I actually god a pryce for a VDO Pyrometer the other day just out of interest and it turned out to be more expensive than the Madman system.....dont know what happened there.
The piston temp cannot be measured so the exhaust gas temp is the only thing you can measure and it is good enough.
The full Madman allows you to measure, one pressure (oil or boost), oil temp, water temp, water level/presence, charging Volts and off course the EGT.
It also has a hour meter for what its worth
And a volt meter .....it actually alarms on it ....best thing is the alarm that tells you when there is a problem ...5k for all of that incl all the senders are a steal in my eyes....a man needs a manaul turbo gauge to watch your boost and if boost isn't wrong the egt will pic it up very soon
I have 2001 GU 3.0 d manual similar to the second picture above.
It has given me untold Kak, replaced two Pistons, the the gasket became an issue and now it's in at the diesel pump guys as the pump seems to have packed up.
Bottom line is I am gatvol of this engine, it is also very sluggish when towing anything.
I am looking at replacing it as I have got two toyotas and have never had any nonsense, not even once, so not used to this, I do however love the build quality of the patrol body and chassis.
I am looking at an LS1, LS2 or LS3 conversion, with Aussie retrofit kit onto existing transmission which I believe is also bullet proof.
Opinions please manne, I am at my wits end here..........
He is probably the best man for the job, but he is in the Cape.....
Alex had a motor blowup on him and he took it to a guy in Bloem if I recall.... he is away on the river trip at the moment, but maybe when he's back he will look in here and offer some advice.
Secondly, you are right in terms of the chassis and drive train and once you have the right power to match it, you may just end up enjoying a very long and deep relationship with your Troll.
Now about conversions in general, you need to note the following:
- Cars are not designed for it. This means that you can end up with unforeseen challenges. A good example is my starter motor that Graham (Pathmaker) recently tried to extricate from my engine bay. It took him the best part of a day. There is simply not enough space to get to the nuts. That is a typical conversion issue. Make sure if you do a conversion, that the car is service-able in all respects. In general consider anything that may end up needing to be replaced, and how easy you can get to it from above or below, without having to take out eh engine or gearbox.
- It is a "one-way ticket". No matter how good the build and the reputation of the conversion people, your second hand value is down to pot. If that is even possible, given the low second hand value of Patrols generally.
- The exhaust layout of a V8 is obviously very different from a straight six or 4 cylinder engine. The pipes come down from both sides and need to cross over. Making that fit in a Patrol is not easy, because it was not designed for it. If you want to do 4x4 technical trails with the car, make sure the flex of the axles are not compromised by the pipes.
- You therefore need to consider the application of the vehicle before you decide on the engine you want to replace. Big straight six engines typically have more low down torque. The LS1-2-3s typically are more thirsty and therefore can compromise your range on overland trips.
- For some reason Nissan people are more keen on Chevy V8 conversions into Patrols than Toyota engines. No-one has ever given me a good reason for it. So I conclude it to be Nissan vs Toyota thing. If you do however consider the LS1, 2 or 3 route, talk to Frans Fourie (Tour de Frans on the forum) and question him on the very specific issues I have mentioned above that I have had with the Lexus conversion. Personally I would be keen to hear from Frans myself, given my experience of the Lexus V8.
- I just came back from the river trip where a 2 feet deep river (i.e. not much water really), made my car stutter and I had to wait quite a while to get going again. That is simply not cool at all, given what I demand from my Patrol
So I guess it comes back to application again. What you want to use the car for. I do not know how well the LS engines handle water, but Lexus clearly does not.
Other than that, I have had almost five years of driving since my conversion and mostly trouble free.
- most importantly, there is no such thing as a cheap conversion. A "spoeg-en-plak" conversion makes you pay installments, rather than upfront. It will cost the same in the end, once you have sorted out all the issues caused by the short cuts taken initially.
If you want more information on the Lexus conversions, PM me.
and for LS conversions, talk to Frans.
After three engine conversions, I am pretty set against them on vehicles used for travelling to remote destinations where a reliability issue may be life-threatening.
Personally, I would seriously suggest selling the car and replacing it with one with a factory-fitted engine more persuant to your needs.
Furthermore, one would tend to presume that you bought a diesel vehicle because you are interested in fuel economy. The conversion you are considering here would produce one of the heaviest-consumption vehicles on the road, although undeniably one with huge power.
If you are still set on doing a conversion, perhaps you should consider a different TDI. Have a word with Bogeyman, he has some ideas in this direction.
Peter Connan wrote:If you are still set on doing a conversion, perhaps you should consider a different TDI. Have a word with Bogeyman, he has some ideas in this direction.
Cummins....
Peter, at risk of hijackign the thread,
when you refer to three conversions,
Were those all your own?
and
Do you include the 4.5 in your current Patrol?
and if boost isn't wrong the egt will pic it up very soon 
