Technical am i losing power

[sprie]

When i drive the 1999 1.9 TD Ducato on the flat, it is happy enough at 40 and will do 50. I don't have any decent roads nearby where i can see what higher speed it can sensibly do.
If i drive it up a hill, i would drop to 4th gear and then after a while as it slows, i need to drop it to 3rd.
On the flat at 40, i don't see any smoke, but when it is working to get me up the hill, there is some black smoke in the exhaust.

As per other posts, the head has just been rebuilt by local specialists and i replaced the piston rings. The engine wear looks in line with 59,000 (i.e. some wear but not that much).
I have done my best to set the timing on the new cambelt correctly (based on the matching marks on the crankshaft, cambelt/cover & fuel pump/cover).
I believe the turbo is doing its job as on two occasions an air hose has popped off - fixed by using better jubilee clips - but this indicates to me that the turbo is pushing a decent amount of air into the engine.
The engine starts promptly and ticks over OK.

Is the behaviour on a hill described above to be expected or does that indicate i am missing some power?
Is there anything else i can do to
1) assess the power or
2) improve the power or
3) reduce the smoke?

 

[bugsymike]

When i drive the 1999 1.9 TD Ducato on the flat, it is happy enough at 40 and will do 50. I don't have any decent roads nearby where i can see what higher speed it can sensibly do.
If i drive it up a hill, i would drop to 4th gear and then after a while as it slows, i need to drop it to 3rd.
On the flat at 40, i don't see any smoke, but when it is working to get me up the hill, there is some black smoke in the exhaust.

As per other posts, the head has just been rebuilt by local specialists and i replaced the piston rings. The engine wear looks in line with 59,000 (i.e. some wear but not that much).
I have done my best to set the timing on the new cambelt correctly (based on the matching marks on the crankshaft, cambelt/cover & fuel pump/cover).
I believe the turbo is doing its job as on two occasions an air hose has popped off - fixed by using better jubilee clips - but this indicates to me that the turbo is pushing a decent amount of air into the engine.
The engine starts promptly and ticks over OK.

Is the behaviour on a hill described above to be expected or does that indicate i am missing some power?
Is there anything else i can do to
1) assess the power or
2) improve the power or
3) reduce the smoke?

I would check the turbo side, if you are getting visible black smoke then more turbo pressure/oxygen will use that diesel black smoke to give you power and the black smoke will disappear due to better combustion.
On the 2.8iTD Ducato engine I fitted in a boat, I adjusted the injector pump till it gave black smoke under power , then increased the turbo boost pressure to get rid of the black smoke, then adjusted the injector pump to give more fuel/black smoke and adjusted boost higher so the engine that was rated at 122hp originally was now almost as powerful as the original V6 petrol engine of 3.75 litre and boat was able to get 26 knots of speed against originals 30 knots on five star petrol(10 gallons to the hour) I was doing 4 gallons to the hour on diesel, so quite a result.

 

[sprie]

I would check the turbo side, if you are getting visible black smoke then more turbo pressure/oxygen will use that diesel black smoke to give you power and the black smoke will disappear due to better combustion.
On the 2.8iTD Ducato engine I fitted in a boat, I adjusted the injector pump till it gave black smoke under power , then increased the turbo boost pressure to get rid of the black smoke, then adjusted the injector pump to give more fuel/black smoke and adjusted boost higher so the engine that was rated at 122hp originally was now almost as powerful as the original V6 petrol engine of 3.75 litre and boat was able to get 26 knots of speed against originals 30 knots on five star petrol(10 gallons to the hour) I was doing 4 gallons to the hour on diesel, so quite a result.

This is what my turbo looks like. It doesn't look like the arm is adjustable.
However
1) the arm does look fairly corroded
2) i did try to move the lever (on the RHS) the arm connects to but it does not budge when i use my hand.

Do you think i should be able to move the arm by hand?
Is it possible this mechanism is corroded to the extent that it isn't working?
What should i do (spray lots of WD40 on the area? force it by hand?)?

 

[bugsymike]

This is what my turbo looks like. It doesn't look like the arm is adjustable.

However
1) the arm does look fairly corroded
2) i did try to move the lever (on the RHS) the arm connects to but it does not budge when i use my hand.

Do you think i should be able to move the arm by hand?
Is it possible this mechanism is corroded to the extent that it isn't working?
What should i do (spray lots of WD40 on the area? force it by hand?)?

I agree no visible adjuster, I would try engine oil soaked into the spindle going into turbo as I have seen them badly seized there, but don't get two violent as they can snap.
There is a tiny circlip on the end of the actuator rod.I think on yours the turbo pressure opens the waste gate when pressure too much from a pipe on other side of turbo.
If you had a small hand pump it may be possible to test by applying pressure to the actuator via that pipe.
Strange no adjuster.
As you say if turbo hose blows off needing new clips, you would assume plenty of boost pressure.
When you had engine apart are you happy injection pump timing was correct as well as cambelt/valve timing?

 

[Communicator]

What am I seeing next to the elbow at the end of the braided oil supply hose? Looks as though it could be a stray M8 BZP nut.

The turbo capsule is receiving boost pressure via the oily rubber hose, and will act to open the wastgate and limit the boost pressure as it approaces maximum. With engine stopped the wastgate will be fully open, and componts tend to sieze in their rest position.
In my limited exoperience you will not be able to move the wastegate lever by hand. Use a suitable spanner or small adjustable and use moderate force to turn the wastegate spindle clockwise by a small amount,
We keep getting told that WD40 is not a lubricant. A silicone spray loaded with PTFE may have more lasting effects if needed,
Have you checked for a boost pressure connection to the injection pump. It does not appear to be teed into the oily hose but that connection may be hidden from the camera, or perhaps on the inlet manifold. It should connect to the injection pump in the vicinity of the circular boost pressure housing.

