P38 excessive exhaust smoke resolved!!

Ever since I bought the P38 the car was producing a lot of grey /black smoke at he exhaust, it was slightly better when hot but there was always a distinct diesel smell . When driving,especially with a cold engine it would make a cloud of smoke the first kilometers. 

Even with the new engine installed it did the same thing. I was a bit baffled by that. New engine and still smoking?!

The injectors were tested and all received new nozzles and were pressure tested. Timing modulation was adjusted multiple times using different methods to no avail.

I have read a lot on different forums. I didn't find the exact answer to my questions, but I did find some useful information to get started.

I especially want to thank the folks at landyzone for their help and insights, special thanks to Datatek.

The general consensus is that the timing modulation should be good first. You can change this by turning the pump towards or away from the engine. The last movement should always be towards the engine to take out the slack from the timing chain.

The value to aim for: timing modulation is 50% +-5%. (on the nanocom)

Method 1: 

To achieve this you'll have to set the static timing using a dial gauge as described in the rave manual. I did this when the engine was out off the car for rebuilding, and on the nanocom I then had a value of 70% for modulation. Not really in spec.

Method 2:

This is a method without using a dial indicator, and much more accurate. If you want to know more about it, send me an email.

The conditions for setting the modulation is that you do this with a warmed-up engine at 95 degrees Celsius and at idle, timing modulation should than be at 50% +- 5%.

If you can't get it within spec, that means the timing chains have stretched to much.

In my case the exhaust smoke lessened a bit but it was definitely not resolved after doing the timing modulation.

Actually I feared something went wrong with the engine built. So I decided to measure the engine compression.

Compression values (dry):

1. Cylinder1                         27bar    
2. Cylinder2                         24 bar
3. Cylinder3                         27bar
4. Cylinder4                         27bar
5. Cylinder5                         27bar
6. Cylinder6                         27bar

Looking at the values for compression you can see a difference for cylinder2. This one I had to measure in a different way because the fip sits in front of the glow plug hole so I used the injector opening instead, hence the difference. I think the results are acceptable so I didn't take it any further.

Note: I performed all the Fip adjustments with the oem EDC chip for modulation and also the fuel quantity servo. just to have a baseline with oem components.

The quantity servo:

The quantity servo, this is the top part of the fip, I was advised not to touch it. However the symptoms for me looked like overfueling.

Most values I found on forums were around 7/8mg/stroke. My pump was even running a bit richer.

At one point on another forum I found somebody that suggested it should be around 4 to 6 mg/stroke with lower values being leaner. So I gave it a try I have nothing to lose right?

To adjust this you have to move the top cover of the pump towards the bulkhead or in the opposite direction to increase or decrease the quantity.

This requires a special socket for one bolt. I bought a BGS kit for Bosh VE pumps on amazon.

It should be noted that this requires you to have a diagnostic tool like a nanocom to be able to verify your settings.

This should be done in the following manner:

• make adjustments at idle 
• warmed up engine 95 C
• no loads e.g. ac compressor, EAS compressor or ventilation fans not working etc

You should aim for values between 4-6mg/stroke making sure your engine is running smooth and not sputtering because of diesel starvation.

Re-tighten the bolts when you are happy with your results. You will notice the value will have changed after tightening make sure it is still within range.

The amount mg/stroke will electronically adjust itself when loads are applied.

I ended up with 4.5mg/stroke no loads applied and that made a tremendous difference for the exhaust fumes. 

I should also note that the EDC ecu is going to adjust the mixture for cold starts, so it is normal to find higher values when starting from cold.

It is the same for the timing modulation, it will be different with a cold engine hence you have to set it @95 degrees celsius.

So in conclusion my current fip values are:

Pump calibration value is at 128 for idle at 750 RPM

Fuel quantity servo mg/ stroke 4-6mg 

Timing modulation 55% at idle and 95 celsius engine temperature.

Injection setpoint is @1.80

Actual setpoint should be within 0.5 of the injection setpoint (derived from injector 4)

I'm thinking because of the fact that the injectors have been renewed the initial quantity setting didn't work anymore. Or he pump wasn't setup right from the getgo.

After setting up the pump I've installed the END tuning chip. The car will still exhaust black smoke if you put your foot down to the floor but it stopped doing that at moderate throttle.

