Thread: What to do with my stock D1 200Tdi

245/70 or 245/75 are a good fit and don't sap much power to turn, you will need a mild camel cut to trim the rear guards so they don't hit on articulation.
Add a dual battery setup if you plan on powering a fridge or lights for camping.

Already had dual batteries when I bought it

from what i've been told. if you want to go remote or travel further, the best thing to do is keep it as close to stock as possible. if you want to do 4wding then i guess the usual things like lockers, suspension upgrades and all that stuff. 2 inch lift generally isn't too bad on the car and makes it a bit more capable.

i'd say if you want to go further, best thing is to make sure everything is working fine. most importantly the cooling system. especially the case in the tdi. where overheating will kill your engine and most likely destroy your very rare 200tdi head which you cannot get new anymore.

installing sensors like EGT, coolant temp and again most importantly an engine saver coolant level alarm isn't a bad idea.

checking and changing the rubbers on suspension components and fixing up saggy seat diaphragm certainly makes it into a very comfy tourer. .

I like the idea of the coolant level alarm

And where is the best place to put a temp gauge sender ?

For a temporary measure (ie over 5 years now!) I put my aftermarket VDO temp gauge in the gap between the instrument binnacle and the A-Pillar and that discreet location works great. I have recently bought a binnacle from the UK to fit on top of the dash in place of the coin tray. That will then house my VDO temp gauge, Madman EMS2 unit, boost gauge and low water alarm light. When finished it should look factory fitted.

From memory I placed the sender in the bung on top of the radiator.

There's a bung on top of cylinder head amongst the head bolts. On 300tdi head, anyway. Assume 200tdi does too? This gets you into the coolant galleries and is where my temp sensor is. I think from memory it's m10x1.5 thread. I have an adapter from that to the 1/8npt size that most vdo units are. You will have to make sure my numbers are correct though.

I bought a mud pod from uk. Possibly same as cripes almighty. I have a madman ems2, boost gauge, my engine saver coolant level alarm, a mic for my hands free and a thermometer display for outside temperature. Could've fit another gauge but didn't use the real estate wisely enough.

My madman displays coolant temperature, engine oil pressure, tcase oil temperature, voltage, engine hours and exhaust gas temperature.

Not all those are necessary but certainly the low coolant alarm and coolant or head temperature are vital. Then if you tweak fuel pump the exhaust gas temperature becomes vital too.

Having had a pretty good look, there does not appear to be a bung on the head that I can see

Originally Posted by Morry948

Having had a pretty good look, there does not appear to be a bung on the head that I can see

yea looking at pictures online, i think you may be right. the 300tdi head is as per picture. the bung is the middle one in that red circle. looking at 200tdi heads there doesn't appear to be that. there are other ways though. not end of the world. one of the kits you can buy online is just a sensor that is bolted directly to the actual metal of the head and gives you a reading of that, rather than coolant. otherwise there are other places you can put coolant temp sensor from. read the head gasket thread i linked you before. blknight mentioned some places where not to take measurements from as they won't give you correct readings depending on water being, not being there and/or thermostat not being open etc.