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2.5 diesel: Performance and diesel leak

Series Affair

Series Affair

In Third Gear
Last winter I bought a 2000m.y 2.5 dHSE after my 1996m.y. 4.0 petrol 'passed on'. I was expecting the performance to be sluggish but after a couple of days I realised the performance was glacial - almost dangerous from cold. Also a diesel patch appeared on the drive and there was the aroma of fuel about the car.

I thought about getting the Rimmer Bros chip box, but first wanted get a main dealer check, oil change and let them have a look at the diesel leak.

I took it to main dealer Guy Salmon. They couldn't find the diesel leak but told me the ABS pump needed replaced (£1500.00) and supposedly carried out an oil/service change (Value Service). I told them I'd never had a problem with the ABS and the fault must have occurred on their watch. So the issue went away (and the ABS light have never stayed on longer than normal since).

A week later. I checked the oil and it seemed as black as it was before. I checked the air filter and it seemed quite dirty.

I changed the air filter and noticed a difference in the performance right away - not supercharged but enough to notice. That started me thinking about what else had not been done by the dealer.

By coincidence I had been talking to a very helpful garage out by Norwich (Furness
01603 721903​
) who specialise in the P38. They told me that the 2.5 engine oil could get thick & sludgy with age/poor servicing/missed oil changes and this would have a direct effect on performance.

So the issues are:
  1. You've only got 134 bhp to play with - so make sure your air filter and oil are clean and new.

  2. Anybody got any other ideas on performance boosting?

  3. Does the 3.0 BMW diesel fit the P38?

  4. Anybody got any ideas on the diesel leak? (It seems to come from the nearside front of the engine)
cheers and thanks for reading!

Alan
 
Hi I have had a Dt for 3 yrs now having come from a v8 I know what you mean. However I have found that by working the engine to get the turbo spinning it's not too bad and I also tow a big trailer or caravan with it. It won't replace a v8 but then again it does more mpg.
Agree with your comment re filters etc though. Is it an auto if so well worth changing the oil and filter in there as well.
All the fuel lines fuel filter etc are on n/s but I would look towards the braided leak off/fuel return pipes under the plastic cover on the top of the engine for your leak. All mine had perished when I got it leading to a strong smell in the cabin and a mess on the drive.

There have been numerous posts on here about the the BMW engine I think the fuel injection system and other ancillaries have to be swapped over but have a look at those posts and be guided by those. It is possible to fit anything if you are skilled enough with deep pockets, someone had put a tdv6 in a p38 with good results, featured in LRO last year.
 
as regards your diesel leak the leakoff pipes running between the injectors would be the likely place as lowranger said. the 3.0 litre engine is not very easy to fit the bell housing and one engine mounting will fit as will your turbo. the water pipes are different the oilcoolerpipes are different. air filter is different alternator is different the timing gear ratio is different than the norm 2/1 ratio to drive an injector pump. so you would be looking at making engine mounting new pipes for air and water and oilcooler but the biggest problem will be fuel timing unless you go with the bmw common rail which would involve buying a 530d and carrying across sensors, computers wiring looms . the reason im able to say this is because a friend of mine has fitted a 3.0 engine into his p38 and even mounted the oil cooler/filter on the side and ran hydraulic pipes to aplate he made as the oil cooler/filter is in the way of the injector pump he had engine ready to start when he realised that the ratios were wrong so he is now going back to common rail fittning the entire bmw package. one other problem is the sump the 2.5 has a longer sump than the 3.0 and the sump on the 3.0 has the oil basin on the wrong end and would get caught on your axle so he cut the 2 sumps and joined them together (not easy) he is lucky to have his own lathe and milling machine and is fully trained in electrics and hydraulics (worked on an oil rig) if he had a choice again he wouldnt have done it. also the crankshaft position sensor is mounted different
 
if you change your oil so you know its been done , then run it for a week, you will find it to be black as it was. this is what happens with any diesel engine. if you change it, run it for an hour , it will be black. 3 or 4 changes in a row usually gets the inside of the engine clean enough for it to stay clear for a bit, depending on how worn the engine is.
 
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