gutless 2.8 what do i do

[matto]

I recently bought a 2.8lt gu patrol it goes really well on the road but o went for a 4b and the gutless wonder didnt have enough balls to get up a hill in low 2 it was shit and ruined my day. as i like going bush i need more power so i was wondering how much i was looking at for the v8 conversion or can you get more power from the ant hearted engine for cheap thats in it

[frigga 40]

sell it and start again

[matto]

the wife loves it and its a good looking car just got no heart

[badger]

exhaust. chip. boost

if you still want more add a better turbo.
search here and patrol4x4 there is heaps of info on 2.8's

[Daisy]

perfect for a v8 conversion.

4.6 ratios etc

[jessie928]

I recently bought a 2.8lt gu patrol it goes really well on the road but o went for a 4b and the gutless wonder didnt have enough balls to get up a hill in low 2 it was shit and ruined my day. as i like going bush i need more power so i was wondering how much i was looking at for the v8 conversion or can you get more power from the ant hearted engine for cheap thats in it

they are not that gutless. maybe you first need a tune, then up the boost a bit. I am sure you will be happy with it afterwards ( if you are already happy with onroad performance.)

[bogged]

exhaust. chip. boost

if you still want more add a better turbo.
search here and patrol4x4 there is heaps of info on 2.8's

and after spending money on all that, go with Frigga's tip...

[HARMZ]

exhaust. chip. boost

if you still want more add a better turbo.
search here and patrol4x4 there is heaps of info on 2.8's

Ditto...couldn't be happier with mine now.

[liam hall]

Get a 4.2 mind punches out 150 kw with 35's on the rear wheels. I once had a 2.8 for 6 months

[ludacris]

Talking to a diesel tuner and he stated that "he can get his best power gain by tuning a 2.8 compared to other diesel turbo motors". Charged my mate $130 and it flew.

LudaCris

[mud4b]

i agree with a good tune they really do go..

up the boost and use a chip and they will impress for such a little engine...
dont waste time going a 4.2..... if you do though like what was said above sell and start again...

[badger]

im a 4.2 owner myself. and i must say i prefer them.

but all the clowns that post crap about the 2.8's have you ever driven one? they respond very well if not better to the minor mods we all do to our 4.2's eg exhaust, tune and boost. And if they are tuned right go almost as well as a 4.2 (once on boost) and cost alot less to buy and considerably less to run.

i say for the sake of a few hundred bucs do as i said in my first post before you trade a car you love. you will be suprised.

also the fact he bought a 2.8 (not with the intent to v8 it in mind) makes me think he doesnt have a huge bank balance and cares about econamy atleast enough to not want a v8

[matto]

badger, i would love a v8 who wouldnt fuels a rip anyway.

I have a 89 4.2d shorty at home and it is a weapon off road but the family is increasing so a bigger car was needed i just want to know if i can spend under a grand to get good low down grunt from the 2.8 or should i not waste any money on it for a year and slap a dirty big motor and gearbox in it.

[stool]

Why not install some rockhopper gears if your happy with how it drives onroad

Problem solved

[matto]

its more a torque problem, i was driving up a slippery hill and all i needed was the speed of low 2 to get up but but not enough grunt to do it only low 1 had the power and that sux

[stool]

Just comes down to using the power band and correct gear before the hill

[matto]

if thats all 4wding needed it would be boring sometimes you have to go either slow or fast on the same track

[BigMav]

hey matto chip it and tune it first, then if it still isn't enough i reckon look into getting lpg for it. Haven't heard from you in a while I'll PM ya.

[outback_pootrol]

my dad just fitted a 2.8 turbo from a gq on to his 2.8 gu, a much larger unit and it just hammers, boost needs to be bought back down a little bit as it doesnt work till 2500rpm and when it does it just rip snorters all the way to near 5 and continues to boost,

160kph on 35s easy

but like i said it needs a controller and boost gauge so we can bring the boost in earlier

[stool]

A boost controller and boost will gauge`will not bring boost on early.

Unless you had bad wastgate creep.

The only way you will get a little bit more at lower RPM is to add fuel .
Unless Im wrong of corse.

[badger]

a proper electronic boost controler will bring boost on earlier as they can vary the air speed thru the exducer to make good boost responce.

thats how electronically controlled turbos like on zd30's work.
they how ever will not make a wrongly over sized turbo work well

[Offroad-Events]

I had a MQ with the RD28T (they where only avail. in Europe) for a while and it ran great, besides the occasionally cyl. head changes. One important thing on this engine is a free exhaust (3" straight !) to kill the turbo-lag, a good tune up and always watch for the temps. They tend to run hot. The GU can be chipped to about 150-155 KW's without compromising to much lifetime when driven with a brain in mind.
My 2.8 GQ shorty just gets a 4.3 Chevy V6 for cheap

[38zook]

G day . If your happy about how much power it has on road have you thought about transfer gears to the order of about 85% reduction . It means that your ratios stay the same in high range but ultra low in low range , no more climbing issues

[outback_pootrol]

A boost controller and boost will gauge`will not bring boost on early.

