Most unreliable, least desirable diesel engine?!

Here is my 1981 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight Regency with the infamous Oldsmobile 350 diesel! I picked it up last fall with a NOS engine to go with it because the previous owner believed it had a blown piston after firing the parts cannon at it with no fix. This will make a fantastic summer cruiser using that old diesel!

[billybussell]

Kudos for sticking with the diesel engine and getting it going. I’m sure that there’s not many left

[joeythetruckguy]

I tried to buy one off my neighbor for over ten years while it sat in his driveway just needing a carburetor. He finally sold it to me in 2017 for $500. I got it going then started delivering pizzas for Domino's. Was the most popular delivery in town. Mine was an 82 with a 307 V8 50, 000 original miles. Built like a tank.

[mikevan]

I converted one back to gas back in the 90s. Decent foundation for a rat rod motor.

Always loved the sound of these Diesel engines. Miss this era of car and interior comfort.

[gsfdallas]

Have owned 5 of these diesels thru the years. #1 issue is factory head bolt breaking causing leak on head gasket. ARP sells head stud kit for this engine that will not break. If your head gasket is not leaking I would highly recommend taking out the GM head bolts and replacing with ARP studs. It can be done without taking engine apart, you don, t even need to drain the coolant. Just replace one at a time in the torquing sequence. I have done 3 engines like this and driven many miles with no issue. Thanks for video!

[garyaanderson]

I knew a man that was a diesel mechanic His whole life.He was still wrenching at 85 and commuting to work 40 miles both ways.He had been a field rep rep for international harvester for 16 years.He was the guy that got the harvest machinery going when the dealer couldnt.He taught diesel at two colleges.Lots of donated olds diesels.His 82 olds wagon came to my home.I had never found one that sounded that good.I had been around a few of them.That car got 26 mpg all the time.He bought the car for 300 blown engine. He built an engine.He said I wired up the glow plugs so they got much hotter for start up.He told me a combination that worked one year of block another year rotating assy.Also a mix of other parts.He got to try all this at the college.They even had a chassis dyno.So beautiful running reliable car.

[Steve-pu]

I worked at an Oldsmobile dealership behind the parts counter in the 80s. These diesel's were constantly in for warranty repairs. One day 12 of these were in at the same time. The owners wanted to kill the salesman who came into work but was advised by management to take the day off. That was a crazy Monday !!

[donobiewan]

As a former Oldsmobile mechanic I worked on these. They are good cars that got a bad rap due to people not knowing much about diesels at the time. I would disconnect the EGR valve your oil will stay cleaner. P.S. still have parts and dealer tools.

[thesandero]

1 small tip with these old school indirect injection Diesel engines, make sure your glow plugs are 100% and the system works like intended. It's vital on these engines for firering up on all cilinders with minimal smoke. When it's cold outside, wait an aditional 5 seconds when the glow light goes out. The system still glows and the plugs get much hotter in those couple seconds after the light went already out.
Enjoy your cruiser. It's a real gem

[brettmaddy]

I had an 83 toronado diesel. Zero issues with engine only problem i had was the injection pump i had rebuilt at around 80, 000 miles. Super nice car enjoy.

[remmor]

Great stuff! Thank you for saving this beauty!

[freddyhollingsworth]

To die for!!! I have the same car, same year, but mine is burgundy on burgundy...great video!! I'm glad you got the car...99.99% chance if you didn't, it'd of been in the scrap yard in a year or so....

[jerrysgardentractorsengine]

Man, that car being a diesel makes it the definition of a survivor! My dad had an 81 Cutlass diesel back in the first half of the 90s that he eventually swapped with a 403 out of his moms custom cruiser

[jamesplotkin]

The diesel cars had extra sound deadening and make really comfortable road cars, especially with a Rocket 350 gas conversion.

[davebarajas]

My grandpa had one and he said it used to freeze. Now I don't know if he ever used a block heater. But when my uncle got out of automotive trade school, he converted it to gas. They had it another 10 years until it rusted away. A 98 and Delta 88 are the cars of my childhood. So nice to see one running

[larryfromwisconsin]

Beautiful. I had a 1980s Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon with the diesel engine. I bought it running rough in 1986. I had a diesel truck mechanic rebuild the fuel injection pump and then it ran great -- for about 15, 000 miles then it started running rough again. It quit running entirely when I was 400 miles from home. I just junked it. In retrospect I think I could have prevented the problems if I had put a water separation filter in the fuel line. We didn't have the Internet then so learning these kinds of things was difficult.

[tadsworkshop]

I love that you are putting in the effort. I’ve always heard about those engines but I’ve never had the chance to see one in person. Watching your video makes me want one for my own! Keep up the good work and preserve a piece of automotive history.

[AaronSmith-xxzb]

Awesome and rare car! I would love to see a driving video of this beauty. Thanks for sharing this as I've never seen a diesel Oldsmobile In person. So cool!!

[williamslater-ob]

Those Oldsmobiles and Buicks were some sweet rides. I had a 1985 Buick LeSabre Limited Colectors Edition 4 door. Sitting in that car was like sitting on your living room sofa. It just glided over the road. It handled like a dream. It had the upgraded button tufted seats, all the bells and wishes. Its a shame they don't build cars like that anymore. It also had the 307 Oldsmobile 4 barrel V8. I remember when the starter went bad, the auto parts store insisted it had a 305 Chevrolet engine. The 307 must have been the standard engine for the Oldsmobile and Buicks, because a co-worker had a 83 Electra 224 and his car had the 307.

[danstromness]

We had a 1980 Ninety-Eight with the 5.7L diesel. The most chronic problem we encountered were the INTAKE valves always sticking open. Sounded terrible. I am guessing that we had the car in at least six times for that issue, over five years. Finally, the engine gave up the ghost after those five years.

Dad put a gasser in it and it ran great for about 6 months....then the transmission caught fire. Dad traded it in for a Renault Alliance (another POS). Never did consult me....I was the mechanic in the family. I'd have told him to go get a Honda or Toyota at the time (mid '80s). Oh had $$$ to burn and he sure did.