2.4L Surf Upgrades

Q. I’ve got a 2.4L turbo-diesel Surf that I’ve been building up from standard. It’s now a fair bit bigger and weights more too, which means that I’m struggling with the lack of power from the engine. I’ve talked to a couple of local shops around here and they reckon the 2.4s aren’t a good motor, and hence won’t touch them when I ask about things like bigger turbos, exhausts, etc.
Is there anything worth doing to this engine? Or am I better off looking to swap it out for something else. I want to keep it diesel so I was thinking about maybe swapping in one of the 2.8 turbo-diesels, but if I could get away with just modifying this engine I’d be happier.

A. Check some items first for me. Cooling system should be clean and in good order. When the engine is hot if you are to undo the rocker cover oil filler cap you should not have a lot of engine fumes coming out. Does it start well if it’s cold? If these 3 items are OK then it may be worth putting on a slightly larger exhaust and getting the Diesel system tuned. Outside that the mods would become more expensive such as getting an intercooler on it. The option of dropping in another engine other than the one identical to what’s in it will be not only a headache but expensive and considering it is a ‘grey import’ you won’t be seeing a return from that expense upon resale.