Waste oil is go...

I've actually got a system for running waste oil in Bitsa that finally works.
Its not finished yet, but I've driven from Glossop to Macclesfield almost entirely on the waste oil.

The system currently comprises a temporary fuel tank for the waste oil, two shut off valves (one for diesel, one for veg), and a 't' connector between the pipes prior to the lift pump.

The main snag now seems to be the filter - dispite the fuel being heated a bit (the incomming line is wrapped several times around a Series 3 heater matrix, as a temporary appology for a heat exchanger), I'm having trouble with the engine starving under high power demand. It runs like normal, and then suddenly dies, probably due to a lack of fuel. I knew that the capacity of the filter was on its limits with diesel (its got a 2.25D filter, rather than a 200tdi one), and when it needs changing, performance drops somewhat.

In an effort to remedy this, I went to the scrappies on Saturday, and aquired a similar CAV filer. The main difference is that on the bottom it has a substantial coolant driven heat exchanger. Apparently they were standard fit to a few pegueot diesel's at one time (they later switched to electrically heated filters, which I am avoiding, given I've only a standard 16acr alternator). I've also been to Partco, and found that there is a larger "long" version of the normal 2.25D filter, that should improve flow rates a bit. I'll report back once this has been fitted...

In other news, I've done a deal on a rear tub as the current one is "life expired". Expect to see a rather tidyer Bitsa on the roads shortly. She will also have twin tanks as the new tub is rear fill (this means I can ditch the tempoary fuel tank in the back, and do all the waste oil plumbing propperly). I suppose this also means I get to fabricate a new exahust, as the current system has the silencer where the rear tank would live. Current thinking is to either alter things to the Series 3 109" setup, with the exahust exiting under the rear passenger corner of the tub, or possibly a much shorter system, with the silencer mounted under the passenger floor, and the tailpipe emerging forward of the rear axle. While talking about "deals" I've agreed a swap of my decent spare truckcab back for another one (somthing to do with belt mounts a mate needs), and then I can finally replace the one that is falling to bits on the back of the current cab(not before time either - the glass now falls out if I hit a big bump). Mind you, I've been hetroving in style this weekend, as the summer has finally arrived, (nearly in time for Autum), and the sun is shining. There was still a howling gale blowing across the Cat and Fiddle summit when I came back from Buxton on Sunday night mind you... the nights are drawing in a bit too.

Mechanically, the oil leaks seem to be increasing, and I think I'm going to have another attempt on the oil filter/block gasket - this seems to be the source of at least some of the leaks. A lot of the rest is an open breather, which I intend on plumbing into the inlet manifold - however I'm mildly concerned at the rate it is breathing - I think some sort of restrictor may be needed to stop it emptying the sump into the inlet. I supose this reflect the general state of the engine, but then it has been quite a long way, and it still goes, so I don't really care. I will do once it doesn't start mind you.

I'm eyeing up a dead 300tdi disco a mate has bought... if it gets broken, the engine is mine, and that means the turbo may just find its way onto Bitsa. The 300 manifold is almost certainly the best option for a 200tdi in a 109", and I can do a 300di conversion on somthing else(or just ebay the engine) and get my money back...