1st gen Tacoma ALH

vtpsd

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Aug 15, 2013
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03 jsw TDI, audi 90 AHU swap
Hi Jason! No progress to speak of. I've been driving the taco quite a bit. I'm building my house now, so its been awesome to have a truck for home depot runs. I plan to start the swap this winter, and hopefully be able to use it by next summer.

It did recently start making some noises that I think are the pilot bearing, so I may be forced to start taking it apart sooner than later.
 

vtpsd

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Aug 15, 2013
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Vermont
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03 jsw TDI, audi 90 AHU swap
I've been using this truck all summer. The pilot bearing in the flywheel is going very bad, so its definitely time to get serious about the ALH swap.

I got my donor ALH mk4 jetta running well. It would start fine, but stumble a fair amount and make smoke that smelled like fuel. I suspected bad injectors or a failing pump. I bottle fed it some diesel purge, and it immediately improved. I think the fuel filter or fuel pickup is restricted in the car.

Tested the group 13 numbers, they were decent. It still looks like the injectors are somewhat worn, but the car runs smooth and no smoke.

I tested compression, I got 500 470 505 480. Not the closest numbers I have ever seen, but good enough to consider things healthy in my book. I suspect this engine is highly sooted up. I will be pulling the head and cleaning all the ports and valves before putting it in my truck.

I also got the adapter from Randy at TD Conversions and test fitted it. I also got his new heavy 22re flywheel that is machined to fit the larger 10" tacoma clutch. I have a centerforce 10" clutch in there. The clutch has centrifugal weights that apply more clamping force as RPMs rise. Interesting setup. I am a little concerned about those weights rattling around at idle. We shall see.
Below is the adapter setup fitted to an AHU block I happened to have in the shop. Everything looks good!



Scrapping a MK3 that I parted to use the cylinder head on my TDI audi. Towing weight with the 4 cylinder tacoma is pretty funny. Pinned all the time.

 
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Sugarkryptonite

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Joined
Jun 16, 2009
Location
Canada
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None
Cool swap buddy. I was just curious how the stock gearing is going to be with the TDI motor, have you done any calculations? I was planning on doing something similar with a GMC Canyon w/ an automatic trans (not really interested in a manual), but I'm worried about the 4x4 gearing, and how hard it would be to change to accomodate the TDI motor gearing.
 

vtpsd

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03 jsw TDI, audi 90 AHU swap
I haven't done much gearing calculation. Honestly, my trucks gearing is way too high currently for the gasser, and feels like it could even be a little high for the TDI. I havent bothered to check, but I think it has 3.88's, plus 31" tires.

5th gear is basically useless below 70MPH.

I know others have used stock toyota gearing without issues.

In a perfect world, i might even want to lower my final drive on both axles, but I hope I dont need to.
 
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Runninwild

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Jul 28, 2018
Location
vancouver
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AAZ swapped 2000 tacoma
You more then likely have 4.10 diff gears. I'm planning on 4.56 or 4.88 in my taco with 35's.
 

jimbote

Certified Volkswagen Nut
Joined
Jul 10, 2006
Location
spiral arm, milky way (aka central NC)
TDI
Tacoma 4x4 converted to TDI
I haven't done much gearing calculation. Honestly, my trucks gearing is way too high currently for the gasser, and feels like it could even be a little high for the TDI. I havent bothered to check, but I think it has 3.88's, plus 31" tires.

5th gear is basically useless below 70MPH.

I know others have used stock toyota gearing without issues.

In a perfect world, i might even want to lower my final drive on both axles, but I hope I dont need to.
your stock gearing is 3:59, which is why i swapped to 4:10 in my rig... used gears are cheap, all first gen sequoias have 4:10 and the drop out will bolt right in your 8.4 as will 1st gen tundra, though not many tundras were 4:10 ... you can use any third gen 4runner or first gen tacoma front diff (4:10 of course) and sequoia/tundra front diffs may also work
 

vtpsd

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03 jsw TDI, audi 90 AHU swap
Thanks for the input Jim. I verified the truck does have the 3.59 gears. I will try it with those, but I'm guessing I will want to regear.

