By Tony K
One of the great things about my diesel is the simplicity of it. But there are some areas that I have improved and others that will get changed in the near future.
Probably the most important thing I did so far was to take out the factory sedimenter (what Toyota calls a water seperator) and replace it with a Racor fuel filter/water seperator. The model I use is a 120A. This not only eliminated a seperator that was in a less than ideal location but also eliminated one electrical circuit going to a warning light that told me the sedimenter needed draining. When I mounted the Racor it went on the firewall where it can clearly be seen and checked everytime I open the hood.
The filter on the Racor is a 30 micron pre filter (an R12P) while the 10 micron spin on filter by the injection pump serves as the primary filter (I use a Wix 33386). The bowl on the bottom of the Racor is where any water collects and is easily removed by opening a drain.
Next to go will be the Superglow system that helps start the rig. Or at least would help if it was functioning properly. For some reason Toyota over complicated this system. It is made up of a glow timer relay, glow plug controller and an EDIC which controls the injection pump after getting directions from the other components. Lucky for me someone added what the Canadians call a Wilson switch, which in reality is just a manual control for the glow plugs. Currently using the Wilson switch is the only way I can start my rig.
What I plan to do is convert the glow plug system over to full manual control. This eliminates all the problem electrical components in the start system. The new system will consist of a manual injection pump control, a solenoid to provide the power to the glow plugs and the aforementioned Wilson switch to activate the solenoid. And this will make my diesel about as simple as they come.
What has also been worth the expense is the four core radiator that replaced the corroded original. It never seems to get overly hot but does manage to run at the proper temp in the winter. Still working on just when I should block off the radiator in colder temps. Looking to my north of the border friends for help with this.
