Oh no! Another Vanagon TDI swap

[valvecovergasket]

On build based on Waldo's advise we added a second mount to the inlet side, for 3 total, that really firmed it up.
He mentioned just using two - which did appear to be some sort of factory configuration - wasn't sufficient and that the mounts had a tendency of delaminating when side loaded like that which makes sense.
Anyway pics and whatnot are in my build thread but it might be worth considering before you have a failure, just next time you take it apart and have the welder nearby.
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MegaSquirt resource - SpitfireEFI.com

gone, but not forgotten: '83 tdi westy - swap thread

[dieseltdi]

Well, after a nice vacation into Monument Valley, Canyonlands, Arches, the Colorado Rocky Mountains and Great Sand Dunes, I finally had the time to rework my exhaust system. I mentioned that I purchased a 21/2" Mgnaflow muffler. Anyway, the first thing was to mock it up under the van and then do some measurements and make cardboard cutouts for the braces I wanted to make. I then cut the braces from 3"x 3/16" metal bar and mounted them on the car and the muffler. I use a marker to mark the position of the two braces and then taped them securely in place. I then removed it and took it to my local muffler shop for welding. The results are in the pictures. Sounds quieter than the old set up and it is EXTREMELY steady. No vibration at all. Of course, time will tell how well it all works. Next Job? Dual Mass flywheel, TDI input shaft and diesel bell housing installation.

[dieseltdi]

Thought I would update on the muffler problem. When I originally put everything together, I didn't have much time to do research on parts so I simply bought a cheap straight through muffler off eBay. No brand name. Well as you can see from the pictures, it wasn't constructed very well. The first pic is how it should be and the second is how it is! all the welds holding the outlet into the muffler body failed! I just took delivery of a Magnaflow muffler and intend to make mounts more closely to what the Diesel engine would have had although I am considering modifications to have 2 rubber mounts on each side. Will make updates as I go through the process. First a little down time in the Canyonlands area of Utah with the wife in the travel trailer.

[erste]

Really nice work on this build! Enjoy the vacation!!

[dieseltdi]

Thought I would post a bit of an update. I won't be able to get to the clutch/bell housing swap until early May due to an up coming vacation that has been derailed twice by Covid. I decided to spend some time cleaning up a few things that I just didn't like. First of all, I removed excess wiring length from my wiring harness. As it came from David Marshall, many of the wires were way too long. I also added some wire covers to dress things up a bit and protect the wiring. I also ordered a new coolant bottle bracket from FAS instead of the hacked up, angle iron thing I had bodged together. I also tripled the size of the wire going from the Alternator to the starter and thus to the battery and added a ground from the starter to the frame. While doing all this work, I kept noticing a strange ringing sound when the engine was running. I discovered that the welds on one end of my straight through muffler had broken allowing the outer body and the inner tube to vibrate against each other. So, another muffler is oil the way and I intend to try and mimic the stock style hanger system by making some brackets and having them welded to the new muffler. I have been chasing down a stubborn coolant leak and realized that it was coming from the head outlet that holds the coolant sensor. I bought a new one from Brickworks that doesn't have the small vent pipe on it. I cleaned up the block and viola no more leaks. I also installed a German made one piece pop top gasket (from Vanagain). If you don't have one of these, you should get one as the fit is absolutely perfect. My sofa bed also had some problems so I ordered new hinges from Bus Depot and replaced them. Now it works just as planned. Will try to keep things up to date as I can.

[dieseltdi]

Got the clutch/flywheel assembly today. Clutch disk and pressure plate pre installed. Quite heavy. Bolts are also installed. I need to find out which star or triple square bit to use.

[?Waldo?]

The diesel engine is very well balanced within the two engine mounts. Of course, some of that depends on accessories, mounting of turbo, exhaust, etc... You'll want something to keep the engine stable, but it doesn't need to be particularly beefy. It is certainly possible to pull just the trans. Replacing the clutch is a bit of work under the van, but probably still easier to pull the trans vs. pulling the engine.

