tdi dakota conversion

jetmoto3

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2015
Location
ut
TDI
1z mtdi dakota, alh jetta ute
How did the engine hold-up in the dirt??
held up just like any other engine, hard to not peel out with all that power. it can actually crawl now and cruise up things. that tdi is a fun engine.
 

minis2003

Veteran Member
Joined
May 6, 2014
Location
hampton va
TDI
2006 beetle w/DSG, 2015 Jetta TDI w/DSG
I mean did it feel under Powered or did it have power to spare?

I read on some of the Jeep forums that some of the people there recommends a swap with the BT4 than a tdi because they felt it would be under power
 

jetmoto3

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2015
Location
ut
TDI
1z mtdi dakota, alh jetta ute
I mean did it feel under Powered or did it have power to spare?

I read on some of the Jeep forums that some of the people there recommends a swap with the BT4 than a tdi because they felt it would be under power
as i said it all my posts it is no way underpowered it has plenty of power and in 4 wheel drive it has more than enough torque to pull it anywhere even with my 3.55 gear set. it feels like it has more power than my 4bt ford ranger if you need a comparison its a mean motor.
 

tophergrace

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2014
Location
Ohio
TDI
Alh
as i said it all my posts it is no way underpowered it has plenty of power and in 4 wheel drive it has more than enough torque to pull it anywhere even with my 3.55 gear set. it feels like it has more power than my 4bt ford ranger if you need a comparison its a mean motor.

That's truly impressive considering the 3 litter difference. I'd imagine you saved a few hundred pounds over the 4bt also
 

jetmoto3

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2015
Location
ut
TDI
1z mtdi dakota, alh jetta ute
That's truly impressive considering the 3 litter difference. I'd imagine you saved a few hundred pounds over the 4bt also
yeah with the bigger injectors, turbo and the kermatdi custom stage 3.5 tune it really is a fun motor, it actually impressed me. also the dakota is 100lbs lighter from stock with the tdi.
 

G60ING

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 5, 2001
Location
MD
TDI
No TDIs Currently, I have an R36 Corrado. I've had an ALH Corrado swap, AHU Corrado swap and 2003 TDI Jetta
Half of whatever it would realistically bring. A lot of people fear swapped vehicles especially when they are inoperable when purchased
 

G60ING

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 5, 2001
Location
MD
TDI
No TDIs Currently, I have an R36 Corrado. I've had an ALH Corrado swap, AHU Corrado swap and 2003 TDI Jetta
Check the timing with vag-com?
 

jetmoto3

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2015
Location
ut
TDI
1z mtdi dakota, alh jetta ute
timings the exact same its right on, theres no codes. just leaking from the oil pan like it has been for a few weeks, it doesn't smoke when cold just when its warmed up.

thanks

after looking around the forums i think its my turbo(even though it was new) so I'll ether have to rebuild it or get a new one.
 
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jetmoto3

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2015
Location
ut
TDI
1z mtdi dakota, alh jetta ute
so i pulled the turbo and found oil all over the compressor and intake.

 

jetmoto3

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2015
Location
ut
TDI
1z mtdi dakota, alh jetta ute
where'd you get the turbo?
I bought it off a friend and it was sitting for awhile, but the reason why it died so fast, was that i rebent stock return line and used it for awhile, so by the time i got the right return line the turbo was toast. It seemed like it worked just fine but found out that wasn't the case.
 

yatzee

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 4, 2004
Location
Montreal, Qc
TDI
see sig
the turbos been rebuilt since then but i get a constant 28mpg in town i haven't taken it on the freeway
That's really good, actually. I'm going to look at an 06 Dakota later this week - was wondering if anyone had done a swap like this before. The trunk i'm looking at has a 6 speed.
 

jetmoto3

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2015
Location
ut
TDI
1z mtdi dakota, alh jetta ute
so i ended up pulling the motor to rebuild it, and for 280,000 miles on it im impressed everything was well within specs.with the rebuild its got alh pistons and studs now.