I have the Non-ADD front diff, which I like. I have regeared a toyota rear end before, but never an IFS front diff. Do parts like gears swap between ADD and non ADD diff housings?
 

jimbote

Certified Volkswagen Nut
Joined
Jul 10, 2006
Location
spiral arm, milky way (aka central NC)
TDI
Tacoma 4x4 converted to TDI
Thanks for the input Jim. I verified the truck does have the 3.59 gears. I will try it with those, but I'm guessing I will want to regear.

I have the Non-ADD front diff, which I like. I have regeared a toyota rear end before, but never an IFS front diff. Do parts like gears swap between ADD and non ADD diff housings?
you can use the diff from an ADD truck by unbolting all the ADD parts and bolting on your non-ADD axle and tube, it's what i'm running on my truck ....my diff came from a third gen runner with ADD
 

vtpsd

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03 jsw TDI, audi 90 AHU swap
Perfect! Good info.

A friend down the road has a v6 parts truck, dont remember if its a 5-speed, but if it is, it sounds like it would be a 4.10 truck.

I should be able to use front diff and rear 3rd member from that right?
 

jimbote

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spiral arm, milky way (aka central NC)
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Tacoma 4x4 converted to TDI
Perfect! Good info.

A friend down the road has a v6 parts truck, dont remember if its a 5-speed, but if it is, it sounds like it would be a 4.10 truck.

I should be able to use front diff and rear 3rd member from that right?
If it's a Tacoma without e-locker, yes, if it's a 4Runner only the front diff will work... all 3rd gen 4Runners had 8in rear axles... Tacomas have 8.4 rear axles except the ones that have e Locker
 

vtpsd

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Aug 15, 2013
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03 jsw TDI, audi 90 AHU swap

vtpsd

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03 jsw TDI, audi 90 AHU swap
Thread back from the dead! I pulled the Automatic ALH doner motor this weekend and started cleaning it up and preparing to reseal, new timing belt and other maintenance items.

The intake ports were quite clean, so I dont need to pull the head and really clean them out, which is great.

I think I am going to have David Marshall build me a harness. Its kind of crazy to pay someone to do something that I can do, but I am still building my house, and my wife is pregnant with our first baby, so I need to get this thing running post-haste, or its never happening!

Digging a litte bit more into the details, I am wanting to look into mounting my engine like this person did and use BHW hydraulic mounts.


 
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jmodge

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Jun 18, 2015
Location
Greenville, MI
TDI
2001 alh Jetta, RC2 w/.205's 5speed daily summer commuter and 2000 alh Jetta 5spd swap, 2" lift, hitch, stage 3 TDtuning w/.216's winter cruiser, 1996 Tacoma ALh
Question on your adapter, is that the one that includes the high torque starter or is that the one with that uses the Toyota starter?
 

vtpsd

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Aug 15, 2013
Location
Vermont
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03 jsw TDI, audi 90 AHU swap
Questions for other Toyota swap people:
-Did you use the existing toyota fuel lines from the tank? Mine are perfect since my truck hasnt ever been in the salt, but the return looks quite small.

-I assume others have used a 22re bell housing? I have one in the shop. Just noticing the starter is on the opposite side as the tacoma original. I probably need to use a 22re clutch fork, TOB and clutch slave setup to match my bell housing?
 
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jimbote

Certified Volkswagen Nut
Joined
Jul 10, 2006
Location
spiral arm, milky way (aka central NC)
TDI
Tacoma 4x4 converted to TDI
yes on using the stock tacoma lines, no issue there... i did repurpose the evap line to a tank vent with a small sintered bronze fuel filter on the open end under the hood....i did use a 22r bell/release fork/slave on the taco w59
 

vtpsd

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03 jsw TDI, audi 90 AHU swap
so i've got the engine in and starting to look at positioning before hacking up oil pans and building engine mounts.



I failed to take enough measurements with the 3rz in place.


It looks like the transmission input and output, transfer case output and crankshaft should all be in a straight line?



I have been using a laser level to shoot right down the center of the crank, to the rear output of the transfer case and onto the center carrier bearing and diff input flange. I am assuming that I need to get those all in a straight line.



Does this line of thinking make sense?
 

vtpsd

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03 jsw TDI, audi 90 AHU swap
I did some more measuring and laser checking. I got my oil pan notched out to clear the front diff, following what Jimbote did with his truck.


