Thread: Getting more from a series 2.25

how much more power do you want?

I have posted a few times about the mods I have done to mine.

To be honest i would get rid of the 2.25 diesel they are not a very good motor and only really suitable for a stationary engine. I had a Series 3 2.25 diesel and apart from great economy it wouldn't pull the skin off a rice custard. The early ones a 3 bearing i believe the later ones are 5 bearing crankshaft though i don't believe any of these made their way to Australia so in no way are they suitable for turbo-charging. Your best best is to put a 200 or 300 tdi in it.

the cranks not the reason you cant turbo a series 2.25, the pre injection chambers are... once you start to cook up the engine they have a nasty habit of working themselves loose.

the 2.25 diesel is a lugger, it doesnt have a lot of power but it makes plenty of torque (relatively speaking)

in theory you should be able to drop in a de turbod tdi 200, depending on the age of the vehicle you may not have to go an engineers certificate providing you dont have to move mounts on the chassis to get it to fit and you'd probabley get away without having to do a brake upgrade as well.

Originally Posted by hwalker

To be honest i would get rid of the 2.25 diesel they are not a very good motor and only really suitable for a stationary engine. I had a Series 3 2.25 diesel and apart from great economy it wouldn't pull the skin off a rice custard. The early ones a 3 bearing i believe the later ones are 5 bearing crankshaft though i don't believe any of these made their way to Australia so in no way are they suitable for turbo-charging. Your best best is to put a 200 or 300 tdi in it.

That is a bit harsh. Mine can beat 2.25Ps up hills. And with a 1.1T of firewood on board had no problem doing 60+mph.

Gee don't know what you have done to yours to outperform a 2.25 petrol, i had a Series 3 petrol and it had a heap more go than the 2.25 diesel. Mind you the petrol was a 5 bearing with extractors. But in no way is the 2.25 diesel suited to the vehicle it has a powerband about 100rpm wide

Originally Posted by hwalker

Gee don't know what you have done to yours to outperform a 2.25 petrol, i had a Series 3 petrol and it had a heap more go than the 2.25 diesel. Mind you the petrol was a 5 bearing with extractors. But in no way is the 2.25 diesel suited to the vehicle it has a powerband about 100rpm wide

Must have been something wrong with yours then. NFI what you mean about a 100rpm power band - mine will pull from 600rpm-4krpm.

Below is what I did to mine.

Originally Posted by isuzurover

Sorry - missed this...

I did a whole bunch of stuff at the same time (not just pump) - but here is a list:
Fitted Extractors (Lukey Brand)
Removed the SIII "vacuum brake" butterfly - this is a HUGE restriction. Either get a 12V vacuum pump or a vacuum alternator if you have vacuum brakes.
I also chopped (cut and shut) the intake manifold, so the air now enters from the top at the middle of the manifold. This was a clearance thing for my AC (air) compressor, but I believe it may have helped airflow, as the air would be more evenly distributed to all cylinders.
I swapped the crappy oilbath filter for a hilux filter box.

Now the pump mods:
There is a small steel barrel perpendicular to the main barrel of the pump. This is the advance mechanism. Inside is a plunger, ball, and 2 concentric springs. Some people pull the inner spring completely, I removed it and swapped it for a softer one (0.8mm wire instead of 1.1 mm). You can also machine down the plunger, but I am unwilling to do this until I have a spare.
Inside the square linkage housing there is also a combination of 12 different fuelling settings (linkage positions).
I only wanted a slight performance increase, so I have left these alone for now, and am happy with the performance I have. If I wanted to go further I would fit an EGT to make sure I wasn't fuelling too much.
My engione has little-no smoke out the exhaust (except when you really put the boot in, and even then, only a second or two).

While the 2.25 diesel is not very powerful, if you think it has a power band only 100rpm wide there is a problem with it. I had a 2.25 diesel when I was working in the Simpson Desert in the 1960, and working alongside Landcruisers, it easily outperformed them in the sand, partly because of the four speed gearbox where the Toyotas only had a three speed, but mainly because of the torque spread of the engine compared to the Toyota petrol engine of twice the power (Landcruisers were not made then with diesels - in fact Landrover were the only four wheel drive that did have them, at least in this market).

As Isuzurover says, it pulls strongly from the stall at about 600rpm to governed maximum of 4,000rpm, with essentially flat torque from the peak of 1750rpm up to the maximum rpm at 4,000. As with any high speed diesel, having the injectors in good condition and having the injection timing accurately set are essential. Also note that they do not like being overheated, and are much more likely to be damaged by it than the petrol engine is, but also will not perform well when running too cold.

John

JD, that was my experience also. They will chug away from idle speed in top gear and can be driven in traffic almost like an automatic transmission car.. Just stick them in third and never change gear except from a standstill. My 88" diesel used to get nearly forty mpg around town.