Thread: Disco TD5 Turbo Upgrade

Originally Posted by Disco Mick

No, not really thinking about it at this stage. I just want to get it running and then I can go back to my other projects. I'm not a professional workshop or anything I just play with stuff in my back yard so to speak.

While I'm enjoying fiddling with the Discovery TD5 and learning about diesels my passion is more with performance cars.

I put this up more to help others out who are thinking of updating their turbo.

Cheers

Well I'm impressed with the wokmanship etc, well done

JC

Thanks Justin.

Cheers

Just a small update on the install.

I've been wondering how to connect the outlet of the VNT turbo into the Land Rover inter cooler pipe work. The problem is that the Land Rover pipework is 2" where as the outlet on the turbo is only 1 3/4". The guy I bought the turbo from suggested using a small piece of hose over the outlet and then sliding the inter cooler hose over that. I wasn't that keen on that setup so I tried another avenue.

I cut the IC pipe down and machined up a reducer to press into the end.



This steps the pipe down to 1 3/4"

I then welded it in place and gave it a quick coat of black paint. I also welded up the original port for the boost controller.



The paint isn't pretty but it'll keep it from rusting.

I went to a couple of speed shops but no one seemed to have any nice silicon hoses in 1 3/4" they are all 2 1/2" and 3". Someone probably sells them but in the mean time I found a section of an EB falcon bottom radiator hose had the perfect bend for the job.

Here it is installed and all connected up. Almost looks factory built.



With the inter cooler pipework all done I could refit the intake and air box lid. It all fits in nicely. I've still got to replace some of the plastic conduit on the wiring. The heat has destroyed it over time.



The other job I've been working on is getting the exhaust hooked up to the new turbo. To make life a little easier I pulled the front half of the exhaust system off and cut off the down pipe. I then welded a flange in place just in front of the cat and refitted the it to the vehicle. Now I can build the pipe from the turbo down to the cat and I've got a bit more room to play with.

Here is the exhaust with flange in place and the beginnings of the new down pipe. You can also just see the flange in the previous photo.



All going well I should be back on the road by the end of the week. Only a couple of things to finish off. I cant wait to drive it.

Cheers

Michael

Geez Mick, you make the rest of us look like amatures

Great job mate keep it up, cant wait to hear how you go with it.

It's Alive!!!!

I finally fired it up tonight and it sounds good. I haven't taken it for a drive yet. I'll take it for a run down to the car wash tomorrow morning and give the engine bay a good clean. I've fixed a few oil leaks while I was at it and there's a heap of oily grime to remove.

I finished the new down pipe this afternoon that connects the new turbo into the original exhaust. It worked out a treat and I'm pretty proud of the finished product. Everything lines up nice and the stock heat shield even fits.



I gave it an oil change and flushed the coolant and replaced it. It's a darn site easier to remove the oil filter with the exhaust out of the way. I reckon a future mod might be a remote oil filter setup that takes a Z9 filter. With LR oil Filters @ $20 compared to $8 for a Z9 it'll pay for itself in a few years. The Z9 is a much bigger filter too.

I was a little nervous on the first fire up. It kicked over on the first turn of the key and settled into a steady idle. Oil pressure came up OK and I let it warm up for 5 or 10 minutes. A few blips of the throttle and it sounds pretty responsive. I won't know how it really goes till I take it for a drive tomorrow.

I'll book it in for a dyno run and get the boost set this week.

It's good to be back on the road again.

More pics to follow.

Cheers

Michael

Woo Hoo.

Back on the road again. Hope it all goes well.

out standing....

no Seriously

Out freakin standing....



now where are you again and when can you free up a couple of days..........

Thanks for all the encouraging replies. It's been a long process but it's all pretty much finished.

I took it for a test drive this morning to see how it goes and give it a clean up down at the local car wash.

First impression is "there's no lag!" You put your foot down and it just goes . It was a bit of a surprise at how almost instantaneous the power comes in. I haven't driven it for over a month plus I've only been driving my wifes diesel Jetta lately (Which has lag aplenty). Perhaps I've got used to the Jetta Lag but it certainly felt responsive.

It's got no shortage of power but it's hard to tell if it's really improved just by the seat of my pants. The Dyno will tell the truth. Unfortunately I don't have a before graph but hopefully some one on here might have a graph to compare with.

The only down side is I think it's over boosting at the moment. When you really put your boot into it it surges like the ECU is trying to pull fuel and back it off. It still needs to have the max boost set on the Dyno and hopefully I'll get that done this week.

Here's a pic of the exhaust down pipe in place. I'm really happy with how neat this turned out. I TIG welded it all together. You can also see the tab I added to mount the standard heat shield.



Another thing that's worth noting is the wiring for the oil pressure sender. It runs down the back of the block and reasonably close to the turbo. I found that the plastic corrugated sleeve covering it was almost completely disintegrated. Even the wiring was starting to show signs of the heat affecting it. I replaced the conduit and then wrapped it in adhesive backed aluminum tape. This should help shield it from the heat.

Here it is with the heat shield bolted on.



My neighbor works for Ford on their Turbo diesel development. He had a quick look at it today and said "It all looks factory". That made me happy as I didn't want it to be to obvious it was modified.

The wiring loom to the MAF, A/C and IAT got the same treatment with the aluminum tape.

Here's the EGR bypass pipe in place.



I haven't put the engine cover back on as I reckon it looks OK like this. What's the general consensus about running sans cover? Does it make much of a difference in cutting down the engine noise in the cabin?

Very happy to be driving again.

Cheers

Michael