1982 Rabbit Pickup swap ALH

1982 Rabbit Pickup mTDI ALH/02J

Introduction:
My current DD is a 1996 Passat TDI. I have really fallen for that little diesel engine. Over 300k miles and still knocks down 45 mpg averages. Been driving it for 3+ years, but it lacks personally. I got this idea from a co-worker about swapping an early VW pickup. After doing research, it seemed fairly straightforward. So here we go....

I've been researching and planning since purchasing the truck in December 2016.

So follow along as I transform this truck from "Bill" (PO's name for the truck) to "Lille Skutt" (it's new name).
There will also be pictures posted on my Instagram: Stephen_Vehicle

The truck: 1982 VW Rabbit Pickup, 1.6 diesel with a broken timing belt and 4 speed 020
Slightly rough, but a good base platform with minimal rust

reserved for future use

Donor Engine

While researching for a truck I noticed that the local Pick-N-Pull had a TDI, which they rarely get. Almost like fate. So the day before buying the truck I pull the engine, transmission, and dash harness from a 1999 Beetle.



Finally access to the wire loom:


7 hours later:

Subscribed & Watching!

ALH Teardown

The Beetle I pulled the motor from did not have any body damage, the timing belt was intact, no other signs as to why it ended up in the junkyard.

So over Christmas break I started tearing the motor apart. There were lots of bad vacuum lines. Then the turbo actuator was completed rusted through. Ok, so it was probably down on power and setting fault codes.



The pulled the transmission and clutch off. The spring for the DMF was gone. There were pieces of it everywhere. So that would have made the engine shake pretty bad and probably effected clutch engagement.



Enough to send a car to the junkyard? Eh, maybe from sticker shock if the work was being done by the stealership.

I found no indications that rod/crank bearings, piston rings, or head valves were bad. So I'm gonna leave them untouched for now. Save money where I can. Unfortunately at the time I didn't have a diesel compression tester. I'll test before installing the engine. But I think I should be good.

Engine Painting

Decided to paint the engine since I had it apart. The girlfriend was a motivator for me to do this project. So painted the engine her favorite color...purple. I have to say I kinda like it. It's different, which is what I wanted. Better than the normal black, blue, or red. And should go well with the green of the truck



Found out that the early 02J's had 02A shift towers. I was hoping for the improved shifter of the 02J, but the 02A shift tower is better for swapping into a MK1. I can keep the reverse switch.



Then I painted the transmission cast aluminum

Wow, look at that wire bundle at the steering column!

You keeping ac? No need to notch the core support with the ALH, which is nice.

I've read you can use the early A1 reverse switch and still have a lot of clearance.

Shame you're missing some of the graphics on the truck.

-Todd

Subscribed ......... I have a 1982 Rabbit Pickup sitting in the barn ...

I like the "Family Truckster" graphics! It's a shame part of it is missing. The probability of ever getting a replacement is nil but a wrap might be able to duplicate it.

ToddA1 said:

Wow, look at that wire bundle at the steering column!

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And I took all of it. even though won't use it for now....

ToddA1 said:

You keeping ac? No need to notch the core support with the ALH, which is nice.

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I will be keeping the AC and that was one reason to go with the ALH.

ToddA1 said:

I've read you can use the early A1 reverse switch and still have a lot of clearance.
Shame you're missing some of the graphics on the truck.
-Todd

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I'm still learning the MK1 stuff. I think that fender was replaced. It came off very easy.

Nozzleman said:

I like the "Family Truckster" graphics! It's a shame part of it is missing. The probability of ever getting a replacement is nil but a wrap might be able to duplicate it.

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The graphics have started to grow on me. I won't be fixing the body right away, but I want to get it looking good eventually. Definitely keeping the green though.

So I'm still learning the MK1 stuff. What is the family truckster graphics?

Cool project! I am getting ready (slowly) to do an ALH swap on my Caddy. Looking forward to the results .
-BB

sriner said:

I think that fender was replaced. It came off very easy.

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If it didn't need to be torched or cut off, it was replaced.

The factory went crazy with the rubberized stuff. Ironically, it was one of the causes of the trucks' rot issues.

-Todd

ToddA1 said:

The factory went crazy with the rubberized stuff. Ironically, it was one of the causes of the trucks' rot issues.

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Which I am finding out right now. Been working on removing the rubber coating on the inner fenders and discovering more rust than I had thought

Engine Removal

Removing the old engine is pretty straightforward.