I am stuck on one thing, I cant get the driveshaft straight given the movement in my transmission mount. My technique is this: Line laser level up from front of truck with vertical beam centered on the pinion of the rear diff, centered on the carrier bearing in the middle of the driveshaft and I move the engine around until it is also centered on the output of the transfer case, so the driveshaft is in a perfect, straight line.



The problem is this: the engine itself is cocked toward the driver side when i force the rear of the trans to be in a straight line with the carrier bearing and pinion of the rear diff. The driveshaft is not perfectly perpendicular to the transfer case. It acts like the actual transmission mount needs to slide to the passenger side about half an inch. If I could do that, my crankshaft would be in line with the output of the transfer case and the driveshaft would be 90 degrees perpendicular to the driveshaft. However, there is no adjustability to speak of, certainly nowhere near enough.


Im at a bit of a loss, and am about to drill new holes in the cross member under the trans to shift it to where I want. It must have been like this with the stock engine in it. I wish I had looked more closely.



Has anyone else ever seen this issue? Am I getting too picky? I'm trying to get things as straight as possible before I start building the mounts.



Does anyone know if the tacoma output of the transfer case is perfectly inline with the transmission input shaft? I cant tell really by looking under the truck.
 

jmodge

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 18, 2015
Location
Greenville, MI
TDI
2001 alh Jetta, RC2 w/.205's 5speed daily summer commuter and 2000 alh Jetta 5spd swap, 2" lift, hitch, stage 3 TDtuning w/.216's winter cruiser, 1996 Tacoma ALh
I will be starting a similar project this year, 1985 4Runner. Not sure about the alignment issue you speak of, mine has no motor, so I don’t think I can look for you. It sounds like a small amount that the u-joints would account for if you could live with it.
 

vtpsd

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03 jsw TDI, audi 90 AHU swap
Here are some pics:
3rz coming out;





adapter in place with 22re bell housing installed:



TDI in place and bolted to trans



got some decent firewall clearance thanks to the thickness of the adapter plate.



Oil pan will conflict with front diff. Going to try and notch out the ALH pan.






using a laser level to try and get the driveline straight, having some issues there, not sure what the solution is quite yet.



 

1.9ZOOK

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Dec 13, 2015
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Downstream of a Volcano
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ALH Samurai
I would get it straight to the carrier bearing and let the rest be offset,that's not that much.
Samurai guys that are using Toyota drive train with the offset samurai diff. are like 5"
out and they hold up,and you want at least 5º on the u-joints anyway.
 

vtpsd

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Aug 15, 2013
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Vermont
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03 jsw TDI, audi 90 AHU swap
I would get it straight to the carrier bearing and let the rest be offset,that's not that much.
Samurai guys that are using Toyota drive train with the offset samurai diff. are like 5"
out and they hold up,and you want at least 5º on the u-joints anyway.
Good to know! I'm not really concerned about longevity with this setup, but since this truck will be a road warrior and rarely wheeled, I dont want any drivetrain vibrations. I assume most dudes with toy axles under sammis are not driving 700 miles a week in their trucks at 70mph, so slight vibes may not matter. I am probably overthinking this, I'm not super experienced with truck stuff. My only other truck experience has been with stock rigs or my 85 4runner that was a wheeling rig, and I didnt really care about minute details.

Here is the type of driveshaft I have, has a center bearing and a CV or double ujoint after the center before the rear ujoint. Also has a joint at the transfer case output.




Here are my 3 options that I can see. These are all looking at the drivetrain from the TOP view.

Option A is how you would install the engine without measuring. I.E., trans mount stays in place and you visually align the engine crankshaft with frame rails, center bell housing in tunnel etc.

Option B is what happens when I climb under and force the output of the transfer case toward passenger side to get the driveshaft straight. I.E. drivetrain pivots on the trans mount.

Option C involes me drilling NEW mounting holes in the crossmember about 1/2" to 3/4" offset to allow the whole thing to be in a straight line.




I cannot see anything bent or out of line in the truck enough to cause such a discrepancy. I am wondering if the crankshaft is naturally offset from the rear diff by around an inch from the factory? I cant see to find any info on this over the internet. Only finding info about people leveling the shafts in the vertical direction after a lift etc.
 
