ALH into 2001 Jeep Cherokee XJ

I have been getting a ton of questions about this build so it is time to start an official build thread. The interest surpasses just Jeeple, so I decided to host it here to be more open to all who may be considering one of these swaps!

In the summer of 2018 I picked up a the 5th XJ I have now owned - a 2001 Yellow XJ with a nasty rod knock. For the past two years I've DD'd a 2001 Jetta TDI auto and while I like MK4 VWs, the Jeep itch was real...but I just wasn't excited about getting back into a vehicle with <18 MPG, and well, the engine in this XJ needed to be replaced anyway! Nothing wrong with the car really, I put about 15k a year on it so I am sure I could have run it another 5 boring years. But this swap was just begging to happen, so here goes.

The Jeep already has some kind of lift on it, maybe 3" when it was new but it has settled a lot. One of the many things to note for swapping an ALH into the XJ platform is that lift is REQUIRED due to track bar clearance, there is simply no way you are going to fit it under the hood cleanly otherwise. Sure you could cut into the firewall to keep the engine aft of the track bar, or maybe run a cowl hood and mount it high, but that is not what I wanted here. Keep in mind through all of this that I am after a clean and reliable swap with no clutter or cobbled together bits.
Since I am writing this mid-project, here's a list of requirements I have determined. I will come back and add them here as I discover more along the way.

1: 3+" of suspension lift is required to fit the engine cleanly in the engine bay, below the hood and in a comfortable fore/aft position.
2: The entire driveline must move FORWARD approximately 3". This means shortening the front driveshaft and re-tubing the rear shaft or upgrading to something nice.
3: ECU tuning is necessitated by the fact that ALH and newer TDI engines are equipped with the VW immobilizer which must be turned off to run the engine electronically outside of the VW it came from.
4: EGR/ASV/MAF delete is somewhat necessitated, mainly for clearance issues but also simplicity. I am not even attempting to keep these systems on my engine but I do believe the EGR valve would contact the hood or be uncomfortably close.
5: For a 97+ XJ you can piggy back the computers, meaning you keep the Jeep ECU to run the CANBUS dash gauges. I'll need to double up the coolant temp sensors so the Jeep ECU gets a read on that to give the factory gauge.
6: For factory automatic XJs you will most likely want to transmission swap to the AX-15 or NV3550 but there's a big bonus there, you get a lower gear ratio (3.55:1) with the factory axles in an auto XJ which is a great ratio for around 31" tires with the diesel/manual combo. I do not know of a TDI swap that kept the AW4, but at minimum this would require configuring the TCU to run in harmony with the TDI.
7. Yes you CAN keep the factory VNT-15 turbo.
8: I am using a TD Conversions adapter, which allows the engine to be clocked in 1 of 3 ways. I was unable to clock the engine with a full passenger side lean due to starter to turbo clearance. This is a possible configuration with other turbo options. I have mine set to the center position which is about vertical.
9: The power steering pump sticks WAY off to to the driver side. Clearance to the steering shaft is a little tight, but manageable.
10: Factory VW A/C compressor must be removed, there simply is not clearance for it with where the track bar connects to the frame and the upper control arm/differential would hit it regardless of your suspension setup. A compressor from a BHW is an option to consider. This means a shorter belt from crank to alt and ps, with a custom tensioner. I'll detail this step when I get to it.

Here's a few shots of the Jeep the day I brought it home

First thing I did was labeled wires and pulled apart plugs on the engine harness in preparation for pulling the dead 4.0. It ended up throwing a rod while I was moving it in my driveway.

Pulled the factory driveline. I decided to get fancy and run a Behemoth Drivetrain Strongbox doubler connected to a flipped Dana 300 transfer case. The D300 can accept the electronic speed sensor from the XJ, and the Strongbox will have a custom machined port for a VSS to satisfy the VW computer and allow me to run cruise control.



1 can of Gunk degreaser and probably about 300 gallons of water later...



Centerforce high inertia flywheel (45 lbs)


Freshly rebuilt AX-15



Picked up a nice set of TJ Rubicon wheels with 245/75 Destination A/T tires in great condition. Will replace with something more aggressive next time around.

My ocd likes that you have a label maker for marking all your connectors.

ManicMechanic said:

My ocd likes that you have a label maker for marking all your connectors.

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Haha thanks. My handwriting sucks and little hang tags or pieces of tape just fail too darn often. P-Touch labeler for the win!

Very nice set up. I love how cheap the jeep lifts are compared to other vehicles.

Any ideas how you'll get your tach signal? Dakota?

