It's always a pleasure to come back in Namibia. A nice place to perform experiences with fish-based fuels and lube oils, by the way. I have already seen some people stuffing differentials with raw fish livers, but they deteriorate quite quickly so I don't advocate for that, a better way is to extract the liver oil, filter it properly and then it can be used to lube gears, including older non-electronic automatic gearboxes, or as a feedstock for biodiesel. Some people might be thinking I gone crazy for being favorable to use it into automatic gearboxes, but the first ATF fluids were based on whale oil. Anyway, fish liver oils can also be directly blended with regular diesel fuel as I have done a few times.

Semi-bonnetted puller vans became quite an obsession to me, there was simply no rear-driven van to keep up with the Fiat Ducato on the open road. After watching what a Ducato can do with the smaller 2.3L engine, I don't understand why there are some American nationals skeptical about the 3.0L that goes in their local version, the Ram ProMaster. Maybe it's not amerikano enought as it would be with a Cummins or a Caterpillar under the bonnet, but the only feasible Cummins engines to bolt into that are made in China anyway, the ISF-series. Sure the Ducato is not a beauty contest winner with its froggy front fascia, but it sounds good enought to get the jobs done, and it's more comfortable than the average forward-controlled vans. Perfect match for the ambulance segment with its full-width body.

front-driven vans have a pleasurable ride

Took a ride in a Fiat Ducato semi-bonnetted van. That 2.3L Multijet turbodiesel really feels stout, could be a good replacement for nearly every petrol V6 altough its 120hp might be portrayed as underpowered at a first sight. Front wheel drive in a van might sound weird for many in the Philippines, but it doesn't perform so badly. Have also seen a handful of those Opel Vivaro mid-size vans available in Singapore, larger than the Zafira formerly available in the Philippines, seems like Southern Africans became more open-minded in regard of commercial vehicles and its drivelines. Even though their layout is not so smart regarding the overall vehicle extension as a forward-control van they get benefitted from the lower deck height, which in passenger vans increases the comfort and in cargo vans the cargo volume is higher due to the lower frame profile since there's no need to overcome driveshaft clearance. Car-like cornering is also possible due to the front wheel drive, enhancing stability. Our driver got a Volksie (as the T3 Volkswagen vans are affectionally called in South Africa) for his family use, which only advantage over the Ducato is still the ability to cope with rougher terrain in cross-country trips due to the weight balance and independent rear suspension, but wouldn't miss a chance to get its 5-cylinder petrol guzzler replaced by a Multijet...

EGR bypass in a Chevy Trailblazer today, 2WD with manual gearbox and 2.5 engine. A hose and clamps to bypass the cooler, then removed, with blanking plates around the EGR valve body which couldn't be took apart because of the signal input required by the ECU. Turbocharger spools up quicker now.

Keeping a Fiat Strada on the road

I've worked on a Fiat Strada for the first time yesterday. A nice little bakkie, as the locals refer to pickups in South Africa. Unfortunately we didn't have this one in the Philippines, but is a good 3/4-tonner which is slightly bigger than second-hand Japanese multicabs but more comfortable and stable, which would be a desirable feature to cope with hilly roads. The 1.7TD engine with 70hp feels more responsive than its power could suggest, and is related to the 1.3 naturally-aspirated which was available in the Fiat Uno once assembled in the Philippines.

Replacing and hooking up the glowplugs of the old Hilux was a must today, and now it fires up quickly. An upgrade to Cummins-styled grid-heater is not discarded, because it's deemed more reliable and longer-lasting.

This time the job could be performed quickly. The 4JB1 ended inside a '98 Jeep Grand Cherokee that originally had a 318cid V8. The automatic gearbox was too slippy, not deemed worth to keep, got replaced by a manual out of a rolled-over Isuzu Rodeo. There is still some wiring work left to be done, but it's gonna be arranged with signal converters that will allow the stock OBD-II controllers to give input for the electronics. Even the ABS brakes are fully-operational, but the vacuum booster was bypassed and now is gone.

It had been a long time ago since I've driven a Toyota Hilux with the 2L engine. I used to like the L-series Toyota engines because they fare well using waste cooking oil as fuel. Glowplugs on the one I driven were not hooked up, so cold start-up required some sort of lighting fluid to pre-heat it. I was scared as hell, but it worked.

Dismantling an old skidsteer tractor last night I got a good surprise to find out it had a 4JB1. This little jewel of the Japanese crown might find its way into a Jeep as usual, but this time a Grand Cherokee instead of a Wrangler.

EGR bypass in a Corolla with the 2.0D-4D turbodiesel, not related to the old 2C. Just bypassed the cooling fluid lines and blanked the valve body, but didn't delete it. Had to clean the intake manifold which had lots of soot deposits starting to clog. A water+meth injection is still considered to come, and might still keep NOx in standard levels or even reduce them more than the EGR could ever do. Plus, the combustion will get enhanced not just due to the absence of EGR but because of the water+meth too.