Basics:
-Remove few electrical connections to the engine
-Remove fuel lines
-Remove driveshafts (I was able to disconnect from the transmission then with the truck jacked up slide them out of the hub. No need to disconnect ball joint)
-Remove radiator and fan assembly
-Disconnect exhaust (I just pried off the spring clamps since I didn't have the special tool and I'm not reinstalling this exhaust)
-With engine hoist attached remove all mounting bolts

Bentley says to lower out the bottom. This way was really quick and easy. Highly recommended.

I then used my hoist to lift the front of the truck and roll it back from the motor


The girlfriend was really excited to had removed her first engine


Now I just need to finish getting the new one built to put it back in. But first I need to fix some of the rust found in the fenders.

looks the same in size as the "sportruck" yes one t in that, and someone is repopping those.. id talk to them to see if they can redo the side pieces.. they would have the sizes.. a pic, make them all same width should be easy to lay out for them..

In 1985 I bought a 1980 Sportruck. It was blue with black interior. Had a tach and a center console with three gauges in it. I promptly put a set of lowering springs on the front and welded extension plates on the rear axle (where the rear spindles bolted on) and that lowered the rear. I then had a BBS styling kit for a Rabbit and installed that along with a Euro front bumper. Top it off, I got a set of used 3 piece BBS wheels that had the optional brake fans on it. Finished it off with a side exit exhaust. You have to remember, driving around the St. Louis area with a loud lowered Rabbit pickup made me stick out like a sore thumb. Especially when I lived down the street from Bob Chandler (the guy who made Bigfoot) and every pickup was jacked up at the time.

I removed that Sportruck decal on the side because I hated it and back then, you had to go stealth. Just so you know, it was made from 3M Scotchlite and does reflect. I've seen some people reproduce it and it's not reflective thus not really what was on the truck originally.

sriner said:

Been working on removing the rubber coating on the inner fenders and discovering more rust than I had thought

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You're not alone. I've owned 2, and that's the worst area. I remove the inner fender panels, since they trap water.

Based on the time I spent repairing both inner fenders and floors, it would have been easier to cut the truck in half and graft in a decent front half from a clean donor. If I were to do it again, I'd build a long door.

I sold parts to someone last night. He welded the front clip (fenders forward) onto his rust bucket truck. He was over 6' tall and admitted he didn't fit in it.

Be sure to post rust repair. I love the gore!

-Todd

200TDI Injection Pump

I know I have all of the electronics and I know most people won't understand, but I really like the simplicity of a M-TDI. Also figured it would be quicker to get the truck up and running this way.

So I got a great deal on a Land Rover 200TDI injection pump from Europe. Supposedly from a running vehicle....


Decided wise to replace at least the O-ring on the head as they are known to leak. Removed the head and found both of the plunger return springs were broken. Good thing I opened it up first. From research this is common on Cummins VE pumps.


There was also corrosion on a lot of the parts that required some cleaning. I used a brass wire wheel to clean the corrosion and a ultrasonic cleaner to clean everything. I'm guessing some water somehow got into the pump.

Now a whole rebuild is in order. After wasting a whole day trying to find part numbers and/or parts online, I called up a local Bosch dealer. He happen to have the rebuild kit (DGK121) and return spring kit (1 467 010 494) on the shelf. Win


This isn't the first pump I've taken apart, but it is the first one that I've taken apart this far and completely rebuilt.


Using this site as a guide http://gnarlodious.com/Vanagon/Bosch_Pump/-Rebuild, it was relatively painless. A tip for installing the springs, camplate shim, and rollers, use Vaseline to hold the parts in. It will dissolve away once diesel enters the pump.

Apparently, the 200TDI pump uses a different center compression spring than whats in his tutorial and from what I've seen in the TDI pump. I thought mine had gotten compressed and damaged. I ordered a new one, to find out its the same as I have.


Instead of going through the coupler and pushing directly on the camplate, the 200TDI pump compression spring goes into the driveshaft behind the coupler and pushes directly on the coupler. For future reference to anyone that may rebuild one of these. I searched all over and never found this information or saw a picture.


I debated back and forth whether to do the governor mod. I decided since I was in there, might as well. I got several M6 washers. I chose the two that fit the best and gave the shimming I wanted. I didn't want to shim it too much. I'm hoping it raises the fuel cutoff some, but is still present. I went with ~2.8mm of shim.


Put everything back together as it came off. Make sure to take measurements of the screws or anything that is adjustable. Rebuilt and hopefully ready to run.

Nice, I probably would have maxed out the preload with the washers. Been forever since I had an IDI pump apart.

The E-TDI pumps also have the spring at the rear of the driveshaft.

