L300 Running Properly
Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2017 12:21 pm
I wish I wasn't the only owner of an L300 in my home town of Peterborough Ontario, but I believe I am. My Delica runs quite well and has been a gem over the almost 5 years I've owned it. But lately I've been wondering if its operating at 100%. I have no other Delica locally to compare it to, but I'm wondering if its lost a bit of power due to a malfunction, like say in the turbo or something. When I bought the van it only had 71,000 k on the motor. Now I'm up to 126,000 K. The only major work I've had done was having the injector pump rebuilt because it was leaking. While in the engine bay, I had my mechanic do the timing belt and all the other belts, water pump, and all the other stuff required for a good tune up. Basically all preventative maintenance stuff.
Maybe its running perfectly fine, but as I mentioned, I've got no other van to compare it to. When I'm on the highway it always seems to want to kick down to maintain its speed, even on the slightest of hills. Often to keep it at 85 kph, its kicking down and revving at around 3500 rpm's. The engine sounds like a jet engine and there's a loud swishing sound coming from what I believe is the turbo. I feel like I'm overworking the engine, but if I let off on the accelerator pedal to get the revs back down, of course it slows the speed right down too. If I'm on a 400 series highway where the posted limit is 100 kph, its quite tricky to have it running at lower rpm's (like say 3000) while cruising at 100 -110. It always seems to want to kick down and that's got the engine revving at around 3500 -3800 rpm's until it goes into the last gear. Keeping it at these highway speeds with the engine revving at 2900 rpm's is tricky while driving at these speeds.
I've owned 9 Westfalia's prior to purchasing my 1st Delica and I know these are not speed machines. I've always been what I think is very careful with my van. This post is more about the question of whether something is actually wrong with my van, or if its running fine at the speeds and rpm's. A guy who's mechanically declined such as myself can get a little worried about things he's not sure of. And with all of the great reading I've done on here with other peoples vans, I'm always wondering, perhaps unnecessarily, if my van is currently up to snuff. Even with its relatively low km's, its the age of the parts that's got me wondering if something like the turbo is still operating properly.
I just got back from a trip to North Carolina and it seemed to run well. It did kick down quite a bit, especially in the mountains. But my temps never went up much past the half way mark on the gauge. I used my 4 way flashers on the long hills and just cruised as best as I felt I could. My next planned trip is to Manitoulin Island in Northern Ontario next week before I go back to work in September.
I guess I could have made this post much less wordy. Is it ok or normal to have the van running at 3500 -3800 rpm's on the highway maintain the speed limit? My running joke in North Carolina was with the speed limit signs saying 70 mph, Radar Enforced. I'd say, I'll try and do 70, but I really don't think its going to happen any time soon.
I would really appreciate anyone else's thoughts, experiences and expertise on this. I've never owned a vehicle that's required so little maintenance.
Cheers, Phil
Maybe its running perfectly fine, but as I mentioned, I've got no other van to compare it to. When I'm on the highway it always seems to want to kick down to maintain its speed, even on the slightest of hills. Often to keep it at 85 kph, its kicking down and revving at around 3500 rpm's. The engine sounds like a jet engine and there's a loud swishing sound coming from what I believe is the turbo. I feel like I'm overworking the engine, but if I let off on the accelerator pedal to get the revs back down, of course it slows the speed right down too. If I'm on a 400 series highway where the posted limit is 100 kph, its quite tricky to have it running at lower rpm's (like say 3000) while cruising at 100 -110. It always seems to want to kick down and that's got the engine revving at around 3500 -3800 rpm's until it goes into the last gear. Keeping it at these highway speeds with the engine revving at 2900 rpm's is tricky while driving at these speeds.
I've owned 9 Westfalia's prior to purchasing my 1st Delica and I know these are not speed machines. I've always been what I think is very careful with my van. This post is more about the question of whether something is actually wrong with my van, or if its running fine at the speeds and rpm's. A guy who's mechanically declined such as myself can get a little worried about things he's not sure of. And with all of the great reading I've done on here with other peoples vans, I'm always wondering, perhaps unnecessarily, if my van is currently up to snuff. Even with its relatively low km's, its the age of the parts that's got me wondering if something like the turbo is still operating properly.
I just got back from a trip to North Carolina and it seemed to run well. It did kick down quite a bit, especially in the mountains. But my temps never went up much past the half way mark on the gauge. I used my 4 way flashers on the long hills and just cruised as best as I felt I could. My next planned trip is to Manitoulin Island in Northern Ontario next week before I go back to work in September.
I guess I could have made this post much less wordy. Is it ok or normal to have the van running at 3500 -3800 rpm's on the highway maintain the speed limit? My running joke in North Carolina was with the speed limit signs saying 70 mph, Radar Enforced. I'd say, I'll try and do 70, but I really don't think its going to happen any time soon.
I would really appreciate anyone else's thoughts, experiences and expertise on this. I've never owned a vehicle that's required so little maintenance.
Cheers, Phil
