Marty's memory is correct. 3/16 with metric unions.
A crows foot spanner will make life easier if you need to get to the top unions on the little pipes.
Allow lots of fluid for bleeding. I used over 5L when I did a full system bleed/ flush recently and as you don't know when your fluid was last changed then a full bleed/ flush would be a good idea. Follow the RAVE bleeding instructions- the P38 has its own special way of doing things and is easiest done with a willing assistant!

Cheers, mine is a single exhaust tip system.

Bleeding the rears is very easy as they are only on the power circuit. You'll get nothing out of them using the conventional pumping the pedal method, all you do is open the bleed nipple, apply slight pressure to the pedal and turn the ignition on so the ABS pump runs. That'll blast the fluid through in no time.

If you do decide to replace flexis, remember '97 was the changeover year.

You know how I know! :-)

Correction, MoT now passed! 😁

Congratulations!!

Cheers!

Two things have now become apparent. First, it needs those tuning chips! Second, those brake pipes look a nightmare to change, do you follow the original routing?

The brake pipes aren't that much of a pain..

EAS on high, wheel arch liners out, remove the old lines.

I threaded the line across the tank first from the RR and then using a bending spring on the line form the corner and then thread the line back down the vehicle length to the RHF footwell.

The RR one isn't bad as it's pretty much a straight run.

It has been awhile since I did mine, but Sloth might have more to add as I recall he did a settlement of brake lines not so long ago

Congrats on the MOT. Any advisories?
As Marty says, the brake lines aren't too bad, especially when you have access to a ramp, which I think you do?
Sloth's the guru though.
I've never worked on a diesel P38, but I've read enough forum posts to know that tuning chips sold for these have very mixed results- a lot of those on eBog are snake oil and you have to fit the right type to get the most from the motor. Lots of time spent trawling the forums would be time well spent (and won't involve getting covered in cr@p so that's a plus!).
Online consensus seems to be that the way to get the most from a chip is to fit a larger intercooler and free flowing exhaust as the increased charge temps turn the head into a service item as cracking becomes a problem.
To do all the right things to make your 135 German ponies grow into 180 reliable horses will be getting pretty spendy. Rather than spending that money on it maybe you'd be better selling your now getting lovely diesel, adding the cash you would have spent on chipping etc and getting a 4.6 V8?
EDIT- there would be the cost of the extra insurance premium for a "performance modified" vehicle to add to the spends as well

Quite a few insurance companies don't seem to raise the price for up to a 20% increase, so around 160bhp would be a useful increase without affecting the insurance too much.

When I had my old diesel P38 I fitted the chip from Rimmer Bros and was happy with how it performed. I can't say it improved the MPG much, if any, but it did make it noticeably quicker.

I also found on my old Focus that a modified insurance policy was actually cheaper than a standard vehicle policy, through the likes of Adrian Flux etc.

Thanks for the replies.

Only advisory was got the corroded brake pipes. Now it is riad legal I can get it to the workshop with the ramp.

I had a 95 BMW 525TDS that Zi still have the remapped chips from as supplied by 'The End' running (recommended) so I'll try those first and see what happens. There was an updated intercooler on eBay recently but I had more pressing demands on the (blown) budget.

It might have been my updated intercooler on eBay... I have one sitting in the garage which came from a vehicle that was stripped for parts, as the rest of the engine was trashed.

It had a split in one of the welds when I pulled it out, but it's been repaired and pressure tested now.. not sure if it's the same one that you've seen on eBay...

If it doesn't sell this time around, it will probably be sitting in the garage for awhile - if you're interested in it in the future, then let me know and I can keep it aside.

Marty

I will definitely be interested if it doesn't sell and you are in no hurry. My Escort failed to sell yesterday so the piggy bank is looking pretty bare now.

I try'd the two chips this evening but no joy, engine management light on and no attempt to start. Put the originals back in and all is good again.

I have noticed that the ABS pump seems to be forever kicking in and out even when not using the brakes, is this normal or do I need to start panicking? I'm assuming that the accumulator either works or doesn't meaning it'd be running constantly.

The EAS pump also seems to be quite active but I have a leak somewhere as the rear settles quite quickly, possibly from the valve block that I rebuilt.

I'm in no hurry to sell it, no - it's been sitting around for the past 3 years - and the past few months since it came back from repair... it is taking up space in the garage, but I can always take it back up to the workshop and stash it!

Chips - it could be that swapping both of them changed the immobiliser code aswell, so it won't start as it won't be getting the proper code from the BECM.. Also it might be possible to just swap one of the chips, as there's another DSE owner I know who has a chip for his, and it is only the one chip that he has to replace.. I don't know much about the internals of the engine ECU's so can't give any professional advice on that, sorry!

ABS... I don't think it's anything to freak out about just yet - if the system all works as it should. I've heard a couple of times from various places that it can be because there's either an internal leak in the ABS modulator, so the pressure bleeds down quicker than it should do - so the pump kicks in to pressurise it again, or it could be the pressurised fluid bleeding back down through the pump itself, which again will cause the pressure switch to turn the pump on. Other than it being annoying to listen to and the bit of extra wear on the pump - if the braking system is working fine, then it is worth making a note of it, and if you notice any adverse changes to the braking, then it might be work more investigation.

EAS pump... worth checking the valve block, yes - what rebuild kit did you use? Also worth checking the lines around the rear axle, as I've heard of a few occasions where they've got too close to the exhaust and melted through, but that also seems to be more with the air tank line - but might be worth a look when you have it up on the ramp to do the brake lines..

I'll be contacting the firm that supplied the original chips for my old BMW when the time comes. Not exactly high on the priorities list.

As for the brakes. I am suspecting that it is an internal pressure leak within the ABS modulator. They certainly work well enough despite the front discs being worn (next expenditure). I wonder if it's anything to do with the bit Georgeb has recently replaced?...

The rear air-springs were replaced by that talented specialist who has kept me busy the past couple of weeks so I might check the pipe connections to those first, perhaps the seals just need a bit of lube. Valve block rebuild kit was a generic eBay kit as was the pump rebuild kit.

Were the o rings in the rebuild kit black, or orange?

It's worth checking the rear springs, and make sure they have 2 O-rings in the air inlet aswell.. I've heard of some air springs only coming with one (usually blue box Britpart ones) which gives a bad seal.

O-Rings where orange.

Orange like this:

Or black like this:

If they were the orange O-rings, then I found that they were a tiny bit undersized and they didn't seal the block properly and still leaked once I'd put it back together.

I swapped mine out for a kit of the black O-rings and it is better, but I'm not 100% sold on it still... I'm going to attempt to get a set of my own O-rings from a supplier, and see if I can get a set which seal better again.

Check the connections to the rear air springs, but I'd almost be prepared to re-do the valve block as I'm not convinced on the orange O-rings sealing properly myself..