PickleRick said:

Very nice set up. I love how cheap the jeep lifts are compared to other vehicles.
Any ideas how you'll get your tach signal? Dakota?

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Thank you, this has an unknown lift on it now, and I have some concerns with track bar clearance, as well as noting that the removal of passenger side upper control arm would make exhaust routing a lot easier, I may opt for a nice long arm lift that deletes the factory bracktery, as well as allows moving the trackball down and forward 1", along with the front axle. That's gonna be over $2k so no idea yet if that is even a reality.

Tach signal will likely go through a Dakota box off the Jeep CPS, yes.

Pulled the VW motor. Yes, I did it the hard way. Was trying to keep the car as much intact as possible leaving the transmission in place. Thought for a minute that might not be possible but I was able to get it!



Closed up all the orifices and applied oven cleaner and pressurized water. FYI Walmart oven cleaner at $2.50 a can is much more cost effective than Gunk engine degreaser. Let it sit for a few minutes and do its magic before washing.



All clean! Part 1 of TD Conversions adapter installed, this sets the spacing needed for the crank adapter and gives the mounting points for the 2nd half of the adapter, which is clockable in 3 different positions to set the engine tilt.



2nd half of the TD Conversions adapter, mounted in full passenger side tilt clocking. There is not room to mount the starter with the VNT-15 turbo in this configuration. This also shows the TD Conversions crank adapter bolted to the VW crank shaft.







Engine Mount plates (need to have arms welded to them)





Jeep electronic speedometer sensor mounted in D300 tail shaft. This is the "long" shaft D300, there is a short shaft version that is not compatible with the speed sensor like this. The original one for this case was manual cable drive but is the same size as the newer style.

Eveguy? Spelling? The guy selling the td adapters has a tdi xj. I think he used a bhw manifold (and converted turbo) for clearance. The bhw is a longitudinal mounted motor vs the fwd sideways tilted alh.

If your are planning new bumpers or can fab yours a body lift is an easy and cheap way to gain clearance.

1 inch body lift usually requires no bumper mods. 2 inch lifts look awful without modding the bumpers.

PickleRick said:

Eveguy? Spelling? The guy selling the td adapters has a tdi xj. I think he used a bhw manifold (and converted turbo) for clearance. The bhw is a longitudinal mounted motor vs the fwd sideways tilted alh.



If your are planning new bumpers or can fab yours a body lift is an easy and cheap way to gain clearance.



1 inch body lift usually requires no bumper mods. 2 inch lifts look awful without modding the bumpers.

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Evguy. He runs a vnt17. But he has his bew vertical. A xj doesn't have a frame so you can't body lift..

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Oh that sucks! Shows how much i know about jeeps....ive always been a land cruiser guy. Except when my sister had a yj, then i also became a jeep mechanic. I could swap a front or rear axle in a yj in less than an hour before she finally sold that beat up rig.

xjjeeper said:

A xj doesn't have a frame so you can't body lift..

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You beat me to that one, thanks.

JeddaDeezl: This is looking like a nice project, looking forward to seeing it come together. Can you elaborate on why you felt it was mandatory to dump the AW4 and go stick? I understand personal preference, but the way you worded it above made it sound like you think you discovered some sort of insurmountable technical challenge (and I seriously doubt the TCU is that complex a unit to deal with). Certainly it's not a question of the AW4 not handling the power, not when a 4.0 converted into a 4.7L stroker pushing 38-inch tires doesn't even make it blink.

Rob Mayercik said:

You beat me to that one, thanks.
JeddaDeezl: This is looking like a nice project, looking forward to seeing it come together. Can you elaborate on why you felt it was mandatory to dump the AW4 and go stick? I understand personal preference, but the way you worded it above made it sound like you think you discovered some sort of insurmountable technical challenge (and I seriously doubt the TCU is that complex a unit to deal with). Certainly it's not a question of the AW4 not handling the power, not when a 4.0 converted into a 4.7L stroker pushing 38-inch tires doesn't even make it blink.

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Hey Rob, I'm pretty sure we wheeled together at Paragon in a previous life LOL. It was so long ago at least it feels that way! I am very preferential to stick for simplicity, driving feel, and enjoyment. I am sure you could use the AW4, there's no physical reason it wouldn't bolt up with this adapter. I don't know of anyone who has done this TDI swap with one, and I have not looked at stand alone controllers for them at all. If one was set on doing it, the resources and information likely exist, but as you said it would require messing with the TCU and as I said I have not seen any TDI swap where someone has done it. EDIT: I updated the first post to relate to what I said here. If anyone knows of a TDI swap using the AW4 please speak up!