-Todd

ToddA1 said:

Nice, I probably would have maxed out the preload with the washers. Been forever since I had an IDI pump apart.

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I don't have a tach and a little worried about over revving it. Which I don't think will happen based on sound of the engine. But if anyone drives it, I can't guarantee. Plus it might be fun to take to the occasionally autocross.

ToddA1 said:

The E-TDI pumps also have the spring at the rear of the driveshaft.

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Oh ok. It's been awhile since I did my AHU pump. I could have sworn it went through the center. Either way new pump is done.

I know realize why everyone's projects take so long. There is always unplanned work and waiting for parts to show up. But I have also been running every bolt, nut, and anything else that will fit through my ultrasonic cleaner. The engine will at least be clean once.

I reached a huge milestone this weekend....engine runs. However not installed in the truck yet. Still working on inner fender rust. I'll have a post later once its complete.

For time being engine progress:

Installed the ALH hub. Make sure its timed correctly. On mine I could tell where the keyway worn onto the hub, so it made installing easy. I also tapped the holes to M10 and bought M10 heavy flange bolts, as the 200TDI pump does not have tapped holes.



Pump installed and timing belt installed. As been discussed in other builds, need a 16V manual tensioner and remove lower small roller to clear engine mount.

Parts:
16V tensioner: 051109243
Integrated Engineering billet spacer: IEBAVA6
Manual tensioner stud kit



Here is my quick and dirty setup for running the engine. Fuel in bucket, return hose barely reaching back to bucket, switch for shutoff solenoid, and wire with alligator clip for starter. But it worked and engine runs. I had to turn the idle way down from the stock setting.



No need to reinvent, so I purchased a swap kit from S&P Automotive. Mine came with Tech-53 driver mount, Epytec passenger mount and rear transmission mount. Also got the cable clutch conversion and speedometer cable.



Last thing for this weekend, I got the rear transmission mount installed. I think I installed it correctly. There weren't any instructions and couldn't find much info on the interwebs.

Nice... what did you time your pump to?

Your rear bracket looks correct. I was also clueless, so I installed the engine/trans without it and saw where it would line up. Still haven't bolted it on...

-Todd

I timed it to stock for a 200TDI as a starting point, 1.54 mm. I've never done timing by dial gauge before so it took a long time to figure out. But glad it started up and idled decently. Didn't run it more than 30 seconds at a time though.

Progress has been a little slow between cold weather and finding time. Unfortunately my garage is too small and too full to fit the truck in it. Luckily, weather never stays too cold when living close to the ocean.

Last weekend I was able to get the truck over to a friends house for first round of strut tower welding. I wanted to get the engine bay done first. Then I can start getting the engine installed. The rest of the inner fender can be welded up later. More picture of this coming later.



Got the front of the engine covered up. Since I deleted the power steering pump I needed a short serpentine belt. I measured it using the string method to 38 inches with tensioner fully extended. It needs to be slightly shorter to have tension while running. I was able to find a 37 inch (370K6) at advanced auto parts that works. It looks like the tensioner is close to middle of it's range.



Hopefully engine will be installed this weekend. Then comes figuring out plumbing, wiring, intercooler, and other knick knacks.

Nice work! Glad to see some attention to the important stuff first rather than just dumping it on coilovers with wheels. Cheers to keeping another Mk1 on the road.

does a main shaft seal come in that kit?

what turbo are you going to run?

thank you for the belt part number. i want to put one of these setups in my mk2 golf and drive the crap out of the car!

but none of the vendors have been able to help me with what turbo and injectors to buy for a stock pump and mild upgrade over stock engine numbers so i can still get mileage but have some fun if i stomp on it

Then you've been messaging the wrong vendors.

Sprint/DLC520s are a mild bump over stock, anything up to DLC1019s will work really well on the stock turbo, and PP764s can be dialed back if you intend to upgrade the turbo in the future. K03/k04 hybrid is what Mark runs on his MK3 ASV swap @ 22 PSI, there's also a GT2052 kit floating around which would work great with .216 or larger nozzles. No need to do the main seal if it's not leaking, they're not prone to failure.

If run mechanically, for some reason, then I would contact Giles.

damac said:

does a main shaft seal come in that kit?

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If you are referring to the injection pump rebuild kit, then yes.

damac said:

what turbo are you going to run?

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Due to budget, running the stock VNT15. I upgraded injectors to the DLC1019. It should make plenty of power for this light truck.

I went to hook up the accelerator cable last night and it doesn't appear to be long enough. Anyone know of a cable that would be a little longer? I'm guess the pump is sitting slight more towards the front than the original engine.