TDI into '78 Bus Build Thread

[vwwestyman]

This weekend's progress:

I worked on marrying the TDI harness to the bus's electronics.

I bought a section of cable from Fastenal that has 12 22 awg conductors in it. Soldered the wires from the TDI harness such as the cruise control wires, the wires for the check engine light, glow plug light, etc to it and ran it to the front.

I then attached the wires for things such as the alternator light, wire to the ignition switch and similar to the bus's existing wiring toward the front.

The battery is located under the back seat. I had to drill a hole to get the battery cable to the starter, and utilized an unused seatbelt bolt hole for the negative cable.

Had to hook up a starter relay (due to a short several years ago damaging the ignition switch) but once I did, she fired up!

Sounded decent, with no crazy rattling, rumbling, etc, however since there is still no radiator installed, I only let it run for a few seconds each time.

The wiring still needs to be cleaned up and some wires can be shortened, etc but still, progress!

[vwwestyman]

Did some work on the cooling system and intercooler this past weekend.

For cooling pipes, I went to the FLAPS and strolled down the aisle in the back where they have all the radiator pipes hanging. It took awhile but I found a couple that looked like they would work with some modifications. (I had to cut the ends off to make the curves go correctly but no big deal.)

For the intercooler piping, I used a combination of a few leftover pieces from the Passat donor car (that I had to cut up and shorted) as well as 2 inch radiator hoses. The radiator hoses are very similar to other intercooler hoses I had in a stash so i think they will hold up pretty well. At least good enough to test drive the bus and know what I might need to order later in the future if they do end up breaking down.

There is not currently a heater setup; I figure it is more important to make the thing drive down the road. I can figure out accessories like that down the road.

So the coolant pipe exits the heater outlet and loops right into the return. The expansion tank Ts into the return pipe.

When the time comes, it won't be too difficult to add the hose to the heater core(s).

Beware looking below if cutting rusted metal offends you! (Unfortunately, I've found a little more rust on the old bus that I previously thought present. )

Intercooler piping, pic 1. The short run should prove beneficial.

Intercooler piping, pic2. I did decide to cut a hole in the rust that was the battery tray. I'll use some sheet metal to close the opening in to the engine compartment. This will force cool air from the upper vent to exit through the intercooler. I'll likely also add a fan to increase air flow. The sheet metal will also shield the intercooler from exhaust/engine heat.

Radiator location. I know others have tried this too, but I've seen a couple TDI conversions where this actually worked so I'm hopeful that this location, combined with sealing it off around the edges to force air through the core, and the aluminum construction combined with the beefy fan will make it work OK.

Expansion tank location. Also visible is the replacement "109" relay (I wired in a standard relay to substitute the problematic 109) and starter relay.

How I solved the coolant flange problem. I drilled the spot welds that held the old foam seal holder and removed it. I then "clearanced" the firewall with a hammer, and eventually had to trim it a bit. (I probably didn't need the hammer treatment due to trimming, but I was hoping to avoid trimming it.)

I also trimmed the heater outlet hose to the smallest possible to go on the flange.

For the wire plug, to create room so the wires didn't chafe on the back, I removed the metal holder and rebent it to move the plug toward the engine a bit.

I shoved a piece of coolant hose over the heater hose to prevent chafing on the back as well.

[vwwestyman]

I know things don't look too pretty quite yet. I have to go back and clean things up such as build a top mount/stabilizer for the radiator, clean up the wiring harness and mount the ECU still, etc.

Currently, all the mounting of things is somewhat temporary/test fitting but I think it'll work.

I'm hoping that I'm very close to a test drive!

[avocado_tom]

What fan did you end up going with for your radiator?

[vwwestyman]

[vwwestyman]

I feel like I should post the bad with the good!

I set about getting a couple things figured out this morning with regards to the air filter. Yesterday I visited a salvage yard and purchased three different filter boxes from different vehicles to test on the bus.

In doing so, I started up the bus to see if any filter box changed the sound of the intake vs another. (As it turns out, various designs of filter box does make a difference in the intake noise.)

