Tdi into 1983 Camper Vanagon

annieneff

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2011
Location
Seattle
TDI
1983.5 Westfalia tdi (afn), with flipped 5 speed V6 (dvz) transmission
I've been working on this off and on for the last three months or so. I keep getting sidetracked with this that or the other. I made my "engine stand" with the left over framing from the garage doors you see in one picture. I've been a little shy and embarrassed about my free motor hanger, but after using it I can't imagine anything better.
The top bar looks a little weak in the photos, but it's actually two 2X4's with a steel bar sandwiched between them. I could probably hang the van itself from it.
The big first hurdle has been to make the turbo and the engine mount play nice and stay out of each others way on the manifold side (the low side) of the block. I have 3 different exhaust manifolds and an adapter plate for the where the turbo attaches, and after trying the infinite (...not infinite, but it felt that way) possible combinations I finally found one that worked. It still took a few modifications (shaving part of the identifier plate off the turbo, and having an arch cut out and welded to the bottom side of the motor mount to let the intake hose reach the turbo...), but it now 100% works :D.
The motor hanger made it literally infinitely easier, and it might not have been possible without it. I raised the engine up to chest height with the come-a-long you see hanging in one pic. I can just fit the hooks of the come along into the eyeholes of the motor grab holes, and then raise up and down-- if slowly-- at will. That made it so I could change and interchange at will; mercifully without hanging over and in that miserable dark engine bay and trying to work upside down.
After I successfully (a two month-- off and on-- effort!) got the turbo and motor mount to work together, I then geeked out and cleaned the bejesus out of the block. I even used Q tips in the end. It is by far the cleanest engine I've ever owned now. One side of it anyway :).
Anyway. Had to share. Enjoy the pics. I'll try to update as I go along.
Happy new year!!!

Andrew


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annieneff

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2011
Location
Seattle
TDI
1983.5 Westfalia tdi (afn), with flipped 5 speed V6 (dvz) transmission
Am I the only one who can see the pics above?
 

AndyBees

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 27, 2003
Location
Southeast Kentucky
TDI
Silver 2003 Jetta TDI, Silver 2000 Jetta TDI (sold), '84 Vanagon with '02 ALH engine
Which transmission are you using? Is your Vanagon a '83 or an '83.5 (waterboxer)?
 

annieneff

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2011
Location
Seattle
TDI
1983.5 Westfalia tdi (afn), with flipped 5 speed V6 (dvz) transmission
Thanks for letting me know you can see the pics, Andy :). Not sure what the other fellas issue or question was.
The transmission is the original one from 1983.5. Answered two questions in one there ;). The transmission is a 5 speed. I think that's sort of better than the 4 speed. I know it's vastly better than the automatic. I don't love the gear ratios in it, I love your gear ratios and have read your posts about them many times, but I'm not going to make any $ on this build and I'm trying to conserve costs. Plus, changing the gears is easy enough-- comparatively-- later on. That's what I'm telling myself anyway. Let me know if I'm wrong and/or crazy on this one!!! It wouldn't be the first time, and I can actually do something about it at this point.
Tomorrow the clutch (Sachs) kit gets here :). I can just install the engine though and start on the wiring-- oh the wiring-- if I need to change the gears in the tranny. The pinout diagram you posted and helped with on the other thread is awesome btw. Thanks for that.

Andrew
 

AndyBees

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 27, 2003
Location
Southeast Kentucky
TDI
Silver 2003 Jetta TDI, Silver 2000 Jetta TDI (sold), '84 Vanagon with '02 ALH engine
Well, I think in my build Thread and few other Threads, I never spoke highly of the 5-speed. But, after going back to the Bentley Manual and doing some research on the gear ratios (in your case 2nd and 3rd, taller than I realized), my position has changed drastically.

If and when you upgrade the tranny, I'd suggest you go with the 1.09:1 4th gear and the .73 (maybe .70) 5th gear. Either of those choices will have your RPMs below 3000 at 70 mph in 5th gear.

Yes, the manual tranny is much better than the automatic..... even with one of the expensive 3.27:1 ring & pinion! Although, I would like to do a conversion in a Vanagon using the auto tranny ....... just wish there was a way to do a lock-up torque converter!
 

oil_me

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2004
Location
Woodstock, NY
TDI
Black '99 Jetta, Glacier Blue Audi 80 Quattro TDI
That is exactly how I put the motor back in my vanagon diesel in 1996. It's a logical way to do it. Kudos
 

