AMC Eagle TDI advice

Completely new to TDI's and looking to swap one into an old AMC Eagle. I plan on using one of the AX15 adapters. My main goal is maximum MPG's. My only diesel experience is with semi trucks and Duramax Diesels so please forgive me for the newcomer questions.


So, which generation of TDI would be best for my swap?

How are these with high altitude? I live in Colorado at over 10oooFT and my commute ranges from 9600FT to 11300FT.

Are these engines mechanically injected or do they have an ECM?

If ECM are they able to switch thru different tunes (like a Duramax Diesel) or is there a chip that needs to be burned every time(like a GM TBI)?

What kind of differential gearing do the TDI motors like? The AMC Eagle was built with 2.35 gears. Great for gas mileage but not so much for torque.

Alh's are simplest, mechanical injectors with ecu controlled ve pump. You can also fit mechanical pumps to them. Some have built hybrids with alh heads, stronger bottom ends. Jimbote and Oilhammer among them.

Not aware of any selectable tune options for TDI's, as the gasser 1.8t has. I think you have what you have. TD tuning, Malone, and Rocketchip are some of your more common options

TdI's like to rev, I don't think it would be happy with those gears. They cruise strong between 2500 and 3000rpm, with quite a wide powerband above and below that.

No chip, tune is flashed through diagnostic port. Someone will comment on altitude.

What year is it? I worked in a machine shop in the 80's and one of the guys had one. They were pretty cool. Putting car bodies on 4wd's were popular here at that time. My brother did a few, still at it, but those were one of a kind. Long dead from rust in this area.

The edc15 stuff can be setup with dual tunes. Edc16 is alot harder. I'm really looking forward to this! I have a weak spot for Eagles.

Edit:
Tuning all electronic TDIs is over the obd port.

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There will be quite a few errors that will be needed to turn off via your tuner and VCDS.

As mentioned above the ALH is the easiest engine to use for your swap. I have no idea on the gearing, but I am sure there will a way to figure that one out.
Good luck, and keep us posted, will you?

Those 2.35 gears should be perfect for a tdi swap. The amc straight six had a pretty diesel-like power curve. I always liked the eagle wagons. I think they were galvanized because the sheet metal survived around here longer than most any other vehicle from that era.

Those were a Hornet with a facelift, along with the Concord. However, they did have the first AWD system employed (optional) on them. The last thing AMC did on their own before Renault took them over.

I think the Cherokee ended up easily outselling these, but they were both sold side by side for a few years.

An ALH would be a neat engine for one, but would probably be working pretty hard much of the time, as I think those cars were rather heavy and the AWD system certainly has a lot of drag. I know they were abysmally slow cars, even with the optional 6 cylinder (4 cyl was the standard engine).

I was wondering what side drop the transfer case was? Could a more modern awd case like the np242 be used? Or even np247/249 with a viscous coupler? I can't imagine the eagle is heavier than a XJ.

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jmodge said:

What year is it? I worked in a machine shop in the 80's and one of the guys had one. They were pretty cool. Putting car bodies on 4wd's were popular here at that time. My brother did a few, still at it, but those were one of a kind. Long dead from rust in this area.

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It's an '84 Wagon. It's been an extremely reliable car over the last 12 years but the plastic valve cover has been the bane of my existence. Has been upgraded to metal but still leaks and the gasket is replaced at least once per year. It's all unibody and essentially an AMC Hornet with 4WD parts.

xerootg said:

The edc15 stuff can be setup with dual tunes. Edc16 is alot harder. I'm really looking forward to this! I have a weak spot for Eagles.

Edit:
Tuning all electronic TDIs is over the obd port.

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That's good to know about the dual tunes. I've always had a weak spot for them as well.

Nevada_TDI said:

There will be quite a few errors that will be needed to turn off via your tuner and VCDS.

As mentioned above the ALH is the easiest engine to use for your swap. I have no idea on the gearing, but I am sure there will a way to figure that one out.
Good luck, and keep us posted, will you?