[dieseltdi]

Well parts are coming together. I already have the diesel vanagon bell housing, the TDI specific shaft is on its way from Brickwerks in Germany, Weddle has shipped the new cross shaft, Go westy has shipped the cross shaft bushing kit, and the dual mass/clutch kit from Ebay ($270 with free shipping) is also on the way. Now I just need to get some good weather once it all gets here. When I originally installed everything, I installed the transmission and engine as a single unit. I helped my brother replace a clutch on his air cooled vanagon years ago with out removing the engine so I suppose that is also possible with the Diesel engine? I would support it on the transmission side from above so that it won't rotate on the engine mounts. Any suggestions or advice always appreciated. Hayden

[uberaudi]

The 'welded arm cross shaft' is an upgrade to the stock cross shaft which has been known to break at the inadequate factory welds. You can easily just fully weld the stock arms to the cross shaft to beef it up. One less thing to go wrong.
Weidle also sells them for around 20 bucks.
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'84 Adventurewagen 1Z Tdi, '89 Tintop ABA, and a 86 Syncro tintop WBX.

[dieseltdi]

Thanks for the info. I will probably just use the original TDI backing plate and maybe make something to cover the open area. I noticed that Brickworks also sells a “welded” throw out bearing arm because they claim the stock one isn’t strong enough for the TDI clutch. Have you had any problems?

[AndyBees]

As Waldo suggested, I had to clearance my Diesel Bell Housing in other spots due to casting differences.

I used the TDI engine spacer/plate from the OE setup that was on the donor car. Of course, the flywheel is visible/exposed at the bottom. I've driven it like that for well over 85k miles without issue. However, I do like the two options that Waldo linked.

I got a LUK DMF from Amazon back when they were $188.00 shipped. In fact, considering the number of TDIs in my family and circle of friends I purchased several at that price. Schaeffler LuK RepSet 17-050 Clutch Kit, OEM Clutch Replacement Kit
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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.

[?Waldo?]

I've fitted a couple of the DMF's and this is the area of the bell housing that I needed to clearance for each of them.

Your casting may differ, though, so you'll need to fit it and see.

The diesel vanagon intermediate plate will not fit without modification. There is a TDI Vanagon intermediate plate available.

https://www.mybusparts.de/abdeckblech-zum-schwungrad-passend-fuer-vw-t3.html

There is also a two-piece version of the same plate that allows removal of the oil pan without removal of the trans and plate:

https://www.brickwerks.co.uk/t3-parts/engine-conve...lutch.html

I have used the Luk 17-050 set and it has worked well. It is available a variety of places for ~$250.

[dieseltdi]

Wanted to post a bit of an update. I haven't had a huge amount of time to do things to the Vanagon because of weather and "honey dos". However, I finally attacked the engine compartment wiring to remove several feet of unnecessary wire, added some wire covering for protection. I also added a stand along ground wire from the started to the frame and increased the size of the connection between the alternator and the starter/battery post. I also have just gotten a FAS coolant bottle bracket that I intend to install. I installed the larger oil cooler that has been suggested in other posts but I also have a Volvo oil cooler set up just in case. Obviously, winter isn't a great time to test out oil cooler efficiency. Now for the big thing. I have decided that before I try to put a lot of miles on this van, that I would go ahead and switch over to a dual mass flywheel/clutch setup. I have the diesel bell housing and the TDI mainshaft for T3 coming from Brickworks. So My question is... what adaptations will I need to do to get the DMF installed into the diesel bell housing. I have heard that clearancing of the bell housing and/or the flywheel may be necessary. Also will the stock TDI plate between the flywheel and the engine work with the diesel trans. Currently with an adaptor plate, I cannot use this and it bothers me a bit. Finally any favorite manufactures for the dual mass that people have: Luk, Sachs...? TIA

[dieseltdi]

Hey lets be honest. There just isn't much interior space in a Westy for storage, or moving around. The trailer carries spare parts, solar panel setup, hot water maker, patio rug, table, leveling blocks, jack, ARB room, camp stove, chair, tools, AC when needed and there is room for a tiny microwave it I feel so inclined.

[4Gears4Tires]

The pop top, trailer, and arb awning room!? That's camping luxury, glamping, really. Glad to see you're ironing out your engine bugs.
_________________
'87 Syncro
Ferric Oxyhydroxide Superleggera Edition

[82westyrabbit]

Cool glad to see you are getting to use the van. John

[dieseltdi]

