Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

That is very practical Peter. Nice.

Engine bay looking good. I like that piping ...and theres no such thing as going overboard

Tinus lotz wrote: ↑13 Jul 2019 14:14 ek soek van daai vir my lorrie

Nie net jy nie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nice!!

Some feedback.

The River Trip this last weekend was the first decent test, both on longer distances and off the road.

Combined tar road consumption there and back was 7.65km/l wnd consumption for the off-road bit was 5km/l. For the first half my tires were too hard though (1.4 front and 1.6 rear) which hampered progress in the sand and probably didn't help consumption.

Thus my fuel bill for the trip (using pump fuel only) was very nearly half what it would have been.
In the sand it's probably no worse than the petrol, although it requires a driver re-calibration. It is more critical of gear selection, as if the revs drop below a certain point torque falls away dramatically, whereas the petrol engine had a much wider and more even spread of torque. Caught me out a few times especially early in the trip, where slowing do2n a little for a rut or a corner suddenly had me floundering for a lower gear.

On the rocks, the combination of the TD42 and the lower low range gearing is a bit like cheating.

Temperature needs careful management though. Temps climb quickly, to the point where water temps is the limiting factor on long hills, not EGT's. Never saw EGT go over 515 degrees.

Mechanically there was not a single issue, although i did have a couple of electrical gremlins. The rev counter module (at least I hope it's that and not the rev counter itself) had a smoke leak and the Madman has a connection issue somewhere.

Peter Connan wrote: ↑13 Aug 2019 12:32
Temperature needs careful management though. Temps climb quickly, to the point where water temps is the limiting factor on long hills, not EGT's. Never saw EGT go over 515 degrees.

Its probably a stupid question, but the climbing temp, is that due to the turbo conversion? ie, would an NA 4.2 have the same issue. Im guessing its because of the turbo though? So whats the fix for that now, bigger radiator?

I guess the NA has less issues, purely because it is creating less power in the first place.

Speaking to other guys with TD42T's it doesn't sound like mine is considerably worse than normal either.

Can't really fit a bigger radiator in there. Theoretically, if I could move the intercooler and air con condensor somewhere else, that might help, but of course both those have their own disadvantages.

So I guess step one is to lean it out a little bit, and perhaps step 2 is to reduce the restriction in the exhaust system (which will also lean out the mixture a little bit).

After that, not too sure what else one can do. The Aussies fit high-flow water pumps, but it doesn't sound like it makes much of a difference (based on how many arguments there are oj whether or not it should work in theory).

I guess adding an oil cooler might help a little bit too, but again at a cost to simplicity and reliability...

I guess I should just add that reducing the load has an almost immediate effect on the temperatures. Just driving a bit slower makes a lot of difference. I am just a little nervous because the car was not particularly heavily loaded, and I have yet to try towing a trailer with it.

Also, the turbo is what makes it such a relaxing drive, capable of keeping up with the traffic even on pretty steep hills without needing to change down. When towing, i will be changing down to 4th on hills to protect the gearbox though.

Peter, is your turbo both water and oil cooled?

I don't have an accurate water temp gauge ( madman ) etc, so can only speak from the standard dash gauge. On mine it never goes up passed halfway. In fact it sits to the left of the wiggly lines on the gauge even on a long climb. But I do not have my turbo connected to the water. I also have a monstrous radiator that I have no idea where it came out of ( was told its from a Cabstar, but have been told that it isn't ). The top mount vs front mount will have an impact on cooling for sure, but I am surprised that it is pushing the boundaries on yours.

Do you have the full shroud around the fan?

Another thing I think can have an impact, and I'm not sure if the GQ has this or not, but the plastic "deflector" that we all take off when we fit your bash plate, can have an impact with negative air pressures not being achieved as high to assist with sucking air in through the radiator. This also mean that the side rubber skirts between the engine bay and the wheel well need to be there and in good condition again to assist in keeping a negative air pressure in the engine bay.

Maybe give it a try by placing piece of rubber matting on the angle of your bash plate ( like a spoiler, for the inner boy racer in you....hahaha ) and see if there is a difference.

Alternatively, Hows your viscous hub?

Possible extra advice... the rubber foam sealer between the body and the radiator to stop air leaking around the radiator may need attention.

A diesel is a completely different drive style to a petrol hey..... haha... but a breeze over rocks. It may take a little feathering to get the final setup bang on, but it will be a great drive with decent fuel efficiency

Need to work on that dump pipe soon