Which Truck Should I Get for a SVO (WVO, VegOil) Conversion?

The most popular post by far on the Vegwerks Blog is Which Diesel Should I Get for a SVO (WVO, VegOil) Conversion?

Not surprisingly, it's also the most common email (and phone call) question that I get.

So, loyal readers, here are my top three choices for SVO trucks:

1. 1994-1998.5 Dodge Cummins 5.9l 2nd gen 12 valve
2. 1989-1993 Dodge Cummins 5.9l 1st gen 12 valve
3. 1983-1994 Ford International 6.9/7.3l pre-Powerstroke

Now, here's the details:

Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO), even when heated, is still thicker than diesel. You need a truck with an injection pump than can withstand the added stress of SVO.

The strongest injection pump out there out there is the Bosch inline P7100, found on 2nd generation 12 valve Dodge Cummins trucks.

The best SVO truck:
1994-1998.5 Dodge Cummins 5.9l 2nd gen 12 valve


Other good candidates for a vegoil conversion are pre-Powerstroke 6.9/7.3 Fords with the regular Stanadyne injection pumps and 1st generation 12 valve Dodges with the Bosch VE rotary pump. Personally, I convert a lot of VWs with the Bosch VE pump, and have good luck with them, so I would prefer a Dodge, but they are harder to find than the Fords. In early 1994 Ford made a turbodiesel version of the 7.3 IDI, it's the newest, most powerful of the old-style pre-Powerstroke engines.

Common, easier to convert diesel trucks:
1989-1993 Dodge Cummins 5.9l 1st gen 12 valve
1983-1994 Ford 6.9/7.3l IDI


Halfway through 1994 Ford switched from an Indirect Injection (IDI) engine to a Direct Injection (DI) system with a Hydraulic Electronic Unit Injection (HEUI), a type of Common-Rail system, instead of a regular mechanical injection pump. These are very common, but the fuel routing issues cause purge times to be almost 15 minutes with a standard conversion. With the extra modifications to reduce purge times, these can run vegoil very well, but may cost $1000-$2000 more.

Common diesels that may require more complex, expensive conversions:
1994.5-1997 Ford Powerstroke 7.3l 1st gen
1999-2003 Ford Powerstroke 7.3l 2nd gen


GMC/Chevy trucks have a very sensitive injection pump that is known to break when running straight vegetable oil. I don't recommend converting these trucks, although there are a few local GMC fanatics who are running SVO.

The Dodge VP44 is a radial-piston rotary pump, instead of the axial-piston VE rotary pump, and that makes a lot of difference. Basically, the VP44 is a sensitive pump that breaks easily on straight vegetable oil.

Not Recommended:
1982-2000 GMC/Chevy 6.2/6.5l
1998.5-2002 Dodge Cummins 5.9l 24 valve


Yeah, but what about the newer trucks? Ummmmm, they're newer. All have Direct Injection (DI) engines with some sort of common-rail injection system, and would require at least as much additional modifications as the 7.3l Powerstrokes. We can convert them, but consider converting them experimental and expensive.

And what about Isuzu, Toyota, International, and other early 80's trucks? Well, most of them are pretty good candidates, but info on the rare trucks is beyond the scope of this piece, although I've happily driven an old VW pickup for years on SVO.

Which Diesel Should I Get for a SVO (WVO, VegOil) Conversion?

First of all, ANY diesel will run biodiesel. You DON'T need to convert a vehicle for biodiesel. Well, maybe replace a few rubber hoses and seals, but not immediately on putting biodiesel in your tank. Biodiesel is NOT Straight Vegetable Oil.

You can convert any diesel to run on heated, filtered Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO, WVO, VegOil). But, some vehicles are cheap and easy to convert and some are tricky and expensive to convert.

It's all in how robust the injection pump is.

Common, easier to convert Diesel Cars
1968-1985 Mercedes 200D, 220D, 240D, 300D(SD,TD,SDL)
1977-1992 VW Rabbit(Golf, Pickup), Jetta, Dasher(Quantum), Vanagon 1.5l/1.6l/1.6l Turbodiesel*
1996-1999.5 VW Golf, Jetta, Passat, New Beetle 1.9 TDI (3rd gen)
2002-2003 VW Golf, Jetta, Passat, New Beetle 1.9 TDI (4th gen)

Common, easier to convert Diesel Trucks
1983-1994 Ford 6.9/7.3 IDI (especially the 1994 turbodiesel)
1989-1993 Dodge Cummins 5.9 1st gen 12 valve - rotary VE injection pump
1994-1998.5 Dodge Cummins 5.9 2nd gen 12valve - inline p7100 injection pump**

Other Common Diesels to Convert
1994.5-1997 Ford Powerstroke 1st generation - stock filter issues
1999-2003 Ford Powerstroke 2nd generation - fuel routing issues
1999.5-2001 VW TDI diesels - early 4th gen known for haphazard quality

Common, but more involved and less robust systems***
1982-2000 Chevy/GMC 6.2/6.5 - injection pumps prone to failure
1998.5-2002 Dodge Cummins 5.9 24 valve - VP44 injection pump prone to failure

Many of the newer high-pressure and common-rail diesels are also possible to convert, but are beyond the scope of this quick overview.

Of course, there are the less common diesels by Toyota, Nissan, Isuzu, International, Peugeot, etc. which can also be converted.

* We really like the 1985-1992 VW 1.6l turbodiesels with the Bosch rotary VE pump, although the older Mercedes are built like tanks. (note: not every model is available every year listed)
**The 1994-early 1998 Dodge has the highly recommended Bosch inline P7100 injection pump.
***Alaska VegOil Systems does not convert the senstive GMC 6.2/6.5 or the VP44, although we will help with consultations and can point folks to GMC/Dodge specialists.

Please, folks, make sure your vehicle is running well before you sink some money into converting it. There are too many expensive stories about people who buy a beater for SVO.

In the last two blogs we've tried to answer some of the repeat questions people ask of us. Next up we'll continue our journey through the Alaska biofuels scene.

Veg On!

P.S. More info on the Which TRUCK Should I Get for a SVO (WVO,Vegoil) Conversion? page.