Making a 19J a bit more usable

Hi all, I know the usual thing is to swap out the older unit for a tdi or something with a bit more poke but I'd ideally like to keep my 90 as standard as possible.

With that in mind what would be the cheapest or first things to try to make it a little more usable (improve cruising speed) improve power and potentially reduce smoking a bit!

rebuild it

Given the age of your unit,a good overhaul/service of motor and injection system.

James beat me to it in a simpler form.

2.5 TD's are quite nice motors. Should happily sit at 65mph all day long. Not as much power as a Tdi, but same gearing and the indirect injection is smoother and quieter than a Tdi.

Im rebuilding mine at the moment. Head is being done by turner engineering, and got a new set of rings an big end bearings for it. Thankfully the head and the pistons aren't cracked. The chaps at turners also told me that the rings may infact be fine even though the crank case pressure is high - apparently the engine is prone to building up carbon deposits above the first ring and behind it, preventing the transfer of combustion pressure into the ring grove, and basically jamming the rings to prevent a good seal.

Im changing them anyway as I have them out and have a new set of rings.

Other things to check is the the boost diaphragm is intact in the injector pump. Its a bit fiddly to get to but if you follow the pressure hose from the turbo to the injector pump, its under the cover where it connects to the pump. If its broken then the pump will not increase fueling when the boost pressure rises. It also causes your fuel tank to become pressurised as the turbo is pumping air into the fuel system under pressure!

Some people swap around the transfer box ratiosusing disco boxs etc to reduce revs at high speed. Ive done this -mainly as the box disintegrated in Lancashire and I needed to get back to the south coast and it was the only one I could find on a Sunday. Ive kept it as it seems to be slightly less noisy, and Im trying to keep the engine stress and temperature down to a minimum to extend its life.

Appart from that, change the oil every 4000 miles, and keep it cool (ive fitted a 76degreeC thermostat) and dont thrash it and it should look after you.

Also on the cooling side - you have to fill the system via the heater box hoses as otherwise you get an airlock if you fill via the raditor or header tank. Thenas the enengine warms up the thermostat suddenly opens and allows the air to clear, but bumps the water in the heater matrix onto an already overheated head (as it doesn't have any water in it) and the water then boils off filling the system with even more air until its suddenly half empty.

without a good bore and piston you dont have a god engine whatever else you do,a rebore and new pistons is usually required on red blocks if they have done any miles ,as they do suffer from bore wear, and piston top splitting, if a piston isnt it will be eventually that is the big isue with 19js,tdis are the only engines i find rebore isnt necessary
filling through the heater pipes is a new one on me ,i find you cant get much easier to fill even though it takes time to keep topping up header tank till its finally full,as with all engines you need to then go for a short run and recheck

Short answer- mend it.

Longer answer:
Often a knackered 19J is compared to a much better tdi which is a little unfair. In good condition they are quite usable for everyday driving. I find in a 90 it's got enough power- with a heavy trailer or in a 110 it may feel a bit underpowered. It should cruise happily at 65-ish on a motorway which is really fast enough, and will be quieter than a tdi in the same vehicle.

Give it a compression test to check for cracks/worn bores. If all is good, the best thing to do is give it a good service. Injectors degrade over time and may need refurbishing. A boost diaphragm that isn't split makes a big difference as it allows you to make use of the extra air supplied by the turbo. I rebuilt a cylinder head to replace the old one which was cracked, and it was a big improvement.

I find that the best way to eliminate air locks in the cooling system is to fill it up through the header tank, then loosen the hose clips at the heater matrix. Start the engine and as it warms up the air in the top of the pipes will be pushed out through here- tighten it up when water comes out just like bleeding your radiators at home. With a pipe bender and a few plumbing fittings you could make a more permanent bleed screw setup for easier maintenance. The pipes can benefit from a good flush out with clean water- I did and it improved the heater performance significantly.

The addition of the turbo did seem to push the engine fairly close to its design limits though, and doing too much to increase power may push it over the edge. The best thing to do is look after it, keep it serviced and in good tune, and it should do well.

Following this with interest as I'd like to put a NA into a Defender project. Has anyone had success with maximum rebore, new pistons & rings? Will the injection pump need modifying to larger cubic capacity? Apologies if this should go into its' own thread.

Bignose said:

Following this with interest as I'd like to put a NA into a Defender project. Has anyone had success with maximum rebore, new pistons & rings? Will the injection pump need modifying to larger cubic capacity? Apologies if this should go into its' own thread.

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often,max is plus 40, buy pistons first and get block bored to piston size plus clearance with 2 thou left to hone, pump is left as std

Thanks for your info on that. I like the NA and think it's underrated, I used them for thousands of miles in the Army and was never dissapointed. Good response cross country and decent on the road with a fully loaded Sankey. I'll go 20 thou as a compromise and see how it goes.