D2a towing mods

[discolaw]

After starting to tow a 2t approx. van with my '04 td5 I found towing performance very ordinary which was not unexpected. It was a choice of a new towing vehicle or some upgrading work on the D2. With 145K up I figured the disco had some useful life left especially if just kept it mainly for towing duties so I went for the following:
Davis remap
Dewebbed manifold and upgraded studs
extra auto tranny cooler kit
replacement auto cooler hoses (as preventative maintenance)
All up cost fitted by MR in Brisbane--$2860 approx.
So far the results are very satisfactory with torque increased to 430nm resulting in on road pulling power now up there or a little better than the Prado/Pajero pack . Also the tranny is running cooler with the passenger no longer complaining about excessive cabin heat coming off the tranny. To the extent you can believe it the temp. gauge stays rock solid in the middle and I have an engine saver alarm just in case. All in all very happy with the $ spent and way cheaper than a new vehicle. Thought this might be some useful info for anyone like me who is a light duties DIY'er and considering the same thing.
Cheers

[schuy1]

Thats a very minor outlay for the increases gained in the scheme of things :) No way you would have got away that light by replacing with a {maybe} more powerful "other" brand! Just on the factory temp gauge, they always sit rock solid in the middle , The only time they move is when the motor boils! sadly they seem to give no warning of temp increases. The best is fit a TM1/2 gauge or use the nanacom in instrument mode.
Mine runs normal on 83-84 and spikes up to 98-100 on a long pull and 35 degree temps, but the factory gauge never moves!
Cheers Scott

[ozscott]

In the same vein, in terms of V8's my mate with a 4.6 and some cam just had custom made extractors, free flow cats, hurricane free flow muffler and big bore engine pipe to muffler fitted. It has made a very noticeable difference to HP and torque.

Cheers

PS. I see people talk down extractors but I wonder if this is first hand experience or not. I also wonder about the quality of those extractors commented on. The fella who did this set is excellent.

[gavinwibrow]

After starting to tow a 2t approx. van with my '04 td5 I found towing performance very ordinary which was not unexpected. It was a choice of a new towing vehicle or some upgrading work on the D2. With 145K up I figured the disco had some useful life left especially if just kept it mainly for towing duties so I went for the following:
Davis remap
Dewebbed manifold and upgraded studs
extra auto tranny cooler kit
replacement auto cooler hoses (as preventative maintenance)
All up cost fitted by MR in Brisbane--$2860 approx.
So far the results are very satisfactory with torque increased to 430nm resulting in on road pulling power now up there or a little better than the Prado/Pajero pack . Also the tranny is running cooler with the passenger no longer complaining about excessive cabin heat coming off the tranny. To the extent you can believe it the temp. gauge stays rock solid in the middle and I have an engine saver alarm just in case. All in all very happy with the $ spent and way cheaper than a new vehicle. Thought this might be some useful info for anyone like me who is a light duties DIY'er and considering the same thing.
Cheers
CRITICAL - get an engine saver coolant alarm.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - get an engine temp gauge. I use my Nanocom Evo which is my best investment ever - multi-tasking/friend maker.
Decatting and ERG removal should be next

[Pedro_The_Swift]

In the same vein, in terms of V8's my mate with a 4.6 and some cam just had custom made extractors,
Cheers



Pics and business name?:angel:

[discolaw]

CRITICAL - get an engine saver coolant alarm.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - get an engine temp gauge. I use my Nanocom Evo which is my best investment ever - multi-tasking/friend maker.
Decatting and ERG removal should be next


My post mentions I have a coolant alarm.
Have previously done the other things you refer to altho I haven't been using my nano for eng. temp. I was hoping the std. gauge reads coolant temp. and the alarm covers coolant loss. Should I have a aux. temp gauge as well, or use the nano,---in fact do I want to know and give myself one more worry.

[strangy]

My post mentions I have a coolant alarm. Have previously done the other things you refer to altho I haven't been using my nano for eng. temp. I was hoping the std. gauge reads coolant temp. and the alarm covers coolant loss. Should I have a aux. temp gauge as well, or use the nano,---in fact do I want to know and give myself one more worry.

No need for another engine coolant temp gauge.

You do need an EGT gauge.
Towing and chip/ remap = higher EGT.
Some folks have had chip/ remap that has pushed EGT to unsustainable temps when towing or on long hills.

[gavinwibrow]

Oops! I thought you'd said you had an alarm on my first read, but only re-read the main list so missed that.
I agree with Stangy re EGT - I drive on mine all of the time, however, I like a coolant temp gauge that works (as well as an alarm) hence my nanocom stays on board all of the time and I never even look at the original LR one.
I run at 86 - 90 in ordinary mode and about 92 - 94 in normal towing. I have an Allard oversize intercooler, big ATF radiator with auto fan and manual over-ride, Ashcroft style torque converter, Jose stage 1 remap for towing/economy and new standard LR radiator/new hoses (was talked out of spending a grand on an oversize radiator at the time, but??? I have not yet touched my boost.