While the engine was running, it was warming up so I decided to let it go ahead and idle until the thermostat opened. Once it did, I turned on the fan to see how it did. I was pleased with the suction/air flow through the radiator and after a few minutes noticed that the lower half of the radiator tank was cool enough to touch with only mild discomfort while the top of the tank was very hot, indicating it was doing its job. I was curious about a temp change between the intake side and the other side (after the coolant had made one pass past the fan) so I was running my hand along the top of the rad....

I ended up hitting the running fan with my finger!

Doh! Luckily I ended up with just a nick, so no long term damage done to me. Unfortunately, it caused one of the blades to bend a little, and contact the edge of the tank of the radiator. So I had to order a replacement blade set.

The total with a new replacement blade and a set of the mounting tabs to remount the fan was $72. Not terrible I suppose, but that $72 could sure have been spent on some other part.

Whoops! Be careful out there!

[vwwestyman]

Been a few days since the last post. Thats because I've been busy working on the bus!

Really, most of what was required was just buttoning things up to get the thing on the road.

Some of the small projects I did along the way this past week included removing the mounting bracket, welding captive nuts for the trailer hitch to utilize, painting and reinstalling it.

I also replaced the tail lights (the housings were deteriorating and such) and cheapo side marker lights because the radiator and intercooler would be in the way to do them later.

I hooked up a rear heater from a Vanagon under the back seat. (Still need to find and hook up a switch.)

Anyway, it took some time to decide of final location of some components and get everyhing hooked back up for the last time, but yesterday I was able to test drive the bus!

I definitely have a few bugs to work out of it, but overall I feel pretty good about things so far!

Sorry no video of startup or anything. I'll get some newer pics soon.

[archemitis]

Thats great man! Its funny how once you get a project running, there is alot more incentive to "finish"everything else. Keep that momentum goin!

[tristessa]

[vwwestyman]

A headlight switch seems like a good idea. One pull could activate low speed, and pulling further could activate the high speed or something.

That AC fan switch would look cool, but I have an under dash AC system I've been saving for a long time and will eventually reinstall and hook up to the TDI's compressor. (So it would be in the way of that switch at that point.)

I think it would be cool to use the bus' heat cables to control the temp output of the heater cores. I don't think that would be too hard to do.

I saved the coolant glow plug system from the Passat motor (though pulled it off of the motor and separated the wiring from the ECU). The system is intended to provide heat for the heater and nothing else really. I plan eventually to fabricate a new flange for the glow plugs and mount it inline up by the front heater core, and then hook the relay system up to be triggered by the ground wire that originally turned on the assist fan.

[Stuartzickefoose]

You may also be able to use the dimmer to control fan speed and have a lot more speed options
_________________
Stuart Zickefoose

2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDi 6 speed manual

206-841-7324
[email protected]

[vwwestyman]

[vwwestyman]

Sad story ahead...

So I got the TDI bus running the other day and have been driving it around the past few days without any issue.

Today, I ran out of fuel. (Whoops! Gotta fix the fuel gauge!) The AAA provider doesn't carry diesel, so they towed me home. Where I added the gallon and a half or so of fuel I had in the garage, started it up and left for the city-league kickball game I was running late for.

On the way, it acted like it ran out of fuel again. The little bit I put in must have not really been enough to make it to the fuel outlet in the tank, leaving me blocking traffic at an intersection with construction. Judas. A guy walking down the sidewalk helped me push it to a safe parking spot. I was close to the kickball game, so I just walked there and got a ride home to get more, and got it going. No big deal, really.

So I went home and installed the larger tires on the back, and went for a test drive to see how it affected the RPMs. Turned out the big tires helped quite a bit and I was pretty pleased.

The engine died as I was headed out of town. But I was able to restart it and head back.

Again, it died again. As it did, it made an expensive-sounding noise, and I saw oil sprayed in the engine compartment. Hitting the starter produced a clunk. Here is where the cuss words go.

After the second tow home today, I crawled around under and above the engine. I thought I saw a hole in the block at one point, but from above I can't spot it, and I think it was the back of a bracket that I was seeing.

What I did find is that the engine got extremely hot! The brand-new crank case vent pipe I installed the other day melted! I saw what looked like melted plastic on the glow plug wires too. Goodness it was hot!

