300 Tdi Military Fuel Pump Tweak

[redb999]

Hi, having searched about tweaking the fuel pump on the tdi. It appears JE Engineering offer to do it for a ALOT of money, although they claim the same tweak is fitted to military tdi's worldwide. I drive an ex RAF 300tdi civilian spec, however, it has land rover special vehicles plaques in the engine bay and on the seatbox. there are no signs of work being done by them anywhere on the vehicle. Could this mean i have this particular tweak? how could i tell? another reason i ask is because i hear stories of tdi land rovers being slow and struggling to keep 70mph on the motorway. I can cruise at 75mph and it will happily reach 80... although, it is the only tdi i have driven... also, does anyone have any experience of JE tuned Tdi's? or any other companies such as twisted? I realise it can be done as a DIY mod, but am interested to hear what these companies can offer...

cheers

Will

[FridgeFreezer]

What most tuning companies offer are an awful lot of porky pies in exchange for an empty wallet, beyond the usual basics (tweak fuelling, bigger intercooler) the cost-vs-gain drops off massively, even if you believe the numbers in the adverts.

[David Sparkes]

JE have a very good reputation to conserve. I think they have changed hands in the last 2 or 3 years, but even so it's worth talking to them directly. I've just looked up their site and I see Franc Buxton is still on the team. I know he's 'Mr Electronic' but his presence reassures me.

You are some way from Coventry, but if you do travel south at all then IMHO it would be worth putting in a loop to make an appointment and call in.

Failing that, phone them.

HTH

[redb999]

thanks for the response and yes i think phoning them would be a good idea and they do seem to have been around a while... could be difficult for them to determine over the phone if it has been tweaked or not though without giving away their secret! I dont travel down south too often anymore, especially not in the landy...

cheers

Will

[Yostumpy]

I had my 300 pump 'tweaked ' by Van AArken about 3 years ago. I was expecting a 'kick in the pants' silly I know its only a deisel! BUT where as i could crest m/w inclines ok in 5th, I sort of had to plan it, as I dont drive fast,and usually stick to 60, and sometimes 60 uphill with a headwind was touch and go, to still be doing 60 at the top, ok if your doing 75 at the bottom tho!! But on the way home it didnt feel MUCH different, till I got on the m/way. I know there was a stiff headwind, and I was at the bottom of a long incine on the m25 around J6/7 ish and I was doing 60 behind this lorry at the bottom thinking i'd just wasted my money!, So I thought I'd overtake Hah! on a hill, Hah!, into a headwind, Hah! i'll tell you this thing took off as I hoofed it and I was doing 70 as I pulled in, In front of the lorry, Blimey !!!!!!!! did I smile! The power is right where you need it. I don't know wat the military spec adjustments were, but they always seem to fly past me, but then they prob drive flat out, as they aint gotta fix it,or pay for the fuel! I suppose if we all drove like that, we'd all fly too.

[Ruuman]

to be honest, just read the tech article on here. Tuning the Bosch VE pump is very easy and gives great results. I just did my mates 110 and he can't believe the difference. Took probably an hour to do, but that did involve a trip to halfords to buy a boost gauge. Only tool you need is a big flathead screw driver (maybe a torx head on the 300tdi) and a marker pen. take you time, mark everything and keep notes on how much you change things by. Don't expect warp speed but you can almost always improve the mid range drivabilty of it. Just don't go too crazy!!

[David Sparkes]

I think the point the OP is making is slightly different.

He has reason to believe his vehicle has already been tweaked, or already set towards the performance end of the reliability / fuel consumption / performance curve. The question was, how does he confirm this?

AS JE Engineering was the source of his information I still think it's cheaper, simpler, and potentially more accurate, for the OP to approach them first of all.

If his current assumption is correct, diving in with tools and test gear will prove to be unproductive effort.

Regards.

[Aragorn]

I would just get the spanners out and wind the pump up as per the numerous guides that are floating around.

If you do it properly, it wont matter if its already been adjusted, you'll just reach the "i;ve gone too far" point with it belching black smoke quicker than you otherwise would.

[ashtray]

have a search on the forums before you try any diy job, 300tdis have aluminium pistons that dont like getting too hot, so trying to tune the nuts off your tdi will bring the exhaust gas temperatures up very quickly which could lead so some fairly disastrous engine damage. I recommend fitting a larger intercooler to keep the temperatures down and if your really worried you can fit a dash mounted exhaust temp guage to keep an eye on it. i gave my old disco a mild tune to by turning the rubber diaphragm/conical pin around by a 1/3 of a turn. A friend of mine went mad and ended up fiddling with everything only to find that his truck was doing 20mpg when originally it would be doing nearer 30. remember every setting you have adjusted so you can return it back if it all goes tits!