300Tdi Essential Mods?

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Originally Posted by jay_guess

Why are you not sold on the VNT - aren't all modern engines running these?

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a lot of them are but with much better management systems than the tdi 300 has got. The Tdi is old school and works well enough with the old school turbo setup, they work well dont get me wrong but I personally dont see the bang for buck in a VNT setup on the TDI. The disco I've kept for the girlfriend has a VNT and compared to the one I parted out the td04 setup I was running was nearly on par at about 2/3 the cost.

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Originally Posted by dero

What is a 'stage 1 mod on the boost lines '

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Silicon hoses and shift the waste gate actuator feed to the inlet manifold as you install the boost gauge and EGT probe.

Having had another play with it... Move the compensator line as well if you want a little more fuel economy, plumb it onto a single spigot if you want the initial power gain.

I agree with Dave, before spending $ on turbos have a solid play with OEM setup. It’s a 130 not a ricer.

With a Dawes (sp) valve adjusted into the compensator line on my old dunger I was consistently boosting to 20psi (yes I know it’s off the curve their but whatever) with OEM turbo and fuelled to keep EGT under control.

Always be aware that you are limited to a 300tdi block and cooling system - when the going gets hot if you have worked it too much you will make more heat than you can shed....

For a world overlander I would aim for just enough poke to keep me mobile without compromise to the cooling.... a blown HG in the Moroccan desert is a bit of a downer? If old school overanders did the world lap in a series with a bit less than 8.63 total horsepower a stock 300tdi output will be fine!

S

Are there any threads on here with a bit more detail on these mods .

Definitely fit headlight relays, it's only a matter of time before the light switch/dip switch contacts burn out. A bonus is that you end up with headlights that actually work properly :). I'm pretty sure Traxide on here has a plug in kit to fix problem

Deano :)

You have already purchased some expensive non-essentials. And if you are going for new guages why go more expensive than VDO - which also look OEM.


The essentials are:

- low coolant alarm
- good coolant guage (pref with high temp alarm)
- a full round of engine maintenance (km history dependant) and the big ones:
- timing belt
- big end bearings
- head gasket

Cooling system should be in top condition. New radiator or recore if yours is looking beat.

TDI drive line is pretty solid. Inspect and service.

Straight forward Non essential performance tweaks:

- double core IC
- egt gauge
- fuel pump tweaks

If you plan to cross rivers:

- raised intake and breather lines


Other non essentials tips:

If you plan to drive at +30C with the family packed in, get the AC in tip top condition or upgrade.

To improve interior noise, start with door alignment and bulkhead seals. Close all gaps. At speed alot of noise is wind whistle. Do not cover everything in dynamat. It will add more weight than effect.

Upgrade headlights to LED or use brighter bulbs on new wiring and relays.

Try and keep weight down and do not oversize the tyres.

Is the timing belt up to date? I think they are due for replacement at about 80K km?

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Originally Posted by manic

You have already purchased some expensive non-essentials.

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I understand you suggesting that my updates so far are "non essentials - however I do not agree. Yes i could have replaced the worn or damaged parts with lower cost, inferior quality - but as stated at the beginning of this thread the intention is built proof reliability, and if that means spending a few more $$ on a beuatiffly hand made aluminium header tank then to me it is a no brainer.

The Alisport breather is better than original but not essential. The PS pump reservoir does not need to be aluminium, the zf plastic ones appear to last forever.

Silicon hoses are cheap so worth getting when required as they tend to last longer, but not essential.

Replacing all the gauges is not essential.

A VNT turbo does not increase reliability , also not essential.

The TDI is pretty much bullet proof from the factory, so long as you keep on the service schedule, keep the oil in and dont overheat it. Replace flogged out parts with good/OEM parts and it will serve well to 500k+++

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Originally Posted by manic

..... as they tend to last longer, but not essential.

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I think each individual has different perspective on 'essentials'.

