ROCKET JO

Hi does anyone own a Olds diesel ? like to get your feedback . I drove a 1984 98 and I was impressed with the car , I know it's not a Rocket by any means , it's a Highway car and it's rare and diffrent I have worked on Diesels in the past so it's like I don't know the pros and cons , thanks

jcdynamic88

i don't own one now but have owned many over the last 30 years.sold my last one (83 regency) around 2000 to a friend who ran it until 3 years ago. i loved them,i don't believe they are for the average person. they need to be taken care of almost like a classic car. the 81 and up dx blocks were pretty dependable. the injector pumps i felt were a weak point but not terrible.very few left,i only see one once in a great while for sale.the good part is if/when the engine goes you pop in a 455 and now you have a rocket.

cherokeepeople

they do make great road cars.most will get 30 mpg.

rob1960

I also had a 84 98 Regency back in the '80s. It was a great car!! It's a shame that by the time Olds got all the bugs worked out the bad pr from the early ones pretty much killed them. You could pick up used ones dirt cheap back in the 80s. I made some good $$ back then buying them & converting them to gas. A buddy of mine(an Olds mechanic)even had a fwd cutlass ciera with a V6 diesel in it!!

cherokeepeople

i still have my 4.3 diesel out of my old 84 celebrity wagon.

jcdynamic88

why?

cherokeepeople

why not,runs super.i had thoughts of using it for a power unit for a generator.

jensenracing77

My dad had several of them. He loved them but like mentioned above, You have to tinker on them now and then. My dad was getting 32 MPG at the best. You have to be sure the transmission is working good and the lock up converter is working proper to get the 32MPG. Most of them he had was 25 to 28 MPG. His biggest issues were fuel filters in the winter and glow plugs. If he would have ran a fuel additive he would have had much less issue in the winter. We did have to change head gaskets on a couple of them.

safray

might not be much help to you, but my family had an olds diesel station wagon as a kid - probably around 1976-8 - the main thing I remember was that it was such a dog it was almost dangerous when trying to enter traffic. Glow plugs were a little bit of a nuisance but I don't remember it ever freezing up.

BlackGold

When I was growing up (some would argue that hasn't happened yet) my parents had a '79 Chevy wagon with the 350 Olds diesel in it. Even to my teenage sensibilities I felt the acceleration was acceptable. You just have to adjust your expectations. Of course, one of their other cars was a diesel Rabbit .....

The Olds glow plug system was fantastic compared to the Rabbit. You never had to wait more than a few seconds on most winter days, then it would start right up -- with less cranking than any gas engine.

The beast got 28 MPG on the highway, even fully loaded. I can't remember city MPG, but it was respectable.

The best part about the diesel was that, when someone behind me pissed me off, I'd just floor it. The trans would downshift and the engine would put out a black cloud of soot so thick that traffic would stop. I'm not exaggerating. Such fun.

rob1960

We used that "secret weapon" on tail-gaters many times!! It was fun,man would they belch out the smoke!!! They'd back off in a hurry!! You could pop it up in neutral too & floor it,the injector pump was governed so it wouldn't over-rev. Of coarse do that to someone today & once they could see again, they'd probably pull up & shoot you & the EPA would fine you for polluting!!