CNG conversions: Has anyone here converted and 05+ Taco?

I'm seriously thinking about doing a Natural Gas conversion to my 2010 TRD-Off road Taco... Anything I should know? Advice?

My main reason for doing this is I currently live in Utah and can buy CNG for 1.25 almost anywhere in the state vs. 3.40 for regular gas... I've heard it all before, if you wanted fuel economy then why did you buy a truck? Because I need one, I use it everyday to carry lots of hear and access areas that a sedan couldn't think about. I am not willing to drive another car and I would rather dump extra money into my truck to have cheaper fuel than buy a commuter...

My plans...

CNG conversion to run on gas and cng, obviously rigging the cylinders in the bed.

would additional mods help with economy and power used in conjunction with CNG?
possibly doing a TRD CAI/Catback Exhaust, IDK


Has anyone done this yet that can give me some pointers on where to go and what to expect? Thanks in advance

 

Instead of CNG, go with a propane dual fuel converson, its much less expensive, simple to install and maintain.
A dual fuel system runns on either gasoline of LP, but not at the same time, but in colder climates you will need it to run on gasoline when the engine is cold and you first start up, then after the engine warms up you can switch over to LPG.
You can mount a 100 lb LPG tank in the bed of your truck, thats legal (cars require a custom made crash proof LPG tank)
All you need is a LP Fuel Regulator and an adadtor that fits in the air cleaner hose, a 2 way switch mounted on the dash to switch between LPG and gasoline.
I have experience with these systems cause I know someone that has on installed on an older Ford pickup with a 300 straight 6 engine, his bed mounted LPG tank will last 3 months, driving everyday a 20 mile round trip to work (but he drives the first 3-5 miles on gasoline then switches over)
The 100 lb tank costs around $120 to fill.
The engine will run hotter and you will have less engine power with LPG, but the plugs will burn clean, and the oil will never look dirty (the inside of the engine will be super clean running LPG)
The 2 makers are Impco and Algas, they have regulators based on your engine HP

 

^^^ I really like the sound of that, excuse me if this is a dumb question, but would it be possible to rig a 3 way system with lpg, cng, and regular gasoline?

I was already planning on the dual fuel option with cng and gasoline, but is there a 3 way setup available? I just don't think propane is that cheap and therefore not a great savings... thanks for the idea tho, I will definitley look into it.

 

Im in the middle of converting my 2004 Tacoma to bi-fuel CNG/unleaded. I should have it running in a week or so. The description of the propane conversion above is very similar to the CNG conversion. I live in Utah too. $1.25 for gas will be sweet, and there are a lot of CNG filling stations up and down I-15 and throughout the state. Im excited!

 

should have done it earlier could of wrote it off on your taxes

Qualified Alternative Fuel Motor Vehicle (QAFMV) Tax Credit

Expired: 12/31/2010
A tax credit is available toward the purchase of QAFMVs, which may be either new, original equipment manufacturer vehicles or vehicles that have been repowered by an aftermarket conversion company to operate on an alternative fuel. Qualifying alternative fuels are those powered by natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, hydrogen, and fuel containing at least 85% methanol. The vehicle must be placed into service as an alternative fuel vehicle on or after January 1, 2006. Unused credits that qualify as general business tax credits, as defined by the IRS, may be carried backward one year and carried forward 20 years. Vehicle manufacturers must follow the procedures as published in Notice 2006-54 in order to certify to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that a vehicle meets the requirements to claim the QAFMV credit and confirm the allowable credit with respect to that vehicle. See the IRS QAFMV website for the current list of qualified vehicles and credits. For more information, see IRS Form 8910, which is available via the IRS website. This tax credit expires December 31, 2010. (Reference 26 U.S. Code 30B)


source: http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/laws/laws_expired

Some states also have varying incentives you can look up at the same site.

 

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Looking around the net a bit it looks like they make a SGI kit for the HILUX which is the same 4.0 in our tacoma. I am not sure how much is different due to emissions over here vs other countries

I am interested in converting as well but seems not to be cost effective yet for most.

 

Yes, it has been done. http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/154599-cng-fuel-system-installed-pics.html

 

Interesting idea to say the least and I am ignorant of the conversion facts. If you pay $1.25 per gallon of propane can you still get the same mpg as gas?

 

Where are you getting the conversion kits?

 

My kit came from this guy in Syracuse, UT. http://www.ewsews.com/cngprices.html

But the guy in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYP2ZRwq9EE
is using the exact same kit that I have and he said he bought it off ebay.

