LPG Cherokee 99' Sport

[xtreem]

G'day guys, I'm a newbie to this site and think its great.

Anyway I've got a nice cherokee sport from the good old days (99) and I've recently had an lpg system installed in it in the boot, (unfortunately) didn't have an option really instead of paying like another grand or so for an aftermarket petrol tank so the lpg tank can go underneath equalling a loss of litres to the petrol tank so the lpg tank can fit beside it.

I guess my question is - is there anyone out there that has a similar/same car as mine with lpg fitted and if there are any problems or things that need to be mentioned regarding using the dual fuel.
My tank is like what they call a "flat tank" consisting of 3 small tanks linked up together beside each other hence being flat and resulting in more boot space than the conventional single cylindrical (mega) tank which is roughly the same in litres to the flat tank but the flat tank allows for like a wooden board to be installed on top of it to that you have like an elevated boot/cargo area wher you can place stuff on top of the board while having still enough space. On the other hand the standard tank leaves you with only a quater of the boot space for cargo and no option for any stuff to be aced over it due to its cylindrical shape.
My lpg system is called "venturi" the standard basic type.

I got it fitted and installed by a legendary and trustworthy (very hard to find these days) mechanic - company called "new gas, gaseous technology" in taren point close to the shire (or aka sutherland for those out there who aren't hobbits or shireling folk ;)

Also wondering what he told me regarding the tank being roughly 80 litres but only 60 is useable - I'm not entirely sure about that coz I filled it up the other day and it only did 46 and I was forcing and begging it to go for more.

Any help advice and tips is much more than appreciated (note: sorry for the essay long post - I suck at essays, but I appear not to suck at posts)

Thx guys

[stevet]

Had an HZ Holden on LPG. Issues, some. Loss of power, well I am no race driver, learnt to live with it quickly but no major loss, could always go back to petrol if really had to (Rarely needed). 2- Good cooling as a lot of heat generated under the bonnet so good cooling essiential. 3- Do not let coolent level drop below gas convertor level ( depends on where it is mounted in engine bay) as it will freeze up like an ice block in the middle of summer but it is/was a good way to meet some folks asking to borrow a jug of boiling water to defrost your car to get going again. 4- Gas tanks need to be certified safe again after 10 years usage.................
I had the Impco system with the gas tank fitted under the floor as if you listen to them real close, they make a lot of weird noises, hence under the floor to get rid of that issue. Strange until you get use to it's querks.... Other wise, enjoy the fuel savings, use to pay 12cents a litre once. You can only fill your tank 80% of capacity...................
Cheers,
Stephen T.

[xtreem]

Thx for ur help mate !

I forgot to mention in my post that she is doing like 4km on a single litre of petrol !!! She sure is making use of the petrol - that's why I switched but I'm scared she'll do the same for gas ! ? I still have yet to change the oil and put in castorol magnatec (any suggestions) oil filter cooper (any suggestions pls) and the sparkies and the leads both NGK brand as they are all stuffed. If 4 km on a litre sounds pretty bad - any suggestions would be fantastic !! Coz its gonna do even less on gas !! And that aint good at all - but nevertheless I still love her and she loves me - I hope :)

Thx

[stevet]

Your mechanic would have put in/on all new leads/plugs when you converted to gas( Should have anyway)......... You do use a little more gas than petrol, but you will notice the savings. I also had a half petrol tank as well so longer trips were not really an issue at all..........But new leads etc would not harm at all if not done already....................

[Wooders]

My old beater XJ had the exact same LPG system - and it's now destined to be installed in my CJ6 (yes yes some time in 2025).
Had the same tanks and board on top - never was too much of an issue. Just pack smarter ;)
LPG gave less power (say 10-15% less) and about the same less in fuel ecconomy - but the cost of the LPG make it so worthwhile.
However 25L/100km is a bit high really you should be under 20....I do and I have a heavish right foot.