 

[bugsymike]

What am I seeing next to the elbow at the end of the braided oil supply hose? Looks as though it could be a stray M8 BZP nut.

The turbo capsule is receiving boost pressure via the oily rubber hose, and will act to open the wastgate and limit the boost pressure as it approaces maximum. With engine stopped the wastgate will be fully open, and componts tend to sieze in their rest position.
In my limited exoperience you will not be able to move the wastegate lever by hand. Use a suitable spanner or small adjustable and use moderate force to turn the wastegate spindle clockwise by a small amount,
We keep getting told that WD40 is not a lubricant. A silicone spray loaded with PTFE may have more lasting effects if needed,
Have you checked for a boost pressure connection to the injection pump. It does not appear to be teed into the oily hose but that connection may be hidden from the camera, or perhaps on the inlet manifold. It should connect to the injection pump in the vicinity of the circular boost pressure housing.

Whilst I use WD40 for somethings, I often get my engine oil can out and soak seized bolts overnight.

 

[sprie]

I agree no visible adjuster, I would try engine oil soaked into the spindle going into turbo as I have seen them badly seized there, but don't get two violent as they can snap.
There is a tiny circlip on the end of the actuator rod.I think on yours the turbo pressure opens the waste gate when pressure too much from a pipe on other side of turbo.
If you had a small hand pump it may be possible to test by applying pressure to the actuator via that pipe.
Strange no adjuster.
As you say if turbo hose blows off needing new clips, you would assume plenty of boost pressure.
When you had engine apart are you happy injection pump timing was correct as well as cambelt/valve timing?

ref timing, i was conscious when i was rebuilding the engine how sensitive it is to any error in timing.
Although it took a bit of time for me to work it out, i did arrive at the point where i could see
the timing belt needed to have:
a) the crankshaft pulley with the TDC mark set to the mark on the case
b) the camshaft pulley timing mark needed to be in line with the small timing hole in the cover
c) the fuel pump pulley mark needed to be in line with the small triangle on the inside of the cover.

I could tell during sorting this out, how sensitive it was - it only took a little bit out of line and you could feel the valves meet the pistons.

So at the end of this, obviously the valves are not meeting the pistons so i am not far wrong - i think if i were 1 tooth out, the piston/valves would be headbutting each other.

However, there is the facility to twist the fuel pump a bit either way - i fastened it "mid-point" - to either delay or hasten the fuel delivery a bit (just like twisting a petrol-engine distributor). I have not experimented with doing this.

With petrol, i could put the strobe light on, and set it to whatever TDC setting the manual says, but i am not sure if there is anything similar for diesels. The fact that it starts easily and idles ok means it can't be too bad, but then, as per my note above says, it is under load that there might be an issue.

 

[sprie]

Whilst I use WD40 for somethings, I often get my engine oil can out and soak seized bolts overnight.

I will give it a few sprays of light oil over a few days and then see if i can get some movement

 

[sprie]

What am I seeing next to the elbow at the end of the braided oil supply hose? Looks as though it could be a stray M8 BZP nut.

The turbo capsule is receiving boost pressure via the oily rubber hose, and will act to open the wastgate and limit the boost pressure as it approaces maximum. With engine stopped the wastgate will be fully open, and componts tend to sieze in their rest position.
In my limited exoperience you will not be able to move the wastegate lever by hand. Use a suitable spanner or small adjustable and use moderate force to turn the wastegate spindle clockwise by a small amount,
We keep getting told that WD40 is not a lubricant. A silicone spray loaded with PTFE may have more lasting effects if needed,
Have you checked for a boost pressure connection to the injection pump. It does not appear to be teed into the oily hose but that connection may be hidden from the camera, or perhaps on the inlet manifold. It should connect to the injection pump in the vicinity of the circular boost pressure housing.

I will investigate to see if there is any link from the turbo/exhaust etc back to the fuel pump. The other end of the oily hose i think connects to an air hose after the turbo.

 

[bugsymike]

ref timing, i was conscious when i was rebuilding the engine how sensitive it is to any error in timing.
Although it took a bit of time for me to work it out, i did arrive at the point where i could see
the timing belt needed to have:
a) the crankshaft pulley with the TDC mark set to the mark on the case
b) the camshaft pulley timing mark needed to be in line with the small timing hole in the cover
c) the fuel pump pulley mark needed to be in line with the small triangle on the inside of the cover.

I could tell during sorting this out, how sensitive it was - it only took a little bit out of line and you could feel the valves meet the pistons.

So at the end of this, obviously the valves are not meeting the pistons so i am not far wrong - i think if i were 1 tooth out, the piston/valves would be headbutting each other.

However, there is the facility to twist the fuel pump a bit either way - i fastened it "mid-point" - to either delay or hasten the fuel delivery a bit (just like twisting a petrol-engine distributor). I have not experimented with doing this.

With petrol, i could put the strobe light on, and set it to whatever TDC setting the manual says, but i am not sure if there is anything similar for diesels. The fact that it starts easily and idles ok means it can't be too bad, but then, as per my note above says, it is under load that there might be an issue.

Re fine adjustment of injector pump, I actually have a Bosch Strobe light etc. that uses an impulse from a sensor you clamp to number one cylinder injector pipe, they don't get much use these days with Common Rail ECU controlled systems, the last time I used it was on my boat with the 2.8 Ducato engine.
Generally if fine tuning by moving the injector pump, if retarded it will be quieter and flat, if over advanced the diesel knock will be very pronounced so try to avoid that. You may find the engine "sounds happier" when timing about right.
One small point once set , with engine off slacken the injector pipes and retighten them so they are not under strain from twisting by moving the pump.