A4 mounts for my ALH engine.

[narendra.vw]

It’s been a while I wanted to have these mounts on my ALH. An attempt to reduce resonance.
Main focus was not to modify OE mounting points or fittings. The Mod should be a add-on so that problem faced I should be able to replace these back to OE ‘TD’ mounts with ease.

I started of with the right side custom fabricated Bracket. Much easier to work with.
By carefully measuring A4 mounting point plus adding A4 mounting bracket wall thickness, M9 hole was drilled on to the engine bracket.

A4 mounting bracket details,
-A4 mounts are from Audi Quattro 2.0 L(fits 2005 to 2008). Make:- Meyle.
-A4 mount dia is app 4”. Mounting stud dia, M8.
-Mounting bracket plate thickness, 6mm.
-Main fasten stud is of high tensile threaded to the bracket plate, later it’s end was Mig welded to the plate.
- An additional two M8 bolts for the plate, more security to the bracket.
-Self locking nuts were used for securing.
-Difference in hole between TD mount top stud centre & A4 mount top stud centre is close to 13mm.
Overall you will need 22mm flat surface on the mounting bracket to have both TD & A4 mount holes.

Yes I know, Visuals are the better way to explain.

Right side mounting Visuals.

Mid pic shows a Buffer attached. In case the mount bottom bolt snaps, the buffer gives a cushioning for the mount & a bit of time before the mount is replaced.

The Pic shows Mount direction option. I opted for the second.

I want your experience for me to choose which is better or correct? Thanks for the input in adv.


Bracket assembly before getting back to the engine.

Engine right side resting on A4 mount. The fit was drop in perfect.

Pic is taken at an angle to have the whole bracket view in the pic.

Next, left side modification to replace TD mount with A4 mount .

[xoo00oox]

Nice job! I have the earlier generation of these mounts on my van, they work great. I believe the top is shaped the way it is just to lock it in position so you can turn the nut without the stud spinning.

[Zeitgeist 13]

Looks like a great option for folks running with the '83 and later carrier bars. I'm also using an earlier version of those mounts on my 15 degree ALH build. I'm kinda worried that they may be too stiff, so I'd love to hear about how you like them over time.
_________________
Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[narendra.vw]

[MarkWard]

The original bracket located the mount more centered under the load. Your design solves the turbo clearance problem, but do you think the A4 mount will be happy with the loads offset to one side as shown? I believe those A4 mounts are designed to carry the load directly over them. Thank you for sharing. mark
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☮️

[narendra.vw]

Thanks Mark.
Yes there is a bit of concern. The finished part will have stiffeners at all critical points. The cantilever flat gets a support at the top & bottom. Max over hang will be 40mm at the mounting point.
TD bracket does have a offset of 50mm,

Keeping my fingers crossed for a trial run. If nothing works I can always go back to TD mounts.

[narendra.vw]

Bracket finial progress for A4 mounting.
Had few sleepless nights to perfect the engine bracket. Made sure the engine height & position match the old ‘TD’ bracket(I lost count on removing & refitting work).

Visual details,
A:- The bracket gets a Co2 weld. The bracket should hold engine weight & vibration. B:- Finial product after the weld & the grind. Time to get a coat of paint.

Checking the mounting height with the TD bracket. Arrow shows the line matching each other mounting point.

The Bracket looks Glamour’s. Stiffeners(arrow shown) were added to all critical places.

-ALH getting it’s new wing. Few more days to get the van on the runway.

The bolt on the left is for 'optional' extra clamping to the block’s front top.

It’s time to replace TD mount with the A4 mount for the left side too.

[o-town]

that looks like a stout bracket, well done.

[AndyBees]

Your Right Side motor mount bracket is very similar to mine (red instead of yellow ). My welder grabbed a piece of 3/4 " rebar for the arced brace.

Your Left Side motor mount bracket would not accommodate my exhaust set-up.

For what its worth, I started with hydraulic mounts but went back to the OE rubber mounts.

Also, I've been looking at ways to improve the Transmission mount......... would be nice to be able to use the OE Jetta motor mount.

