Compression test for 1HD-FT in UK (1 Viewer)

[Col Monty]

I'd like to have my 1HD-FT engine tested when I have it shipped back from Cape Town to the UK in the next few weeks, as I'm looking to sell it. There's a little black smoke but nothing crazy. It's done about 190k miles.

Can anyone suggest somewhere in the UK where I could get it compression tested? For the 1HD-FT I hear the test gauge needs a special probe/adapter which can be very hard to find, is that correct?

I suspect I may need to refurb the injectors and maybe do something with the turbo, but I'm struggling to believe there will be any serious wear at this mileage considering it's been well looked after with regular oil changes.

How much would you expect to pay for the injector refurb plus refit? Any recommended garages? I had a quote of £580 to just refurb and post back, which seems a lot, no?

What is likely to need doing with the turbo, or is it a case of replacing it? Is there a test which can be done?

Apols for all the questions but seems better to throw them all in one thread.

Thanks

 

[roscoFJ73]

I dont think it will be hard to find someone with the adapter for the 1HD FT , this engine is common in Europe and there are other engines from Japan that probably use the same injector thread.
£580 is a bit steep, but how much was the postage?
Anyone who can do injectors will know how or where to get a turbo looked at.

 

[Dork]

The HDFT compression test requires pulling the injectors, so a shop has to pull your intake piping, vacuum/boost lines, intake manifold, valve cover and injection lines just to get to them. I bought a universal diesel test kit, and yeah, no adapter would fit, need something special so i never bothered. Easily a few hours work to open and close or all up.

When i pulled my injectors myself and gave them to a shop to test and rebuild, I paid around $1600cad.

Paying a shop £600 to do all the labor AND an injector rebuild sounds like a steal of a deal to me.

Edit: i notice the price was just for injector refurb. Still seems like a great price.

Edit again: I just remembered, the intake manifold doesn't have to come off. Maybe I'm just remembering the job worse than it was.

 

[wedgetail]

I’m not so sure about the FT being common in Europe, and not England for sure (I lived there for 27 years). Someone will have an adaptor somewhere, finding one is the issue. They’re hard enough to find here where they’re (along with FTE - same injector boy and therefor compression tester) much more common.

I’d also question the use of a compression test - especially if it’s just for sale rather than to diagnose a problem. Best compression test for an FT or FTE is start it cold and if it’s immediately 100% smooth then compression is almost certainly good. Assuming fuel system is properly premed etc.. if it misses a little for few seconds (as in sounds like a 1hz) then maybe it needs a tester.

Going rate here is about au$1000 exchange for injectors so GBP580 is about right.

What needs looking at with the turbo? If you pull the compressor outlet off and give the shaft a look and a feel you’ll know 99% if it’s condition - should be basically no end float (axial play) and a bit of radial play but never touching the housing. Use a torch and verify it has never touched the housing. If you get another turbo upgrade to an FTE turbo they’re heaps better (not the euro spec variable cane one mind), unless you want to do a real upgrade and get a billet/high flpw or gturbo/eclipse etc..

 

[Col Monty]

thanks wedgetail, that's really helpful.

Situation is: bought the truck 9 months ago, drove it from London to Cape Town and left it with the guy who did the original overland build to sell it for me. He's now noticed there's some black smoke so isn't willing to sell it to his clients without being totally upfront about the possible causes of the smoke. He told me he couldn't do a compression test (I now guess because his mechanic didn't have the adapter/tool). He's advised me to ship it back to the UK so that's what we're doing. His mechanic quoted about £820 to refurb the injectors (inc. removing & refitting) which sounded a lot to me (all new to me...). I asked him to video the exhaust so I could see the smoke and it's not terrible but not great either.

So I'm just trying to figure out what I need to do when the truck gets back to the UK before I sell it. I'll use some engine and turbo cleaner initially and see how that goes. If it's still churning out black smoke I'll think about doing the injectors - found a guy who will do them for between £300 and £600, depending on condition.

Or am I better concentrating on the turbo? So the FTE turbo is a direct replacement, nothing else needed? No tweaking?

 

[roscoFJ73]

Or am I better concentrating on the turbo?

You are better off getting the exact problem diagnosed. Its most likely the injectors , its supposed to be a 100000klm job but most owners never do it, so you may still have the originals in there.
Australian mechanics often borrow specialised tools from friends who own similar businesses and I would expect the UK to be the same.
But Im sure large well established workshops would have one as its not the only engine that needs an adapter to test the compression

 

[wedgetail]

Wow - that’s quite extreme to ship it from SA to UK because his mechanic won’t fix it... I’d almost say you’d have better luck there finding a Landcruiser expert - there are heaps more per capita than UK. Although maybe not multivalves?

Anyway - black smoke is unlikely to be compression, as Roscoe said injectors are a possible culprit. But then again so is turbo and pump.

However Multivalve injectors certainly aren’t supposed to be a 100k replacement - they last far far longer than 1hz injectors. Mine have 420k on them and power, economy and lack of any black smoke ever is fantastic. I know of quite a few people to have done their multivalve injectors and pumps after over 300k and have been very disappointed to find no improvement - unlike like turbo replacements that seem to have a much bigger improvement with age.

I’m not saying it’s not injectors, but it’s far from definite. It could even be the tune - maybe it just needs a dyno/retune. I’d CERTAINLY do this first before throwing money in parts at it - the tuner will be able to give a pretty good diagnosis based on his readings

 

[Col Monty]

Shipping back to the UK was the original plan - FX and prices are better. Size of the market for fairly high-end overland vehicles is tiny, though. If he could sell it for a good price in SA then I'd have saved hassle and the shipping. Now, he doesn't seem interested in selling it and his mechanic, while a LC expert (not the 1HD-FT though), seems intent on charging me high prices. So I've had enough and essentially called his bluff.

I'll try to find a good diesel garage in the UK who can do the diagnosis for me. All leads very much appreciated. So far I've found just specialists: injectors, pumps, turbos.

Thanks all for the advice.

 

[Col Monty]

Oh, and it's on a carnet de passage so I have £8k tied up until I can get the vehicle out of the South African Customs Union. That plus the UK registration means getting it back to the UK makes a lot of sense.

 

[renago]

I read it as your mechanic is taking vantage of your distance , and the cost involved in sending back the car.
He is trying to buy well and most probably has a customer waiting for it in SA.
I don't see a technical problem in this case .
Much more a commercial issue .

 

[Col Monty]

That's just background, Renago. The decision to ship it home has been made and therefore there is no commercial issue. That's definitely not what I'm here for. I'm trying to gather enough knowledge about the issue and potential solutions, and find garages who can help.