1993 toyota sr5 ALH tdi swap (3 week project)

dustystdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2010
Location
Tallahassee, FL
TDI
2004
"Jimbote" Are you trying to make a truck that can crawl or one that can have more gear for your turbo upgrade to perform? My truck in 4low 1st gear front hubs unlocked, will sit still spinning both rear tires if i'm on an incline in soft sand with out even applying any throttle. And today it is misty weather out, and i cant drive this truck with out "hot rodding". Today I tried this on semi-wet paved roads. I can be going about 20-25 mph and punch it in 2nd gear and it smokes both rear tires. It even spins them in 3rd gear also. But i'm sure that's all because of the 4.10 and 31 in tall tires.
 

dustystdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2010
Location
Tallahassee, FL
TDI
2004
Did a little offroading today in the toy and found out when in 4low front hubs unlocked you can drive with out using throttle at all. Hit some deep ruts and found out that you can just pop the clutch in 1st, 2nd or reverse gear and it will just start spinning both rear tires. Thanks to the computer controlled throttle, and torque the ECM will maintain the idle. I was throwing little rooster tails, and i could have got out of the truck and taken a picture at the same time.
 

dustystdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2010
Location
Tallahassee, FL
TDI
2004
Ok a little change of subject now. Who can guess the cause of the TDI I fixed this past weekend? The engine was locked up solid. The owner said he was driving down the road and the car just shut off. Didn't overheat or run out of oil. He had it towed to a shop and they told him he needed another engine. This is when i received it.
So the first thing i looked at was the timing belt and sure enough it was broke. I was thinking maybe the pistons were hitting the valves and not allowing it to turn over, but it was weird how I couldn't turn the crankshaft either direction. The lifters were shot so i needed to remove the cylinder head to check the pistons and repair :valves and lifters.
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With head removed the engine still will not move. Now i resort to dropping the oil pan. I remove the main bearing caps one at a time and re install them leaving the bolts hand tight. Then the same to the rod caps. All the bearings looked great. With all caps a little loose engine still locked up. By now I am really scratching my head. We have no option but to somehow think that the automatic transmission is locked up. I can see one torque converter nut so i remove it. Oddly enough we decide to use the starter and see if the crank will turn over to unbolt TC from flex plate. Lucky for us the engine moves about 1/32 of a inch every time we bump the starter.
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We get all 3 TC nuts off and can move the TC freely so this meant it had to be the engine. With the top end off and bottom end loose and transmission disconnected we did not understand why the engine will not spin.
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We know the answer now but I want to see what other people think it is.
 

Growler

Got Soot Vendor
Joined
Nov 24, 2003
Location
Millersport, Ohio
TDI
Schmutz, 2015 Golf Sportwagen DSG & Schnurren, 2001 Golf GL 2 door 5M
so by bumping it with the starter, you were able to get at least another 240 degrees of rotation to remove the torque converter nuts.....

there is no head so no valves to lock the pistons, no transmission, and no accessory drive.. no oil pump..

did something break off somewhere and get wedged in between the block and the crank? you say it wont move either direction, so that would discount that theory..

i am a bit at a loss at this point.
 

dustystdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2010
Location
Tallahassee, FL
TDI
2004
Another thing, the starter alone wouldn't turn it. That was with me pushing on a breaker bar on crank pulley as hard as i could.
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I'm only bringing this all up so other people will learn from my mistakes. After spending all day trying figure this out, we decided to go talk to a friend about it. All of us together could not come up with a solution except, Where is the timing belt? I did pull the timing cover off to see that it was not on the top gears but i didn't look for the belt. I should have stopped there, and i could have finished this project in one day easy.
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I decided to take the crank pulley off and pull the whole timing cover off and find this belt. This is what i found:
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Live and learn. Put your hands on the timing belt before you tear your engine apart. I never would have thought the timing belt would lock the engine up. Its Crazy.
 

