P38 head lining installed

 Finally I came around to install the head lining on the p38. Getting it back in was no joke. Extra hands are needed if you want to successfully install it. 

It looks a lot nicer and cleaner. Another small project of the to do list.

P38 headliner cleanup

 Trying to remove the remaining glue… sticky business 

Glad it’s done… more difficult then you would expect

Finished product and definitely not perfect but it’ll do , it’s much better than before anyway.

 

Look what came in the mail today!

 

I ordered this intercooler last week, look at this thing it's absolutely beautiful! 

It's almost a shame to hide it under the bonnet.

I'm really curious about the performance gains💪 I'll share my thoughts later.

Range rover P38 2.5 and engine cooling

 As some of you know the P38 diesel can be prone to overheating especially when offroading. The cylinder head might warp and this results in a head gasket failure.

Nowadays these cars start to get old and they are not always very well maintained. Especially the cooling system is often neglected and often the cause for overheating.

While working on my own car I noticed that when the engine temperature needle sits in the middle on the dash, the actual temperature can ranges between 85 and 105 degrees celsius!  

Ideally the temperature should be 95-98 degrees. I noticed the temperature going up quite a bit while driving especially when driving uphill. Ok it settles fast enough to normal values after that but I'm not sure if  I can live with that.

Fortunately there is a workaround to aid in the cooling process.

The solution is the removal and the implementation of an electric fan(s) rather than a viscous coupling clutch fan.

There are existing aftermarket solutions available for that, with complete kits ready to install. However, if your vehicle is equipped with an air conditioning system one could use these fans instead.

They are used by the aircon system in 2 modes, slow and high speed  mode depending on the pressure in the aircon system. The engine ECU also uses these fans when it detects an overheating situation but by than it might already  be to late.

A possible solution is to install a capillary thermostat with a range from  0-120 degrees celsius. You'll have to connect it electrically to the dual pressure switch and to (chassis) ground. 

Note: These are not rated for use outdoors or even 12v. However they are easy to find and cheap. You'll also have to make a waterproof  case to make sure it does not get wet. 

It is a simple diy job, anybody can do it really. Also before you do this mod make sure all other components in the cooling system are in good working order so you don't mask any underlying problems. 

Here you'll find more information about the Ac-fan mod in more detail .

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. 

👊