CopaMundial

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2011
Location
Southeastern PA
TDI
03 Jetta Wagon 5sp (New to me Oct 2014) 03 Jetta 5sp (RIP Aug 2014)
oil_me;4401006It's a logical way to do it.[/QUOTE said:
Not to mention it makes it easy to reach the dipstick so you can check the oil from the back seat. :D
 

annieneff

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2011
Location
Seattle
TDI
1983.5 Westfalia tdi (afn), with flipped 5 speed V6 (dvz) transmission
"Progress"
I kept taking things off and finding more things that needed replacing. Ccv tube, cam cover gasket, oil cooler o ring, and both seals on either side of the crank shaft. I put progress in quotes because all I've done lately is take things apart...
Looking at all the tools and etc required for a crank seal replacement got me bummed out. Too much $$$ for something I'm going to use occasionally at best; and it's such a stupid simple thing. So-- I made my own.
I'm kind of proud of the crank wheel holder I made! It turned out Perfect, and it served its function flawlessly. Something even the best of us should aspire to :). It's 3/16" thick steel. More than enough to hold everything and not risk breaking. Steel I had lying around. Bolts are leftovers from this or that. Cost= zero. My bench vice and bar clamps helped immeasurably.
First I tried to turn the crank wheel bolt with a 7/8" socket. It didn't work and spun one of the stars :(. Then I got my 19mm open ended and figured out how to get some leverage on it. You can see my solution in the foreground. I kept the ip lock in the whole time just to verify nothing was moving. I checked the cam lock before and after the crank bolt removal and both times it slid in like butter.

My only question now is how do I make sure the crank stays on tdc when I replace the seals? The flywheel is taken off on the other side too... With the ip lock in there and the cam spot on is it all just right? I might ask this question in another place to get a definitive answer and feel good about it.
Until then I'll feel good about my crank bolt removal, and how I got it done. I seem to becoming good at making useful tools and holders out of nothing, for little or no cost ;).

Andrew

 
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annieneff

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2011
Location
Seattle
TDI
1983.5 Westfalia tdi (afn), with flipped 5 speed V6 (dvz) transmission
Update!

Vanupdate

Combining everything here.
Transmission mod here: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=459776
Dead gas pedal fix here: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=467567
Vanagon road trip here: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=462619

And turbo/motor mount remodel below.

My original turbo was sounding tired (I could hear the bearing in there, and there was some shaft play). My old oil feed line broke 3 weeks ago (again!!!), and although I caught it before going too far (100 yards maybe), I figured it was a sign to replace the old air compressor. So, I bought a new one and put it in over this past week… If only it were really that simple!

Once I got the old out, I decided a remodel was necessary. The old turbo was on sideways with the mounting holes drilled oblong so it would fit, and one of the mounting holes had to have a threaded rod welded to it so I could bolt it on the other side because of clearance issues with the intake. And the actuator was on upside down, with an extension welded on the arm. And I couldn’t get good down slope from the return oil line because of it’s location, and orientation… In short, it was kind of a mess. I remember plugging it in this way out of a desire to get the bastard done.

In designing the remodel for the turbo mount, it was immediately apparent that the old motor mount would need to be redone as well. After torturing myself and anguishing over this for awhile, I realized that if I turned the existing motor mount support around (the tube thing the rubber is on, that the engine attaches to), that I could easily mount the turbo how I wanted. “Just” cut off the mounts that attach to the body on each side, and weld them to the opposite end of the tube frame. Simple idea!



The turbo needed to get away from the intake manifold a little bit to fit right and easily, so first I made two plates for each side (exhaust side, and turbo side). Then I oriented the turbo in the engine bay how I wanted it. No pictures of this, but it was awesome because I hung it in there with this strong thin nylon cord I have; the turbo was hanging in there like a puppet once it was all done! Once it was in place I carefully held up the curved piece of exhaust pipe I had (exhaust pipe from a 1972 Yamaha 125), marked it and cut it. Welded it all together (ugly, but strong and no leaks!), and voila! I had a turbo mount that was perfect.


The motor mounts took quite a bit longer than expected. Turning the mounting tube around was easy enough, but then making a new mount from the engine to the tube was technical, and needed to be accurate to work.
Measure, cut, weld, adjust, reinforce, cut, weld, measure, weld, and repeat a lot until it was done.




The end result turned out strong and really good, but it took every bit of 8+ hours of doing it. New mount attaches to old holes in the block, and also on the transmission side with two bolts over there. I think the transmission side is doing very little as the overwhelming majority of the weight is right there next to it, but it was nice to distribute it some.

If I was installing a tdi into a vanagon for the first time, I would strongly recommend redesigning this mount to fit the turbo easily. Maybe there is some exhaust manifold I am unaware of that would make this all easy, but I have 4 different designs (aaz, ahu, afn, and some other rando), and none worked perfectly off the shelf.

This remodel made everything hook up easily, neatly, and if you don’t look at my crappy welding job—the turbo location and orientation look pretty darn good… dare I say stock? I dare ?.

Andrew
 
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