 

I cant help but ask....Ive seen people do this before but you literally have to carry a bomb in car/truck, given no ones going to shoot but in the event of a bad crash?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zfnvM4jgjM

 

And gas is not flammable or cause an explosion either.

Both are used for fuel both can blow up, happens all the time to vehicles.

 

Anyone do LP??

If I go CNG there are only two place that fill in the area of an hour drive.

 

The thought of carrying around a 3000 psi potential explosive around in the bed of your truck or in your trunk is a bit nerve racking until you see how safe they really are. Granted, these videos are extremely old, but still quite interesting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irvktfQvu4M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-ExcJ7PaRc

 

That's kind of silly... the idiot in the video threw a propane tank in a fire allowing pressure to build very high, then punctured the tank several minutes later with a gun. The odds of those events happening in a single car crash are very unlikely. If you just do one or the other (fire or gun shot), the tank won't explode with that kind of force. Gasoline is flammable also and contained in a plastic tank on the under side of your truck. Securing a metal tank in the bed seems like a much better way to transport fuel. Just sayin...

 

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I just wanted to drop an update on my '04 Tacoma CNG conversion. Maybe someone out there has an idea of how to easily fix my problem:

Here is the story on my Tacoma conversion. I got it completed about 5 or 6 weeks ago and im not extremely happy with the way it turned out. The installation as described in the instructions wasn’t terribly difficult and things actually ran pretty well for about a week, until my unleaded gasoline system started running terribly. I couldn't figure it out for a couple of days until I finally unplugged the battery and let the computer memory system reset and then it ran perfectly. What is happening is when I run the CNG system, the truck's computer doesn't like some piece of feedback and it tries to adjust the fuel delivery ratio, or fuel trim. I think when its running on CNG it thinks its running rich so after a certain amount of time it will adjust the fuel trim and lean it up. Well, I don't notice until Im stuck in the Fresh Market parking lot and my truck won't start on unleaded. And since the system doesn't allow it to start in CNG your screwed. So what I've been doing over the last few weeks is running only 50% of the time in CNG, and never for more than 30 miles or so at a time. So far this has worked fine and I haven't had the truck adjust the fuel trim to where I notice it. Keeping some unleaded time on the engine keeps it happy.

So, if I'd have known going in to this that I'd only be able to run CNG half the time I wouldn't have done the conversion. Now that its installed I'll keep it and at least get my money's worth out of it. There are a few more things Im going to try to fix this problem. I've had some other DIY CNG conversion guys tell me that on their newer trucks they use relays to have the fuel injectors and fuel pump turn off completely when in CNG mode and they never have the problem my Tacoma has. See, the system that Im running has "emulators" plug into the fuel injectors so they are never actually turned off. The computer thinks they are running because the emulator is plugged in, but the emulator stops them from delivering unleaded into the cylinders. Im thinking this may have something to do with the feedback the computer is getting which is adjusting the fuel trim.

I got sidetracked with some home remodeling so hopefully in a few weeks I can get back to fiddling with the CNG project.

 

Interesting. I was going to post and see if there was anyone considering CNG conversions. I hear that it's typically done with newer cars. Not sure what the deal is there, unless it's something to do with FI, OBDII, etc. Regardless, we have a CNG station nearby that has a sign lit up with $1.58 per GGE. That sounds pretty good when E10 is locally at $3.50. However I don't think it's all so perfect as the range of CNG is not the same as gasoline. Sort of how E85 may be cheaper per gal in your area, but the energy output isn't as high per gal. If the price spread is enough, it pays off, even if the range is lower. Those E85 prices seem to be about $3/gal to make it worthwhile. At $1.58, I'm thinking there's got to be some good value there. I have yet to compare the numbers for cars like the Honda Civic that offers the nat gas option. I think that would be the easiest comparison.

I have nat gas in my house for heating and cooking. The ability to hook up a fuel pump in my garage would be cool. No more stopping at the gas station for 90% of my travel; just drive home!

Interesting to see some are trying it out here. Keep us posted.

 

Agreed. That propane tank is designed to be used for making chicken tasty! It's not designed for use in a vehicle. I can use a plastic jug to store gas, but I wouldn't use it for a gas tank on a car.

Looking at the older video showing a tank getting hit by an AR-15, which is what was required to puncture it. It didn't explode and the gas vented to atmosphere in a minute. In some ways, that could be less dangerous. Gasoline tends to just spread and wait on an ignition source. That's not to say CNG isn't dangerous. There's no free lunch. Maybe a firefighter would have a more informed opinion.