I like your work ..... thanks for sharing
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'84 Vanagon Tin-top, ALH TDI. 1989 Tin-top
1983 Air-cool, 225k miles, 180k miles mine. Seven trips to Alaska from 1986 thru 2003.

[narendra.vw]

Thanks o-town, for your thoughts.
This helps me to share more.

Thanks Andy,
Yes, bracket is much similar to yours. Down side of it when the bracket needs to be removed, AC hose has to be disconnected.( This kind of work is very rare).
Replacing mount, no need of removing the bracket.
The A4 mounts used are designed for 2.0L engine. The one I have is of heavy duty. The Transmission mount is OE ‘TD mount’. The rubber mount was replaced by power flex mount.
The exhaust route is much similar to TD. 5” extension pipe was added to the Turbo flange neck after replacing to the ALH manifold. In fact I have used TD pipe.
In my next post I will add pics of the present exhaust route.
New brackets can take both 'TD' or 'A4' mounts.

[AndyBees]

That's good that your design is such that you can use either MM. I like that. I had to do some drilling to accommodate the OE MMs.

Yeah, I used bolts to hold the right side brace in place. So, it can be removed to work with AC system.

Yes, I'd like to see photos of exhaust set-up.

Thanks for sharing..
_________________
'84 Vanagon Tin-top, ALH TDI. 1989 Tin-top
1983 Air-cool, 225k miles, 180k miles mine. Seven trips to Alaska from 1986 thru 2003.

[narendra.vw]

Exhaust rerouting.

Yes, engine’s left side is still resting on ‘TD’ mount along with the new engine Bracket.

-A 5” long extension pipe was added to the flange neck. This was needed due to the Turbo unit moving further back when ALH manifold was fitted.
-A slight change in flange angle to match the ALH turbo out.

The exhaust pipe runs towards the back of the engine Block & comes outside the carrier bar running back parallel to it. Rest is of old setup. The Cat & the Muffler hangs on to the chassis with a single point rubber mount.

Rerouting of exhaust pipe.
EX:- Extension pipe. TD:-Donor. TDI:- Donor. The exhaust mount fitting is bolted to the chassis.

Exhaust end pipe.

Now nothing is going to stop me in fitting the left A4 mount.

[AndyBees]

Wow!

Nice work! I like the exhaust system. It fits well with your Left Side Motor Mount Bracket!

See, I believe "mounting the ALH" engine is part of the reason there are fewer of them than other engine swaps. There is just no engine mounting "kit" available that I am aware of. The info for the electric aspect is widely available.

So, maybe your work will inspire a few more ALH TDI (not M-TDI) conversions. There are more and more donor cars becoming available as they get older and cheaper. A well maintained engine should last beyond 400k miles, including the Turbo (my 2000 Jetta, basically OE, has over 360k miles on it).

As I may have stated, I'm working on a "lower" profile oil filtering system and modification of the accessory bracket to "rotate" (lay over) the Injection Pump for additional clearance for the OE cover. That, together with lowering the engine mounting by about 1 inch (26mm) should provide ample clearance to use the OE engine cover....
_________________
'84 Vanagon Tin-top, ALH TDI. 1989 Tin-top
1983 Air-cool, 225k miles, 180k miles mine. Seven trips to Alaska from 1986 thru 2003.

[narendra.vw]

Thanks Andy. I’m longing to see your new project.
As I have noticed, each ALH fitting is different from other. In mine, most of Donor & TD parts were used(Single window spare parts ).

Small update on A4 mounts.
I drew few miles with left ‘TD’ & right ‘A4’ mount.
I could make a lot of difference in this drive. Felt lot smoother take-off.
Once left mount is finished, I’ll give it a real test.

[narendra.vw]

Finial work on the A4 mounts.

The approach of left side mounting bracket was different. Here, I eliminated use of bolting type bracket for the A4 mount.
The ‘TD’ carrier bar’s mounting Base plate was used to develop a bracket. Here too, option of using ‘TD’ mount or ‘A4’ mount was considered.

Mounting bracket development details. Flat for extra strengthen.