best way to 'spruce' up and old engine (1.6td)

[T'Onion]

I think you've sorted this one out in your head already .. nurse it around on your jollies and then do the conversion

If not your looking at ....
£120 for the injectors cleaned and rebuilt
£150 for the pump rebuilt ( at least)
£200 for the turbo
then theres the glow plugs and the relay say £100
£50 on belts and tensioners
then if you can't do the fit of the pump and belt £200 say

all adds up and thats without having new pistons and rings , gaskets ,oil pump , and the head rebuilt

[horns]

Why? I didn't need any of that done.

I say sort the exhaust, get a service done and the timing set - won't cost you an awful lot - and then see where you are after that. You might just find you have a better engine than you think.

[TeamSid]

I would:
have the injectors reconditioned (or shop around for exchange injectors)
Have it serviced (oil, fuel and air filters, oil change)
Fit new heater plugs.
Fix blowing exhaust.
Changing the injectors will improve fuel consumption and power and help clear up any black smoke produced under acceleration/load.
Changing the heater plugs might help starting also.
Poor starting could be due to faulty heater plugs or low engine compression
Have the engine compression tested or leak tested before throwing loads of money into an engine rebuild. It will probably show wear but it might not be too bad. If you want the pump timing checked, take it to a good garage or a diesel diagnostic centre. This involves fitting a dial guage in the back of the pump if you want it done properly.
Best of luck.

[charlie brown syndrome]

thanks for all your help on this tonight guys,
i'm going to have a think about what to do

[lhd]

Firstly do an engine flush and check the timing, cost next to nothing.

[charlie brown syndrome]

right then,
sorry to bring this one back to the top guys.
ive just done an engine flush using the comma flush out stuff,
ive obviously changed the oil and filter too,
ive noticed when i dropped the oil out (into a 6l oil drainer) that it filled it up quite alot, not 6 litres but well over what it should be.
i topped the oil up a couple of weeks ago when the buzzer first came on, i topped it up to the max level on the dipstick.
ive just put 4.5 litres of new oil in, ran the engine for a minute or 2, switched engine off and waited another 5 mins then re-dipped the stick twice. both times the oil level said it was low, below minimum, i re-dipped again to treble check, exactly the same reading, no oil lights on dash, no buzzer.
is there any chance its had the wrong dipstick in, giving a wrong reading? i havent topped it up anymore, ive left it at the 4.5l because i KNOW it's got that amount in.
would this have been problem with the buzzer?
it still doent run great by the way....infact it doesnt seem any different but i havent taken it on a good run yet to see if the buzzer comes on.
cheers

[horns]

Do you have an oil cooler fitted?

[charlie brown syndrome]

hi mate,
yes, there is an oil cooler fitted

[horns]

That's where the extra oil is going, then...

[charlie brown syndrome]

it had about over 1l extra in it though and i only filled it up to the max level,
i'd have thought the oil cooler wouldve took about an extra 1/2 litre max.
do you know how much extra they do take with an oil cooler?
thanks for your help here by the way

[horns]

I couldn't tell you how much extra - but I'm sure somebody else will know. I think there was some discussion of this on the Brickyard not long ago, too.

[charlie brown syndrome]

ok mate, cool,
i will top it up to about halfway between min and max and keep an eye on it,
cheers

[T'Onion]

when you say you have an oil cooler fitted do you mean an after market one or the one just above the oil filter ?

[charlie brown syndrome]

sorry mate,
the standard one that sits underneath the oil filter with 2 water pipes on it,

[T'Onion]

Ok , then don't go putting any more oil in there , does sound like you have the wrong size stick , ...if you have put 4.5 ltrs in and things are ok then leave it be , if you can get the van level , and when the oil is cold dip it again , then see where its at on the stick .I'd mark it up and maybe just add 250mls if your feeling uneasy about it and keep an eye on it
If you drained out just under 6ltrs then chances are thats what was setting the buzzer off , only time and a good run will tell if you have caused any problems.

hope this helps