More HP.

Headache1951

New member
Hi guys, has anyone found a way to get a 300tdi to produce more grunt? My 95 / 130 single cab is fully loaded at 2.95t with the slide-on van on board and it does not have enough horsepower for general touring, (highway and miner sealed roads). The engine is as new, fully reconditioned. Most of the drive systems have also been rebuilt with only the front diff and axle unit to be done. Engine and injector pump timings are correct and the pump and injectors appear to be working well. So it appears to be under powered when fully loaded. Does anyone know if there is an upgrade available that would help to solve my problem? I think I would need another 25% more horsepower and torque to have a good drive, if that can’t be done i may have to consider fitting a bigger engine and if i did that it would be with an automatic. Any suggestions on this idea would also be appreciated too. Thanks Keith.
 

Z.G

Well-known member
You could rebuild it as a 2.8L and upgrade the turbo. I'd offer to sell you the parts but you dont come across as living in the US.

M&D sells the parts in the UK
 

JimC

Super Moderator
Staff member
Allisport turbo kit, bigger exhaust, and turn up,the fueling at the pump. The 300 will be smoky but will give almost v8 performance feeling due to substantially increased drivability. It’s good enough you might want to switch to a 1.2 transfer case. Looks a little pricey at first but hella cheaper than any engine swap.
 

4RF RDS

Well-known member
Injection pump tweak (only if you know what you are doing) . Boost pin and spacer are easy to install and do. Also install an uprated intercooler and or a VNT turbo. All this will give you quite a bit more grunt. Simplest is a boost pin. Most extreme is stroking it, as posted already to 2.8…

good luck.
 

rocky

NAS-ROW Addict
You could rebuild it as a 2.8L and upgrade the turbo. I'd offer to sell you the parts but you dont come across as living in the US.

M&D sells the parts in the UK

Think he's in Australia. They really off road differently down there. Load up the truck with more than it should carry and go for it.
 

abraded

Active member
I feel like a 200/300tdi is barely acceptable power for a unloaded D90, even with a VNT. I can't imagine anything but frustration running one in a an almost 7000lb vehicle, regardless of mods to wring more power out of it.
 

LiquidMoose

Well-known member
I have a 200tdi with boost pin mod and a VNT turbo, R380 with tall 5th gear, 1.4 TC, electric fan, goes well except when the AC is running then it's an overheating useless dog. I live in southern AZ. Hello Chevy 250.
 

meatblanket

Well-known member
I have a 200tdi with boost pin mod and a VNT turbo, R380 with tall 5th gear, 1.4 TC, electric fan, goes well except when the AC is running then it's an overheating useless dog. I live in southern AZ. Hello Chevy 250.
Have you thought about replacing the electric fan with the OEM mechanical one and OEM fan shroud? Might be all you need.
 

LiquidMoose

Well-known member
Have you thought about replacing the electric fan with the OEM mechanical one and OEM fan shroud? Might be all you need.
The truck was that way originally, off road it would always overheat, replaced fan clutch, same thing, electric fan solved the off road issue.
The HP loss when the AC is turned on is abundantly noticeable and nothing will solve that except an engine swap.
 

Headache1951

New member
The truck was that way originally, off road it would always overheat, replaced fan clutch, same thing, electric fan solved the off road issue.
The HP loss when the AC is turned on is abundantly noticeable and nothing will solve that except an engine swap.

Hi guys, has anyone found a way to get a 300tdi to produce more grunt? My 95 / 130 single cab is fully loaded at 2.95t with the slide-on van on board and it does not have enough horsepower for general touring, (highway and miner sealed roads). The engine is as new, fully reconditioned. Most of the drive systems have also been rebuilt with only the front diff and axle unit to be done. Engine and injector pump timings are correct and the pump and injectors appear to be working well. So it appears to be under powered when fully loaded. Does anyone know if there is an upgrade available that would help to solve my problem? I think I would need another 25% more horsepower and torque to have a good drive, if that can’t be done i may have to consider fitting a bigger engine and if i did that it would be with an automatic. Any suggestions on this idea would also be appreciated too. Thanks Keith.
Thanks guys for all your interesting comments, much appreciated. I’m looking for an easy way out. The F250 is my preferred option, (that’s what I should have done), and may still change to one but first I need to get rid of other vehicles and boats etc to make room for a F250 project. The 7•1lt v8 would be overkill but i would cope ok. Another option i was considering is the purchase and fit a turbo upgrade kit from UK but at $3000 AU it’s very expensive for a 12% power gain. Increasing the fuel intake and producing black smoke is not a good look and is frowned upon here. (Yes i’m in QLD AU).
 

gerken

Member
I feel like a 200/300tdi is barely acceptable power for a unloaded D90, even with a VNT. I can't imagine anything but frustration running one in a an almost 7000lb vehicle, regardless of mods to wring more power out of it.
Just as a "the more you know" - I recently imported a 1998 110 SW 300tdi, and it weighed in at 4,630 lbs at the port. Full tank of gas, full spare tire. I don't know that many people that are throwing another ~3000 lbs into a 110 or 90, and if they are, that doesn't seem like an engine problem.
 
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