 
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jetmoto3

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2015
Location
ut
TDI
1z mtdi dakota, alh jetta ute
so i ended up getting a mtdi pump and an hx25 for it, so once they show up I'll be converting it to computer-less
 

tophergrace

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2014
Location
Ohio
TDI
Alh
Gotta love simplicity this thing is going to treat you well for a long time. At this point though i have to ask would it have been cheaper to buy a 12v? and how does the mpg's compare to tuned 6bt?
 

jetmoto3

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2015
Location
ut
TDI
1z mtdi dakota, alh jetta ute
Gotta love simplicity this thing is going to treat you well for a long time. At this point though i have to ask would it have been cheaper to buy a 12v? and how does the mpg's compare to tuned 6bt?
It was my first time playing with the idea of the tdi swap, done lots of cummins swaps, but after all said and done i would have started with the mtdi i think, the tdi moves this truck nice while getting 28mpg. when i started the swap i had this tdi and a 12v cummins sideby side debating lol I'm happy with the tdi though I think id be in the truck more if I had chosen the 12v cummins just trying to keep a front end under it.
 

tophergrace

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2014
Location
Ohio
TDI
Alh
It was my first time playing with the idea of the tdi swap, done lots of cummins swaps, but after all said and done i would have started with the mtdi i think, the tdi moves this truck nice while getting 28mpg. when i started the swap i had this tdi and a 12v cummins sideby side debating lol I'm happy with the tdi though I think id be in the truck more if I had chosen the 12v cummins just trying to keep a front end under it.
that's pretty impressive figures because as I remember the dakota is a heavy truck for the size. Haha I would have debated too, asked some friends, ignored their advice and do the same thing you did. I imagine the steering feels very light compared to the v6/v8 engine.
 

jetmoto3

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2015
Location
ut
TDI
1z mtdi dakota, alh jetta ute
that's pretty impressive figures because as I remember the dakota is a heavy truck for the size. Haha I would have debated too, asked some friends, ignored their advice and do the same thing you did. I imagine the steering feels very light compared to the v6/v8 engine.
yeah the steering feels light, as well as the whole truck actually. as it sits right now it weights 4300lbs its 300lbs lighter with the tdi than the v6.
 

jetmoto3

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2015
Location
ut
TDI
1z mtdi dakota, alh jetta ute
so i decided to get an mtdi pump, and soon it will be installed i just have to make a bracket for the throttle and cruise cables
 

jimbote

Certified Volkswagen Nut
Joined
Jul 10, 2006
Location
spiral arm, milky way (aka central NC)
TDI
Tacoma 4x4 converted to TDI
so i decided to get an mtdi pump, and soon it will be installed i just have to make a bracket for the throttle and cruise cables
you'll have to machine your IP bracket and backplate to fit that rover pump .... just do a search on converting 1Z/AHU to ALH pump... it'll be the same measurements and machining dealio ;)
 

jetmoto3

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2015
Location
ut
TDI
1z mtdi dakota, alh jetta ute
so now its a mtdi with only the dodge wiring now and its sweet now

 

jetmoto3

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2015
Location
ut
TDI
1z mtdi dakota, alh jetta ute
a pic out 4 wheeling, and now with the mtdi pump its like a 4bt that revs to 4800 rpms its great and it gets 25mpg in town and 32 mpg on the freeway
 

Halfbrit

Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2015
Location
OR
TDI
03 jetta-sold, 2000 jetta tdi
The truck dodge should have built

Hey there jetmoto. Really nice job! I've been talking about a dakota like this for years. I have a couple questions on the MTDI pump. one, how do you build it? And two, what years of VW TDI,s can easily be converted to MTDI?
 

jetmoto3

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2015
Location
ut
TDI
1z mtdi dakota, alh jetta ute
Hey there jetmoto. Really nice job! I've been talking about a dakota like this for years. I have a couple questions on the MTDI pump. one, how do you build it? And two, what years of VW TDI,s can easily be converted to MTDI?
i just used a 300tdi pump no building required just mods to the bracket if you have a 1z or ahu. 96-03 are the only ones that can be converted that i know of.
 
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