EVGuy (Randy/TD Conersions) has a BEW in his XJ, mine is an ALH so there are some major differences namely the PD motor doesn't have the injection pump and power steering pump hanging way off the driver's side of the block. He did use the VNT-17 turbo, I am using the stock VNT-15. My engine is clocked vertical, as is Randy's. According to him most ALH guys clock it 10 degrees tilted the "normal" way. He did need to cut down his manifold for clearance with that engine, as you will see I have the clearance with mine using the stock ALH manifold. And yeah the XJ is unibody but for me a body lift is not a way to gain clearance for something like this...body lifts and suspension lift blocks kinda fall in the same category of "redneck engineering" in my book haha.

Engine mounts tacked together, I have the engine clocked vertical. I have the engine back out right now to finish welding and modifying mounts, I will post lots of pictures of it once it is back in. I will also begin routing hoses and fuel lines. And most exciting - my TDI harness is on it's way back from Fast Forward Automotive!

Here’s the passenger side



Driver side



Hood to intake clearance



Race pipe clearance



Testing clearance. Stock track bar, stock aluminum oil pan. I have a steel pan I want to modify to make a deeper rear sump, but it is actually taller than the aluminum one by 1/2” or so. I am strongly considering a trackbar/steering brace setup from Ironman 4x4 https://www.ironman4x4fab.com/product-page/steering-bracke-track-bar-system-package.



This is showing full passenger side compression with no bump stops installed.



Clutch is installed and everything bolted together. Hopefully next time it goes in for good!

JeddaDeezl said:

Hey Rob, I'm pretty sure we wheeled together at Paragon in a previous life LOL. It was so long ago at least it feels that way!

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Wow, Paragon? It has been a while then. I've still got the '92 I had then, if you remember it (though it's grown a little since then, sitting at about 4.5" and 31s these days).

I've been mainly going to Rausch Creek since Paragon closed down in '07, but got to try AOAA last February and liked it (need to go back there again and see some more of the place).

As to the AW4, I wonder if the challenge is in the fact that most of the swaps seem to be the 97+ body style, and in most of those, the TCU is integrated into the ECU (I think that happened in 98 or 99, but I'm not 100% sure). Earlier models like my '92 have a standalone TCU box that might be a solution for the swap crowd.

Anyway, will be watching this thread to see it progress.

Rob Mayercik said:

As to the AW4, I wonder if the challenge is in the fact that most of the swaps seem to be the 97+ body style, and in most of those, the TCU is integrated into the ECU (I think that happened in 98 or 99, but I'm not 100% sure). Earlier models like my '92 have a standalone TCU box that might be a solution for the swap crowd.

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This actually was never the case (I have a 2001 TCU sitting on my workbench). You have to replicate the 0-5v throttle position to keep the TCU happy though. The 97+ AW4 have an extra sensor, but can be driven with a pre-97 tcu with a bit-o-logic that Kastin on naxja came up with. I built a PCB for this a while back but never had good luck with Kastin's circuit. The 00-01 TCUs have a lower WOT shift point that should be right at 5k. I'd stick with that.

Great info on the AW4 guys! Goes to prove the info is out there if you’re looking for it...which I obviously was not! To be honest I’d have to really dislike stick (for me it’s the opposite) to put that much effort into retaining a 4 speed automatic. But good to know it can be done for those that must!

I just cleared out a very stubborn glow plug today which I’ve been working on all week. Finally got it all out of there so now I can put this engine in my Jeep confidently. Always easier to do this kind of thing with the engine out of the vehicle!

I also got a different coolant flange for the back of the head which will simplify coolant hose routing a bit. You may notice I cut my hard coolant pipe as well, with it being from an auto it had an extra tee off it for the trans heat exchanger that I will not need.



Crappy pic I know, but I am running the above pictured flange flipped 180. In order to make sure it would still seal and flow properly I traced the opening and centers of the mounting holes on a piece of clear plastic. Held over the new flange it shows the seal is still 100% in contact with the head surface, though the hole is slightly misaligned but I’m OK with it.

Frame side mounts are gusseted and complete. Engine is in again.



I thought I was out of the woods on this. Had a stuck broken glow plug. During the extraction the tip of the plug dropped out into the cylinder. Thankfully the smallest magnet pen I could find grabbed the piece out through the injector hole. I Finally got it extracted but the threads were compromised. Looks like a ReCoil Kit is recommended per Frank’s write up. Anyone used a Time-Sert kit on a VW head?



Im planning on adapting this port on the oil filter housing for my Jeep oil pressure sender to feed my dash gauge.



