TDV6 tips for engine longevity

[Gords]

G'Day,

Seeing as I am new to my 2008 TDV6 SE, I thought I would see what everyone's tips for engine longevity with the 2.7 TDV6 engine. Some thought promoting points might be;

- Warming up motor before driving, how long should you let the motor idle for ideally (and practically) before taking off?

- Same for cooling down after driving, how long do you let it sit in park before turning it off? Obviously it's better for the turbo if it cools down, does anyone recommend turbo timers for the D3's – do they need them?

- Anyone recommend those temperature gauges that give readings on the motor temp?

- Diesel quality, choose high turnover outlets, have heard bad reports from w**lies fuel outlets?

- Any diesel additives?

- Every once in a while give the motor a solid rev to clean out the pistons?

- etc etc.

Thanks in advance!
Gords

[Tombie]

Responses inside your post


G'Day,

Seeing as I am new to my 2008 TDV6 SE, I thought I would see what everyone's tips for engine longevity with the 2.7 TDV6 engine. Some thought promoting points might be;

- Warming up motor before driving, how long should you let the motor idle for ideally (and practically) before taking off?
About as long as it takes to put your belt on, check your mirrors and select gear...
Just drive smoothly until normal operating temp is reached.

- Same for cooling down after driving, how long do you let it sit in park before turning it off? Obviously it's better for the turbo if it cools down, does anyone recommend turbo timers for the D3's – do they need them?
Do not fit a turbo timer (and they mess with the vehicle security anyway so are a pita)
Drive gentler towards end of journey, then idle down whilst lowering EAS to access height.
On hot days or heavy loads / towing idle a bit longer..
15 seconds after gentle run down is ok in 99.9% of cases.
Our work Turbo diesels are just turned off!

- Anyone recommend those temperature gauges that give readings on the motor temp? Not a bad idea...

- Diesel quality, choose high turnover outlets, have heard bad reports from w**lies fuel outlets? Reputable outlets, name brands... Avoid Bio!

- Any diesel additives? No

- Every once in a while give the motor a solid rev to clean out the pistons? No... But a good hard long run will remove the soot from urban running.

- etc etc.

Thanks in advance!
Gords

[Redback]

Do regular oil changes and ALL filter changes.

Baz.

[Geedublya]

All motors require clean air, clean oil, clean fuel and correct cooling. Look after those and you will go a long way to increasing your engine life.

All the points Tombie makes are spot on for a modern turbo diesel.

[jonesy63]

- Anyone recommend those temperature gauges that give readings on the motor temp?

Hi Gords,
I saw the following report the other day - not much of an outlay!
Browser Warning (http://autospeed.com/cms/A_112617/article.html)

[Disco4SE]

Hi Gords,
Agree with everything Tombie said........good advice.
The old way used to be to warm the engine whilst going back inside to do the 3 S's (shower, ****, and shave), however, this will not circulate the oil around the engine as quick as a gentle drive, almost immediately.
Diesel motors like to work, but not necessarily rev. You are better off towing with something heavy up hills ocassionaly rather than rev the crapper out of it.
CHANGE OIL & FILTERS REGULARLARY............most important.
Cooling down - A gentle cruise at 100Kph on the freeway should be followed by a slow drive to home once in the 60Kph zone. Once home, I always unbuckle, grab everything out of the vehicle that I want to take inside (sometimes even check the mailbox), then switch the engine off.
BTW: The above advice is from a family member who is a diesel engineer & mechanic.

Cheers and happy motoring, Craig

[Gords]

Thanks all for the informative replies! Just goes to show how clever these motors actually are!

Tombie; One question: you mentioned "Drive gentler towards end of journey, then idle down whilst lowering EAS to access height." I presume by your reply that you recommend lowering your height to access when parked, even when that height mode is not required?

Jonsey63; The one in the link you gave looks good (and cheap!), I found one on ebay and it was $110 or soemthing. It would make a good cheap overheating alarm. I heard a story where someone blew the radiator on a D3, cooked the engine and the replacement cost of the motor installed was circa $20k! $25 seems a small price to pay to save $20,000!

Disco4SE; Sounds like a good habit to get into!

Cheers, Gords

[CaverD3]

I am serouslt considering when mine needs the timing belt changed getting sump taken off and the big end bolts checked. There have ben some big end failurs and it is thought some of the bolts had loosened.

[400HPONGAS]

Yep, CaverD3 , seen one of those loose big end arrangements close up allready ,with the cracked cap style bigend ,apart from a lack of QA.QC its hard to see how it happens.
Given that ,Id still have the EGR system completely Blocked/removed if you have seen what I have seen in every TDV6 and TDV8.

[stewmair]

Please explain. EGR? and what have you seen?

[discowhite]

just as a folow on the the EGR bit, (exhaust gas recirculation)
im at my 2nd oil sample test in 25 000k's odd, 3rd kit should be here today, im seeing elevated soot/carbon levels in my 2.7TDV6. the oil used is still doing its job by suspending and sepperating the particles, but you still have to wonder:(. after this sample im looking at blanking the EGR on mine to see what the differance will be on the forth sample.
im also doing alot of short stop start driving, work 15min away...this i think will be the main contributing factor to the soot levels.
also i have been advised to use a diesel cleaner. im using the chemtec one every 2nd tank, it slowed the soot levels so far, but more time and more samples are needed to get a better picture.

cheers phil

[400HPONGAS]

stewmair , heaps of info on EGR issues in various threads on here , use search function .
When you see with your own eyes the shear amount of buildup of what looks like gooey black sand right through the entire inlet tract ,then you wonder just how much of this stuff is going into the combustion process .Just pull out the Map sensor and check out just how Blocked/gummed up it is.
There will also be noticeable improvent in power/economy if the job is done properly , ie removal of the inlet tract Butterfly and the cleaning out of the Y-piece.

[CaverD3]

I think MY07? (euro iv) onwards gives a fault if you blank them.

[~Rich~]

Look at this odometer:;DISCO3.CO.UK - View topic - Character has an announcement to make........... (http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/topic64287.html?highlight=Milage)

That is 400,335 Miles = 644,276 km!!!

On Original Turbo, replaced Compressor.
Same engine and he uses Caltex Magnatec.

[jonesy63]

Look at this odometer:;DISCO3.CO.UK - View topic - Character has an announcement to make........... (http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/topic64287.html?highlight=Milage)

That is 400,335 Miles = 644,276 km!!!

On Original Turbo, replaced Compressor.
Same engine and he uses Caltex Magnatec.

I noticed that Castrol Magnatec in UK is fully synthetic - unlike the local namesake.
Also looked up Castrol's site yesterday, and saw "CASTROL MAGNATEC PROFESSIONAL A5 5W-30" is the recommended oil for D4 2.7 - and it has this note: "If unavailable, may also use CASTROL EDGE SPORT 5W-30 or CASTROL EDGE 5W-30 A3/B4."