Turbocharger

Thanks Lara, sound advice. The potential consequence of losing all the engine oil shook me up a bit and the old turbo's back on at the moment while I have a second go at getting the proper bits in light of what I've learned. I hadn't considered the manifold to be a problem but I know a machine shop so I'll drop it into them for skimming - obvious when you say it really... I've already had it apart to match the manifold studs and the local hose chap is making up the right oil drain and water pipes so I don't risk the rest of the engine again. The boost control is my sticking point although I think it'll work out ok. I can't run it with the vanes fully closed (small turbo) because the diaphragm I have is the 300Tdi wastegate actuator. It doesn't start moving until 0.8bar so it'll control steady state but the turbo hits surge before it can react. The answer is in the spring tension but I don't think it's an adjustable unit. I don't want to spend my ££ on a diaphragm until I know the rest of the principle will work, although in reality I'm getting towards that point now. I'll gather the right parts to make it reliable, pipe it up again in a few weeks and then start the enjoyable part (for me) - fiddling with a control system. It's encouraging that you reckon it'll work with pneumatic control, and thanks for your input - your comments are well received. Any recommendations for a suitable boost diaphragm?

On a 19j I've no idea. It'll be inside a cap on a sticky-out part of the casting, and there'll be a small (6mm?) black nylon pipe going to a banjo connection on the side of it - that pipe runs round to the turbo to sense boost pressure. More pressure - more diaphragm movement - more fuel. Have a search for 'tuning your 300Tdi' and the diaphragm is discussed and probably illustrated there. I seem to remember a common problem with them too - maybe oil going down the pipe and perishing the rubber? Good luck!

Techtone - your method is simple and cheap but has a problem in common with several of the ones above - once you've noticed that the axle's full, you've still got a funnel and pipe's worth of oil on their way in on top.

WOOHOO! What he's not telling us is, first round is 11am on the Thursday before...

If there's no bad noises or black smoke then I'd be looking at the pressure diaphragm in the injector pump - a hole in it will fool the pump into thinking you're not getting any boost. Make sure you put it back in the same position as when it was removed, since this will affect your fuelling.

Frankly I've no idea - you sound rather disappointed Nick. I hope that there'll just be more power (and even quicker pickup) as more fuel is added, since the boost side will be the same - the same boost will need the same vane position etc. The quicker response might mean the control system is unstable where it wasn't before - only time will tell.

I didn't fancy the potential to cover myself with hot EP90 at 8 bar! A bigger pipe is certainly the next sensible step - the one in the video above is only 5mm ID.

After you've been through the 4 stroke cycle (exhaust, induct, compress, burn) you allow the piston to return to TDC with the valves closed, then inject a slug of water spray. This turns to dry (hopefully) steam in the hot environment and expands, giving you a second power stroke from the latent heat in the cylinder. In reality you'd need a reground camshaft that turns at 1/3 crank speed (not 1/2 speed as at present) with different lobes to allow another 360' of crank motion without valve operation, you'd obviously need water injection equipment direct into the cylinder, and probably a bigger radiator since you'd be transferring more heat to the cooling system with the longer gas residence time. Taking heat out here will probably reduce the efficiency of your turbocharger too, since that's trying to recover the same heat. IMHO, not a home conversion. What Jim's done here is as far as most people would go with water injection, and I'm pleased it's giving such good results

Cheers Jase - but I'd have kept it for two months Looks like the weed-killer type is popular above the 'proper job', but hopefully with my version I can switch between fluids by just swapping the cap across different types of bottle (or at worst, drilling a few holes). I'll persevere with a large bore pipe and see how I get on. (Then I'll buy a weed sprayer or proper oil pump)

How does everyone fill up their axle oils? I don't change them as often as I should because it's a job I hate, I always end up covered in smelly gear oil. I've tried: siphoning the oil (tastes bad) a 500ml Clarke syringe (leaks out the bottom and back down my arm eventually) squeezy 500ml bottles with a spout on (best option so far but refilling always makes a mess) Today I had a play with an idea that's been forming in my head. Two holes in the bottle's lid, one with a tight-fitting pipe which runs from the bottom of the bottle to the axle, and one which takes a compressed air supply. I used water to test the principle. The Mk1 edition gave me a short lesson in how to cover every surface of my garage in water, and an indication that old antifreeze bottles won't hold 8 bar. The introduced me to the pressure regulator on my compressor, and successfully piddled water out of the tube at a good rate with 0.5 bar into the bottle, so I put the same cap onto the EP90 bottle and pumped oil into my back axle. Unfortunately this time I'd neglected the viscosity of gear oil, and it would have taken hours so I reverted to the 500ml squeezy bottle (and now I smell of sulphur again).I plan to try a bigger diameter pipe for my pressurised oil cannon (I'm wary of using a higher pressure with the smelly oil) but how are other people managing to put more oil into their diffs than their drain covers?