Well, I finally got to take the first campout in my Westy TDI conversion. I learned a lot from the experience and have already made some changes since I got home today. Anyway just went north from Grapevine, TX to Lake Ray Roberts, Johnson Branch campground near Sanger, Texas. Engine performed like a champ and cruise control (yes I have that) keep the car going at a steady 62 mph on the way up. Got to the campground around 1:30 and set up everything only to discover that I hadn't brought a phone charger and my phone was already mostly dead. I have a continuous glucose monitor that reports to my phone so this is important. I decided to try and see if the phone would last but since service is very spotty, it was constantly looking for a connection and rapidly draining the battery away. So, I packed the screen room back up, rolled up the awning, closed down the top and disconnected everything and drove to the nearest truck stop back at the highway to buy a very overpriced iPhone cable. Anyway, back at the campsite, I decided not to reset up the screen room, and just went with the awning, no mosquitos anyway. That is when I found a problem with my inside stove. The burners would barely light and you could only light one or the other would go out. Luckily, my Westy has been provisioned with a second propane tank that I can connect with my Coleman stove. Dinner eaten, I decided that a fire was in order and spent the evening enjoying the flames. I contemplated, the stove problem but I didn't finally figure it out until I got home. More on that later. The next day was spent just wasting time and walking around. One more fire that night and then back home this morning. The drive home is where things got really hairy. The wind was blowing about 45 miles an hour out of the south and gusting higher than that. I was driving a huge brick with a trailer down the highway. I encountered my boost problem again. Once required that I pull over and clear the codes before I could continue driving. However, as I continued the trip south (only about 40 miles) I noticed that I could feel the boost begin to falter around 14.8 psi and it I immediately backed off just a bit, I could maintain a slightly lower boost without loosing speed. I believe that this is a problem with the boost control on the turbo. The waste gate is opening at 14.8 part way and is fully open at 15 psi. That drops the boost in the system, the computer reads that as a fault and throws a code shutting things down. I must contemplate the possible fixes. As for my inoperable stove. I at first thought that the tank had a leak and was essentially empty. But bleeding the tank rapidly. Showed that the tank was still about ½ full (check the condensation line!). So I began to suspect the pressure regulator, sure enough, after a few cycles of turning the gas supply off and on, it let loose, spewing propane everywhere. Luckily I had another one and installed it. Problem solved. I still have a slow leak out of the fill valve but I will wait to replace that once the tank gets empty. Over all a good trip. Taught me some thing to pack in the thing now, so I won"t forget them next trip: trash bags, zip lock bags, etc, etc.

[dieseltdi]

Well, after remeasuring the diameter of the various parts of my intercooler to intake manifold set up, I ordered two new sizes of hose, some clamps and then disassembled everything from the intercooler to the intake manifold. Replaced with previously mentioned new hoses and clamps and crossed my fingers. I also decided to replace the used radiator that I had originally installed with a new Mahle version. Refilled and bled the system and the radiator actually gets hot on all sides, top and bottom (I think some of the passages were blocked in the other one). Lastly, I replaced the Vanagon turn signal switch with one from a Mk 2 Jetta that had cruise control and wired that into my harness. After some strange codes, I figured out that two wires were actually switched in the harness from the ECU so I just flipped them and now VAGCOM says everything works. Took it for a drive and now everything works as it should: no hoses blowing off, no loss of boost, no safe mode drives home AND as a plus, the cruise control works!! Now just one more thing to sort out. My oil temperature gauge has always worried me. It always shows temps that are unrealistic and out of possibility for the other temperatures being measured. Finally figured out that the gauge and sender are mismatched. So, since the oil temp gauge was used, I bought a new one with the correct sender. I will install tomorrow and hopefully that will solve the last of my problems. I intend to get the propane tanks (yes I have one on each side) filled so that I can do a short trip to a nearby state park to test everything out. Seems this project is coming to an end and I can now enjoy the fruits of my labor.

[dieseltdi]

Got the chance to attach the ARB awning room to my NAPA awning today. It fit just fine and will make a great place to sit away from the bugs. I am going to move my awning a bit forward on its mounts from where it is now to get the sliding door opening completely within the opening of the room. I also added a stiffening pole to the center of the awning. Pics show it all. Just wanting on silicone hose to fix my boost problems....I hope.

[dieseltdi]

Been working a bit here and there on the swap. I am going to have to revisit my entire intercooler set up as it seems that somewhere, I have a leak at high boost that throws a P1550 code and shuts down the power. Clearing the code allows the engine to get back to work but it is a pain so I am going to make sure my silicone hoses match the sizes of my hard pipes. I was going to test fit my ARB awning screen room on my NAPA awning today but wind was just too gusty for a one person put up and take down. Will try again tomorrow. I did go ahead and install my Bus Depot sliding door screen. Of course it came with no instructions but a few of you answered my call for information and I was able to install it with minimal problems. I think I am going to add some loops and floor snaps to keep it from billowing in the wind. Anyway, pictures tell the whole story.