I'm a new arrival to the diesel world and am still getting my hands around some of the concepts. How do mechanical diesels adjust, if at all, at high altitudes? Specifically I'd be looking for how this works on a 1hd-t or -ft, but I'm sure the concept would apply equally to any of the non-computer controlled diesels. There's no feedback loop that tells the IP to perform differently based on altitude or observed performance, right? I know on my gasser the ECU changes the inected fuel amounts based on sensor feedback, but on a mechanical diesel system, there is no such feedback loop... sort of like stepping back in time to the carbureted world for gassers?
So should I expect a 1hd-t or 1hd-ft to perform much differently or burn much richer at high altitude? My home turf isn't that high - about 1,200 ft ASL - but I'll frequently be taking it to around 7,000' and might do the occasional trip to 13,000' (about 4K meters). I'm curious how EGTs will respond if the engine were optimized for low altitude but then is working hard at high altitude (e.g., crossing a highway mountain pass at 10,000' while towing a trailer). My intuition tells me an engine optimized at low altitude would be over fueled at high altitude and might be more prone to dangerous EGT levels.
So should I expect a 1hd-t or 1hd-ft to perform much differently or burn much richer at high altitude? My home turf isn't that high - about 1,200 ft ASL - but I'll frequently be taking it to around 7,000' and might do the occasional trip to 13,000' (about 4K meters). I'm curious how EGTs will respond if the engine were optimized for low altitude but then is working hard at high altitude (e.g., crossing a highway mountain pass at 10,000' while towing a trailer). My intuition tells me an engine optimized at low altitude would be over fueled at high altitude and might be more prone to dangerous EGT levels.