Anybody have a 1.9 NON turbo diesel in their vanagon

[ibskot]

A friend suggested upgrading my 1.6 to a 1.9 diesel. Am I crazy for thinking this was a little on the pointless side? He argued the engine is must better and easier to get power out of. I have not seen it mentioned here so I am a bit skeptical.

thanks.

[avdem]

Big difference in low end torque. Will not increase your top speed. By far the easiest conversion.

Quite common over here and in the uk for those poor souls with N/a diesels.

[turbotransporter]

I know of two 1.9 NA Diesel powered Westys in the Seattle area... I knew of three but nwmarco added a turbo to his.

I understand that most folks' "butt dyno" says the 1.9 NA feels like a 1.6 TurboDiesel

You will find more Vanagon diesel specific info here:

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Diesel-Vanagon/

[DrTwee]

When my 1.6 died, I looked at all the options and went for the 1.9 NA. It is the easiest of the swaps and worth it if you're looking at a 1.6 rebuild. Nice low end torque (almost zippy around town). Top speed is about the same (gets REAL grumpy above 60), but MUCH less drop off on hills. If you want higher top end w/o a turbo, I would suggest a 5-speed transaxle geared for the diesel's power curve. Every time I go on the freeway and get to 50 I sure would like a 5th gear to let it cruise a bit easier. But then, if I wanted to fly down the freeway I wouldn't own a Vanagon Westy diesel would I?

[crazyvwvanman]

The 1.9NA is a large improvement but if you have the stock diesel 4speed tranny you really need taller gearing to get the main benefits. People with 1982 vans usually change the tranny to one from an aircooled 80-83 and this gearing matches up pretty well with a 1.9A as long as your tires are similar in diameter to stock. The 80-83 aircooled 4 speed tranny is a close match for mounting and linkage with an 82 diesel 4 speed, with the main difference being the final drive ratio inside the 2 trannys.

Mark

[a914622]

The 1.9s are about an inch taller and are way smother. They also have the oil squirters cooling the pistons, so if you need a little boost the bottom end is already there.

The DK aircooled tranny have the lower ring and pinion.

That beeing said I think with tweeking the 1.6 can and should hang with a 1.9. Total seal rings, coated pistons, fresh head, fresh pump and a lead foot.

jcl
_________________
87 gl powerd buy 2.5subaru
75 914 getting 2.2t subaru scratch that SVX subaru

[ibskot]

[crazyvwvanman]

The 90 tranny will reduce engine rpms in every gear and the gearing works well with the 1.9 engines. The 90 tranny would be more work and other parts would be needed to make it work. The 90 tranny uses a different nose mount and different linkage/shifter than the 82 diesel setup. The 80-83 aircooled van share the same mounting and linkage/shifter types as the 82 diesel so most people use the aircooled tranny to keep it simple.

If I had all the 90 parts available I would use the 90 tranny myself. The 90 tranny is improved over the early types and the gearing works better with 15" wheels and larger tires. You need to understand that changing the tranny to either an aircooled or later watercooled type is not exactly a bolt in job and some care and skills will be helpful either way. The diesel Vanagon mail list you just joined is a very good source of all the details as you proceed. Some of the posts there are excessively long-winded and sometimes confusing but the meat will be available if you read carefully.

Mark

[ibskot]

[a914622]

The best way of getting your background knowlage is doing just what your doing. Ask ,try,fail/or not, drink beer and try again

jcl
_________________
87 gl powerd buy 2.5subaru
75 914 getting 2.2t subaru scratch that SVX subaru

[Home Team Van]

[ibskot]

[crazyvwvanman]

The engine itself is less than an inch "taller" but because in the van it is tilted way over to the left much of the height is sideways. It does not create a problem for the engine lid.

Mark

[akyrie]

out of curiosity, why are you avoiding the turbo?
_________________
Although I got a funny message from the Porsche guys, it read, "what a mighty ship that you must sail"
....has anyone else received that?

82 AHU DK, 1950's Puch-black

[ibskot]

[shadetreetim]

[Vanagon Nut]

[?Waldo?]

For perspective, atmospheric pressure of 14.5 psi @ sea level is what pushes the air into the cylinders when the engine is not charged. To overly simplify things, if running 14.5 psi of boost pressure (above atmosphere) then you have effectively doubled the torque/HP output. That increase in power is especially hard to argue against when you get similar fuel economy.

[ibskot]

[mwsnow]