Apparently, I somehow lost most or all of my coolant. I was befuddled on how that happened, because I never heard hissing, saw clouds of steam, or anything else really. I looked closely for leaks all over on the initial start ups, as well as checking fro drips, etc several times. The answer came as I moved a coolant hose trying to inspect the block. As I did, I heard a noise of pressure releasing.

On the head outlet flange to the radiator, there was a nipple. A (generic) diagram showed this nipple as going to the overflow tank, but the hoses I had didn't seem to back that up, so long before installing the engine, I hooked up a hose to it and blew into it, and it seemed blocked. So I figured it was never hooked up to anything and this bleed nipple was only open and used on some cars.

It seems that instead, it should have always been open but was partially clogged and would only released water when the system was under full pressure. And it was probably a small stream, hence me never noticing a cloud of steam or anything of that nature.

Awesome. I'll see if it'll turn over in the morning. I'm hoping it just got real hot and I'll get lucky and it was a "soft" seize and letting it cool off and getting an oil change will help out... The "expensive" noise wasn't real metallic sounding, and maybe it was pressure relieving through the melted CCV pipe. Here's hoping.

Time for another beer.

[vwwestyman]

Tore open the engine today...

Evidence of how hot it got:

The glow plug harness and fuel return lines melted.

The brand new crankcase ventilation tube I installed melted.

One of the oil pump screen clips melted.

These wires were evidently touching the head. They melted.

Look closely, there are bits of aluminum running down the inside of the block. This seemed weird to me, as this is the "front" of the engine, or the part that would be tipped up, rather than back. The back side is clean.







Warning: Disturbing images ahead! Turn back now!!












"Well there's your problem!"

(Imagine hillbilly mechanic voice.)

The next cylinder over started scuffing, too.

[Stuartzickefoose]

yikes dude, that sucks!
_________________
Stuart Zickefoose

2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDi 6 speed manual

206-841-7324
[email protected]

[TomWesty]

Did you maybe blow a head gasket, lose coolant out that cylinder and then it started scuffing?
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If you haven't bled on them, you haven't worked on them.
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[vwwestyman]

[markd89]

Bummer, brother!!

I feel for you. I hadn't checked your thread lately and what sad news.

I know you're still licking your wounds but when you're not..

1. Glad to hear you kept your finger in september. Car stuff can be replaced but human stuff is harder. I'm reminded of when I managed to get whipped in the head with a piece of braided wire. My head got cut, but it missed my eye and everything healed up OK.

2. You actually have most of the work done. i.e. swapping in a used engine is way easier than everything else you've done so far.

3. While things are apart, you could pop in a new 3rd and 4th gear. Archemetis did that himself. I won't say much more about transmissions as I'm still working/crying about mine..

Good luck and hang in there!
Mark
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78 TDI Sunroof Bus
Los Angeles

[trevorbrady]

I check in here every couple of days to see how you're progressing. I'm really sorry to see you've had trouble with your engine.

Like Markd89 said, you have all the hard R&D and fabrication work done, it wouldn't be hard to swap out that toasted engine and swap in another one in better shape. Keep the faith, I've found a renewed love for my bus now that it's under diesel power and it's just a non-turbo engine. I can only imagine how nice yours is with a TDI!!

[markd89]

Another couple of suggestions. I know this is kind of closing the barndoor after the horse split, but..

1. Temp Gauges!

2. With all of the plumbing, I was paranoid that I was going to spring a leak on the highway and suffer the same fate.

I made a circuit which connects to the water sensor in the reservoir. If the water goes low, the relay activates a LED and a piercing loud alarm beep.

I used an LM1830 integrated circuit which only requires a few external components.

http://www.circuitstoday.com/liquid-level-indicator

There may be even easier ways to do this, but that's what I did.

Back to commiserating -- yes, I did foresee this possibility. However, I did not foresee the ongoing and expensive transmission/engine noise that I need to get figured out. You can't think of everything, just do your best. If you keep your bus forever, you can amortize all the cost and headache over forever and it's worth it
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78 TDI Sunroof Bus
Los Angeles