacemaker. So, even if I have time to work with the snowcat I find it slightly hard to concentrate and get myself started in disassembling things.

However, the Ford pickup truck is now ready for engine removal - after some washing the engine compartment looks now much cleaner and most importantly the Ford IDI-diesel looks surprisingly good! I will continue the story in my project build ( http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/showthread.php?t=22850&page=4 ). Anyway, I want to see if I have enough space to fit the engine on the Ratrac chassis - if yes, I'm going to build the 7.3D Ratrac Spryte!

I actually had a project Land Rover with 2.5TD which I was considering also, unfortunately its lacking in power compared to the original Ford 6 and that particular engine type hasn't got good reliability records. So, I sold the Landie and it left my garage on Sunday :flowers: Never ever again a British car :hammer:

Regarding the fuels, I'm not driving here in the center of Europe - only in Northern Europe (Lapland) where in general there are several different grades of heating oils; summer, middle grade and winter - add to this some "green" ECO-grades etc. I will have to plan how to route the fuel lines, place the filter etc. to make sure they get some heat from the cabin or other source.
 
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