The Jeep sender fits but the thread pitch is wrong, Jeep sender is 1/8” NPT pipe thread and the VW port is M10x1.0. I found a $45 remote sender unit adapter kit that allows you to mount 2 senders to the one stock port but it’s $45. A hard adapter for the port I have the Jeep sender in for the picture is $8, I just need to make sure I have the clearance to the engine mount to make it work.

Lookin good! Keep the updates coming!

-What are you doing for A/C?

-what steel pan did/do you have that's deeper than the stocker?

-what are you doing about the starter clearance issue?

A-man930 said:

Lookin good! Keep the updates coming!

-What are you doing for A/C?

-what steel pan did/do you have that's deeper than the stocker?

-what are you doing about the starter clearance issue?

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Thanks! Absolutely will keep the updates coming. Also, I am filming this and when I have enough progress under my belt will be editing and rolling out on a popular YouTube channel for Jeeps, so I'll post a link to that when it drops.

To answer your questions: For A/C I am going to have to look into a passenger side mounted AC compressor. I am not worried about that until stage 2 of my build. Stage 1 is get it running/driving and all kinks worked out.

I have a steel pan I picked up from a guy selling it on a Facebook group. It is for the ALH engine. It is not significantly deeper, but it sticks down about an extra 1/2" and though it's the same basic shape as the cast aluminum one, it's not as crisp of a bend as that so it definitely would cut down on track bar clearance. I have some lift components now to boost this XJ up about another 2" so I am going to do that soon here and see what that looks like.

Starter clearance is solved by clocking the engine in the center hole of the adapter which is roughly vertical but still leaning slightly to passenger side (the way it normally leans in the Jetta). I was just showing how tight it is with the engine set to "full passenger side tilt" on the adapter. Randy (EVGuy1) told me that he is no longer going to make these with the same 3 holes like mine has because a lot of people want to drill theirs out for a different clocking position anyway, which makes sense. Realistically you could clock his adapter any way you wanted by drilling your own 6 holes in the transmission side of the adapter.

I’ve got a Nictane MK4 TDI fuel filter kit coming in and I am thinking at this point of using the stock XJ fuel pump as a lift pump, regulated by this adjustable regulator from Summit.



I will install it pre-filter and have a pressure gauge on the Nictane housing. The Jeep fuel pump is internally regulated so in theory it will switch off automatically when the 4.0 spec line pressure is met and turn back on to pressurize again whenever that drops to the triggering pressure. If the pump burns up quickly I have a spare, if that burns up quickly again I will try either removing it altogether and letting the injection pump do it’s own lifting or figure out another solution. Unless someone has a better idea to start with!

For your oil pressure sender Autometer makes an adapter that will let you use an 1/8npt sender. The part number is 2265 and they sell for like 15 bucks. It's what I'm using for my manual gauges.

For your fuel pump I would just remove the fuel pump from the tank all together. Take the sender out and take the fuel pump off it and replace the pump with a section of pipe. The ALH runs fine with no lift pump and putting pressure in the system could cause some problems.

I found an adapter on eBay for $8.99 shipped, so I am trying that. It's M10x1.0 male to 1/8" NPT female and comes with a crush washer. I looked up the Autometer PN and it's available on Amazon for $12.32 with free Prime shipping, so if the eBay one doesn't work out I'll definitely order the Autometer.

Thanks for the input on the fuel pump, I'll go with that then and see how we do! I am not making big power with the ALH, theoretically I will be at 135 horse now, I will probably bump up to VNT17, larger nozzles, and step up the tune once I have it all shaken down. At that point maybe it makes sense to run a lift pump of some sort.

ManicMechanic said:

For your oil pressure sender Autometer makes an adapter that will let you use an 1/8npt sender. The part number is 2265 and they sell for like 15 bucks. It's what I'm using for my manual gauges.

For your fuel pump I would just remove the fuel pump from the tank all together. Take the sender out and take the fuel pump off it and replace the pump with a section of pipe. The ALH runs fine with no lift pump and putting pressure in the system could cause some problems.

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I have mainly been working on the fuel system lately. I got the floor above the fuel tank heavily rust protected using Chassis Saver and then Eastwood Rubberized Rust Encapsulator.





I then modified the fuel pump assembly to be a simple fuel pickup. Tomorrow I will pick up a fitting and drill a hole to install a return. The evap fitting will just be a vent then.





I bought a Nicktane Uber filter setup with a Donaldson P553203 Fuel filter/water separator and I will run the Donaldson water bowl on the bottom.

Spent most of the day doing fuel system things. The tank is done, supply and return plumbed in it! I made a baffle of sorts for the return, let me know your thoughts. I just didn’t want the return to agitate the fuel a lot or create a swirling effect. The box is 3.5x3.5x8” and the ends are 2” tall. I removed the anti siphon ball from the filler as well and built a bracket for my filter.



