GoremanX
Veteran Member
Consider this the official beginning of my very own TDI conversion thread. I've owned a US-spec 2001 A4 Avant QTM for the last 2 years. It's modified, it's real fast, it's a blast to drive, and it runs great. But it's not a diesel, and I've been a diesel enthusiast for decades. For me, the perfect car is:
- a wagon
- AWD
- manual trans
- a diesel
With this conversion, I'll finally hit all 4 criteria.
Based on the feedback I got on this forum, it seems a BHW TDI would be the easiest transplant, so that's what I've settled on. I bought an entire '05 Passat TDI locally as a donor car. I figure having the entire car will help make the conversion easier. I also bought a bare BHW block and crank, which should make it easy to build up exactly the kind of motor I want.
I've got a few issues to solve:
- I don't want to hack and slash the wiring in my car, so going with a Euro ECU and engine wiring harness is probably best. I need to figure out which Euro A4 would have the closest match for a PD TDI. Any advice in this area would be greatly appreciated.
- I doubt the Passat fuel tank and lines will fit on my A4, so I'll need to get a diesel tank and lines from a euro A4.
- I want proper highway gearing, so that means acquiring a 3.889 transmission and rear end. Either that or I may just get a diesel 6 speed (which usually has 4.11 gearing)
- I'm not sure if the Passat I bought had the gear-drive balance module installed. If not, that's definitely something I want to do.
Beyond those issues, I'm really looking forward to this project! I'll finally have a diesel car to match my diesel pickup truck.
- a wagon
- AWD
- manual trans
- a diesel
With this conversion, I'll finally hit all 4 criteria.
Based on the feedback I got on this forum, it seems a BHW TDI would be the easiest transplant, so that's what I've settled on. I bought an entire '05 Passat TDI locally as a donor car. I figure having the entire car will help make the conversion easier. I also bought a bare BHW block and crank, which should make it easy to build up exactly the kind of motor I want.
I've got a few issues to solve:
- I don't want to hack and slash the wiring in my car, so going with a Euro ECU and engine wiring harness is probably best. I need to figure out which Euro A4 would have the closest match for a PD TDI. Any advice in this area would be greatly appreciated.
- I doubt the Passat fuel tank and lines will fit on my A4, so I'll need to get a diesel tank and lines from a euro A4.
- I want proper highway gearing, so that means acquiring a 3.889 transmission and rear end. Either that or I may just get a diesel 6 speed (which usually has 4.11 gearing)
- I'm not sure if the Passat I bought had the gear-drive balance module installed. If not, that's definitely something I want to do.
Beyond those issues, I'm really looking forward to this project! I'll finally have a diesel car to match my diesel pickup truck.
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