getting more out of my isuzu tc4ee1 (1.7 td)

forgot to say that, we also adjusted the "smoke stop"... so I guess it is getting more fuel also.

will the increase on intercooler make "a lot" of difference? (i understand that I wont get +50hp)
I have the stock IC at the moment, mainly due to not having enough room the get a bigger one, that will sit horizontal, in front of the radiator...
could see if I could make more room by replacing to big bulky fan with a span-fan model. and then relocating the radiator a bit more back..

does fitting a NA intake manifold make any difference ?

your wrong there mate, vauxhall/isuzu covers are not swappable, so that is not an option.
it is the isuzu lump, with turbo, (even though it says only diesel and not turbo)
also the gm lump has the turbo on the firewall side, this one has the turbo in the front, and the fuel pump under the inlet manifold.

i ripped it out of a astra mk3 tds myself, so i'm 100% sure. the gm lump bolts straight to normal gm engine mounts, i had to weld in a mount in the chassis leg for this isuzu lump


it did have a gm NA diesel in it when i bought it, before the isuzu TD lump I had upgraded to a gm TD, but that one died on me really quick (because the oilpan got ripped)

Going for a bigger intercooler doesn't actually give MORE power, it just keeps the air charge cooler for LONGER.

If you're just pootling around, and occasionally want to be able to plant your foot and shift, most standard intercoolers are pretty good!

The smoke screw only lets you have more of the standard level of fuelling sooner - it doesn't increase the total amount of fuel available. What you've done will make it pick up from idle/traffic lights amazingly better though! Above the fuel cutoff solenoid is the max fuel screw - this does exactly what you'd expect it to do, and it controls the maximum amount of fuel available.

Turn it in, at most 1/2 a turn at a time (dropping the idle speed whenever needed, again by winding out another screw) until you get a light/medium haze of smoke at full power.

Don't be tempted to just screw it in 3-odd turns then start it up... there's every chance it'll "run-away", refuse to stop, possibly knacker the engine, and generally ruin your day....

I have exactly the same engine, same inlet manifold and same cam cover, with Diesel written on the top even though it definatly is a TD, it came from a P reg Astra,

maybe they were slightly differences depending on age or what model they were installed in, or as it went into a Corsa before I got it, maybe the cam cover and inlet are of the corsa 1.7D !

Cam cover and top half of the inlet are off a 1.5D (n/a) Corsa

It does - but not to a noticeable level when actually driving in most cases (there will always be the exception to this mind you, when a pitiful intercooler was fitted as standard)





It's a weird thing - sometimes the stop valve doesn't actually cut the engine out Happens most on pumps where the fuelling's been turned up - it's rare, but do you want to risk it happening?





The max fuel screw will raise fuelling across the whole range, so you may need to adjust the smoke screw inwards if you're getting loads of smoke before you're on-boost. But tbh, just take your foot off the throttle a bit... it does EXACTLY the same to the level of fuelling being added

And smoke off-boost is just irritating (to other drivers.. and the police) but smoke on-boost, under load, can be quite dangerous, as this is when exhaust temps will rise MASSIVELY, and can literally melt pistons.

So, when you've got smoke, at full boost, under max load (usually 3rd/4th gear, at about 50mph), is when it's TOO much for your turbo

Yups, that was indeed the max fuel screw! Lol I did wonder how you got so much smoke from such a small adjustment on the smoke screw

I was also suprised when you said you even HAD a smoke screw, as I've never seen one before on those pumps! It's just a different top cap on the aneroid section, but the intake manifold gets in the way of swapping one over AFAIK

The torx screw in the top of the aneroid on this pump, is the smoke screw




You can see here, how the screw pokes into the pump, and will push the LDA pin down a set amount

If you can make enough space to fit some form of adjustment to the lid, do it!

Pushing the pin down, gives more smoke/power off-boost. Having the pin higher up, gives less power/smoke off-boost.

Turning the starwheel inwards a turn or two help chuck in more fuel once you're on boost too

i'll see if the NA has a lid, (although i believe that piece of the pump is only there on the turbo pump, because a NA wont have any air pressure to push down on the membrane) if not, i can always source one at a local scrappy got a blown headgasket or something.)
turning the starwheel in? you are reffering to the smoke screw again (with a star/torx)??



thanks! not many people (especially bosses) would agree with you, non the less, i still have fun with it, and like the looks on peoples faces when the traffic light turns green
i have this car for over a year now, it's longest i drove a daily before selling it, perhaps it also has something to do with it not being very sell-able.. even though i thought that of more cars, that sold within a week... somehow there is always a market for that one just a little bit to odd car luckily there is still a very active rat-look scene here, and anything with ratlook (even if it is just a synonym for bucket 'o rust) in the advert will sell..

i've been sourcing a cheap backup engine for some time now, but with everything diesel going to export, i'm not having very much luck... so when (haha not if) the headgasket goes, i guess i will just have to fit a new one, and see... or search for a upgraded version?

been thinking about a bigger turbo... but i'm not sure how big i can go... the fact is, it is only a 1.7.... i can buy a referb turbo from a frontera 2.8 diesel for fairly cheap.. the saab 2.2 diesel turbo's are pretty reasonable priced too..
not really looking forward to making a new exhaust manifold for a turbo that my engine cant handle.... (plus my fabbing skills are not so expert-like as some of you here)

i think i'm just going to go search for a new lid to modify, see if i can fit the NA manifold, (to also make the air inlet route a lot shorter) and search a spal-like fan to be abe to give a IC more cooling surface by placing it in front of the radiator. maybe then this just has to go to a "professional" tuner to get a decent basic setup? someone with a "rolling road"...

i bought a house last juli, i have to move in there this september, and still have a sh*t load of work to do it, before i can even think of living there... (i heard people say that a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen are pretty handy things to have in a house....)

a project to fit a new turbo would have to wait at least till i live there, and perhaps find a temporary other silly car to bring me to work and back..

thanks for the great help so far, atleast i have a little bit of moyo back to go and upgrade the things that are fairly small jobs! ;D