ive had crappy old diesels in the past which wouldnt even start in two attemtps and never had any probs really..

it thats the temp its opening, then you found your problem. it should open at about 85C. but do check it properly by putting it in some water together with a thermometer and heat it over a gas burner or something slowly

and at which temp is it opening??

that mileage is enough to keep it charge. thats the kind of mileage i do and never had any probs. and its the prolly the same mileage that almost everyone living on Gozo(a very tiny island) does and ive never heard the battery doesnt get charged cos of the short trips. so its either cos of the...

now thats the explanation i was looking for! :) thanks mturri. it makes a lot of sense.. so best thing to do is to remove the cat and leave the same bore.. finally decided what to do with the exhaust :)

ive read plenty of threads but there doesnt seem to be an agreement. does making the exhaust out of larger bore pipe increase or decrease power, or make no difference on a turbo diesel engine?