turboing hilux

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I'm no diesel mechanic, but I understand it's quite often more complicated than just whacking on a hair dryer and driving off.
Engine manufacturers spend big bucks on R&D and in most cases get
turbo boost/cooling/fuel pump/EGT properly worked out (Nissan patrols excepted).

Hi Axeman, I turboed my 83 model 2.2 Hilux years ago , made the manifold myself and bolted it on went great . Yes you will do better if you add all the expensive stuff but with a couple of precautions your current setup should be quite reliable and not harm your engine. A couple of things to look out for , don't be tempted to overfuel it by screwing up the fuel at the injector pump . Does it blow more smoke now ? If less smoke under load than before probably be OK . An EGT gauge would be the best bet IMO as if you aren't cooking the motor your reliability should not suffer.
If you have driven the old 1L motor you will understand why I put the blower on it . I added a fifth gear (possible in the old Celica boxes) and with 31X10.5 tyres it was an absolute slug , the blower didn't turn it into a necksnapper but it saved a lot of gear changing on hills . That was the only 4X4 that I made money on , cost $13,400 new in 1983 (Twin cab) and sold for $17,000 in 1988.

cheers Dave L

From what Ive been told,get the setup spot on with the 5L motor as they dont take to kindly to turbos being fitted and not setup properly.
Im currently fitting a turbo to our 4 Runner 3L and am getting the injectors done before hand and then getting the mixture setup done with a EGT gauge by the experts.

Hi there axeman,i was wondering what brand turbo you opted for,also did you install it yourself as i was thinking of turboing mine aswell.
I also have a 5l with 100000km but find it a littie underpowered when towing.

Regards

Joe

Thanks for the reply axeman,still trying to make up my mind on which way to go,will contact you in a few months to see if you have done anything about the injector pump and the control valve if thats ok with you.

regards

joe

Hi All,

Just thought I'd throw in my two cents worth. Putting a turbo onto a 'normally-asphyxiated' diesel with a non-compensated injection pump will always be a compromise. Without a manifold pressure compensator, the pump can never deliver the optimum quantity of fuel in both off/low-boost and full boost conditions. BUT, the results can still be quite acceptable and reliable, as long as the engine is not heavily over-fuelled.

[By the way, I'll try to dispel another myth - it is impossible to run a diesel 'too lean'. They always run with air/fuel ratios ratios on the 'lean' side of stoichiometric. At idle, the ratio is hugely 'lean' - just a tiny squirt of fuel is injected into a cylinder full of air. At full throttle, the ratio is closer to stoichiometric but will never actually get there without generating damagingly high exhaust gas temperatures (EGT). So it is actually 'rich' ratios that cause trouble in diesels.

Also, I've used the term 'ratio' rather than 'mixture' as diesels never actually have an air/fuel 'mixture' in the way petrol engines do. The only time a 'mixture' exists is in the instant between the beginning of injection and the beginning of combustion - an matter of milliseconds at most.] Enough diesel theory - back to the subject at hand...

It is certainly possible to fit an injection pump which has a manifold pressure compensator (otherwise know as a boost compensator or, somewhat erroneously, as an 'aneroid'). But I doubt it's worth the expense on an aftermarket turbo installation with moderate (say, 6 to 10 psig) boost levels.

Contrary to popular opinion, manifold pressure compensators do not actually increase fuelling at high boost. Rather, they the restrict the fuelling when boost is less than maximum, by limiting the range of movement of the internal governor mechanism when manifold pressure is low. In this situation (non-compensated pump with moderate boost) it is generally possible to find a maximum delivery adjustment setting which gives satisfactory performance without excessive EGT (or smoke) at full boost AND not too much smoke (overfuelling) during low boost acceleration.

Rather than spend big bucks on a pump 'recalibration' (whatever that may involve - could be anything from a complete rebuild to original internal specs or just an adjustment of the maximum delivery screw while monitoring EGT on a dyno), I'd recommend you fit an EGT gauge and monitor your engine under 'real world' conditions. [Yes, I do sell them but I really believe any non-standard turbo diesel should have one. If you don't like mine, get another brand - but do get one!]

If you find your maximum EGT is well within acceptable limits when under heavy load at full throttle (say, less than 650 C upstream/450 C downstream), you probably have some scope to increase the maximum delivery adjustment. Conversely, if your EGT is reaching high levels (700+ upstream/500+ downstream) within a short period at high load, your max. fuel delivery may already be a bit too high.

Hope this helps.

thanks heaps for the great info,this is what i needed.