[xtreem]

Stevet - that's exactly what my dad asked me to tell the mechanic (changing the leads, the spark plugs and the oil and filter as well) unfortunately it wasn't really part of the job and I would've been charged xtra + labour costs - I got it installed and working for $2400. Whereas I am able to do it myself and my dad (was mechanic) excluding labour costs resulting in only 2 broken bent over backs to cope with

I've just made an order on the leads as they are the same brand as the spark plugs (NGK) but BURSONS didn't have the leads in stock so I had to order them and now I'm waiting - hopefully shouldn't take too long. Once I change all the necessary stuff (mentioned above) I'll let you guys know how it runs on fuel - then I'll switch to gas and see how it goes on gas. I've also chucked on a small cylinder type air filter (I still have the original) I did this coz the aluminium lpg adaptor they put on (the rack for the gas to enter the insides of the engine) would not give enough clearance for the original air filter to fit on it - thus resulting in not having enough clearance for the bonnet to close - hope that doesn't affect the fuel/gas economy of the car. When you rev it up u can hear the huge sucking noise the filter makes - which makes me a bit worried about how it affects fuel/gas usage.

One point I forgot to mention in my first post was that I recently bought the gem from an old couple one of them being disabled resulting in needing enough room for the w/chair and they did the necessary servicing and stuff but I'm sure all you guys know out there how terrible and lazy most mechanics are these days being all out for the money - no offence ! It needed some work and proper care after I bought it - apart from the large amounts of canine hair found everywhere, that was probably one of the biggest jobs I needed to do on the car - also the first spark plug near the front end of the bonnet is near to impossible to take out and replace without bending the aluminium lines and the hot water hose above it. But again she's a beauty and I love her - what I'm really scared about is the fact that she is only doing 25L on 100km - that is totally freaking me out and obviously its gonna affect the lpg usage too - I just hope to god that its nothing really major like internal damage to the engine or maybe issues with the injectors not functioning properly as they should and in knowing that would be a big job to fix.

Wooders - regarding your tank.. How many litres were you able to fill it up to - is it same as mine 44 - 46 (44 is when the bowser starts clicking for my tank then managed to get in another 2L) not sure it is right coz the mechanic said it should do at least 60 litres useable out of the 80L capacity but I don't think its 80L.

I tried some trips with a heavy foot and filled up fuel then I ran another test with a lighter more sensative foot and the lighter foot is what gave me the 25-100km figure (the heavier foot was obviously miles more)

Oh and good luck wooders in getting the tank installed in your CJ in 2025 when the rebate will be close to zero - you gotta thank the govt for that and also heard about an excis that they want to introduce next year for lpg ?? I dunno what the word means but it sounds like another sort of tax rise thing again or some lpg cost increase - man you gotta love those big guys sitting in those high leather armchairs talking about crap all day and how tax solves everything these days :(
Anyway if anyone has any suggestions or advice I could use to fix this 25-100km fuel figure in my car - that would be great and thx guys for your help so far and sharing your similar stories ... Much appreciated :D

[xtreem]

Ok so I have spent a good couple of hours tonight changing the oil - oil filter - spark plugs and leads and added some "nulon E20" brand engine oil performance (blue liquid stuff) fluid to the oil from repco and will add a fuel conditioner and cleaner - brand is called "Allen" made in US of A and manufactured here in Aussie QLD - I have yet to drive it around tomorrow and see how she performs.

One very crucial observation and fix I made was that two ignition leads were not installed properly by a previous mechanic prior to me buying the car. Leads 1 and 4 were not in the correct place (not plugged into the correct cylinder) resulting in only 4 cylinders to function all the time. I swapped them and the engine runs a lot more quiter and smoother - again I have yet to drive it tomorrow and see how she goes in fuel.

HOPEFULLY THIS WILL BE THE ANSWER TO THE 25L to 100km CRISIS FIGURE !!!!!!! I will find out tommorow and advise. -

IN THE MEANTIME IF ANYONE HAS ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS PLEASE LET ME KNOW

Thx



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Wooders how did u design the wooden board that you installed for your xj ?? Any ideas suggestions - cos I want to buy some planks from bunnings but just unsure how other jeepers have gone about doing this particularly for a flat tank ? Any advice, recommendations would be great !!
Thx

[xtreem]

Tested it today on lpg for a trip that went for about 55 kms that used 10 litres - note: the bowser actually stopped on like 6 litres but I kept at it giving it a little more until I managed to get in 10 litres.


I still have yet to test out petrol and see it runs after the adjustments I've made to the car (ignition leads order)

Questions ??