X@V

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 13, 2004
Location
Sherbrooke, Qc, Canada
TDI
B7 A4 V6 2.5TDI, MK2 frankentdi 2.0 16V TDI PD
Poor quality t-belt... it's what happens!

Please don't buy these poor quality parts when it can break your engine.
 

JaysinSpaceman

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2008
Location
Skull County, Ca
TDI
Golf
Poor quality t-belt... it's what happens!

Please don't buy these poor quality parts when it can break your engine.

I'm sure the info is else where on this site but I thought I'd ask as long as it was mentioned. Where is the best place to get things like timing belt kits, water pumps, other maintenance parts, etc...? Good quality vs. good price? Or if there is a link to a seller or thread on here that would be fine too.

Thanx,
Jaysin
 

dustystdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2010
Location
Tallahassee, FL
TDI
2004
Well been all busy trying to make my truck better. Bought some rims, tires, and a lift kit off craigslist. Here are some updated pictures.


 

dustystdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2010
Location
Tallahassee, FL
TDI
2004
Does anybody have any ideas how to make a cheap easy engine belly pan. Just needs to keep some of the mud out of the engine compartment.
 

e*clipse

Veteran Member
Joined
May 9, 2007
Location
Chico, CA
TDI
Toyota TDI swap
Hey! Nice build! :)

Going back to the gearing discussion, there's some good info about Yota drivetrain stuff here:

http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/faq/parts/

I wouldn't use a 2wd diff - they're not strong enough.

I was seriously considering re-gearing my truck by changing the differential ratio - mine are 4.30's ( formally it was an automatic tranny )
I'm running an R151F tranny from an 22RET truck.

However, the gearing is really nice, except for 5th gear, which isn't tall enough for highway cruising.

Just a few days ago, a friend sent me this link: A company that makes a taller 5th gear for Yota transmissions:

http://www.safarisnorkel.com/turbo/1hz_76/5th_gear.htm

This might be a lot easier than changing the gearing on two differentials - and it might be a better solution.
 

dustystdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2010
Location
Tallahassee, FL
TDI
2004
Well i have decided to not mess with drivetrain. I actually love the 4.10 gears i currently have and the stock 85 22r 5 speed transmission. It is perfect for offroading and i can still drive on the interstate. 70 mph is only about 2500 rpms with my new 33x12.50 tires.
 

LukeWilson

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2010
Location
Ottawa, ON
TDI
Toyota 4x4 TDI, 2004 Allroad TDI
I love the Toyota E-locker i put in my truck from a later model TRD Tacoma or 4Runner. They usually run about $300-400. Found mine on Car-Part.com for about $300 shipped, i had to re-gear from 4.30 to 4.10 though. Other then chunky tires, it was the best upgrade i did, it takes a lot to get stuck now.
 

jimbote

Certified Volkswagen Nut
Joined
Jul 10, 2006
Location
spiral arm, milky way (aka central NC)
TDI
Tacoma 4x4 converted to TDI
you can use an e'locker from a tacoma or a limited 4runner but you'll have to notch your axle housing and of course you may have to swap your gears to the center section to match your front....check car-part.com to see if a yard near you has an e'locker
 

dustystdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2010
Location
Tallahassee, FL
TDI
2004
Has anyone had any experience with the Aussie Locker? And is it better if you are only going to lock one differential do the front or the rear?
 

dustystdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2010
Location
Tallahassee, FL
TDI
2004
Okay about decided that an e locker is more the way to go. Can someone tell me what are the exact year models and vehicles the e locker will fit in my v6 rear axle with a few modifications.
 

onlyn8v

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2005
Location
Long Island NY
If you are asking about 4x4 questions you should really check out pirate4x4.com

It is better to do a auto locker in the rear diff and a selectable locker in the front if you only afford one. Otherwise, its best to do selectable locker in F and R
 

onlyn8v

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2005
Location
Long Island NY
If you are asking about 4x4 questions you should really check out pirate4x4.com

It is better to do a auto locker in the rear diff and a selectable locker in the front if you only afford one. Otherwise, its best to do selectable locker in F and R
 
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