A diesel engine that'll do 70mph up a motorway hill
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- el sketcho
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A diesel engine that'll do 70mph up a motorway hill
I love my van but the 1.7 diesel engine just doesn't cut it going up hill on motorways. All I'd like is an engine that'll maintain 70 up hill. Anybody got any suggestions of what could be done to make the engine a bit faster or any different engines I could get fitted? I like the idea of the subaru diesel engine but I don't think any of them will be around secondhand for a while.
- ermie571
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Re: A diesel engine that'll do 70mph up a motorway hill
el sketcho wrote:I love my van but the 1.7 diesel engine just doesn't cut it going up hill on motorways. All I'd like is an engine that'll maintain 70 up hill. Anybody got any suggestions of what could be done to make the engine a bit faster or any different engines I could get fitted? I like the idea of the subaru diesel engine but I don't think any of them will be around secondhand for a while.
70 up hill??????
you're driving the wrong vehicle mate!! Coz even if you find one you'll kill it very quickly!
Em
x
2.1 DJ 1990 Caravelle (died and gone to heaven)
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2.0 AGG (1997 ish) 1984 transporter LPG
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Subaru 2.2 on gas (and I don't mean laughing gas) LPG ....would get you the desired performance and mpg.
Can't think of any simpler options.
A good 1.9TD conversion but not 70 up a hill.
Martin
Can't think of any simpler options.
A good 1.9TD conversion but not 70 up a hill.
Martin
On wings like angels whispers sweet
my heart it feels a broken beat
Touched soul and hurt lay wounded deep
Brown eyes are lost afar now sleep xxHayleyxx
my heart it feels a broken beat
Touched soul and hurt lay wounded deep
Brown eyes are lost afar now sleep xxHayleyxx
Nutter!
We've got a Westy high top with 1.9 non-turbo in it (1Y). Cruises on the flat at 65/ 70 (takes about 1/2 a mile to get there) and tackles motorway hills at a relatively good pace normally about 60 but that really depends on the run up. wind direction and the slope!
With all that in mind she did 2060 miles from Spain to France to UK over the summer at an average 30.7mpg! the single decimal place means a lot it's over 30mpg!
With all that in mind she did 2060 miles from Spain to France to UK over the summer at an average 30.7mpg! the single decimal place means a lot it's over 30mpg!

1987 1.9d 1Y Blue n white club joker high top
- oldiguana
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from what ive seen,most people expect the owd t25's to suddenly start slowin dine at the mere sign of a gradient anyway....they seem to make an effort to get round marladys bus before the offending hill encroaches.....personally the 1.9 1y in hers is more than enough for her...but her motorway miles are basically once a year to newquay n back,then the occasional trip on a sunday to take me lad to rugger!..all her friends laugh cause it only does 60 ish but she just sets out a little earlier than everybody else to get where shes goin.....but the t***s are always there when she arrives and gets the brewwer on!
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- el sketcho
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- DoKa90
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AAZ is considered by many to be the best available turbo diesel for the T3. It's an indirect injection engine (aka TD), whereas the vast majority of diesels fitted to the T4 were direct injection (aka TDI). The direct injection bit requires an ECU (electronic control unit) to look after the injection timing (I think) and consequently these are harder, but by no means impossible) to fit to a vehicle without ECU.
I had my 1.6 JX replaced with an AAZ recently and it's not a lot faster but has more torque which can be a good thing sometimes.
An AAZ is only 5bhp more than the JX but, from what I have read, can quite easily be tuned to give 90bhp. However, if you choose to go down that route, you'll need to consider an oil cooler to keep it healthy. You might also want to think about the gearbox, but yours should be fine with an AAZ (assuming it's the original one that went with the 1.7D).
An intercooler will also improve the performance of any indirect-injection TD engine. Do a search, there's lots of info on here about them.
It all comes down to how much time and money have you got. Good second-hand AAZs are getting harder to find, most with 100k+ on them. you take your chances with anything like that, though.
I had my 1.6 JX replaced with an AAZ recently and it's not a lot faster but has more torque which can be a good thing sometimes.
An AAZ is only 5bhp more than the JX but, from what I have read, can quite easily be tuned to give 90bhp. However, if you choose to go down that route, you'll need to consider an oil cooler to keep it healthy. You might also want to think about the gearbox, but yours should be fine with an AAZ (assuming it's the original one that went with the 1.7D).
An intercooler will also improve the performance of any indirect-injection TD engine. Do a search, there's lots of info on here about them.
It all comes down to how much time and money have you got. Good second-hand AAZs are getting harder to find, most with 100k+ on them. you take your chances with anything like that, though.
"Great Scott!"
- DoKa90
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Re: A diesel engine that'll do 70mph up a motorway hill
ermie571 wrote: 70 up hill??????
you're driving the wrong vehicle mate!!
I think this sums it up pretty well, actually.
It's certainly possible to achieve this kind of performance, but at a fairly hefty price. My AAZ goes up motorway hills at a steady 55-60, but that could be because I don't have full throttle travel. Yet. Soon to be remedied courtesy of SJ Baxter motor engineers.

"Great Scott!"
- toomanytoys
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- Andy syncro-nutz
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