Help! L300 is driving me insane

[freeheelsteve]

Hi Everyone,

I bought a 1994 L300 Delica, Exceed, 5 spd, in April of 2009. I had a Delica Tune done at CVI in May of 2009. The van gave me one year of solid driving but seems to have gone downhill since. I'm very frustrated because the mechanics I have used here in Vernon are unsure of what is wrong.

History:

In May, the van started to have a loss of power and I could no longer here the turbo spooling all the time. It gradually got worse and the turbo would not kick in at all, so basically the van would accelerate to 2500rpm and then lose power, I'd change gears and repeat .Turbo would not kick in. Thinking it was the turbo, I had a new KTS turbo installed. This did not solve the problem. Then my mechanic figured it was a problem with the waste-gate controller so we put an adjustable waste-gate controller on there and he seemed to get it working to an acceptable level.

When I had the new turbo installed, I also had the EGR removed and a plate intalled and I had a Pyrometer installed.

So, completely separate of the above (or maybe not), other problems I'm having are very high exhaust gas temps, general lack of power, more black smoke on acceleration than previously and much worse fuel economy. I'm seeing EGTs spiking to 1400F just climbing up a short steep hill. If I give the van any sort of gas the EGTs spike way up. The pyrometer is inserted pre-turbo.

In addition, as of today, I'm back to having problems with the turbo again. Driving home on the highway today, I could not accelerate beyond 2500rpm in any gear and the turbo was not spinning.

So , I'm looking for some insight on my issue to help get this thing fixed.

But honestly, I don't think I can tolerate owning it anymore. If I had a reliable mechanic near by I would not mind putting the money into keeping it running well. But it's been in the shop so much in the last 3 months for the same thing that will not go away, I just can't stand it any longer. Honestly I love this thing, it really suits my needs, but I fear I must let it go. Thinking of putting it up here for sale if there's any interest in a 5spd, 1994, with 136,000km on it. I will probably let it go cheap if there are any takers, otherwise I guess I'll have to deal with the issues and sell it for a bit more.

Thanks for listening guys and gals and let me know if there are any questions about symptoms I'm having. I've emailed Butch at CVI and am actually considering having it shipped down there to get it looked at, because I would not be able to tolerate the 450km drive from Vernon doing only 80kph on the flats.

Cheers,
Steve

[jelbon]

There's a fellow in Enderby that works on lots of Delicas, I'll try to get his number for you.
In the meanwhile, check your timing marks, if the injector pump is off it will do all the things you are experiencing.

[jelbon]

Oops, it was Lumby not Enderby.
Still trying to find contact info for you.
I've had lots of issues with mine as well: cam and rockers, alternater, engine, turbo, shocks, ball joints and that's just the major ones. I'd like to get 10,000 k of trouble free driving just once.

[FalcoColumbarius]

The first thing I would do is check the EGR Blanking Plate. If you have a leak in the intake manifold then you would get less air from the turbo which would cause the diesel to burn less efficiently, which would result in less power and the unburned fuel would blow out the tailpipe in the form of air borne soot. Consequently your fuel mileage would choke, dude. Or perhaps your head gasket ~ compression issues would cause a drastic loss of power. Seriously, I hope it is not that and only the EGR Plate. To me it sounds like a compression issue of some sort or another ~ start with simple: EGR Plate. Do you have a gasket with it?

Falco.

[freeheelsteve]

Thanks Jelbon, but Kelsey in Lumby is who I use and he is kinda stumped on this one.

Falco, the EGR work was done after I started having these problems and we've done a compression test and it's all good. I'm having a diesel injection specialist look at it on Tuesday, I actually think it might be the injection pump.

Thanks guys,
Steve

[jessef]

Good call to check the IP.

Did you put on a larger exhaust ?

The turbo you had put on perhaps may be too much for that little engine causing the higher EGT's.

An intercooler, larger exhaust and IP adjustment would correct the higher EGT's when putting in a larger turbo.

[EnviroImports.com]

have you changed your fuel filter? sounds like diesel bacteria to me,
Ive had a few fuel systems get wiped out over the years,
if it is bacteria and hasent cooked your system, a few ounces of biocide would do wonders for you , after putting it in, you will find the van drive like crap, but thats the bacteria being stripped off and burnt up, it also will clog up your fuel filter, so you will need to change it after wards,
do you put in lubricant into your fuel?
do you know that your engine was designed for sulfer in the fuel, or to have an additive to lubricate the seals...
if you have been driving for a few years now, you have had LOTS of hot fuel go into the fuel tank, cool off and in the winter get a nice layer of condinsation , that with diesel fuel breeds a Great bacteria thats very nasty,,,,,,

[psilosin]

When you say the old and new turbo "don't kick in" do you mean they are not even spooling up (ie no whistle sounds) or that there is just no noticable effect of the turbo? If its the later I would open up your boost compensator and check that the diaphram is not torn. Also on the L300 there is apparently some kind of additional pressure relief valve (not the wastegate) that pops if boost pressure gets dangerously high...maybe that thing is stuck open so it is constantly venting preventing any boost from building? Someone probably has a picture of it.

[Chewy]

I agree on IP or even clogged injectors. Sounds like a fuel delivery problem may have murdered your old turbo and may be doing the same to the new one.

As long as the turbo has had fuel added if it is larger it'll be turning out lower egt's due to better flow.

[freeheelsteve]

Thanks everyone, for the replies. Turns out, it's the injection pump. Not building any internal pressure. When the boys at OK Diesel Injection disconnected the fuel lines they could barely get any fuel to pump out into a jerry can.

Having it rebuilt as we speak. Hopefully that will be the end for a while.

Cheers,
Steve

[White Mule]

The first thing I would do is check the EGR Blanking Plate. If you have a leak in the intake manifold then you would get less air from the turbo which would cause the diesel to burn less efficiently, which would result in less power and the unburned fuel would blow out the tailpipe in the form of air borne soot. Consequently your fuel mileage would choke, dude. Or perhaps your head gasket ~ compression issues would cause a drastic loss of power. Seriously, I hope it is not that and only the EGR Plate. To me it sounds like a compression issue of some sort or another ~ start with simple: EGR Plate. Do you have a gasket with it?

Falco.

Looks like Im next on this topic.

Symtoms: 1) Oil dripping from the turbo area.
2) Crappy fuel economy.

Is there a fix for this leak?

[jessef]

Pull the air pipe off the turbo housing and check the shaft for excessive play. You shouldn't be able to move it up and down and feel the fins touch the inner wall housing.

Two types of turbo rebuilds.

Change seals and clean

Change seals/shaft/impeller, balance and rebuild/test

See below :

http://www.delica.ca/forum/turbo-proble ... -7698.html