Help 200tdi Low boost, sluggish.

So I need help, first time joining a forum because I amtam lost with my 200tdi.

So the baseline is my turbo is not producing enough boost, even with the turbo waste gate fully closed and engine under load I can only achieve a max 12psi. Not wanting the waste gate kept shut I run it with a actuator nearly closed by 6 whole turns and that gives me 10psi.

The turbo is newly refurbished professionally, fitted together with new gaskets, new boost pipes, intercooler flushed, turbo has oil flow.

No blockages in the exhaust.

No boost leaks.

Actuator refurbished with turbo and working perfectly.

Boost pin, governor pin all free and work as they should.

New lift pump (which was not working) new filters.

New thermostat and radiator just for better cooling, nothing wrong with the original.

Timing all correct, including minor adjustment on the injector pump timing to get it correct with TDC and flywheel.

Even after all of this there has being absolutely not a single change in engine power, boost psi or smoke.

Engine is quite smokey under load, it puffs like a train instead of a steady constant flow of black smoke. It also breathes a little but really not too bad for a engine with 200k miles.

So at this point we are all stumped, as the engine runs smooth, no misfires, reves well and is not lumpy or rough just quite simply will not spool up the turbo as much as it should. I know this exact engine and turbo has potentially for up to 30psi.

If anyone has any ideas at all please do let me know, crack between the valves, infectors, piston rings, injector pump?

Thanks thanks thanks Matt

are you completely sure there are no boost leaks ? low pressure , with everything you've done in mind would point to that.

Compression check first, followed by inlet manifold Gasket and all pipe work back to the turbo for leaks,
How high does it rev statically?

Std 200 boost is about 10/12 psi, they will happily run 15 psi all day long, same as the 300tdi.
I remember meassing with a 300rdi std set up, and clamping the wastegate actuator pipe shut , and it only made something like 18psi boost.

Is the boost pin back in its original position? easy to tell as it will be where the heaviest/widest mark is on the tapered part of the pin.
Diaphragm on top of boost pin in good nick?

What car is the engine in? I ask as the disco models suffer from the fuel pick up pipes rotting out under the boot floor, thinking drawing air in might some how be related to you puffing billy smoke?
Have read a couple of times now specifically on the 200 where the fuel return line has been blocked, causing weird running issues, Iirc they just blew down it with an air line to clear it, take fuel tank cap off first!

windy81 said:

are you completely sure there are no boost leaks ? low pressure , with everything you've done in mind would point to that.

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Hi Windy, yes positive there are no boost leaks, I have the same Psi reading at the outlet of the turbo as I do on the intake manifold . Thanks

lynall said:

Std 200 boost is about 10/12 psi, they will happily run 15 psi all day long, same as the 300tdi.
I remember meassing with a 300rdi std set up, and clamping the wastegate actuator pipe shut , and it only made something like 18psi boost.

Is the boost pin back in its original position? easy to tell as it will be where the heaviest/widest mark is on the tapered part of the pin.
Diaphragm on top of boost pin in good nick?

What car is the engine in? I ask as the disco models suffer from the fuel pick up pipes rotting out under the boot floor, thinking drawing air in might some how be related to you puffing billy smoke?
Have read a couple of times now specifically on the 200 where the fuel return line has been blocked, causing weird running issues, Iirc they just blew down it with an air line to clear it, take fuel tank cap off first!

Click to expand...

Hi Lynall, so the I have the boost pin in max position to try and compensate for the lack of power, with it in the original factory position it is super sluggish. Diaphragm is all good too.

Now my lift pump was not working at all as of last week, could have being not working for years for all I know and just running off the pull of the injector pump, could this cause damage, trap air? The engine is in a range rover classic, 200k miles, factory engine factory lt77. I bought the old rangie a couple of months ago but not my first 200tdi.

Good suggestion about blowing through the return pipe, I will put some air down it. Thanks

What's your air filter set up? Have you checked valve clearances?

Pottsy465 said:

Hi Lynall, so the I have the boost pin in max position to try and compensate for the lack of power, with it in the original factory position it is super sluggish. Diaphragm is all good too.

Now my lift pump was not working at all as of last week, could have being not working for years for all I know and just running off the pull of the injector pump, could this cause damage, trap air? The engine is in a range rover classic, 200k miles, factory engine factory lt77. I bought the old rangie a couple of months ago but not my first 200tdi.

Good suggestion about blowing through the return pipe, I will put some air down it. Thanks

Click to expand...

Range rover 200tdi, qot to be a pretty rare car now?

The boost pin set to max fuel would account for your smoke.
Have you touched the max fuel screw? the one with the security seal on it? no seal means someone else has already been there, if seal still in place you are in luck,
If seal still there I would reset the boost pin to std setting, and wind the max fuel screw in a 1/4 turn at a time and try the car each time, only takes little increments to make quite a difference.
A totally std 200 is a pretty slow and sluggish thing as standard.

Running car with dead lift pump will cause no harm as the injection pump has its own built in lift pump, when lift pump starts to die you can feel it just does not quite had the edge on poweer at higher rpms, but will start and run a sper normal.

Europa486 said:

Compression check first, followed by inlet manifold Gasket and all pipe work back to the turbo for leaks,
How high does it rev statically?

Click to expand...

Thanks Euro, definitely compression check would be next, no leaks anywhere. Statically it revs to 4500rpm dead. Cheers

lynall said:

Range rover 200tdi, qot to be a pretty rare car now?

The boost pin set to max fuel would account for your smoke.
Have you touched the max fuel screw? the one with the security seal on it? no seal means someone else has already been there, if seal still in place you are in luck,
If seal still there I would reset the boost pin to std setting, and wind the max fuel screw in a 1/4 turn at a time and try the car each time, only takes little increments to make quite a difference.
A totally std 200 is a pretty slow and sluggish thing as standard.

Running car with dead lift pump will cause no harm as the injection pump has its own built in lift pump, when lift pump starts to die you can feel it just does not quite had the edge on poweer at higher rpms, but will start and run a sper normal.

Click to expand...

Thanks Lynall, yes pretty rare indeed now, but she is a goodun, had to weld in some footwells but apart from that waxoiled within a inch of its life so it has survived. Thanks for all that info, the screw tag is still there, I will have a play. Thanks again

I had this issue with my 200TDI. The resolve was two things, both identified by Richard Hall at Glencoyne engineering. Firstly was a faulty lift pump, bearing in mind it only had a few miles on it, it was replaced and fitted with a spacer, which should stop it from failing again. Its correct that the car will work if the lift pump has failed, but you will notice it as soon as you start going up hill, as the engine starts to get starved and will get dramatically more sluggish. Secondly the Banjo fitting on the fuel return line had the wrong union, someone (one of the many Ironically named specialists) had fitted the one without the whole in it to the return, with the result that the injection pump could not maintain internal pressure even before the lift pump failed.
These were the primary issues. He also dialled up the maximum speed screw (I didn't know there was such a thing). Before all this, my top speed was 56mph, stopped dead like it was restricted. On the first road test after the changes above it hit 80Mph and still have room to move. Just my two pence worth, but I had suffered from a sluggish restricted engine for a long time and these solved the issue, for a little over £150. Unfortunately he also discovered a hair line crack in the block, so the engine is being rebuilt, but I'll post about that separately next week, once it's finished.