Ideal expedition vehicle for a trip to South America

[4D55 Performance]

It will definitely need a Banks turbo. Every 1000ft of elevation you gain you will lose 3% of your power output. So if you go over a 10,000 ft mountain pass you will lose 30% of your power on a naturally aspirated vehicle. In The Andes some of those mountain passes are 16,000 ft, and your 130 hp and 240 ft lbs of torque will feel a lot more like 65hp and 120 ft lbs of torque. If you get the banks Sidewinder Turbo it will help maintain efficiency at high altitudes. You will Be putting out 190 hp and 355 ft lbs of torque no matter what you are altitude at. The turbo will also improve your mpg by about 20%. So, unless you have a turbocharger like your buddy did, you will lose power. You will not even have a chance to pull those high mountain passes with a full load.

You can't just adjust the pump to compensate for a lack of oxygen. To compensate for the thin air you must force air into the cylinders and the only a few ways to do this. Traditionally manufacturers have used a turbocharger or a supercharger to introduce more oxygen into the cylinders. The injection pump only controls the amount of fuel being introduced into the cylinders. To increase output you must increase both the air flow and the fuel delivery. Another way to increase the amount of air being introduced into the cylinders is by adding an intercooler. This cools the hot air that has been compressed by the turbocharger. By cooling the air it becomes more dense and thus more air can enter the cylinder.

[Clecio]

I agree. A banks turbo would be great. But even with a low mileage engine (92,000) I don't feel comfortable installing a turbo on it. I think I will need a rebuild and more heavy duty 6.2 version or 6.5 to install a turbo on it and that will be very expensive, over $7000.
I was thinking about adjusting the pump to inject less fuel, I mean decreasing the fuel delivery to the cylinders to get closer to the ideal fuel x air ratio in higher altitude and consequently improving a little bit the efficiency. I will be burning less raw fuel and I will have a little more power, I guess.
Well, I did that with gas engines in motorcycles but I am not experienced with Diesels, so I am not sure if it will work
I would love to have a Turbo engine, but it will need to be reliable for this trip and reliable would mean lot of $$$$ unfortunately
Thank you

[Erik N]

I traveled from San Diego to San Jose back in 1990-1992. My vehicle was a backpack.

It was the perfect solution. Via boat, dumptruck, launcha, pickup, motorhome, or a pie, it was the perfect kit allowing total flexibitity.
A good friend of mine gave me some great advice, true to this day... "remain solvent, keep your options open."

[mtnsurf]

I vote a 1980 VW rabbot mk1 or a small vw truck http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...9QEwBQ&dur=340

[zukrider]

no need for a roof top tent, sleep in the back. save on fuel consumption and weight. for axles, yes, an upgrade would help, mainly due to the weight of a burb. just find a 3/4 burb set with 4.10's. will be a semi float 14b in the rear, and a 10b front with 3/4 outers. great setup. the 4.10's will pair great to 33's.

add a fridge, lots of recovery, tools, safety gear. then just have some fun!

[haven]

While a turbo is helpful as elevation increases, keep in mind that you'll be traveling at 25 to 35 mph on most mountain roads, even downhill. The landslides and vehicle-created potholes are one factor that keeps speed down, narrow roads without much shoulder along steep drop-offs is another factor.

[Bip Bip]

Buy an old Izuzu trooper for under $2000 put tires and gas in it and just go. Too much time and angst on deciding vehicles. There is NO NorthAmerican vehicle worth this much study...

You will spend 100 k on a vehicle and have to fix it anyway. You will spend 90 percent of the time on the PanAm on pavement. The more you spend on the vehicle the shorter your trip will be because gas is expensive. If you spend too much on your vehicle, when the time comes to 'shoot your horse' you can't and thus you will spend more money on it to fix it yet again.

OR better yet, take the car out of your driveway, point it south and just go. It will all work out. I promise.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/foru...t-did-you-need