Cheers Bish - not sure what I've got originally then - a LR airbox on a 300Tdi on a bracket on the o/s of the block, above the vacuum pump. Anyway, a scrapyard liberated an LDV van's filter which looks like it should just about fit between the block and the bulkhead. However, I've got some miles to do in the next few weeks so I've put the standard turbo back on. While it was apart I spotted that I'd not considered how to connect the pressure feed to the injector pump, so it was always giving naturally-aspirated fuelling The break will give me time to collect a few more bits and pieces to make the whole setup more reliable, and then I'll see how it goes with a filter and full-fat fuelling too.

Excellent result, and a testament to your build quality (and your patience with the paperwork too!)

We had a 110 in our yard last week - he'd been towing an 8ft wide trailer on narrow country lanes and met a cyclist. The LR went past him, the trailer didn't and VOSA impounded the lot (as they tend to at fatalities). I suspect the driver will be going to prison.

If you used an auto box in Drive with the "props" locked then you'd be able to show the engine under load and demonstrate running under boost, no black smoke, no head gasket issues (pressurising under load) etc. Of course, this could mean that you have to write off engines which you'd previously have sold. Depends what value you place on reputation and repeat custom. (I'll point out that I've bought bits off Skanny with very good service). If you're smart you could use the cooling water to heat your office too...

Well, I vote for centring on Ashbourne because a) there's good lanes north of there B) there's a few B&Bs and more pubs than people, and c) it's dead handy for me to get home

Unimaginative answer #16 - mee too pleeese.

Ahem. I believe Ciderman may have some 1/8" BSPT and BSP taps although he's so disorganised, I bet he can't put his hands on them right now... Jase - I'm going to drop them back to you as part of a test drive if I ever get it further than the local petrol station before disaster strikes... If you need them sooner I can run them over in the evening whenever you like but they may catch campness if they have a ride in my other car :D

Never mind the event, sounds like Jez & crew are the only people stupid enough to be importing vodka to Russia... Good luck team HOFS!

I think that's a non-starter already since I've not really got room around the back of the engine for the filter box, a P-clip's pushing it so a QF would mean lopping a hole in the bulkhead and putting the filter by the gearstick! Looks like I'll be buying some strip steel...

I need a 180mm diameter P-clip to hold my new air filter box into the car. It'll probably stay where it's put just held by the hoses but it'd be neater to strap it down. Any pointers on suppliers?

The supermarkets do heavily hedge their fuel purchases, in big contracts. I'm no financier but I don't think they need to report on these as specific risks, they're effectively reducing risk by buying at a fixed cost. Otchie's peak and trough calcs present the worst-case that hedging tries to avoid. Remember, most(!) suppliers didn't hedge on July 11th so the pumps were insulated (to a point) from the very highest prices. You can't have it both ways.

I think part of the problem (along with the exchange rate problem) is that the large retailers have hedged their prices (I know bus companies do). If you've hedged when the price was high, that's what you're stuck with. Because of the way market forces work, even if you're then forced to sell above the 'market' value some smaller suppliers will undercut you until they run out of fuel. Effectively, you pull their price up to yours to prolong their sales - involuntary price fixing. Nobody's betting on the long-term oil price falling, so everyone's hedging for 1, 2, 3 years at a sensible price today. If that's sub-$100 then fantastic, but even if it's not it could look like a bargain in 36 months.

Saw this at the Frampton village show this weekend, restored from a wreck. It's a 1938 Latil logging truck, complete with a period trailer. Blokey even had a photo of it working in a sawmill in the '30s. Gorgeous. Then I came to realise: big diesel portals leaf springs(!) rear steer trayback big rear winch It's a vintage challenge truck!

I've not voted because I don't really compete, but there are two reasons for having a sail: to stop "whip" when the thing breaks, and to make the rope more visible to everyone else. I think everyone agrees: sails are required for wire ropes to suppress whip when the rope breaks sails aren't necessary for reducing whip on synthetic ropes, but can be useful as markers sails are sometimes considered necessary with all ropes by insurance companies and risk assessors, to reduce confusion over the 'rules', and to reduce the chance of someone who needs to use a sail, not doing. however, sails can get sucked into fairleads and expose co-drivers to more danger than bystanders had from a rope in use with no warning. This may not have been considered in the original risk assessment. So it seems we need a way of marking the rope which can't get sucked into the fairlead, or doesn't matter if it does. Ideally we'd make the rope visible along its whole length. How about a hi-vis rope? Or a standard rope with lengths of hi-vis material hanging from it? I threaded some ribbon into my rope so I can tell when to stop with 6 wraps remaining on the drum. Something like this could solve the issue?

... and with those wheels, the drugs just fly out of the glovebox...