Going up the big hill outside of Melbourne en route to Ballarat in January on a 44 degree day pulling a camper trailer, I got up to 107 degrees momentarily. Experts here say safe up to 115-120, but I normally use 100 as a backoff point.

[discolaw]

Was looking at egt issue hence the mod to manifold & studs. When you say back off when the egt is up there do mean actually stop asap or just back off the go pedal. In any case it sounds like an egt gauge would be a wise precaution.

[cjc_td5]

I agree with others that an EGT gauge is a very wise investment. You will notice a huge difference to how you drive. When climbing a hill, you will get huge EGTs if you just bury your right foot. By backing off your foot you will find a sweet spot where the performance does not drop but EGTs can be 150 degrees lower. Anything above this point is just adding fuel for no gain, with the extra fuel just adding extra heat.

My remap certainly pushed EGTs higher than with a standard tune. The gauge is needed to keep them under control. (It can make you more paranoid though? :-) )

[Disco Muppet]

Was looking at egt issue hence the mod to manifold & studs. When you say back off when the egt is up there do mean actually stop asap or just back off the go pedal. In any case it sounds like an egt gauge would be a wise precaution.

Back off, not pull over :)
Here's a good post by Land Rover Guru Blknight.aus that gives a good explanation....



rough rules for EGT if you have ally pistons (yes you do) and a pre turbo EGT sensor

in driver speak.

600 is 0k
650 is when you want to be thinking "maybe I should be gearing down"
700 is when you should be thinking "I should have geared down"
750 is when you should be thinking "why havent I geared down?"
800 is when your mechanic is going to be unfriendly at you and use words like, butcher, inept and "why'd you bother to install a pyro if you weren't going to pay attention to it?" your repair bill will probably get spiked just to teach you a lesson about your lack of vehicle sympathy.

in mechanic speak

600 is survivable, your not doing any undue damage or increasing your wear but you are technically pushing the engine so your fuel economy is out the window in favour of more torque. your engine can do this forever but the fuel tank wont like you.

650 is still survivable but you are not winning any friends in the wear and tear department, if you have preexisting faults in pistons, heads, valve seats or your cooling system pushing to here will start to expose them. in theory the engine can do this forever but your wallet will let you know about it by way of the bowser

700 is not good, very short term exposures to these temps are survivable BUT, the combustion temperature at the point of maximum combustion chamber pressure is above what aluminium can deal with long term, once all the allys heated up its going to start going west unless your engines ability to shed heat through the pistons underside oil cooling is good (which it is in a td5). the oil that is being splashed up onto the underside of the pistons will be breaking down. you can maintain this for maybe a minute

750 is very not good everything that was happening at 700 will be happening here but faster. combustion pressure and temps can be high enough to start eroding the piston lands and skirts where the fire burns down past the gaps in the rings. The heat being applied to the top of the piston is now getting towards the limit of conductivity of the metal (think of holding an ally can in your hand, you can melt the bottom off with an oxy torch without the top of the can getting hot enough to burn your hand) you are turning your oil into carbon based grinding paste on the underside of the pistons. you can do this for maybe 10 seconds and thats assuming your engines perfect, dont forget that in getting to this temp youve had to spend time at 700+ so you have less time at this temp if its been a long slow increase as opposed to a sudden increase. If its a sudden increase you need to ask why.

800 ahh yes sir, youve turned your pistons all insideoutsidemelty its time to rebuild.


for a post turbo EGT sensor drop all those numbers by about 100 degrees or more depending on how far post turbo you gauge is and how quick its reaction is.

In any case, EGT gauge is pretty much a necessity imho.

[Redback]

Was looking at egt issue hence the mod to manifold & studs. When you say back off when the egt is up there do mean actually stop asap or just back off the go pedal. In any case it sounds like an egt gauge would be a wise precaution.

Back off as in keep a trailing throttle, you're on the gas but not if you know what I mean, it's actually better to go back a gear rather than stay on the throttle using the torque when going up hills, especially long ones.

Sacrifice a bit of speed to save the engine, it will also help with fuel economy;)

Baz

[discolaw]

Thanks all. Looks like egt gauge to complete the towing makeover. Since it looks like there is enough war talk in Europe atm I won't ask about a WDH and my SLS
Cheers

[ozscott]

Pics and business name?:angel:

No pics yet. Brian, owner of Exhaust a Innovations at Steel St Capalaba. Brian did my Hurricane muffler and high flow cats. Can't say enough good stuff about him. Very nice fella too.

Cheers

[schuy1]

Maybe 1 of these Automobile Multimeter, Dual Channel [SYL-2813] - $79.95 : auberins.com, Temperature control solutions for home and industry (http://www.auberins.com/index.php'main_page=product_info&cPath=5_21&products_id=357) Looks quite handy. Am thinking about 1