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Exenos

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Apr 29, 2014
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Ontario
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02 Golf
Vertical or horizontal doesn't mater, its all the same idea. Its perfectly fine to have a few degrees of offset but the key is to make sure both flanges are parallel. U joint driveshafts don't mind a bit of off set but differing input and output angles can play havoc with vibrations.
 

vtpsd

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03 jsw TDI, audi 90 AHU swap
Vertical or horizontal doesn't mater, its all the same idea. Its perfectly fine to have a few degrees of offset but the key is to make sure both flanges are parallel. U joint driveshafts don't mind a bit of off set but differing input and output angles can play havoc with vibrations.
I think I get that concept, but whats throwing me is the CV joint in the middle with a carrier bearing on the front of it. I get the two parts being parallel with a single piece driveshaft, but I cant wrap my head around what the CV joint in the middle does to the situation. It seems like even if the engine and pinion are parallel, the center bearing is keeping the joint at the rear diff straight and angling the front half of the shaft. It seems like i would have to slot the center bearing to make the two shafts pieces in a straight line to make that work.

I did some more lasering yesterday, and found that the transfer case output is in line with the crankshaft. I can make things totally straight in the horizontal by offsetting the trans mount about 3/8". Shooting a laser right down the truck, centered perfectly between the frame rails, the rear pinion and center bearing are centered. The trans mount is to the passenger side by 3/8". It does look like the crossmember took a rock hit at some point, and is somewhat tweaked. It doesn't look like this is my cause, but it might be. I think I am going to slot the holes and slide the crossmember over to get everything in a straight line. Then set the transfer case angle to match the pinion angle.
 
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jimbote

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Jul 10, 2006
Location
spiral arm, milky way (aka central NC)
TDI
Tacoma 4x4 converted to TDI
looking good so far... i didn't pay too much attention to the DS angle and i don't have any weird vibes ... i did drop my diff using a spacer kit plus extra nuts/longer bolts for even more drop
 

jmodge

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Jun 18, 2015
Location
Greenville, MI
TDI
2001 alh Jetta, RC2 w/.205's 5speed daily summer commuter and 2000 alh Jetta 5spd swap, 2" lift, hitch, stage 3 TDtuning w/.216's winter cruiser, 1996 Tacoma ALh
I remember years ago my uncle, who was an engineer, told me a u-joint at an angle changes the speed the shaft turns. So your angles front and back should match, a CV, constant velocity joint, makes up for this. I didn’t get the physics of it then and still don’t, but accepted it. I was pretty young and never asked him to explain it when I got older. Damn it!
 

vtpsd

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03 jsw TDI, audi 90 AHU swap
looking good so far... i didn't pay too much attention to the DS angle and i don't have any weird vibes ... i did drop my diff using a spacer kit plus extra nuts/longer bolts for even more drop
Yea, I'm planning on dropping it at least an inch, or more if need be. Probably should have at least 1/2" clear above the diff to account for engine and diff mount movement.

I remember years ago my uncle, who was an engineer, told me a u-joint at an angle changes the speed the shaft turns. So your angles front and back should match, a CV, constant velocity joint, makes up for this. I didn’t get the physics of it then and still don’t, but accepted it. I was pretty young and never asked him to explain it when I got older. Damn it!
I get it, sort of, and I am probably overthinking it. However, when I shoot a laser right down the middle of the truck, there are some obvious center castings on the trans, transfer case and a even a little notch perfectly in the center of the trans mount. I believe these should all be in a straight line horizontally. I plan to adjust my crossmember some to accomplish this, since its pretty easy to do, and if I found I made a terrible mistake, I can just replace that crossmember.
 

vtpsd

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03 jsw TDI, audi 90 AHU swap
I'm going to ask the most annoying question on here: what nozzles should I get.

I intend to use the vnt15 because I have 3 of them, the power may be adequate and I love the crazy whistle they make (if I'm being honest).

However, I may require more power and need to swap to a vnt17 with appropriate tune, so nozzles should be plenty for that.

I have the 11mm pump. I think I am between DLC1019 and PP764. Any reason to chose one over the other?
 

vtpsd

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Aug 15, 2013
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03 jsw TDI, audi 90 AHU swap
Got the motor aligned up and mounts built. I copied this design from a couple other people and added my own touches, so thank you if that was you!.

I used 3/16 plate and .120 wall ERW tubing. The mounts are hydraulic passat BHW TDI mounts from a b5.5. The engine angle ended up at about 5 degrees, and the rear diff is about 6, so that should be good.













 
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