[family 4bee]

Hi all.
Hope everyone had a great New Year.
I am totally confused reading and reading all the different threads on engine conversions. I have a 1997 2.8TDI GQ Patrol which is great off road and great on cooler days without too many hills.
I have a new Davis Craig clutch fan, new radiator, thermostat, AC condensor nothing infront of the grills and two bonnet scoops to help with air flow, but still gets a little hot.

Can someone please tell me what would be the cheapest and best way to do a complete engine and gearbox change using a reputable motor mechanic as i wouldn't have the confidence to attempt a job of this magnitude?
I have considered the Chev V8's (which one I'm not sure,) putting the 4.2 diesel and the gearbox into mine and selling mine second hand, (brand new head which cost $4000.00) and putting the skyline motor or a Holden V8.

Don't know where to start.

I have spent about $10000 on this vehicle upto date and would like to keep it as I love the truck just want to change the motor and gear box.

Any suggestions please beside selling my truck and starting over again which I do not want to do as it is immaculate and fantastic off road.
Thanks all
Neil

 

[fishmagnet]

G'day Confused


I will have to say the root cause of the confusion that you are experiencing is a lack of data.

You say that the rig you have gets a little hot. Not good enough. If you are relying on that little needle on the dash for your data you're running blind.

On ebay you will find a item called an ENGINE WATCHDOG TM2 they are less than $200.00.

I would recommend you get one , or something similar . It has two cables , one with a cigarette plug on one which is self explanitory, and another cable that you'll push through an existing grommet in the firewall and put underneath one of the bolts on the thermostat housing.

It refreshes it reading every five seconds, and gives you real time feedback on the temp of the engine.

Once you have it up and running you will enter the world of FACT, and left the land of speculation where fear (false expectations appearing real) and confusion reign supreme. This fear and confusion can cause you to stick you hand deep into you pocket and spend money on things that weren't necessary.

I have been in the land of speculation, I was half way to Adelaide, the TM2 had been sitting in the console uninstalled for weeks , and the temp in the dash was starting to rise! With no facts there was nothing to do but catastrophise about blown motors etc.
So I stopped in Truro and fitted the TM2 and discovered the temp was around 85

Having real data allows you to adjust your driving style if necessary.

Would recommend that you get an pyrometer as well , this will give you the exhaust gas temp which will show if your flogging it to hard ie overfueling it . also allows you to drive it more effeciently to.

I now know that prior to fitting my pyrometer i would have been driving at times with egts as high as 700c , 550 is the max they should get to .

Egt as high a 700c could do a lot of damage before that temp is reflected in the running temp of the engine.


Get gauges, and the data, then you can make informed decisions

 

[davway]

IMO, ditch it and buy something else.
You need to realise that ANY engine conversion is not going to be cheap and you need to allow for $10000 to achieve it.
You may get change, you may need to spend more.

 

[family 4bee]

Thanks gents for your reply. I have my vehicle dyno tuned in Geelong about every 6 months and the mechanic (Dalton's) has said that the fuel mixture is perfect and the there is nothing wrong with the fuel pump.
I will DEFINITELY buy ENGINE WATCHDOG TM2 and fit it. I have a seperate water temp guage which I had to attach to the top radiator hose as I could not find the correct attachment to the block. The average temp on a hot day up hill on the top radiator hose is about 180 degrees farenheit and the block temperature on the factory guage is between half and three quarters which i presume is still ok.
Thanks again for your input.
Neil

 

[mactacyac]

Temperature conversion table

confused
have a look at this table if your additional gauge is correct and your top hose is 180f that to me sounds better than good as its only around 80c however if the block temp is hotter and it would need to be at least 10c before i worried and lost sleep (and it probably will be a little hotter anyway because of the heat being generated there) it may be a water pump issue or something as silly as a loose belt but i suspect one of the gauges is a lier

go forth and discover
****

 

[family 4bee]

Thanks very much **** for the conversion table. I have three printed out already in the car as i am continuously monitoring the temperatures with the guages I have got

 

[family 4bee]

Sorry about that ****. I pressed enter button by mistake. As above. What I have found this last week, with the AC on, the top radiator hose water temp guage reads about the 180 farenheit and the block is sitting just over half. Sometimes the block temp guage sits higher than the top radiator hose guage. As Fishmagnet (above) recommended, I am going to buy the Engine Watchdog guage as it is only $150 on ebay. Maybe I am just being over cautious but don't want to have to worry about taking the family out bush or for a drive on a warm day and think of Sh*& its going to overheat, theres another $4000 for a new head.
Cheers
Neil

 

[MQ MAD]

It doesnt matter what motor you have
IF it has heating/cooling issues youll be in the same boat again

Maybe your over cautious ???

Conversion kits well the sky is the limit
You wont get alot for an RD28T (I doubt youll recover your 4K for the new head)
So theres a major loss
Then the extra youll need for a different engine

Do a search around regarding those that have had major 2.8 issues and what they did to rectify the prob

 

[family 4bee]

Thanks MQ Mad. I will buy the Watchdog guage first and check out the temps, maybe even look at some extractors. I am running a 3inch mandrel system with a dump pipe also which I presume is helping a little.
Hope you were not afffected by the floods and that all of you are well.
Cheers
Neil

 

[family 4bee]

Tfm2

Thanks for the input on my "confused" issue. I have purchased and installed the TFM2 guage. At least I can now see the temperature on the thermostat housing. I have set the alarm for 212 farrenheit. Do you think that this is too high?
Thanks again
Neil
I am taking her for a good drive today as it is 40 degrees celcius down here. Will monitor the temps carefully.

 

[LycraMooseKnuckle]

at the end of the day if it heats up and cracks again you will kick yourself for trusting it.

my perspective.