Unless you had bad wastgate creep.

The only way you will get a little bit more at lower RPM is to add fuel .
Unless Im wrong of corse.

i know a boost gauge wont bring it in earlier but it will let my dad know exactly when it was kicking in so he can see what he needs to do

[itchyvet]

I recently bought a 2.8lt gu patrol it goes really well on the road but o went for a 4b and the gutless wonder didnt have enough balls to get up a hill in low 2 it was shit and ruined my day. as i like going bush i need more power so i was wondering how much i was looking at for the v8 conversion or can you get more power from the ant hearted engine for cheap thats in it

Matto, I sympathise with you 100 %.
I too am the "proud" owner of a 2.8 litre TD ST. and must confess, I too came away with similar opinon as you the first few months of driving it.
Dunno how many K's yours has clocked up, but it's also relevant, many posters here have not even asked that question of you.
IMHO, it's previous life/treatment plays a major part in the condition of the engine in it's present form.
Firstly, how's the oil look ? Dirty, gunky, thick as bitumen ?
If all of the above, I'd be happy to place a bet the insides of your engine is in similar shape, so the first thing you gotta do is clean things up a bit.
Get yourself some C.E.M. FLUSHING oil additive, follow the instructions thereon, I'd even suggest leaving it in the engine for a couple of days before you flush the lot, don't forget, you gotta change your oil filter too, AFTER you've done the flushing bit.
Use a GOOD SEMI synthetic oil and never leave it in the engine lonegr then 5,000 K's, change the oil filter EVER TIME you change the oil.
Whilst your at it, it's a good idea to change out ALL OILS after buying a second hand vehicle, you don't know when the last time it was done, and secondly, the old oil comin out will give you an idea of how hard it's been worked and state of internals. Same goes for FUEL/AIR filters.
While youre doing this, check out your intercooler, pull the hoses off and check out the insides, I BET it's got oil inside. Give her a good clean out with degreaser and MAKE SURE IT'S THOROUGHLY DRIED OUT,(try blowin it with compressed air or the blower end of your mum/wife's vacum cleaner) before you replace it.
I also used CEM's fuel additive for three months which also cleaned the fuel system out, had the injectors serviced and fitted a 2" straight thru exhaust system.
The only diesel I use is BIO, fantastic stuff, and ALWAYS add CHEMTEC diesel additive every time I refuel.
The exhaust mod made the biggest difference and was immediately noticable, turbo lag just about disappeared, then later checked out the LPG fumigation system from DIESELGAS AUSTRALIA and eventually had it fitted last November.
My little 2.8 now has become a tiger, it flys, heaps of grunt and a completely different car, don't forget, the gas instalation was rebated TOTALY (here in the West) IMHO, there's simply no way you can get a HP increase and get your money back too any other way.
Oh, one more thing, I'll put my 2.8 against any 4.2 or whatever, as far as fuel consumption goes, MATE NO ONE with a bigger Patrol will even come close to what our little 2.8's will give you.
And as for hills, crikey, I've found leavin her in 1 st or 2 nd, pullin out the manual throttle to give around 15-18,000 and she'll bloody climb anything.
No fuss, no bother, no wheel spin, just goes and does it.
Don't under estimate the 2.8, I did and I learnt my lesson, bloody glad I hung onto it and persevered with it.
Have a good one mate.

[matto]

Thanks itchy
I am taking it into the dealer today to get the hot start problem fixed and i will get the exhaust done but i've looked into chips and for the money i dont think its worth it seeind as the car has 250K on the clock i hope these cheaper mods can bring back the torque or its engine swap time i want to put 37's on it but got no power on 33's. I will give the engine a good clean out and do the mods and i will send ya a pm on results like you said the motor might just be flogged out beyond repair.

[nath69]

Hi Matto

I went down the GU path from my old petrol GQ as the family was getting too big. 3 kids well seperated.

Go down the bigger exhaust and make sure a bigger dump pipe as well. I have the Beaudesert 2 3/4 and made a big difference

Block the EGR. Check on the Patrol forum and do a search.

Clean the MAF with electronic cleaner from somewhere like Dick Smiths. Check on the Patrol forum for this.

I have a chip from a company called SanCo from Denmark. Spliced the wiring myself and it took a bit to tune but now it goes well. Cost 400 Euro's. Do a search for SanCo chips and email a guy called Henrik from the web site.

New air filter and clean out the Intercooler. Fit an oil catch and you will be more than happy with it.

This will all cost more than a grand but is certainly worth it. My GU has over 200K on it and runs faultless (touch wood). I had the hot start but the chip and a new bigger CCA battery seemed to fix this.

A while back I did some soft heavy sand beach runs up at Crescent Head with a 4.2 petrol Maverick and a 3.0 GU. I left the Maverick behind and kept up with the 3.0 no worries. Engine temperatures were fine and this was with road pressure muddies.

You will be more than happy with it once the mods are done and the fuel consumption is still better than a 4.2 diesel.

I am now looking into Ethanol fumigation.

Cheers

Nathan