To compensate for the extra fuel from the tuning chip I will install a bigger intercooler soon😏 to add cooler air to the equation. I already installed an IGT air filter element to aid with that.

With the engine setup like this the car feels plenty powerfull, I hope to find more gains still with the addition of the bigger intercooler.

Conservative power numbers according to END tuning shoud be around 170hp and 375NM of torque. I'm betting with the intercooler it will even be better up to 25hp!💪

Some footage from a hill climb during my trip to Italy

Bye bye KTM 1290 Super Adventure R

 I sold the bike earlier this year, this kinda makes it official.

Definately one of the best bikes I owned. Resale value plumeted however, it was on sale for quite a while. In the end it went to a neighbouring country where prices are usually higher.

I enjoyed my time with this bike, it allowed me to travel more and further. For me the only downside was its weight when the riding gets more technical. 

👊

Project P38 dse In the mean time...

 

NEW Bike!

I wasn't actually planning to buy a Ducati but did not want to deal with the KTM camshaft issues. I also bought the bike earlier this year in May.

It seems that KTM has admitted to the camshaft debacle and is actually refunding and paying for the repairs. Kudos to KTM for this.

But that's not the reason for this post. I mention this because I actually wanted a Norden 901...

To be honest the Rally is a good bike but a bit expensive and I don't like the after sales. Bit to expensive if you ask me. I also don't like the aura of elite bikes that surrounds the Ducati brand. Not my cup of tea. 

Quick 1st maintenance and tire change = 500€ (tires not included)😒

I used the bike this summer to travel to France and Italy. It definately needs upgrades.

More will follow.

Race Wilder✊

Project P38!

 

Hi there,

It has been  while that I posted here but there is a good reason for it.

As you can see in the title I started a new project. Because of it I'm spending a lot of time wrenching and looking for parts. 

I did go on a trip with my bike in the summertime of 2023,  I didn't really post anything about it maybe I will later but that's due to my new hobby.

It had to happen one day, it was always in the back of my mind and I did go out and look for one on multiple occasions but I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for.

And finally in may last year I bought my 1st ever land Rover Range Rover. Yes a 4x4 😏

It's a P38 DSE 2.5 voque that was made from 1995 till 2001, mine is from 1997. So why did I buy the most unreliable Range rover ever (according to the internet).

Well car's of that age are relatively easy to work on, parts are abundant and when in good shape it makes for a very capable over-lander.

That's exactly what I want to do , building an over-lander out of it. I can tell you that I did not anticipate to take it as far as I did. I never worked on cars before this can become quite challenging but more on that later. Enjoy the pictures.

Bye for now ✌

Paris Dunkerque a cocoricorando event.

The 21st of April was the start of the Cocoricorando event "Paris Dunkerque". 

This is a 3-day event and takes you on various off-road tracks from Paris to Dunkirk. It's not a contest, but it's what they like to call "a ballad."

In terms of tracks, you have 3 options. You can either do it all on the road, or the adventurous circuit which is a mix of road and off-road, and finally the extreme circuit which takes you from Paris to Dunkirk almost exclusively off-road.

The tracks will be mailed to you a week in advance, giving you time to set up your navigation equipment. Alternatively, you can rent a tripy GPS from them for the duration of the event.

For me it was the 1st time but this was the 10th anniversary of the event. I can honestly say that the event is very well organised. There is a briefing at the start. they take you through the program for the next few days and what to do in case of a problem with the bike or if you get injured. They also provide breakfast at the start.

The first and second day were actually very easy 2-track trails. The Tird was the exact opposite. I think they saved the hard part for the last day.

Anyway, the first day took us to a campsite where we would stay for 2 nights, which allowed us to ride lighter on the 2nd day. The second track was a loop that takes you back to the campsite.

The food from breakfast, dinner and for us also luch was really good. The campsite was also a 4 star campsite so the sanitary facilities were at a good level. Being able to shower after a ride is certainly very welcome.

I filmed some during the 1st day, but unfortunately not the days after. I couldn't charge my camera batteries for this.

Here are some impressions from the weekend, I'll leave a link to my YouTube channel if you like to watch my playlist Paris Dunkerque 2023  here.

Bye for now ✌