Audi Allroad Diesel Conversion

I just bought a 2002 Audi Allroad with the intentions of putting a 1.9L ALV or ALH engine into it.
Someone smart talk me out of this...or give me a some good pointers

I have no pointers and CERTAINLY don't intend to talk you out of it. What you're describing is my dream vehicle.

Yeah me too...I hope I can make it a reality!

Mtdi and your swap becomes 100x easier and more reliable.

Seems like it would be awfully heavy for a 1.9, unless modified.

Of course they put them in Vanagons and Eurovans, but don't expect much in the way of performance...

I considered it as well, but the weight of the allroad turned me off.

bbob203 said:

Mtdi and your swap becomes 100x easier and more reliable.

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I can understand it being easier with mechanical, but what about it makes it more reliable?

Also, won't I make less power and lose the ability to control a VNT w/ out electronic?

dieselmacht said:

Seems like it would be awfully heavy for a 1.9, unless modified.

Of course they put them in Vanagons and Eurovans, but don't expect much in the way of performance...

I considered it as well, but the weight of the allroad turned me off.

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In fact, it appears an Allroad weights just about as much as a base Eurovan!

4167 for the allroad, 4220 for the EV..

I would love to see a 2.5 V6 TDI Allroad. Or a 3.0 for that matter!

i think mtdi would be hard for most state inspection rediness test.

My current car is a Jetta Wagon with a 1.9L ALH with 90 hp and 210 Nm of torque and it isn't a performance car, but it is great for something that gets 40+mpg. I think the ALV with 130 hp and 310 Nm of torque will more than make up for the 1000 lb difference in weight. After including the weight difference in the two drivetrains and a few other things the actual difference in weight will be closer to 500 lbs. Using the 2.5L TDI would be fun, but not result in the economy that I am looking for.

How is reliability lost with mtdi? No drive by wire/pedal to fail, no n75, no map, no maf, yes vnt isn't possible easily yet.. Many guys are working on systems at the moment though.. will make things very easy. Emissions may be an issue I agree just depends where you live. If you properly tune it though it should have no problem passing anywhere that only does a sniff test on diesels. I feel safer driving anywhere in mtdi than i do in my mk4 alh. I need no power of any kind to run my car a big wrench to pull the solenoid plunger and a nice push and im gone as opposed to vag com and a laptop etc. The great thing about the electronic vnt controls people are working on is if they fail somehow you can still drive the car. My m is starts up great down to at least 30f with no glowplugs rock solid idle pretty much right off cold start. Ever so slightly noisier than my alh but doesnt bother me one bit. You lose no power and tuning is much easier when you upgrade nozzles etc as it only takes a few wrenches and a flat blade screwdriver to adjust the max fuel quantity. If I was building a race car/ track car I would do etdi all day but for a no hassle long hauler/ daily driver that performs.. mtdi is the only option for me.

After doing the ALH swap into my '84 Vanagon, I'd never consider doing a mTDI. Sure, it was a challenge and I have had to iron-out a few bugs. Most of the issues were "nut" driven (NUT, being me). I learned as I went. Info was difficult to come by, but I made it to the end. I did get discouraged along the way. I did receive a lot of advice and guidance from followers, etc.

Now that my project is pretty much behind me, I think it is awesome.

My Vanagon weighs about 3490 including about 12 gallons of fuel (3640 with me in it). The ALH TDI engine, without any mods, is awesome compared to the old wasserboxer engine...... with only a Stage 1 Malone tune it is very impressive! It is a pleasure to drive.

As for reliability, my 2000 Jetta TDI has never had any of those things mentioned (previous posts) to go kaput ..... it is pushing 334k miles! Rest my case!

But, every man to his own!

Ill agree those things failing is unlikely but are there and can fail. Biggest reason I went mechanical on my passat was because I bought and engine with no ecu wiring or pump. The time I would've spent sourcing parts waiting for it all to show up and figuring it out and the moneyI would've had to spend... I made out plus add in a tune. I would've had more in all that than in the PROPERLY built pump I have. Not to mention I needed this car on the road quick. Like I said for a project car that you know is going to take awhile electronic is great but for a car you want to drive now mechanical is the clear and best option. I will agree I have seem some botched mechanical pumps that are total garbage.

Well, most of those "reasons/circumstances" were not mentioned in your first post.

As for VAG COM, I already had that.......... paid for itself many times over (and not just used on my cars). As for a LapTop, I already had two of them.

In September, we did a trip to Nova Scotia, Canada ...... never once was I wringing my hands with worry! Yes, I had a couple of problems... broken exhaust hanger (good ol' boy welded up nice for $15.00 and I gave him a 25% tip). The other issue was the Turbo pressure hose blew-off several times (must have been that Malone tune I got at the TDI Fest) ...... fixed that (re-positioned and sprayed parts with wife's hair spray)!

Actually, I am planning to do Turbo Diesel manual project ...Vehicle will be revealed later, maybe in a build Thread.

As for the guys working on VNT turbos to use on mTDIs and the 1.6 IDI engines, that's been going on for quite some time! I'm sitting on the side watching and reading! Very intersting to say the least!

Dirty_Al said:

I just bought a 2002 Audi Allroad with the intentions of putting a 1.9L ALV or ALH engine into it.
Someone smart talk me out of this...or give me a some good pointers

Click to expand...

Hey, it's the guy in Phoenix.... looking forward to this weekend.