While the above quote is referencing silicon hoses, the philosophy applies to anything really.

eg. on my Tdi(D1) the main radiator hose started to delaminate at the rubber to rubber T joint.
Didn't look overly critical, but over time it wasn't going to get better. Question(for me) was when was it going to let go!
So I bought a full set of silicon coolant hoses. Included every coolant hose, even the small 6 or 8mm thermostat to header tank hose and header to radiator, but not the valve thingie.
The kit I got came with two metal(aluminium I think/can't remember exactly) T junctions for the main hose. One up top for the main radiator to thermostat and the main hose to smaller header tank hose that loops down under the fan.
When the old hose came out, it turned our that the smaller rubber junction also had the beginnings of delamination too.
Brother's TD5 also had a similar delminating top hose. My view is that those hose on hose junctions just can't be trusted. He also got a set of silicon hoses with metal T junctions.
Others seem to be happy enough to use them, but it comes back to the point ... 'essential'
Because of my experience with those hoses, I think it's an essential component to have replaced with a more solid type.

As for the topic of the header tank, there has been historical issues of split header tanks going back .. almost forever .. IIRC this also continued on with the D2's header tank as well.
The issue of split header tanks isn't restricted to Landrovers.
My mechanic does taxi services under contract, and I remember years ago with the early falcon updated models, maybe EA era, so and the taxis used(EAs and equivalent Fairlanes) were all coming in regularly with split header tanks .. for years!
Ford never did anything about it, mechanics loved the work(easy job, I helped with one while he did some stuff on mine) .. and the rip off continued on for a long time.

Allipsort DID do something about it, and created the metal header tanks. Quite expensive stuff too!
There are some knock offs going on ebay, don't look too bad, thought about it, but my experience is that so far I've not found it to be a problem. I've had the Tdi running at over 100°C in >40°C ambient for hours on end, reaching 117C for a short period(running AC), maybe 10-20mins, but it came back to 100 and settled there till I got to about Broken Hill.
Header tank survived. Smooth road tho. Maybe a few hours of corrugations and those coolant temps could have made a difference and caused issues.

I've found in the 3 years I've owned my Tdi, that gauges are 'essential'.
That is hot coolant doesn't necessarily mean that you have cooling issues, and knowing the oil temp helps a lot to understand of the engine is actually running hot, or if the hot coolant is a temporary issue.
eg. above when I went out to test hot running with AC on. Normally my Tdi runs at about 80-85, maybe higher 80's on a hot day.
With higher EGTs and a hot day, running AC, I used to see well over 100°C from the coolant gauge, but the oil tempo gauge hardly moved.
If the engine was actually HOT, both oil and coolant would rise, oil more slowly. But I never saw hotter than normal(60-ish C) oil temps as well.
Only on a very long run in very hot ambients would the oil temp rise to close to the coolant temps, normally it'd rise by about 10°C but drop back sometimes too. It depended on the road(rising/falling).
But it turned out I did have cooling issues only when using AC. The added strain on the engine/cooling would cause the engine to run hot on a long run. The 10 mins spikes of seeing 117°C were never an issue, as soon as the road leveled or AC turned off, coolant would drop quickly back to 100-ish and continue lower over a longer run(say an hour or so).
Knowing that the engine is actually HOT, as opposed to seeing that the coolant is spiking temporarily(where temporarily = 10 mins or so) .. are different situations.

Turns out that on the D1, the small plastic air deflector lays flat on the chassis above the Auto trans pipes makes a huge difference to how cool it runs. I made a metal deflector from under the bullbar to the top of the chassis in front of the radiators so that a small amount of forced air is now directed at the radiators(more importantly the AC condenser) and it stops the flow of air through the grille from going down and under the radiators too.
Helped massively. Can now run AC on a 35+ C day and not get too much higher than high 90's under almost full load(as full load as an auto can manage).

Essentials? ... make sure that any mods made haven't impacted the way the vehicle should run.

Read my first post. Gauge/alarm/sensors were mentioned. Of course having gauges is essential - but you do not need to change all the OEM gauges with expensive motorsport gauges.

OEM rubber hoses last many years. All my cars have rubber coolant hoses. Even Tesla ship their latest electric vehicles with rubber coolant hoses. I know when I replace the rubber hoses on a flush I barely need to consider them for at least 5 years. I have never had an issue with split hoses on cars I maintain. With my TDIs any hose issue would be picked up by low coolant alarm.

If you have the dreaded black plastic header tank, changing it is a good idea. Alisport is not the only option. The white OEM tank in my disco has lasted 20+ years and it's still solid. And before both of those there was a genuine brass/metal tank in the V8/NA that you might find second hand or down the wreckers. I have one of these in the 200tdi with a float switch.