ALH swap into Samurai

BoydHowdy

New member
Joined
Jan 10, 2018
Location
Texas
TDI
1.9 ALH
Let me start this by stating that I bought a complete donor car for 350 bucks. The transmission is completely shot, it will drive in neutral lol. I have a full shop and access to a machine shop so I can fab up just about anything! I was just hoping to gain some insight from people that have done this swap before. My main question is, Can I put a mechanical pump on it so that I can bypass all of the electronics? I've searched and searched for quality information, but no one ever seems to be asking the questions I need answered. Thanks guys!!! Heres a pic of the good ole Sammy
 

damac

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2013
Location
bay area,ca
TDI
none
i know its been done but not as much info about it. i am doing the same thing with a mk2 golf right now. its been a long road for me since i am no techie. i am stuck right now because the holset he2000wg turbo i got wont allow me room to use off the shelf fittings to make turbo drain. i need help on that one, then i can try and start it!

i went with this popular recommended setup and a rover 300tdi injection pump i got from ebay uk.

i had to tap the holes on pump to make it go stationary. then i tried to find tdc on the top back injector cycle and make the timing 1.54mm i think by memory. i put a bushing in pump body so timing tool would fit and thats where the alh hub/pully went on. i hope i did it right but cant confirm yet :)

for me i want a daily driver with mileage. if things work good enough vs. experience with rabbit 1.6td i may leave the car alone but i have a feeling if i enjoy things i will be doing some mods like clutch, pump and injectors and do the best bang for the buck so i can still get mileage if i cruise but stomp on it and pass people and call it good.
 

Vince Waldon

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Edmonton AB Canada
TDI
2001 ALH Jetta, 2003 ALH Wagon, 2005 BEW Wagon
"m-TDI" is the Google search term ye seek for all things related to the fully-mechanical TDI pump. :) :)

2.3 million hits on "TDI Samauri" too... pretty popular and common VW diesel conversion. All that torque's gotta be good for something. :) :)
 
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PickleRick

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2017
Location
Greenville sc
TDI
05 GLS BHW sedan 5 speed conversion. BHW Carver SantaCruz in progress
FWIW the tdi to samurai adapter is @500 bucks at acme.

The only reason i am attempting to build mine is because it's over a grand. I also have a few machine shops (family) that owe me a solid or 3. For 500 bucks im not gonna waste a weekend and a few evenings. For a grand, this time of year there is no college ball, the Steelers may not get past jax and the pen may not get to the playoffs...i have some spare time this time of year.

Secondly why not keep the ecu? Whitebread and a few others will make your ecu very easy to use for much less than an manual IP.

The harness will also be very simple to use. Im not sure if there is anyone on here that will pin a harness for you but between this site and another diesel site i visit I'd say there is a demand.

I guess what im saying is, dont spend a lot of cash and countless hours making her mechancial when you could keep the ecu for @450 and spend a couple hours working on the harness.

I've always shyed away from VW diesels in the past choosing full mechanical larger diesels. Now that I find myself in the need for a few more diesel swaps the support for the ECU modification is excellent. I wish this stuff was common knowledge 10 years ago.
 

PB_NB

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2007
Location
Vancouver, B.C.
TDI
1999 New Beetle
I did an ABA Samurai and then an older 1.6 NA diesel many years ago. It was fun but the drive train had a hard time with the power of the ABA.

If I did it again. ALH with toyota tranny and axles would be my choice.

I went with the Keltec kit which included the mount brackets but I think they are gone now.
 

samuraitd

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2013
Location
Provo, UT
TDI
ahu mtdi samurai swap, 1991 jetta ecodiesel
I did an ABA Samurai and then an older 1.6 NA diesel many years ago. It was fun but the drive train had a hard time with the power of the ABA.

If I did it again. ALH with toyota tranny and axles would be my choice.

I went with the Keltec kit which included the mount brackets but I think they are gone now.
Keltec is the same as axis made by rockyroad. Absolute trash.
 
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BoydHowdy

New member
Joined
Jan 10, 2018
Location
Texas
TDI
1.9 ALH
Thanks guys! I already have what I need for a mechanical pump, so I think im going to go that route. Ill keep you posted though! Im only in this project 350$ so far, so I'm willing to get a little deeper into it. Also, the body of this donor car is pretty darn good condition!!
 

damac

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2013
Location
bay area,ca
TDI
none
just to update you i haven't rechecked that timing figure i thought was correct above but today i started my project for the first time!

im not sure if i did something stupid but i left my pump in shop but didn't leave fluid in it. it started pissing fuel from the top lever when priming the pump. not sure if the seals shrank and/or because of different fuels but for some reason after messing around in the dirt for about 20 minutes total, i can't see another drop of diesel now? did the seals swell up? the guy told me it was a good used runner, i knew i should have resealed it off the car but this project has been hell for me over the past 9 months.

anyways its only 60 degrees or so today and i was surprised to see the car start up on the third 10 second burst of the starter with no glowplugs. probably would have went quicker because my battery was drained and slowing down.

this is new to me a far as mtdi and the alh and i just have the flange off the turbo for exhaust, no piping yet. i was surprised at how quiet the car is, i can hear some whistle to.

car sure doesn't seem to get hot coolant so far.

after some initial smoke its idling without it after warming up but i noticed some darker stuff with me flying around the dirt in circles with the pedal stomped. i can't compare the car to anything as of now, can't get it on road until i fix electricals and tidy up some little issues.
 
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