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Is there a list of good tuner people by region? I will most definitely keep you guys posted!

turbobrick240 said:

Those 2.35 gears should be perfect for a tdi swap. The amc straight six had a pretty diesel-like power curve. I always liked the eagle wagons. I think they were galvanized because the sheet metal survived around here longer than most any other vehicle from that era.

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You got that right! The 258 is not a screamer but has pretty decent low end torque for what it is. Thankfully Colorado primarily uses sand in the winter so no real rust on this one. I also think they got a factory Ziebart treatment as well.

oilhammer said:

Those were a Hornet with a facelift, along with the Concord. However, they did have the first AWD system employed (optional) on them. The last thing AMC did on their own before Renault took them over.
I think the Cherokee ended up easily outselling these, but they were both sold side by side for a few years.
An ALH would be a neat engine for one, but would probably be working pretty hard much of the time, as I think those cars were rather heavy and the AWD system certainly has a lot of drag. I know they were abysmally slow cars, even with the optional 6 cylinder (4 cyl was the standard engine).

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You got it! The Eagle was the 4X4 and the Concord was the 4X2 in the 80's. The AWD system is selectable and you are able to cruise around in 2WD when you want. On the 83&84 the front axle disengages as well. The total weight on mine is a whopping 2800LBS with a full tank of fuel, I think the XJ is about 3500? For as light as they are though they sure are slow!

xerootg said:

I was wondering what side drop the transfer case was? Could a more modern awd case like the np242 be used? Or even np247/249 with a viscous coupler? I can't imagine the eagle is heavier than a XJ.

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Driver side. Factory transfer case on mine is the NP129 but for this swap I will be using the NP229 from a Grand Wagoneer so I can have the same functionality but also with 4LO. Weight is 2800LBS.

I would have never thought those were only 2800 pounds. Shoot, the hunk of iron engine alone is probably 500, LOL.

Edit: friend says his Gremin weighs 2700 pounds, and that is 2WD with a manual transmission, and missing the back end of the car. So your AWD Eagle wagon is probably closer to 3000+ pounds, although swapping the (I assume) I6 with an ALH will certainly lower that.

Europe also had T3s with a 46hp 1.6L air cooled boxer. I'd not "worry" about the weight much either, but if your goal is fuel economy, don't expect it to get the same 50 MPG it can get so easily in a Golf or Jetta. In addition to it being portly, its not exactly going to cut through the air all that great nor will its powertrain have as little drag as more modern design stuff does. And it will not win any races, either, not that it ever could.

2.35 gears might explain the slow. What rpm are you running at cruising range?

3300lbs isn't far off an XJ, and there's a guy on here who just swapped an ALH into one of those with an AX-15 stick and is getting 32-33mpg with good power.

Check in this sub-forum for Jeep XJ/Cherokee conversions, good info there.

jmodge said:

2.35 gears might explain the slow. What rpm are you running at cruising range?

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No clue because I don't have a tach. Can't be that high though.

Well, if the six pushes it, the TDI will also. I think the low range transfer case is a good idea. Sounds like a neat project.

You could also regear/swap the axles to get rid of those 2.35s.

Automatic-equipped XJs with the 4.0 got 3:55 gears, manual ones got 3.07s. You might want to consider swapping in a Chrysler 8.25 rear axle from an automatic-equipped XJ and regearing the front to 3:55 to match it.

My daughters JKU is over 5500lbs and with a stock BEW she gets good performance. Not the screaming performance of my 1.9 XJ with 4:10 gears.

Since maximum mpg is the goal, I'd go with the super tall gearing and toss on some skinny little 14" tires. 5th gear might end up being for highway use only, similar to the 6th gear on my tdi.

While late to the Party, the AMC Eagle has an IFS front suspension, so the Differential is bolted to the rear of the Engine. You're gonna have to deal with that when doing your swap. IMHO I'd have a look at the Kubota diesel engines now popular for swaps in the early CJ's. along with compound series turbo charging for your 10,000+ foot Altitude driving.