Plumbed the return out the fuel pump assembly



And the tank is back in, fully plumbed up to the filter

Primed the filter and fuel lines. Working on electrical and intake piping now. Hope to start it up by end of February!





Upgraded battery cables from Mean Lemons, they’re 2 gauge. Yes I tore apart the factory harness to weed out what was unnecessary, and ran some of my TDI engine harness along with it before wrapping it back up. Really I think I just have the glow plug, N75, Map, and alternator added in.

Spent most of the day working on wiring. I got the relays mounted inside, I didn’t like the look of them on the firewall and didn’t like the idea of them anywhere else in the engine bay so I put them through the boot that the TCU wires used to go through and mounted them to the bracket that the TCU used to live on. My OBD II port also talks to my VW ECU (Jeep port is just getting tucked up in there somewhere)

Hey man, finally read through your whole thread. We’ve been talking a bunch on the swapped trucks page. I’ve got the red XJ with a BHW going in. I wish I had thought of telling you about these relay boxes I make and sell on the jeep forum. Could have maybe helped a ton with keeping the wiring clean and waterproof. Check these out when you get a chance. They can be configured any way you want essentially. 5 relays, 5 hot circuits, 80amp total capacity. Just check the ad out. Tons of info there.

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f73/custom-weatherproof-relay-fuse-boxes-226241/

I’ve got a couple questions for ya though. Accessories- are you using all VW stuff? I’m fine with AC compressor being VW but what about power steering and alternator. I’ve got a dual battery setup with a nice alternator and a WJ PS pump that is a bit better than the XJ pump.

I’m concerned the VW pump was never intended for big tires. Do you know the amp output of the VW alternator. I’m assuming plenty of VW guys put big ass subs in their cars, so maybe someone makes a nice high output alternator that fits the VW mounts.

Last question, I noticed on the gussets for the motor mounts you don’t run the bead all the way back to the corner. It looks intentional to me. What’s the idea behind that? I’ve been welding for a couple years but haven’t ever seen that specifically that I can recall. Does it make it less prone to cracking? Also, how worried are you about engine vibration with that little rubber mount?

Thanks much. I’m following along closely.

CR-Snow not sure how many amps your looking for but you can get factory VW alternators that are 90 or 120 amps.

Hey, thanks for the info on the relay boxes, that might actually be exactly what I need for my Grand Wagoneer project. The relays I was talking about here though are part of the custom TDI wiring harness from Fast Forward Automotive and they control the glow plugs only. These are water resistant (proof, maybe?) and definitely could have been mounted in the engine bay, I just didn't like the look of that and IMO they aren't any less accessible under the dash.

Accessories will be all VW. I am not even thinking about AC until "Stage 2" of my build, but it will have to be mounted on the passenger side. I am not aware of a way to run the Jeep accessories other than by using the Cotybuilt Trussmember. Even that I think they say is for TJ 4 cylinder accessories so that may be different than your upgraded 4.0 stuff anyway. The stock alternators from an ALH are Bosch and either 90 amp or 120 amp. Mine being from an automatic is a 90 amp, but either when I have some $ for it or when I need to replace mine I will go with a 120 amp which is from a manual transmission ALH. The manual trans cars had a higher amp alternator because they used coolant glow plugs to bring the car up to operating temperature more quickly. The automatics used a heat exchanger on the transmission for that. As far as the power steering, I'm not worried about it. Biggest tire I will run is a 33, right now I'm on a 245/75-16 (31") and will bump them to 245/75-16 (32") next time around. I think the VW pump is adequate, I plan to run a reservoir off a Chevy Astro which holds about 1 quart of fluid. I'll need to make a custom bracket for that. Keep your eye on BleepinJeep's YouTube, I'll be making videos about that kind of thing there.

As for the gussets, good eye! I made them that way simply so that they don't always hold debris and moisture there creating a corrosion point. Also the bracket is not a crisp hard corner so I would have needed to round the corner of the gusset anyway. I can't imagine they are any stronger/weaker either way, I just thought to make them that way so I don't have to think about them trapping moisture.

I think the small rubber mounts are plenty for this little engine. They are good and soft, and with the through bolt and washers they are captive (won't let the engine go in a rollover). TD Conversions used to supply a polyurethane mount which I don't think to many people complained about, but my experience with poly and gas engines is that they like to rattle things, so I asked Randy about it and he offered me these soft ones that he has been using in his personal XJ for a while now. I'll certainly give feedback on them once driving.

Thanks for following along, should be live on BleepinJeep in the next few days